FACILITATING LEARNING IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM WITH THE COMPETE ONLINE DECISION ENTRY SYSTEM (CODES) Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning, Volume 27, 2000 FACILITATING LEARNING IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM WITH THE COMPETE ONLINE DECISION ENTRY SYSTEM (CODES) Aspy P. Palia, University of Hawaii at Manoa Mak Wai Keong, National University of Singapore Dean S. Roussos, Youngstown State University ABSTRACT The COMPETE Online Decision Entry System (CODES) enables competing participant teams to enter their decisions and retrieve and print their results at a remote site provided they can access the Internet. Based on the constructivist design for user-centered learning, CODES provides compet- ing participants with the tools to retrieve, record and analyze information. It facilitates and en- hances user-centered learning and delivers inter- active and dynamic content to users via Active Server Pages. Learners can build on prior knowl- edge and understanding, explore possibilities, invent alternative solutions, collaborate with other learners (or experts), test hypotheses, revise thinking, and work toward the best solution. INTRODUCTION The primary purpose of this paper is to introduce the COMPETE Online Decision Entry System (CODES), a new world wide web-based simula- tion interface that facilitates the integration of the internet and internet-based learning into the marketing curriculum. CODES enables compet- ing participant teams in the marketing simulation COMPETE (Faria, Nulsen and Roussos, 1994) that have Internet access, to register their teams, enter and submit their decisions, and subsequently to retrieve and print out their results from a remote site. The Internet has led to growth in global networking. These global networks extend student-teacher relationships and overcome the space/time limitations of brick-and-mortar class- rooms. With the advent of the World Wide Web, these networks challenge and/or redefine student- teacher interaction in the new millennium. The World Wide Web, a distributed database that rides on the Internet, has unique characteristics as an instructional medium. The web can be used to reach geographically dispersed audiences with consistent content. Participants can access materi- als anytime, anywhere, provided they have Internet access. Accurate and up-to-date informa- tion can be delivered using hypermedia via various computing platforms (such as Windows, Mac, and Unix). Hypermedia serves as a natural and efficient platform for information retrieval (Dimitroff & Wolfram, 1995). In some instances the Internet has been used as a platform for the delivery of lecture notes (in the form of PowerPoint files), lecture outlines, and provision of general informa- tion, absent any instructional framework. In other cases, participants/students have been able to access and download pc-based marketing decision support systems and graphics decision support packages. Recently, participants/students have been provided access to and use of dynamic online models for analysis and learning. Hyper- media characteristics are better suited to the constructivist design for user-centered learning. USER-CENTERED LEARNING Constructivism is a cognitive perspective of learning which focuses on mental behavior, and which has profound implications for teaching and research methodology. According to the cognitive views of learning, the “….active work of mental behavior turns information into useful knowl- edge” (Grabe & Grabe, 1998). Constructivism has a rich history in philosophy, psychology, and education (Mahoney, 1991). There are significant differences between the cognitive constructivist perspective and the behavioral perspective with regard to basic assumptions about knowledge, knowing and learning. Cognitive constructivists believe that knowledge is active, situated in lived 250 Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Learning, Volume 27, 2000 worlds. Individuals construct knowledge. Mean- ingful knowledge is useful and retained, building on what the learner already knows. The teacher’s role is coach, mediator and strategic. In contrast, the behavioral perspective assumes that knowl- edge is inert. Individuals are passive recipients of knowledge. Learning occurs with programmatic, repeated activities.The teacher is authoritative and directive. Constructivists believe that what a person knows is actively constructed. Learning serves an adaptive function; its role is to help the individual operate within his or her personal world; thus learning is not the storage of “truths,” but of useful personal knowledge. Constructivists share common beliefs about ways of knowing. First, “constructivist knowing as- sumes the active and proactive nature of all perception, learning and knowledge...” (Mahoney, 1991). Next, “prior knowledge and experience is the springboard for useful, personal knowledge construction…” Third, “constructivist learning experiences and appropriate classroom practices include reflective thinking and productivity; authentic activities, including student collabora- tion and consideration of multiple perspectives, and student access to content area experts who can model domain-specific skills….” (Grabe & Grabe, 1998). In addition, “constructivist-oriented teachers mediate between student prior knowledge and their lived worlds, creating learning environ- ments that will help them develop increasingly complex understandings and skills. Constructivist theory postulates that people learn best by actively constructing their own under- standing. As such, learners are presented with opportunities to build on prior knowledge and understanding (Bruner, 1960). Based on the augmented knowledge and understanding, learn- ers construct new knowledge and understanding from authentic experience. Furthermore, learners are allowed to confront problems full of meaning because of their real-life context. In solving these problems, learners are encouraged to explore possibilities, invent alternative solutions, collabo- rate with others learners (or external experts), try out ideas and hypotheses, revise their thinking, and finally present the best solution they can derive (Novak, 1998). Proponents of the constructivist design for user- centered learning emphasize the importance of providing students with tools to retrieve, record and analyze information, instead of providing specific instructions (Cunningham, D.J. et al, 1993). The provision of such tools serves as an integral part of the constructivist design. The COMPETE Online Decision Entry System (CODES) facilitates and provides an enriching learning experience for the user. CODES lever- ages on the unique characteristics of the Internet and provides online utilities for the participants to capture, retrieve and analyze information. These utilities and online materials change and evolve over time. The plasticity of the Internet is ideally suited to ongoing changes, updates and revisions. With these revisions, CODES marks a significant step by the COMPETE team to continually improve the quality of service delivery to the user. The COMPETE team seeks an incremental and progressive transition from the DOS-based COMPETE data input to a web-based data capture and dissemination system, coupled with facilities for analysis and visualization. FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS Currently, CODES is resident on the Web server and is independent and unlinked from the COMPETE simulation resident on the network. There is a possibility of integrating/linking the data from the Web server with the network, hence automating the entire process. Further, competing participant teams can only view and print the output file from the Web browser. A provision can be made for the competing teams to download the output file so that the data can be directly input and used in spreadsheet or database analyses. In addition, the output can be presented in a more informative manner with the use of dynamic graphical generation technologies. Based on the data in the output file, the system will present appropriate charts and graphs, and incorporate statistical features for analysis. 251 Table of Contents Volume 27, 2000 Internet International: A Simulation Exercise for Understanding Technological Innovation and customer Service In a Rapidly Growing Internet Server Company Simulations and Learning: Dialog and Directions Endnote Activity: A Tool for Integration of Course Content and Communication Skill Practice Incorporating Video as a Teaching Strategy in Interpersonal Communication Vision Quest: An Alternative Approach to Industry Analysis for MBA Courses in Strategic Strategic Management: An Evaluation of the Use of Three Learning Methods Trainer, Mentor, Educator: What Role for the College Business Instructor in the Next Century? Using the Internet and Shareware to Facilitate Computer Simulation in Distance Learning Classes Visual Modeling of Business Simulations Teaching about Information with Management Games A Self-Evaluation Based on the Discussion and Decision in Experts' Business Gaming The Restaurant Game Using Journals to Enhance Computer Simulation Based Learning Exercises to Facilitate Better Student Writing in the Undergraduate Strategy Class Identifying, Resolving, and Managing Common Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace: An Experiential Approach Integrating the Digital Revolution into the Classroom The Wheel of Learning: An Integrative Business Curriculum Experiment The Changing Nature of Simulation Research: A Brief ABSEL History Perspectives on Simulation & Gaming's Review Process Experiential Learning Across Disciplines: Mixing International Business and Accounting Simulating Governmental Effects on Economic Development Internationalizing the Introduction to Business Course Using an International Text and Domestic Simulation with a Twist Using Stock Value as the Performance Measure in a Business Simulation Game Introducing Cross-Elasticities in Demand Algorithms Validating a Model of Currency Valuation An Exercise for Exploring the Relationship between Jungian Psychological Types and Organizational Politics Exercise: Preparing Financial Reports Using the Group Categorizing Technique Effect of Trust and Cultural Beliefs on Negotiation Processes: Data from an Experiential Role Play Experiential Learning Gets Stamp of Approval From the Boyer Commission Talent Search 2000 - An Experiential Activity to Help Strengthen Skills in Employee Recruitment and Selection Clemson University's Collaborative Learning Environment Initial Data on a Test Bank Assessing Total Enterprise Simulation Learning Changing the Assessment Paradigm: Using Student Portfolios To Assess Learning from Simulations How We Learn and Why We Don't: The Cognitive Profile Model: A Workshop in Teaching to Reach Your Students Knowing Thyself: A Portfolio Approach to Student Self-Assessment Collaborative Learning and Web-Based Instruction in a Cognitive Apprenticeship Model Teamwork Attributes in a Classroom Simulation Virtual Teams: Meeting the Next Challenge for Experiential Education New Age Learning: Nuance or Nonsense Developing Charisma: An Experiential Exercise in Leadership Problems and Solutions in Going Web-based with an Agribusiness Simulation Creating a Comprehensive Web-Enhanced Classroom Your Class is in Session, Now What? The Challenges of Teaching On-line An Application of Process Control Charts for Attributes as a Form of Classroom Assessment for Experiential Learning Work Goals and Life Aspirations: Do You Have What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur An Exercise to Develop Initiative: Possible Dream? The Ball Point Pen Assembly Company Management Game Review System Development Total Enterprise Simulations and Optimizing the Decision Set: Assessing Student Learning Across Decision Periods Facilitating Learning in the New Millennium with the Complete Online Decision Entry, System (CODES) The Marketing Management Experience The Right Venue for Your Simulation One More Time: Overall Dominance in Total Enterprise Simulation Performance A Profile of ABSEL Conference Attendees Learning Readiness: An Underappreciated Yet Vital Dimension in Experiential Learning Active Learning in a Professional Undergraduate Curriculum The Problem Is - They Think Differently! Cultures Integration in Mergers and Acquisitions: Putting Managers Together in a Business Simulation The Global Business Game: A Strategic Management and International Business Simulation