A Day in the Life of an Interactive, Real Time, Internet Felivered Course: A Demonstration Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN INTERACTIVE, REAL TIME, INTERNET DELIVERED COURSE: A DEMONSTRATION Richard B. Griffin, The University of Tennessee at Martin Edd R. Joyner, The University of Tennessee at Martin Tom Schmidt, The University of Tennessee at Martin Keith Mansfield, Bancorp South Inc. Lisha Tuck, The University of Tennessee at Martin ABSTRACT The authors will provide a live simulation of a class conducted over the Internet. Authors will participate in the simulated class meeting via Internet connections from locations in three to four different states. INTRODUCTION The presentation will involve at least four indi- viduals engaged in a live Internet-based interac- tive session of an upper division quantitative business class. Two of the individuals will be connected to the Internet from the conference site while the remaining individuals will be con- nected at sites in one or more other states. Experiences with designing, offering, and teach- ing courses over the Internet will be shared. Par- ticular attention will be given to demonstrating a typical day in the life of an interactive, real time, Internet delivered course. Many lessons were learned and will be shared. DESIGNING THE COURSE • Course content, text, and assignments should be the same as for the non-Internet-based sections. • Students must be online simultaneously dur- ing class times to facilitate group lectures, demonstrations, and discussions. OFFERING THE COURSE Registering for the Course • Contact with instructor should be re- stricted to electronic channels until after registration. • Students should be required to register for the course by contacting the instructor through email. In this way the instructor can obtain the student’s email address and make some determination of the stu- dent’s ability to function in the on-line environment. • The course syllabus should be placed on a web page and not be available in any other form. Required Tools • Personal Computer with Windows 95/98 and a minimum of 32MB RAM • Internet Access (not via campus lab) • Software: Spreadsheet Word Processor, Email Web Browser Required Knowledge/Experience • Familiarity with a computer • The ability to download and install soft- ware from the internet. 346 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 • A working understanding of spreadsheet, word processing, and email software. • Ability to send and receive attachments to email messages. TEACHING THE COURSE Getting Started Before getting to the subject matter of the course some housekeeping chores will need to be performed. • Student email addresses along with in- structions for the first class meeting must be emailed to each student. • Prior to the first meeting students have to download, install, and configure ICQ to allow communication with the other class members. • In addition to being prepared for the first day’s accounting assignment, students are expected to be logged into the Inter- net and have ICQ, email and a spread- sheet package running prior to the start of the scheduled class time. • After a brief exploration of the capabili- ties of ICQ, the instructor would be ready to discuss the topic of the day. Typical Class Meeting • A typically class meeting requires the in- structor to use: • A chat program for text based com- munication • A conference program which allows sharing of software packages and a white board, as well as audio and video communication. • A typically class meeting involves start- ing with ICQ or another chat program, taking attendance, developing spread- sheet solutions, lecturing, and group dis- cussions. Testing • Procedures and techniques must be estab- lished to provide some assurance that the student getting credit is the student doing the work. • Distributing, receiving, and grading ex- aminations and assignments • Open book tests LESSONS LEARNED • Murphy is alive and well. • Schedule more class time than you think you’ll need. • Isolate yourself prior to and during the class. • Be sure you can contact other members by phone during class—remember that students may be connected by modem. • Hold all telephone calls. • Always reboot the computer at least 15 min- utes before class, run scan disk, and elimi- nate all “.tmp” files. • Have ready access to another computer dur- ing class time. • When scheduling the course be aware of times during the day that the Internet may be slow. • Always anticipate that the class meeting may need to be cancelled and have a plan devel- oped for how material can be made up. • Students need to be prepared and have read and attempted problems assigned for class discussion prior to class time. • Not having to deal with handwritten assign- ments makes reading papers less arduous. • Grading spreadsheet files allows the instruc- tor to see how answers were obtained rather than just grading the final results from a printout. • Feedback on assignments and tests, of what would have been handwritten notes in the margin of a paper or printout, is more awk- ward when done over the internet. 347 Table of Contents Volume 26, 1999 ABSEL's Historical Research Interests Back From the Future: An ABSEL Merlin Exercise for the Year 2005 The Contributions of ABSEL During the 1980's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential Exercises in the 90's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential learning/Experiential Exercises: The Decade of the 1970's Business Simulations - Algorithms and Model Enhancements: A 25 year Review A Study of the ETS General Field Test as an AACSB Assessment Tool and the Impact of Experiential Exercises and Simulation on Learning A Framework for Assessing the Competencies Reflected in Simulation Performance Developing A Learning Culture: Assessing Changes in Student Performance and Perception Financial Simulation Using Distributed Computing Technology Analyzing Managers' Judgements and Decisions with an Educational Business Simulation Understanding Your Business through Home-Made Simulator Development An Examination of a Reanalysis of the Impact of a Market Leader on Simulation Competitors' Strategies Applying Shocks to TE Simulations: A Demonstration Increasing Efficiency of Management Skill Assessment A Testbank for Measuring Total Enterprise Simulation Learning Developing Leadership Skills - Video Live! LEADSIMM: Collaborative Leadership Development for the Knowledge Society A Team Approach to Producing Multi-Media Laptop and Video Formatted Presentation Tinkertoys Revisited: Exploring Trust Based Relationships Overall Dominance in Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Success or Bankruptcy: The Relationship between Personal and Goal Orientation and Simulation Performance Assessing the Effects of Feedback: Muti-method and Muti-directions in Multi-pedagogical Courses The Missing Ingredients in Experiential Learning Purpose and Learning Benefits of Business Simulations: A Design and Development Perspective Building Capabilities for Change through Laboratory Simulations Modeling Innovation as a Process of Design in Educational Business Simulation The Need to Measurer variance in Experiential Learning and a New Statistic to do so Assessing Effectiveness of an Experiential Oriented Course Over Time Developing Participant Satisfaction Models of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Perceptions of Learning in TE Simulations Students' View on the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Management Gaming's Lost Opportunity: Meditations about the Russian Experience and Prospects for the Future Unanticipated Enhancements in the Business Strategy and Policy Game when Running in Windows 95 Using a Business Game to Demonstrate Broad Business Concepts A New Model for Business Courses (Getting the Student Connected) Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Integrating Knowledge Using Large Scale Simulations in Capstone Business Strategy Classes Is It Here To Stay? A Roundtable Discussion of the Inter-Group Interaction Interactive Tools Used in Applying Financial Concepts Strengthening Essential Skills through a Finance Exercise: Calculation of Beta A Model of Currency Exchange Rates Understanding Currency Exchange Rates: A three-part Exercise Student Experiences in the World Intercollegiate Business Game Competition Student Experiences in the International-Collegiate Business Policy Game Competition Using Boards of Directors in Simulation Environments: Comments From Board Members Sharing Best Practices: Teaching Smarter, Not Harder Star Power: A Simulation for Understanding Power and Empowerment The Marketing Game: A Marketing Principles Simulation Alexander Islands: GSSM Tiny Business Simulator on the WWW Putting Strategy into Strategic Business Games Industry Analysis, Porter's Five Forces Model and Strategic Group Maps in the Business Strategy Game Simulation The Use of Concept Mapping to Improve Student Performance and Understanding of Strategic Management Concepts: A Comparison of Techniques Transformational thinking in the Organizational Behavior Course: The Use of Metaphor as an Assessment Tool Creation of a Virtual Learning Community for the Global Virtual Enterprise Project Inter Institutional use of Educational Resources: Joint Use of Management Simulation Games Business Insights: Theory and Practice with the Aid of a Business Simulation Progress: An Experiential Exercise in Development Marketing The ABC's of teaching the Theory of Constraints to Undergraduate Business Students Demonstrating Principles of Organizational Purchasing Behavior through an Experiential Exercise The Virtual Manager: A Different Simulation for Managing Complexity When the Rules are changing and Chaos Breeds Innovation: Recapturing the Value of Constructive Thinking and Play in Simulation Training The Pitfalls, and Potential, of Actual Events as Problem Drivers Using Business Games to teach Environmental Awareness and Green Management: The International Experience with the ENSIM Game A Review of my ABSEL-Related Work Simulation of Government: A Workshop Using GEO Creating Internet-Based Games Using Perl and JavaScript Who's on First? Exploring the Concepts of Problem-Based Learning, Experiential Learning, and Lifelong Learning Students Learn Customer Service and Selling while Conducting Research So You Want to Run an NFL Football Team–An Honors Interdisciplinary Project Supervised Internship: The Employer's Perspective Using Computer Assisted Simulation to Teach International Business Strategy: A Case of the Multinational Management Game (MMG) Multi-Cultural Experiential Learning: A Computer Simulation in China An Appreciative Stance on Diversity as We Move into the 21st Century: A Timeline Exercise to Identify Key Experiences in Good Work Relationships between Black and White Peers A Day in the Life of an Interactive, Real Time, and Internet Delivered Course: A Demonstration Comparing Internet Search Engines: An Experiential Learning Exercise Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Assessing Student Perceptions and Preferences Teaching Accounting Information Systems in a Practicum Format Providing Experiential Learning in Accounting through a Field Study Payroll Project A Spreadsheet Based Business Simulation Game Computer-Behavioral Simulations Training for Project Managers Simulation Scenarios - Rationale and Illustration