Business & Management SL

What make this online course unique

Our online course in Business and Management covers the same content and prepares students for the same assessments as a traditional face-to-face course. However, the online environment presents students with some very unique learning opportunities. We asked our course developers and teachers to tell us what they think is special about the online course, and to give us some concrete examples of how assignments take advantage of the online environment. Here are some of their answers:

"What is special about taking Business and Management online?"

Students learn in an international classroom:

• "Class discussions with students living in different parts of the world provide a true international experience. Being in an online course provides students with immediate access to different cultures and ways of thinking. Even a question as basic as 'What are a company's responsibilities to its employees?' is likely to be answered very differently, depending on the cultural context in which the company operates."

Students become much more independent learners:

• "Perhaps the biggest advantage is how the online course environment naturally encourages students to develop their own ability to learn. The students are truly in charge of their own learning. They interact with classmates and make use of a wide range of resources in order to develop their own understanding. This is not to say that students are left on their own. We teachers are always there to help. In fact, with all of the channels of communication available, my online students have access to more help than my face-to-face students."

• "Students in online courses learn to use a variety of tools that help them organise their studies, learn the material, and present their understanding."

What specific online tools are used in the delivery of the Business and Management course, and how are they used?

• Wimba® and voice threads are used for debates and discussions on financial analysis, as well as for role-play activities presenting conflicts between various stakeholders.
• Blogs are used every few weeks. Students are asked to find and post business articles of their choice related to the topic currently being studied. They are then asked to read and comment on their classmates' blogs.
• Google Docs® allows students to collaborate in order to deliver a group presentation on the different sources of finance available to organisations.
• Students interview local businessmen and women on human resource issues and share them via Podcast, allowing them to listen to, and compare and review their classmates' findings.
• Netvibes® provides an RSS aggregator that allows students to view each other's blogs as well as find and share relevant business articles.
• Students are asked to use online concept mapping to show connections and make sense of curriculum topics such as marketing, legal structures of organisations, distribution channels, etc. They become more engaged with the material as they read and comment on each other's maps rather than passively reading text.
• The interactive business e-textbook and IB Course Companion allow students to interact with graphs and diagrams on topics such as break-even analysis.
• Chat provides students with a valuable 24-hour resource that allows them to collaborate with their classmates and the teacher.
• Students collaborate to create a Wiki study guide as each topic is completed.
• Students may learn to use Prezi®, a dynamic and free presentation resource, to create engaging presentations on topics such as leadership and management - that go beyond what they may already know how to do with PowerPoint®.