Department of Marketing An Orientation Module for Online Marketing Education Peter E Wagstaff Dr Jan Brace-Govan Sandra Luxton Monash University – Department of Marketing

Department of Marketing E Master of Marketing – Critical Success Factors l high quality study materials l purposeful staff training in e-moderation l e-moderation manual l online orientation program for new students l student online induction manual l appropriate feedback mechanisms

Department of Marketing Our experience l Pre-semester ‘meeting’ class mates bonded into support group less set-up support required l During semester immediate class engagement but large volume of dialogue to manage less ongoing support required l Post-semester positive word of mouth innovators diffusing to early majority

Five Stage Model of e-Moderation (Salmon 97)

Department of Marketing The literature says… l …“quality education comes from the content, design and preparation, not from the delivery technology” (Eastman and Swift, 2001) l “More than 70% of Australian adult learners lack the disposition and skills for self-directed learning” (Warner, Christie and Sarojini, 1998)

Department of Marketing Implementation l An orientation module l Addressed first two stages of Salmon’s model: äAccess and motivation äOnline socialisation l WebCT – matched “look and feel” of subject sites l Activities to familiarise students with the online learning space: äTechnological äSocial

Department of Marketing Student Orientation Activities 1. Accessing and reading Discussion Forum messages (“Welcome” message) 2. Posting a Discussion Forum message (Introductions) 3. Interacting with messages (MPA website visit) 4. Prepare and submit assignment (MPA) via “Assignment Dropbox” 5. Assignment returned via “Private Mail” 6. Post a linked URL to Discussion Forum and attach a screen dump to posting 7. Survey/quiz

Department of Marketing Outcomes l Orientation participants: äAccess their online learning sites sooner (2.4 days vs 10.7 days) äHigher activity levels in their first 30 days of online study (Hits, readings and postings)

Department of Marketing Continuing Research l Benefits of orientation transferable to non-orientation students (eg. imitation) l Does the use of other online services reduce the need for orientation sites? l Improve understanding of different learning styles to maximise learning opportunities for each