Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/52321
success of both courses. With the proper prompting, encouragement, and cross-linking of ideas in both courses, the teams are better able to make connections, get assign- ments done on time, and enhance the quality of their business plans. Business 3: The Capstone "Commercialization" serves as the capstone in the sequence, a time when students translate the content of their business plans into the public sphere. First, we expose students to the technology trends that are most important for startups, through readings and discussions. Second, we increase their literacy in new media, by requiring them to practice using Web-based and video production tools. Finally, we introduce them to a firm's business processes and support them as they take their business ideas to market. Early in the quarter, we intro- duce students to Web site design principles and teach them to use Adobe Dreamweaver, software used for professional Web design. By the end of the quarter, student teams must design Web sites for businesses that will address multiple audiences, including customers, potential inves- tors, and other stakeholders. We introduce students to video production midway through the quarter. Each team is provided with a handheld Kodak Zi8 video camera and taught to use Adobe Premier Elements video production software so that they can create promotional materials and explore simple filmmaking techniques. The goals of the videos depend on the needs of their individual businesses, but the videos our students produce range from advertisements to expla- 50 January/February 2012 BizEd nations of their business ideas. At the end of the course, we col- lect student work into an online showcase and share it with the col- lege community at ritbiz3.tumblr. com/. This Web site serves as a place for students to demonstrate their work and elicit response to their ideas, creativity, and new skills. As part of their participation grade, all students are required to give prelimi- nary feedback to other groups by identifying their favorite videos and explaining why they chose them. The BIZ 1-2-3 Showcase rep- resents the range of work the course inspires. Student ideas have included an on-campus nutrition and personal training service; a temperature-controlled back- massaging backpack that provides "comfort on the go"; and a cam- pus classifieds service that would allow students to buy and sell their services and secondhand goods online. In the 2010–2011 academic year, we noticed that our students were generally less focused on for-profit businesses and more on socially focused startups—espe- cially those that aimed to make campus life better for our students. BIZ 1-2-3 students also have additional incentive: the opportu- nity to participate in RIT's Imagine Festival, an annual one-day public event that invites members of RIT's community to submit their most innovative ideas, which are vet- ted by a selection committee. With over 20,000 attendees, the festival gives our students a chance to show off their hard work. Looking Ahead After two full iterations, we con- tinue to seek ways to improve the sequence. One significant change is that we now include 20 design students from RIT's College of Imaging Arts and Sciences to work with 20 business students in one 1-2-3 section. We plan to reach out to students and faculty in other disciplines to better prepare our students for the workplace. We are particularly proud of our BIZ 1-2-3 sequence and of the way participating faculty have invested in its development. So far, it is a key factor in increasing the reten- tion rate of our first-year students, and we believe it represents a best practice in business education. Brian O'Neil is a distinguished lecturer in decision sciences, Victor Perotti is an associate professor and champion for digital business, John Tu is a professor of management information systems, and John Ward is a lecturer of marketing and international business at the Rochester Institute of Technology's Saunders Col- lege of Business in New York. JUICE IMAGES/GLOW IMAGES