Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57337
Looking at the world of business from a different perspective.perspec UTDallasSchool of Management http://som.utdallas.edu Fully accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The University of Texas at Dallas is an affirmative action/equal opportunity university. "Even though we're still fairly early in the course, students are beginning to visualize how to use their experience with social networking to advance their ventures," says Hoskin- son. "Some are even creating Facebook profiles, using their wikis as entry points to those profiles." One of Jindrick's teams already has one executive interested in its business. "It's easy for that executive to sign on to the wiki and serve as an advisor and advo- cate for the students on the team," says Jindrick. "And he hasn't even met them." Embedding Web 2.0 Business education has long been fo- cused on "experiential learning." When it comes to technology, an additional focus might just be "embedded learning." By embedding technological tools into assign- ments and projects, professors don't have to use precious classroom time to teach the technology itself. Stu- dents gain exposure to and experience with the technology as the class progresses, almost by default. Plus, they're learning to work within a common organi- zational system, says Accetta. "I might organize my office one way, and you might organize your office another way. If we were to walk into each other's offices, we wouldn't know where anything was," he says. "Wikis allow us to compile as much information as possible in a common space, where we both know where to find everything we need. It's a fascinating tool." Technology has taken a step beyond Pow- erPoint, Hoskinson stresses. Web 2.0 adds another layer to the tools business schools must teach to keep students prepared for the workforce. "Once students learn how to use wikis, they'll understand the entrepreneurial process more clear- ly and move their ideas forward more quickly. The power of this tool is lim- ited only by their exposure to it." The more proficient students are in Web 2.0 technologies, the more innovative they can be in using them, say Hoskinson, Accetta, and Jindrick. Such familiarity makes it that much easier for them to launch a new venture, complete a project, or lead a team. For these Eller profes- sors, wikis have become a way to teach entrepreneurship in a knowledge-driven economy. n z More information about PBWiki and Wiki Spaces can be found at www.pbwiki.com and www.wikispaces.com. BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 35