Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57337
THE PROFILE, WHICH INCLUDED A PHOTO OF POPE AND HER FAMILY AND AN OUTLINE OF HER ACADEMIC BIOGRAPHY, HELPED HER CONNECT WITH HER STUDENTS BEFORE SHE ARRIVED. Students Meet Professors Through Podcasts Starting last fall, DePaul University's Col- lege of Commerce in Chicago, Illi- nois, began posting podcast profiles of its professors on Apple's iTunes. Students can download the digital introductions, which run between two and five minutes, to their iPods, cell phones, and personal computers. The college began to produce tions to teach students to understand the business processes in technology firms and manage knowledge across global companies. Serious gaming is quickly becom- ing an "exciting way to develop the skills that are required as busi- ness and IT become more closely aligned," says Sandy Carter, a vice president with IBM. "Innov8 was designed to address this specific skills shortage while also helping business schools realize the benefits of using serious games as a powerful tool for teaching." TOOLS OF THE TRADE New Exam Tests Business Skills The launch of the Capstone Competency Exam gives professors a new tool to evaluate student learning. Management Simulations Inc. (MSI) of Northfield, Illinois, recently launched Comp-XM, the Capstone Competency Exam. The technology-based platform provides a learning simulation to test the business acumen and decision- making skills of undergraduate and graduate students. Used in conjunction with MSI's Capstone Business Simulation, Comp-XM evaluates students in two phases. In Phase 1, students play MSI's Capstone Business Simulation to become familiar with its content. In this phase, students can play the game no more than two times. In Phase 2, the examination begins. In the test simulation, students run fictional companies that are in competition with four computer-generated companies. The test includes five rounds, each of which begins with a short set of questions about current market conditions. Each round lasts about two hours; the entire exam can be taken over ten hours or spread out over several days. Because each student makes different decisions, each student's testing experience will be different. After each round, Comp-XM tabulates the results and prepares reports on each student's performance for the professor. "Assurance of learning or outcomes assessment is an issue that has consumed the time and attention of professors, chairs, and deans," says Dan Smith, MSI's president and founder. "The Capstone and Comp-XM technologies provide an engaging, standardized platform for individual evaluation." ■ z BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 53 the faculty podcasts as a way to introduce professors to students in DePaul's overseas MBA programs in the Czech Republic, Bahrain, and Taiwan. Because professors were often in these countries to teach two- to three-week modules, they had very little time for interaction with students. The podcasts helped international students quickly feel at ease with their Chicago professors. Kelly Pope, an assistant account- ing professor, was pleased with the impression her iTunes introduction made on her students. The profile, which included a photo of Pope and her family and an outline of her aca- demic biography, helped her connect with her students before she arrived. "When I arrived in class in Tai- wan, I was greeted with a warm welcome from my class. The pod- cast gave students the opportunity to get to know me," she says. As a result, they didn't feel uncomfort- able asking personal questions, she adds. Her digital profile helped her "merge the gap" between cultures. James Moore, director of distance learning for the College of Com- merce, has been working with facul- ty members to turn their biographies and selected content into podcasts. Eventually, he plans to post profiles of all 100 members of the school's faculty on the iTunes site. When so many students are attuned to the visual nature of digital communications, the podcast profiles offer professors a way to reach these students directly, even before the first class, Moore says. "Podcasts provide a direct and more reliable view of a professor's teaching style than anonymous comments posted on professor rat- ing Web sites," Moore says. "The technology allows professors to engage their audience and build trust."