Business Planning for Open Markets
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| Development of a New Multimedia and Internet Open Distance Learning Course: "Business Planning for Open Markets"
Dr. Atis Kapenieks, Rīga Technical University, Latvia, Baltic IT Review 2 '99 The interactive multimedia and Internet open distance learning course "Basic Business Planning" was developed by an international team. Learning materials are in the form of an interactive, multimedia CD-ROM which includes materials in many media, as well as case studies and interactive exercises. The delivery and administration of the course are supported virtually through a Course Delivery Forum and a Course Administration Forum that was designed via Lotus Notes groupware software and is accessed via a Web browser. The plan is to begin course delivery in the autumn of 1999. Latvia's rapidly changing economic environment is challenging universities to adopt efficient and productive working practices in the development and delivery of courses. Universities can meet these challenges by making effective use of IT tools, as well as effective cooperation and resource sharing among universities. It is very important for universities to find new and more effective telematics-based solutions for various elements of academic activity - new course development, course development management, course delivery, course content and course administration. This paper presents the results of one year of activities by the international team. Financing came from the PHARE Multi-Country Program in Distance Education. One project objective was to identify the most effective IT-based solutions for the aforementioned topics, to design these solutions and to test them in practice for academic and industrial communities in the Baltic States. The international teams included members with a variety of expertise - something that is critical for the success of a project of this type. Project objectives O  ne objective for the project was to design and implement an on-line system covering the areas of course administration, course discussions, course delivery, a library of references and the technical support needed to enable the course module "Business Planning for Open Markets" to be delivered in an accessible and cost-effective manner. The delivery methodology that was chosen uses one or more Lotus Notes Domino™ servers accessed by students via Web-browser technologies and augmented by CD-ROM learning materials.
A further objective was to design and implement a course module entitled "Business Planning for Open Markets". The overall objectives of this module are the following: • To raise awareness of important issues, stages and items in a business plan; • To raise awareness of the need to present and communicate business plans to all of the organization's decision-makers in a proper way; • To enhance knowledge and skills in applying structures, methods and tools to the development, presentation and implementation of business plans; • To convey "best practice guidelines". Learners will undergo two types of formal evaluation. The first will involve a series of multiple choice questions aimed at assessing factual knowledge. The second will involve a project that will require learners to carry out a realistic business planning scenario in a way that will test their understanding of the course and the skills that they have learned. Self-assessment exercises will also be provided. There will be a number of options for course delivery, including use of a Lotus Notes client to allow home-based learning (i.e., where there is no permanent or networked connection to the Internet). Companies can choose to install a Lotus Notes server on their own corporate Intranet, providing access from that server. There are also plans for face-to-face sessions and other versions of ODL. Project results A  synchronous communication has been established through the use of a Lotus Notes server. Project staff have been issued password-protected access via the Internet or via database replication utilizing Notes client software. This is the main channel for project communications. Where necessary, Domino server communications will be augmented with normal E-mail, fax and telephone usage, although this will not be encouraged. At a later stage the communications will be expanded to include videoconferencing, enabling real-time discussions, application sharing and file sharing.
Learners access the electronic course components through a Web browser that accesses the information from a Lotus Notes (Domino) server. The minimum specification is a 486 PC with 8 Mb of RAM and with either Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. A network connection to the Internet is also required. The following IT solutions have been designed: C  ourse Development Forum (CDF): A user-friendly environment for open distance learning course development has been created; early experience has demonstrated a real rise in productivity and a new type of teamwork via the process of teleworking.
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