Syllabus

BCA101 – Business Clubs of America (Online)

Arcadia University
School of Continuing Studies
Fall 2010

Dr. Erik T. Nelson

Office: 782 Limekiln Pike
E-mail: nelson@arcadia.edu
Work Phone: 215-572-2944
Home Phone: 267-218-4678

Welcome!

Welcome to Arcadia University! We're happy that you could join us today. When we began planning our
Roundtable, Tony and I (with the help of Tee Jay) decided that we wanted you to walk away with some
ideas for how you could utilize low-cost, web-based technology tools in your businesses. We also wanted
to give you an idea of how an Arcadia Online course looks, and how students learn in this modality.
Therefore, we've developed a few units and hope that you will find them useful. If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact me at nelson@arcadia.edu .

Required Materials

No required textbook for this course. All content will be provided within the online course environment.

Since this course is being delivered online, your computer system will need to meet specific hardware
and software requirements. For this course, you will need to have access to Microsoft Office, or software
that can author MS Office formats like Google Docs or Open Office. Additionally, we will be using other
software packages, but I've tried to utilize free programs. The URL's for those programs will be provided
in the course at the appropriate location.

1. Headset with microphone, or a built-in laptop microphone

2. Skype (conferencing software) - http://www.skype.com

Prerequisites

BCA Membership.
Minimum Technical Skills Expected

1. The ability to use a modern web browser, like Internet Explorer or Firefox, to navigate websites.
2. The ability to use your Arcadia e-mail address to send and receive e-mails.
3. The ability to learn My Arcadia features found in the Tutorials section of the course, as needed.
4. The ability to use word processing software to read, author, edit and save documents.
5. The ability to use a search engine, like Google, to find information on the web.

Evaluation

A 90% to 100%
B 80% to 89%
C 70% to 79%
D 60% to 69%
F Failure to complete required work

Unit 1 – Discussion, DimDim Assignments 50%

Unit 2 – Entrepreneur Discussion 25%
Units 3 – Bonus Social Media Info 25%

Introduction

This course is being presented in an online fashion. It is important that you login on a regular basis (daily
if possible) and work on a consistent basis to complete your requirements. Since we are not meeting
face to face, it will be imperative that you participate in the discussion board with your partner, as well
as on the phone and in Skype conferences with your instructor. Also, the Cyber Cafe is available for you
to develop community outside of the course content.

You will need to be self-motivated and try to stay as organized as possible; developing a schedule would
be a good idea. I also suggest that you login in the beginning of the week and copy all assignments to a
Word document. This will allow you to construct a quality answer, spell check, grammar check, and copy
and paste it into the forum.

Requirements for Discussion Board Sessions

1. When quoting the work of another scholar, it is important that you cite the work correctly. In
unit 2, you will be introduced to a tool, Citeulike, which will help you format your citations.
However, the following are examples of what is expected when referring to the work of another
scholar.
 Example within the context of the posting:
"Constructivism is an epistemology, a theory of knowledge used to explain how we know what
we know" (Lorsbach, 1997).

Example at the end of the posting:

Lorsbach, A. (1997). Constructivism as a Referent for Science Teaching. Retrieved January 5,
2006, from http://www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/research/constructivism.html

2. You are required to respond to a minimum of three other student postings for forums that
require interaction with your peers. I will be looking at the way you analyze the postings and
extend the conversation. Please use this opportunity to share your own experiences, but
remember to support your assertions with current research findings. At this level we can all
learn a great deal by sharing our experiences.

"Studies report that peer learning promotes greater conceptual and procedural gains for
students, accommodates a broad range of learning styles, results in greater enjoyment of the
learning task, and encourages a stronger persistence in learning" (Johnson & Johnson, 1999).”

3. Your postings will be evaluated based upon the substantive nature and how it efficiently
addresses the question at hand. Simple responses such as "I agree" are of no value and will not
be counted as an acceptable posting. Try to use what I call the "no scroll" rule. If you have to
scroll a great deal to read the posting, it becomes an arduous task. Please try to be succinct and
to the point. Strive to respond at the synthesis or evaluation levels.

Discussion Etiquette

In this course, I welcome the creation of a dialogue that is open, thoughtful, and founded on the basis of
research in the field. At times, some of you will not agree on the positions that are taken in the forum.
This diversity is welcomed. However, each student must exercise respect for the thoughts and
comments that are posted by their peers. If any posted comments are inappropriate or of an offensive
nature, they will be removed from the forum and I will address the issue with the author of the content.
Please follow the following guidelines:

 Never post, transmit, promote, or distribute content that is known to be illegal.

 Never post harassing, threatening, or embarrassing comments.
 If you disagree with someone, respond to the subject, not the person.
 Never post content that is harmful, abusive, racially, ethnically, or religiously offensive, vulgar or
otherwise potentially offensive.

Unit Schedule
Unit 1 Objectives

1. The student will create a free DimDim acount.

2. The student will identify the features of DimDim and how they could be used in the business
setting.

3. The student will set up and conduct a DimDim web conferencing meeting.

Unit 1 Readings

See weekly units for reading assignments

Unit 1 Assignments

1. Discussion Board – Possible uses of DimDim

2. Create Your own DimDim account
3. Conduct an online web conference

Unit 2 Objectives

1. The Student will explore available Web 2.0 tools that could assist in the starting of a new business
opportunity.

2. The Student will identify one Web 2.0 tool and explain how this tool might impact their business.

Unit 2 Readings

See weekly units for reading assignments

Unit 2 Assignments

1. Discussion Board – Choose a web2.0 tool and discuss how it might be implemented in your
business strategy

Unit 3 Objectives

1. The student will explore various social media tools and reflect on the possible impact on their
current business strategies.
    (Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, etc.)
 2. The student will choose one of the social media tools and begin the planning and creation
phase.

Unit 3 Readings

See weekly units for reading assignments

Unit 3 Assignments

1. Explore the various options that social media provides to businesses

2. Pick a social media tool and begin development for your business