A model for use of multimedia

& ICT in the classroom

teaching of MBA courses

Kanishka Bedi
Jaipuria Institute of Management, Vineet Khand,
Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, U.P. – 226005, India
Email: kanishkabedi@hotmail.com

J. K. Sharma
Department of Business Administration,
University of Lucknow, Lucknow, U.P., India
 Introduction
• Multimedia and ICT have changed the face of the 21st century MBA class rooms up
to great extent. Teaching MBA courses using PowerPoint presentations, Excel &
SPSS spreadsheets etc. is common place with the help of permanently installed
computers connected to an LCD projector in the classroom.
• In many computer training institutions, the classroom provides individual computer
workstations (with personal headphones) to each student in the class room in
addition to the earlier mentioned infrastructure. This set-up is popularly known as
an ‘Online classroom’ (OC).
• Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University [4] and the College of
Business, Minnesota State University [5] are already using this kind of a set up.
However, this kind of a set-up is rarely found in the classroom teaching of MBA
programmes.
• It is proposed in this paper that in place of creating special ‘Online classrooms’, the
existing computer lab in the MBA institutions should be redesigned by modifying
its layout to convert the lab into an OC.
Redesigning the computer lab
into an “Online classroom”
LAYOUT - A LAYOUT - B

Networked PC equipped LCD Projector connected to the

with ICT & headphones instructor’s PC
Students Instructor
& Video Camera hanging from the
ceiling

Fig. 1: Layout A of the computer lab to be converted to layout B to make it an ‘Online’ classroom
 Advantages of Online classrooms
• In an online classroom (OC) using multimedia lecture sessions, the students
can easily reverse a few steps so that the concept gets clear.
• A real time conduct and evaluation of quizzes given to students at the
beginning/ ending of a teaching session using the ICT becomes possible in OC.
• In the OC equipped with ICT, it is easy to take daily feedback of the instructor’s
performance from the students.
• Many times certain comprehensive data or calculations shown in a spreadsheet
in small font size (projected by the LCD projector on the big screen) are not
clearly visible to the students at the back benches in the classroom. In these
situations, the online classroom with individual work stations to the students
can overcome this problem as the students not only see the projected
spreadsheet on the big screen, but also on their monitors.
• In the OC, attendance can be taken by the instructor on the computer with the
projected screen. This file can be password protected by the instructor so that
the students may view it even later, but cannot make any changes in it.
• The students can have access to their fee deposit information, examination
report cards, attendance, status of availability of books in the library etc. at their
workstations in their classroom itself.
 Advantages of Online classrooms
(contd.)
• The students need not go to the computer lab, thus saving a lot of
time.
• Internet facility can easily be made available on workstations in the
online classroom.
• Subjective examinations can also be conducted. The students can
send answer files though email to the instructor. Precautions
should be taken to ensure that students do not send emails to each
other during the examination. Internet/ interanet should be
disconnected during the exam but reinstituted at the end of the
examination so that emails may be sent to the instructor.
• Students can have access to online research databases like EBSCO,
Emerald etc.
• A video camera installed permanently can give the option to the
instructor to make video films of his/ her lectures, which can be
used with the future batches of students or in the distance learning
programmes.
 Advantages of Online classrooms
(contd.)
• Teaching concepts like ERP, RDBMS etc., which require distributed
client-server set-up, becomes easier due to the option of role play
by the students at different workstations.
• Programming languages like Java, C++ etc. can be explained and
practiced in a better way in online class rooms.
• Interactive multimedia can be used effectively only in online
classrooms.
• Teaching numerical oriented concepts like transportation model, LP
etc.using Excel becomes easier.
• Notices can be sent through email to the students.
• Sessions can be conducted even in the absence of the instructor.
• Repetition of lectures by faculty in other sections of students can
be aided by video recording and then, projecting through LCD
projector/ at individual workstations.
• Team or group assignments can be more interactively conducted
within the student teams.
• For obtaining a tally of student answers in a large class, online
classroom is a prerequisite.
Survey Results
Survey Results
1. How do you rate the multimedia module on SAP R/3 and Transportation model show n to you?
A. Excellent 24
B. Very Good 54
C. Good 36
D. Just alright 11
E. Not useful 2
Total 127
2. Do you think that this kind of modules should be incorporated in the classroom teaching of MBA courses?
A. Yes 110
B. No 17
Total 127
3. Do you think that this kind of modules are more useful if these are conducted in the computer lab so that each
student gets a separate PC w ith headphones (it may be termed as an ‘Online classroom’) and can learn at his/ her
ow n pace (by rewinding the module at times)?
A. Yes 101
B. No 8
C. It does not matter whether in computer lab 18
or classroom (in the way modules were shown to us)
Total 127
4. What should be the frequency of the use of this kind of modules in classroom teaching of MBA courses?
A. In every lecture session 19
B. Occasionally, in topics with numerical orientation 84
C. Once in a course, in specific topics like ERP, transportation model etc. 22
D. Never 2
Total 127
5. Do you think that online quizzes (in an online classroom), which give instantaneous results to each student according
to his/ her performance should be a regular feature of MBA courses for continuous evaluation?
A. Yes 118
B. No 9
Total 127
 Response summary of the
student survey
• A majority of MBA students would like the use of
multimedia like Lotus Screen Cam in the
classroom teaching of MBA courses, though
occasionally in topics with numerical orientation.
• A majority of the students prefer to have such
sessions in the online classrooms.
• A large majority of the students felt that online
quizzes (in an online classroom) using ICT,
which give instantaneous results to each student
according to his/ her performance should be a
regular feature of MBA courses for continuous
evaluation.
 Cost involved in creating an Online
classroom (in the proposed model)
• This model recommends the modification in the
layout of the computer lab in a MBA institution.
Also, an LCD projector and a video camera
would be required to be procured in this set-up.
• The cost of the procurement of these items with
the proposed redesigning of the layout of the lab
would incur approximately USD 4000, which can
be easily afforded by even MBA institutions in
the developing nations.
 Conclusions
• The use of multimedia and ICT can be successfully
integrated in the classroom teaching of MBA
courses only when supported by an online
classroom.
• The computer lab of the MBA institutions has to be
redesigned in order to convert it into an online
classroom.
• Instructors willing to use multimedia & ICT can
conduct their sessions in these online classrooms.
• This kind of a set up does not require substantial
investments. At the same time, it promotes
awareness amongst the faculty not currently making
use of multimedia & ICT to explore possibilities of its
use in their courses.
Thank You!