Project “Online course @ WINGS 2012”
Grundlagen der Betriebswirtschaft [Fundamentals of management] – co-authoring of an online course
I. Initial situation
Wismar International Graduation Services GmbH (WINGS) is a subsidiary of Hochschule Wismar, University of Applied Sciences, Technology, Business and Design that offers distance education degree programmes.
In 2011 and 2012, the launch of the following three new online programmes was prepared:
B.A. Betriebswirtschaft [General Management]
B.A. Management von Gesundheitseinrichtungen [Management of Health Facilities]
B.A. Management von Non Profit Organisationen [Management of Non-Profit Organisations]
As a co-author, I supported the development of materials for the course “Grundlagen der Betriebswirtschaft” [Fundamentals of management] on a pro bono basis, i.e. without remuneration. The course is a compulsory element of all three online degree programmes.
II. Methodical-didactical solution approach
The methodical-didactical solution approach encompassed the following predefined elements:
- Study guide (PDF)
- Introductory e-learning video
- Interactive e-learning videos with embedded formative assessments
- Exercise booklets (PDF)
- Teaching guide (PDF)
- Physical presence is substituted by online tutorials using Adobe Connect®.
All course materials and life events can be accessed via a learning management system (Moodle).
III. Co-authoring
The course content was divided into 10 chapters.
As one of the authors, I took responsibility for the development and realisation of the following chapters:
Kapitel 0: Einführung in das Modul
[Chapter 0: Course introduction]
Net running time: 12 minutes
Kapitel 1: Wissenschaftstheoretische Grundlagen und Einordnung
[Chapter 1: Scientific-theoretical foundation and classification]
Net running time: 52 minutes
Kapitel 2: Gegenstand der Betriebswirtschaftslehre
[Chapter 2: Subject matter of management sciences]
Net running time: 73 minutes
Kapitel 4: Partizipation und Koordination
[Chapter 4: Participation and coordination]
Net running time: 90 minutes
Kapitel 5: Unternehmensführung
[Chapter 5: Corporate management]
Net running time: 60 minutes
Kapitel 6: Leistungserstellung und Leistungsverwertung
[Chapter 6: Operations management and marketing]
Net running time: 66 minutes (together with Stephan Beier)
Kapitel 7: Kooperation und Konzentration
[Chapter 7: Cooperation and concentration]
Net running time: 52 minutes
Chapter 3 (Legal forms of incorporation), 8 (Finance), 9 (Accounting) and 10 (Rehearsal and exam preparation) were developed and realised by co-author Stephan Beier, who additionally acts as nominated instructor and tutor of the online course.
IV. Operational realisation
Co-author Stephan Beier assumed responsibility for the technical realisation.
All chapters include graphical animations with voiceover, sequences with personal appearances of authors and quizzes. The technical production was realised by deploying an authoring tool.
As it is true for every major educational media project, one has to account for an initial debugging phase. However, due to sound editing and an intensive final control process, we were able to reduce technical adjustments and subject-related corrections to an acceptable minimum.
The online course has successfully been in operation since the winter term 2012.
The methodical-didactical conception and technical production were realised on a private basis, i.e. without public funding and outside of regular working hours.
V. Results
The development phase was accompanied by a steep learning curve with respect to script writing, editing, graphical animation, sound recording and video presentation. Time and effort to be spent on the development of high quality online course materials can only be understood after having actively participated in a major e-learning project. Anyhow, positive as well as negative experiences were extremely valuable for my subsequent educational media projects.