5 Super Simple, Introductory Classroom Exercises
I'm always interested in simple exercises and activities that add value to classes that I teach. I am especialy interested in opportunities to introduce technology (tools, platforms, etc.) into the classroom that the students can immediately use in their workplace or to add to their professional profile.
The majority of these exercises can easily be added to existing curriculum with minimal disruption.
This outline represents some very simple ideas for classroom activities, the targeted skills, classes and student benefits. All of these activities leave room for customization and several of them have potential (and need) for further development (extended project).
I am very interested in your feedback. What have you used to introduce these platforms into your classes? How could you improve these activities? Do you think it is even important?
1. LinkedIn
Snapshot: LinkedIn is a professional networking site. It's been described as Facebook for professionals, at least that is how I describe it to students.
Suggested Exercise: I use this as an extra credit assignment at this point but am considering making it a core assignment in my business classes (200 level)
1) I walk through the LinkedIn site, using my portfolio and highlight the different functionalities and compare and contrast to the traditional resume.
2) This leads into a discussion of the dangers and opportunities of social media (I tactfully suggest to be careful with Facebook profiles) and how many H.R. departments are reviewing these sites prior to interviewing/hiring.
3) For the assignment, I have students create their LinkedIn profile that includes: name, picture, work experience, education and a brief summary of their personal brand (this is an optional field in the LinkedIn profile).
4) To complete the assignment the students need to invite me to "link in" with them which includes writing a personal reason-not the default invite. They end up writing a short memo on their experience with developing this site (via discussion board)
This assignment is very simple but has the potential to be expanded upon and be very powerful. For example, there are multiple touchpoints in the site: company information, groups, portfolio downloads, Twitter integration, etc. All of these could be used for additional exercises.
Targeted Skills/Classes: business writing, communications, marketing, organizational behavior, market research, entrepreneurship
Added Benefits: Most importantly, for the students that complete the assignment, they will have a start of a professional portfoilio and networking tool to advance their careers. As mentioned previously, this site also opens the door for discussions on interviewing, resume development, social media and 21st century job skills.
2. MailChimp
Snapshot: MailChimp is an email marketing service.
Suggested Exercise: MailChimp has over twenty MailChimp Guides in the resource section of the site. Very detailed and business oriented. For this assignment, I have the students work in groups. I then assign a specific guide to review and then present back to the class on the whiteboard. During their presentation the instructor can reinforce key marketing and writing concepts.
Targeted Skills/Classes: Business writing, writing ad copy, marketing, customer analysis, trend analysis, technical writing, design, marketing strategy, sales, customer service.
Added Benefits: Almost every organization has some sort of email marketing campaign. With MailChimp, a student can become profiecient on their own and highlight this skill when applying for a job.
3. Evernote
Snapshot: Evernote is a terrific tool for online research, idea management and content management. The site is very robust with a ton of tutorials, mini-case studies and is very user-friendly.
Suggested exercise: Introduce the site the in class (ideally using your own account) before any research-heavy assignment. Using the discussion board function on Blackboard, have the students write a succinct outline of how they could use this site at school and/or at work.
Targeted skills/classes: online research, content management, analyis, professional development
Added benefits: Evernote is a modern, tech-savvy way to manage research projects.
Snapshot: Google Reader is one of many Google products and it creates a personal library of specific content for the user.
Suggested Exercise: This assignment needs to be part of a larger project, typically a research paper or a semester-long blog.
1) I demonstrate my Google Reader with students and discuss how I use it stay current on industry specific topics.
2) I have students create an account (they need to have a Google account) and then set up their feeds. I typically require them to get 5-10 feeds that relate to their project.
3) Once they have this complete, I have them a take a screenshot or send me a link to their site so I can verify their portfolio.
Targeted Skills/Classes: Market research, business/information analysis, marketing, management. This assignment can be used in any class that has a semester-long research component.
Added Benefits: This is a great starter exercise to introduce students to the world of Google: Google Scholar, Google Apps, Google Analytics, Google Documents, Google Maps, Blogger (a Google project). This also leads to great discussions on the importance of reading, staying current and how to become "the expert" on various business trends/skills.
Snapshot: An online survey tool.
Suggested Exercise: This is a straight forward assignment that I used in entrepreneurship and marketing classes.
1) This is either an individual or group project that has an element requiring consumer feedback. Typically I require 20 responses from either a target market (likely users) or "experts" in an industry.
2) Student(s) create an account with Survey Monkey and go through tutorials. Good discussion on "writing" and target market(s).
3) Create a survey and send out
4) Students are then required to analyze results. I also require a written document: what they learned from the research and also what they learned about wording the questions and distributing the survey.
Targeted Skills/Classes: Market research, research, target market analysis, marketing communication.
Added Benefits: This is a fairly simple tool to use, but the advanced features require some mastery. Being profiecient with SurveyMonkey is a skill that can be added to a resume or LinkedIn profile.
Under Development.
The following are other platforms and tools that can be used for exercises ranging from a simple introduction to a semester-long project. I have used each of these at one time and am working on creating a template that I can use with future classes.
Snapshot: A Google product for bloggers. Very simple to use and can be integrated with other Google tools.
Snapshot: An online tool for writing, sending and evaulating proposal. Very creative.
Snapshot: 37Signals product. Terrific for teaching collaboration and product/program development. Used in many industries. There is a charge but they have a special program for schools.
Snapshot: A micro-blogging site, very popular and increasingly being used in business. Many college instructors are using Twitter successful in classes
Snapshot: Online mind mapping and collaboration tool.
I intentionally left YouTube and Facebook off the list because they are becoming more commonly used in classrooms. However both offer terrific opportunties.
That's all folks!
I am very interested in your comments, ideas and similar exercises. Please comment! Thanks
You can reach me at:
John at JohnRumery.com,
Twitter @JohnRumery
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrumery
