Proceedings of the 17^th Annual Conference European Council for Business Education
ABSTRACTS

 

Proposed Model of E-learning Acceptance

 

Muneer Abbad

Juma'a Abbad

Manolo Anto

AMA Bahrain International University

 

Abstract

This study aims to proposed models of e-learning acceptance to identify some of the main factors that affect students' intention to adopt e-learning systems. The paper proposed two models that report the results of group interviews with students and tutors studying and teaching at AMA University. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data obtained from the interviews. The main categories used to analyse the data were derived from prior studies using the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the literature on IT systems acceptance in general and in the specific e-learning domain. The main categories that were used to analyze qualitative data were ease of use, perceived usefulness, subjective norms, prior Internet experience, system interactivity, self-efficacy and the availability of technical support.

 

The Impact of new technology on business education: The quest for relevance

 

Jeremy Cripps

American University in Bulgaria

 

Abstract

The impact of information technology in higher education is changing. Those responsible for instructing the next generation of management professionals have responded with computing curricula which add information technology applications to the traditional business disciplines: accounting, finance, management and marketing. However these hybrid courses fail to provide students with real experience. This indisputable gap between "theory" and "practice" is widening. This is due to the relative lack of practical knowledge and experience of the faculty pool, rendering the hybrid courses inadequate as they fail to address the depth and speed of the changes in practice in the field .If business training is to remain relevant alternative curricula need to be developed to satisfy businesses' emerging analytical requirements. Academia can not afford to wait, as they did with activity-based-costing. Proper applications of available new technology need to be seen and exercised on campus. Curriculum bridges need to be built linking the traditional business school material with newly relevant business information systems.

 

MBA On-Line Training Events Management

 

Jan Lojda

College of Tourism, Hotels and Spa

 

Abstract

The paper deals with the problematic point of the synchronous on-line events and actions during the MBA studies. The progress in IT technologies has facilitated the separation of teaching and learning processes. There was achieved easily the bridging between offand on- line education, but synchronous events need not only effective hard and software tools, but also sophisticated managerial skills of provider. This article is describing experience with MBA - on-line training and formulating limits, rules and standards for good performance of MBA trainer and provider.

 

Designing and Managing Open Learning

 

Roy Williams, Dept. Mathematics, University of Portsmouth, UK

Jenny Mackness, Independent Education Consultant, Lancaster, UK.

Simone Gumtau: Dept. Art, Design and Media, University of Portsmouth, UK

 

Abstract

It is ironic that the management of education has become more closed while learning has become more open, particularly over the past 10-20 years. The curriculum has become more instrumental, predictive, standardized and micro-managed, in the belief that this supports employability as well as the management of educational processes, resources and value. Meanwhile, people have embraced interactive, social, participatory, collaborative, innovative, and diverse modes, sites and networks for living and learning. The question is no longer whether learning can be open and emergent, but rather what we need to do about it. We need to rethink the way we design and manage learning, to incorporate the best of what we have been doing with the best of what we are now able to do. This paper uses a case study to map out 3D 'footprints' of the practices of emergent learning, and to create a framework for designing and managing more open learning in the world of Web2.0 and beyond.

 

Theoretical and Practical Considerations for Implementing E-learning Technologies

 

Daniel T. Mays

Laura Silvestro Mays

Perry Haan

Tiffin University, USA

 

Abstract

Tiffin University has implemented an experimental programme that is designed to enhance student e-learning as part of its online MBA curriculum. This paper examines one course that has been implemented using advanced technology. The theoretical basis for the "Global and Transnational Management" online MBA course is described, according to social cognitive and constructivist learning theories. Major elements of the course are then examined, with particular emphasis on the practical issues involved in implementing the technology. Elements examined include: 1) a video lecture series; 2) synchronous classroom interaction via the Elluminate Class Live platform; 3 )interactive group project activities with or without Elluminate; and 4) management and grading of case studies and a theoretical paper using eCollege tools.

 

Globalizing Higher Education by Using New Technology

 

Prof Adlan Parsa, PhD

President, Scandinavian Academy of Business and Industry

 

Abstract

Successful Globalized businesses using new age of technologies to promote and improve their businesses. Therefore, there is no reason that higher education institutes do not follow the same method which has made other fields successful. At the Scandinavian Art and Business Institute (SABI), we try to synchronize the world of education by connecting students, wherever they are, with knowledge and experiences from around the world. A new age student should not travel to receive knowledge from other part of the world. The distance should be far as one click, and this is not possible only by using the latest technology, but it requires worldwide network, advanced e-campus and understanding of needs and demands of new generation. We have been tried to understand the core of technology and adapt it with high quality higher education to organize courses in classrooms broad as the globe. By this method, the institute will increase the quality of education and decrease operation costs. This make private education accessible to wider group of people from different social classes. We define SABI, Simple, Advanced, Broad-minded and Innovative because we believe that there are the principles of future of higher education. Briefly, the future of higher education belongs to those institutes that operates globally, not only by providing their local education to other parts of the world but by promoting and broadcasting other nations' scientific and professional achievements to the students wherever they are; reduce unnecessary expenses and improve the quality. This could happen only by using the latest technology, keep itself updated and make it accessible for everyone wherever they are.

 

Transformation of Educational Technologies in Training Master Students in Management

 

Gennady F. Kayachev

Zoya A. Vasilyeva

Irina S. Bagdasaryan

Siberian Federal University, Russia

 

Abstract

This article considers the issue of bridging professional training and professional labour via changing educational technologies and transformation of the educational paradigm in business education. The authors highlight the main directions in transformation of educational technologies used in training master students in Management. The process of transformation is based on the concept of transformational teaching treating a learner as a personality to be developed while being professionally trained in the environment of new social challenges. Particular attention is given to interactive methods and technologies.

 

Students' Perceptions on the E-learning Systems in the Kingdom of Bahrain

 

Hadge Almero-Encio

Muneer Abbad

Mohammad Albargouthi

AMA International University - Kingdom Of Bahrain

 

Abstract

The rapid growth of the internet has resulted in enthusiastic claims for technology's ability to provide high quality in education. The World Wide Web integrates text, audio and video, and provides means for both real-time communication and asynchronous interaction. This combination of factors has created a climate in which investors and entrepreneurs have identified electronic learning (e-learning) as a major market area of the future. E-learning has spread too many countries, and become an important part of most modern educational systems. E-learning illustrates well the relationship between the use of technology and the need to re-organize to maximize its benefits. It also illustrates the capacity to reach new target groups, and to expand the range of educational provisions, through the use of technology, when properly organized and structured. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the students' perceptions of the elearning systems in the Kingdom of Bahrain that uses a high performance Information communication technology (ICT). This will leads to comprehensive understanding of the students' perspectives and assists the evaluation and the performance of the e-learning systems.

 

The Role of Technology in Quality Planning at Higher Education Institutions for Sustainable Competitive Advantage and Growth: A Paradigm Shift Towards Market Orientation

 

J. Bey El-Mourhabi

University of Applied Sciences and Technology, Lebanese French

 

A new technological mainstream: the direction of transforming the content and format of vocational training in the economics of knowledge

 

Evgenya B.Bukharova,

Ludmila K. Vitkovskaya,

Svetlana A.Samusenko,

Elena V. Dvinskikh

Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk

 

Abstract

The transition from post-industrial economics to the economics of knowledge places new demands on the system of professional training in terms of its content, format and educational methods. The report considers: A. The need for strengthening multidisciplinary knowledge content and how this can be directed by the designing of competences through a semantic search of new knowledge and information depending on concrete practical tasks; B. The development of competencies connected with planning activity in post-industrial economics via the introduction of modular-design educational formats; C. The creation of a special educational environment for collective and individual training based both on web-technologies and using and networked virtual resources.