Sim Talks: Paulo Rita from ISCTE-IUL University
The sheer number of digital natives and their expectations of dynamic learning experiences prompt mandatory reorganization for decision makers in the education space.
We begin a new series of posts starring visionary thought leaders who are using the latest technology to disseminate global business education.
Whether passionate professors or training professionals they have several traits in common: a mission to constantly refresh learning objectives, an understanding of the value associated with rich content experiences and a preference for lean tools and methods.
These emerging champions of thought are not afraid of breaking barriers by stimulating their peers to ask never before asked questions. A conversation with them brings fascinating insight into digital skills education leadership.
We owe the first spotlight to Paulo Rita - the first among an elitist group of professors who used an e-marketing simulation game in a university class setting. Paulo is not your average marketing academic. Not only is he teaching the hottest topics in business education right now but the Portuguese professor takes technology adoption into the classroom for granted. Check out what he has to say about edtech, simulation games and e-commerce education.
On the 9th June 2012, 28 Postgraduate students from ISCTE-IUL Business School in Lisbon, Portugal registered to the first open beta Simbound course that was promising to teach students search engine marketing. Since then Paulo has used Simbound in three more courses, totaling at nearly 170 students.
Simbound:
Paulo Rita:
Simbound:
Paulo Rita:
Simbound:
Do you think you can achieve global e-business education without advanced learning technology ? In a portfolio of multiple tools what weight would you assign to simulation games and dynamic case studies?Paulo Rita:
Technology drives the business world. It is paramount to have students acquainted with the tools that assist managerial decision making as well as trigger consumer behavior. In the e-business arena simulation games and dynamic case studies should account at least for 50% of that weight.Simbound:
In just a couple of days you went from finding the Simbound website via google to using the simulation with your students. What tips would you give to an instructor that's just starting out ?Paulo Rita:
Internet Advertising expenditures have been increasing quite strongly. For example, in the US alone it reached nearly 32 billion dollars in 2011, with an average annual rate of 20% in the last decade. Google is clearly the world leader. Hence I suggest Instructors to learn how Google AdWords works: keywords, Cost per Click bids, Ad Copy, Landing Page, and so on.Simbound:
Students. How did they respond to the game approach? Can you think of an interesting observation as a consequence of bringing Simbound into the classroom?Paulo Rita:
Students responded on a U-shaped fashion. First, they were quite enthusiastic about it. Then, they realized things were not as easy as initially expected since they had to grasp very well the essence of their decisions that have real positive impact in the sought performance of the Ad campaign. In the end, they realized how much they did indeed learn by being exposed to the challenges put forward by Simbound.Simbound:
What do you think is the future of digital skills learning? What types of experiences will benefit the emerging business leaders of tomorrow?Paulo Rita :
Global business is becoming more interconnected with the digital world. Hence, learning should encompass digital skills. As a Professor of Marketing I like to address in my classes topics involving e-business, mobile marketing, social commerce, business intelligence and analytics since I strongly believe these are important tools to assist managers and marketers to achieve better decision making.
Thank you Paulo. Much appreciated insight
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