Net Economy – International Online Course

Funding

We are happy to announce that we got the approval of funding for a project closely related to the Net Economy course. More information: coming soon.

What is Net Economy?

Net Economy is an annual cross-location, virtual collaborative learning (VCL) setting, aiming at E-Commerce knowledge and improved media skills, but also at increased intercultural experience. The online course merges students from various countries and disciplines (mainly business, business informatics, and hotel & tourism management) with their different cultural backgrounds. In the course cycle Net Economy 2020, three German universities (Berlin, Mühlheim an der Ruhr, Soest), one Indonesian university (Jakarta), one Swedish university (Kristianstad), and one Austrian university (Graz) participated.

Course Phases

Net Economy consists of three phases. During Preparation Phase, the students create their profiles on the Net Economy Network and build virtual teams. In the Knowledge Development Phase, the students are provided with pairs of e-lectures subjects like E-Commerce, Smart Citys, Sustainability and Business Models. Finally, in the Case Study Phase, the teams need to develop ideas for business models or business model innovations in a defined domain (e.g., Smart City Value Networks), pushing them to apply what they have learned before.

Communication & Collaboration Platform

‘Net Economy’ is a complete online class with only three parallel classroom meetings at the various locations at the beginning of the different phases of the course. A closed social network – the Net Economy Netwok – serves as the major coordination and communication platform for the course and facilitates social presence. It provides the students with all necessary information and learning material and allows them to collaborate and to communicate with each other online.

Net Economy Award

The most convincing business model ideas developed in the Knowledge Development Phase are presented by the teams. After the presentation, the ideas are evaluated on the basis of various aspects and the strongest one wins the Net Economy Award!

NetEcon 22 Announcement

For FH SWF Students

At South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, Net Economy is an IT-Elective for students in BBA and IMIS. The course is offered in the winter semester.

Info-Meeting for Students from FH SWF: will be announced for september or october 2023

Scientific Ressources

Meanwhile, every year the Net Economy instructors follow the iterative steps of canonical action research (CAR) to derive necessary adjustments and possible improvements. The corresponding scientific papers that were published during the past years by researchers of the CCEC are listed in the following.

The paper was pesented on the EdMedia + Innovate Learning 2020 Online (2020, Netherlands) and published in Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 652-662).

Abstract

Net Economy is a cross-university Virtual Collaborative Learning setting that aims at e-commerce knowledge, improved media skills, but also at increased intercultural awareness andsensitivity. The diagnosis of the 2018/2019 course cycle showed that the online course, despite itsinternational and intercultural setting, is lacking traceable intercultural exchange. In this paper, wederive a team-building activity that seeks to improve intra-team social and interculturalcommunication. The students perceived the team building activity as valuable and the evaluationresults for group cohesion turned out very positive. On the other hand, so far no significantdifference between students who participated and who not participated in the activity could berevealed regarding their perception of social presence in the course.

Conference Paper (English)

Improving Intra-Team Communication in Virtual Collaborative Learning

Autoren
Katharina Menke
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences

Peter Weber
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences

Marvin Körner
Federal Foreign Office Germany

Christian Gleser
University of Education Karlsruhe

International Journal on E-Learning Volume 15, Number 2

Abstract

This paper is a report on the findings of a study conducted on the use of the social networking service NING in a cross-location e-learning setting named “Net Economy”. We describe how we implemented NING as a fundamental part of the setting through a special phase concept and team building approach. With the help of user statistics, we examine the value of the implemented social networking service with regard to the need for a social presence, as emphasized by the Community of Inquiry framework. Findings indicate that NING led to a well-meshed network of relationships among the students from the participating locations and that the development of these relationships was fundamentally influenced by the chosen phase concept and team building approach. Further, we show that with the help of social networking services, interconnections between students in virtual teams become more transparent and can be influenced systematically.

Journal Article (Englisch)

Social Networking Services in E-Learning

Autoren
Peter Weber
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences

Hannes Rothe
Freie Universität Berlin

Invited as a paper from E-Learn 2012.

Interactive Technology and Smart Education, Vol. 13 Iss 1 pp. 52 – 70
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ITSE-12-2015-0034

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to introduce a virtual collaborative learning setting called “Net Economy”, which we established as part of an international learning network of currently six universities, and present our approach to continuously improve the course in each cycle.
Design/methodology/approach – Using the community of inquiry framework as guidance and canonical action research (CAR) as the chosen research design, the discussion forum of the online course is assessed regarding its critical thinking value. We thereby measure critical thinking with the help of the according model provided by Newman et al. (1995), which differentiates 40 indicators of critical thinking from 10 different categories.
Findings – The calculated critical thinking ratios for the analyzed two discussion threads indicate a strong use of outside knowledge, intensive justification and critical assessment of posts by the students. But at the same time, there are also weak spots, like manifold repetitions. Based on these results, we derive changes for the next course cycle to improve the critical thinking of the students.
Originality/value – Acomparison of the results after the next course cycle will then allow us to assess the effects of the implemented changes, which would not be possible without a critical thinking diagnosis approach.

Journal Article (Englisch)

Cognitive presence in virtual collaborative learning: Assessing and improving critical thinking in online discussion forums

Autoren
Jennifer Beckmann
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences

Peter Weber
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences

This topic was also presented on the International Conference on e-Learning (Spain, 2016).
Link to conference paper

The Electronic Journal of e-Learning Volume 12 Issue 4, pp. 326-338

Abstract

Virtual collaboration continues to gain in significance and is attracting attention also as virtual collaborative learning (VCL) in education. This paper addresses aspects of VCL that we identified as critical in a series of courses named ‘Net Economy’: (1) technical infrastructure, (2) motivation and collaboration, and (3) assessment and evaluation. Net Economy is an international online setting, focusing on the business impact of new technologies and is highly notable for the divergent educational and cultural backgrounds of its participants. Having been subject to research from the onset in 2008, in which approximately 10 students were analysed and evaluated, the course has continued to gain significant success as a learning tool, with over 150 students currently enrolled throughout the various course cycles. In this paper we focus on how we implemented changes with regard to the above mentioned critical elements as part of canonical action research between the last course cycles. We outline the general learning scenario behind our VCL-courses, describe problems that we identified with the help of evaluation results and explain solution approaches and the impact of their implementation. The paper aims to provide a comprehensive example for virtual collaborative learning as well as explaining and exemplifying a systematic approach of improving complex e-learning settings through a series of steps, developed to ease the transition between each stage.

Article (Englisch)

Improving Virtual Collaborative Learning through Canonical Action Research

Autoren
Peter Weber
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences

Christian Lehr
ThyssenKrupp Steele Europe

Martin Gersch
Freie Universität Berlin

The paper was pesented on the 5th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (2011, Spain) and published in INTED 2011 Proceedings.

Abstract

The possibilities for internet-based collaboration are becoming an increasingly important aspect in theory and practice. They are therefore being more frequently addressed in higher education, especially in the context of e-learning. This paper analyses and presents an example of an international collaborative learning arrangement, the Net Economy learning scenario, its components, and its development over the past semesters. The international character and the targeted use of new information technologies – e.g. a social community as the central learning platform, instant messaging and web-conferences as communication tools, extended Wikis (Google Sites) as authorship tools – grant significant added-value both to learners and instructors. Presenting the Net Economy example, a set of key challenges of the setting, as well as lessons learned, we aim at providing assistance for similar VCL-settings and at contributing to the discussion of virtual collaborative learning within the e-learning community.

Conference Paper (English)

Virtual Collaborative Learning in International Settings – the Virtual Seminar “Net Economy”

Autoren
Martin Gersch
Freie Universität Berlin

Christian Lehr
ThyssenKrupp Steele Europe

Peter Weber
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences

In R. Martens (Ed.), Advances in Applied Business Strategy: Vol. 11.2008. Competence building and leveraging in interorganizational relations (1st ed., Vol. 11, pp. 37–62). Amsterdam: Elsevier/JAI.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-6826(07)11002-7

Abstract

The first part of this paper discusses why and how organizations join collaborative arrangements in transforming business sectors. In order to address this research question from an organization–environment co-evolution perspective, the authors begin with working out a respective framework for analysis founded on competence-based theory under the umbrella of market process theory. The starting of point of the investigation are results from comprehensive qualitative research conducted within the currently highly turbulent German healthcare sector. Embedded into an interactive research design, the fieldwork reveals a taxonomy of three reasons to cooperate in volatile environments: (1) closing resource and competence gaps in so-called “gap-closing alliances,” (2) preparing for unexpected developments in so-called “option networks,” and (3) intending to exert influence on the relevant business environment in so-called “steering alliances.” Detailed findings and particularities for the field of competence research are briefly summarized. They emanate especially from an evolutionary angle and include timing (reacting adequately to strategic windows in the market), historicity, path dependencies (on both the firm and market/industry level), and an evolutionary interpretation of resource/competence specificity. The central research question in the second part of the paper is whether and how competence-based management of alliances is applicable to the education sector and for deriving respective management implications. For this reason, an exploratory case study is conducted of the German MBA program “Net Economy,” featuring innovative teaching methods like blended learning arrangements, multimedia case studies, and transnational learning processes in an international learning network.

Article (Englisch)

Alliances as a strategy in volatile environments – also for MBA business models?

Autoren
Jörg Freiling
University of Bremen

Martin Gersch
Freie Universität Berlin

Christian Goeke
Freie Universität Berlin

Peter Weber
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences

Net Economy – News