At a Glance
Institution:
St. Clair College
Instructor:
Nicole Rourke
Course Name:
Introduction to Canadian Marketing/ Multi-Media Sales Presentations
Course Material in Use:
Kerin, Marketing: The Core, Nickels, 8ce
Course Material in Use:
Futrell, ABC’s of Relationship Selling Through Service, 8e
Resource in Use:
Connect
Course Type:
Face-to-face (Full online now)
Integration:
Blackboard + Canvas Learning Management Systems
Course Enrollment:
1000+
The Challenge: Personalizing Large Classes
Before using Connect, Professor Nicole Rourke found the task of marking individual assignments very time-consuming with such a large class size. She needed a resource with a variety of online auto-graded homework assignments and quizzes so she could be more efficient and spend less time grading.
Connect gave Professor Rourke all these desired features and more including easy integration with her LMS, simple functionality, great graphics, and more relatable content for students.
“Students had prior experience with Connect, so it made my decision easy as the student feedback was excellent. I also found the research McGraw Hill shared on how Connect helps to improve student grades very powerful.”
When Professor Rourke first investigated incorporating Connect into her course, a McGraw Hill representative demoed a mini simulation based on the current chapter she was teaching. She was so impressed with this demonstration that she decided to implement the platform immediately at the end of one of her lectures. Students gravitated towards the technology right away and loved applying concepts they were learning in class to the mini-simulation exercise. Many commented that Connect felt like a video game and was enjoyable to use.
Professor Rourke assigns 40% of students’ final grades to Connect content including Application Based Activities and SmartBook assignments.
“Connect is very different from other learning platforms that seem outdated and include more rote learning as opposed to the applied learning options in Connect.”
By assigning SmartBook modules before lecture, Professor Rourke found that students came to class prepared and thus more engaged in discussions. With greater student preparation, she was able to move away from standard lectures and towards applied learning examples. She can now teach large classes while still catering to individual learning outcomes. She can rest assured that each student is able to learn the content and navigate through the online assignments on their own, allowing her to dedicate more of her time to helping students who struggle.
Overall Connect has improved student grades, provided engaging examples for applying course concepts to the real world, and made learning more fun for students. Students have stated that they enjoyed the ability to work and learn at their own pace.
“Using the mini simulations in Connect, students feel like they have accomplished a significant learning breakthrough when they complete their ‘mission’.”
Nicole Rourke is a professor in the Business Administration Marketing program at the Zekelman School of Business and IT at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Windsor with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree and while working in the marketing field, completed her Master of Business Administration degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
Professor Rourke has been teaching in the post-secondary field for 14 years and enjoys coaching students in marketing competitions, including the Ontario Colleges Marketing Competition and the Vanier Business Case Competition. She has been teaching the Multi-Media Sales Presentations course for 12 years and loves using ABC’s Relationship Selling through Service in the classroom. Professor Rourke feels that sales is one of the most rewarding courses to teach to college students. It provides them with invaluable lessons in business acumen and confidence that are unique to the selling class.
“Jump in! I know it can be scary to use new technology for the first time. The McGraw Hill team provided me with so much support and guidance over the years that I feel 100% confident that I can assist anyone in incorporating this into their course! Try using one of the role-playing assignments to start and then transition to the more difficult simulations as your comfort increases.”