Thursday, January 11, 2001

Outsiders Are Welcome to Peruse an Online Course in E-Commerce By JESSICA LUDWIG Title: "Managing the Digital Enterprise" Institution: North Carolina State University Instructor: Michael Rappa, a professor of technology management Content: The course is a graduate-level introduction to e-commerce. Students learn about topics such as Web-business models, privacy, security, encryption, intellectual property, and measuring Web usage. Delivery: All of the audio, visual, and textual materials for the course are available on the course's Web site. There is also a classroom component for registered students. Requirements: Students must respond to discussion questions posted on the Web and complete midterm and final examinations. When offered: Fall and spring. Enrollment: 55 students each semester. Unusual features: Each unit in the course has a Web page with an introduction, links to readings, and additional sites of interest. Anyone with Internet access can use the Web site. An average of 1,000 people in 75 countries look at the site daily. Corporations and faculty members at other universities have used the online material to teach their own courses on e-commerce. Instructor comment: "The subject matter itself is inherently suitable to the medium. I'm not sure that one can teach a subject that is rapidly changing using a traditional textbook," says Mr. Rappa. He admits that making all course materials accessible via the Internet has prompted debate. "Some people are concerned about the openness, particularly the university itself," Mr. Rappa says, but "openness is an intrinsic value that I have as a faculty member." Mr. Rappa likens an online course with publicly available material to the business model of public broadcasting, just as password-protected courses are similar to the "pay-per-view model" in television. "Many of those password-protected courses point to my site," he says, "but I can't reciprocate. It can become an increasingly asymmetric world." U.R.L.: http://digitalenterprise.org or via http://ecommerce.ncsu.edu Know of an especially interesting online course? Tell us about it in an e-mail message. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

Bush nominee for education secretary gets warm reception at Senate hearing I.R.S. clarifies law barring extravagant pay for officials of nonprofit entities Federal agencies must pay graduate researchers on federally financed projects Health-care analysts fear that new medical-privacy rules could hamper research Iran's parliament votes to end ban on scholarships for single women to study abroad A digitized Beowulf offers scholars new ways to study the manuscript Outsiders are welcome to peruse an online course in e-commerce