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What is eCommEd and why is it important?
The Internet, and the e-Commerce business model (that model which supports the operation of business via the Internet), can no longer be ignored as powerful forces in today's professional environment. Over 100 million people in the US, more than half the adult population, currently use the Internet. 70% of US Internet users purchase products and services on-line.
In order to participate effectively in this economy, therefore, students must be taught how to adapt to and understand this transformation in how goods and services are exchanged. eCommEd assists in preparing students for post-secondary employment by promoting practical job skills and business experience, while also helping to prepare students for continued academic success in the rapidly expanding field of e-Commerce. Through comprehensive, interactive lessons taught in the eCommEd classroom and the hands-on experience gained through the operation of the ScoresUp.com web site, graduating seniors are well prepared to meet the growing demand for workers with e-commerce training and skills, and/or the rigors of related programs of study at the university level.
Genium has developed a unique teaching model that permits eCommEd classrooms to operate both in the traditional classroom mode and as live, real-world e-commerce businesses. This permits students to become actual employees, working in teams, setting goals and performing real-world jobs. This opportunity to apply what they are learning to real job tasks permits students to learn more, faster.
Genium now offers three flexible e-commerce curriculum components: eCommEd™, eCommEd™ Lite, and eCommEd™ e-Auction. You can learn more about these curriculums by visiting the About eCommEd page.
The talents of an exemplary team of e-Commerce professionals, web designers, and high school educators were assembled by Genium Group, Inc. to create and deliver a real world e-Commerce experience that can be effectively implemented in your school.
The original contributor to the eCommEd has been Melvin W. Chudzik. In addition to his work for Genium, Mel is also recognized for his efforts in the founding, development and instruction of the advanced e-Commerce course in the MBA Program at Union College, Schenectady, NY.
Prior to becoming an Adjunct Professor at Union, Mel worked for General Electric Co. for 31 years. During the last 15 years of his employment at GE, he was responsible for business development in a computer-based, high technology capacity throughout Europe and Asia.
The primary objective of eCommEd is to involve students in the dynamic process that exists in the business world, and is sometimes overlooked through traditional textbook teaching. Getting students to understand the changing face of business, as it relates to the myriad advances in technological resources available, promotes creative problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking, teamwork and enhanced communication skills.
Additional standards addressed by the eCommEd program include the NYS Career Development and Occupational Studies Learning Standards. The program content and hands-on learning experience gained by students greatly support various performance indicators in CDOS Std. 1: Career Development (Students explore the world of work, career options, personal skills, aptitudes, and choices in future career decision-making.), Std. 2: Applied/Integrated Learning (Students demonstrate how academic knowledge and skills can be applied in the workplace and other settings.); Std. 3a and 3b (Std. 3a: Universal Foundation Skills (SCANS Skills)(Students demonstrate mastery of the foundation skills and competencies essential for success in the work environment.) and Std. 3b: Business/Information Systems (Students who continue on to post-secondary programs in the area of business, e-commerce, or marketing will have acquired the career-specific technical knowledge/skills necessary to progress towards gainful employment, career advancement, and academic success.).
Ask the teachers and students who have actually used the product.
The 2004-2005 school year is the fifth consecutive year the eCommEd curriculum has been used in New York State schools. Currently, over 30 different high schools and BOCES are licensing the course.
Genium has put together two short videos of actual eCommEd Instructors and students discussing their experiences with the course. A complete list of the current user schools is also available.
If you'd like the names and e-mail addresses for the eCommEd instructors in any of these schools, send an e-mail requesting them by school, to customerservice@scoresup.com.
Additional testimonials from professional educators can be reviewed at your convenience.
Note: The original version of eCommEd was piloted by 2 high schools during the second half of the 2000-2001 school year. Eighty percent of the schools that use eCommEd each year continue to use it the following year. That is a superb retention rate.
How can I generate and measure student interest in eCommEd?
One of the best ways to convince your administrators that eCommEd is a valuable addition to your school's business offerings, is by showing them that students are excited by the eCommEd concept. There are many well-intended courses that die-out or get dropped each year because they do not appeal to students, or do not address concepts that are relevant to students. eCommEd can replace these low-enrollment courses and provide students with a cutting-edge alternative, using a format that is challenging, yet fun.
The primary way that teachers generate interest among students in their school is simply by taking a few minutes to tell their classes, and other business classes, about the eCommEd course. In this way, they solicit students to sign-up for the course. If you need to quantify student interest before the course can be offered in your Course Offerings Handbook, print out our Student Interest Forms and have students fill them out. Submit these interest forms to your administration in order to get the course added to the Course Offerings Handbook. Otherwise, simply recruit students to sign-up for the course through their school counselors. Generally, the course will be run if there is a high enough enrollment to support it. In either case, be sure to discuss the eCommEd course with your school counselors so that they can answer student questions regarding the course, and encourage students to enroll. A Genium representative would be happy to schedule a telephone meeting with your school's counselors to explain the course concept in greater detail.
Pleaser refer to the pricing found on the eCommEd Products page.
Grants are available for any school wishing to try eCommEd in an existing e-commerce, marketing, entrepreneurship, or computer apps. course during the 2004-2005 school year. These grants fully subsidize the cost of trying eCommed in your school for a portion of the school year. There are only a limited number of these grants available and they are awarded on a first-come first served basis. To apply, click here.
The ScoresUp.com web site is a fully operational, easy to use and professional looking web site used by eCommEd students to run the on-line businesses associated with the eCommEd, eLection Connection, eCommEd e-Auction, and eCommEd Lite Course Packages.
The site provided with the full eCommEd curriculum package permits users to operate an Internet-based publishing company that provides information about school and student events, activities, and achievements. Site content can include schedules, scores, event summaries, profiles of individual students and student athletes, trivia contests, site polls, an online store, and an online auction.
The site provided with the eLection Connection package permits users to run an on-line political campaign and election for the students of their school.
The site provided with the eCommEd e-Auction package package permits users to operate a live, online auction.
The site provided with the eCommEd Lite package permits users to create a website promoting a fundraising event within a specific community.
Through the operation of these sites, students learn how to attract and retain increasing numbers of Internet users, quantify and identify user traffic and use collected data to sell online advertising to businesses in their community. In short, the ScoresUp.com is an integral part of the eCommEd learning experience.
The ScoresUp.com web sites are the hands-on learning components of the eCommEd curriculum packages. Through the creation, maintenance, monitoring, and marketing of these sites, students are able to apply the knowledge gained through class lectures. Students reinforce basic principles learned in class and find solutions to real world business challenges. Anyone can read a book on e-commerce, but the experience gained through practical application has proven to be a more effective, fun and innovative way to learn.
Anyone with minimal computer knowledge can easily navigate through, and maintain, the ScoresUp.com sites. Designers of the site have incorporated an extremely easy-to-use wizard approach for loading the site with appropriate content. The site has been developed to be 100% user friendly for both students and teachers alike. Genium recognizes that schools have teachers who may not be comfortable with the technical intricacies of complex computer manipulation. As long as you can read and click a mouse, you will find the ScoresUp.com site fun and easy to use. Plus, in the event that you do have any questions, technical support is always available to assist you through your difficulty.
You set up your ScoresUp site not to compete but to complement existing websites operated by your school or district. Getting students to effectively communicate with the group that operates the official school web site is a great way to get kids to network and coordinate efforts. Also, setting up links between the sites and creating joint publicity campaigns or marketing strategies can actually serve to improve traffic at both sites. For example, the sites maintained by the schools who participated in the eCommEd curriculum during the 2004-2005 school year were drawing cumulative site traffic of 50,000 visits a month to their ScoresUp websites.
The Genium Group, publisher of the eCommEd Curriculum and ScoresUp.com website, fully recognizes the sensitive, and often controversial, issues involved when a school interacts with the Internet. As a result, our products are specifically designed to assist your school in protecting both students and staff from any form of commercial or physical exploitation that may otherwise come from the use of the Internet. The Genium Group will never divulge, rent, or sell access to the identities of any members of your school who participate in the program in any way. Upon request, Genium Group will review your school's Internet usage policy and guarantee in writing that your school's ScoresUp.com participation will not in any way violate or compromise that policy.
Your School maintains total control over all content of your website pages at ScoresUp.com. All information that appears on your school's ScoresUp.com web pages must first be authorized by the program's instructor and access to all content-control areas is strictly password protected. In addition, only solicited, and instructor approved advertising will be permitted on your school's ScoreUp.com website.
The resources and facilities needed to provide eCommEd in the high school include computer workstations and Internet access. Each class needs a minimum of 1-2 computers with Internet access, although it is recommended that the ratio of computers to students is at least 1:2, wherever possible. It is mandatory for the instructor to have a computer, while it is optional for there to be a projector and display screen used in conjunction.
ScoresUp.com requires Internet Explorer 4.5 (or newer) or Netscape 6 (or newer). Internet Explorer 5 (or newer) is recommended for both the PC and the Mac.
Your school will need to have a Broadband Internet Connection. If your school has filtering software enabled, this may cause ScoresUp.com to become inaccessible from your school's computers. Your school's Network Administrator will need to configure access to ScoresUp pages if this occurs. This has been done in existing schools without allowing access to restricted sites or compromising measures implemented to ensure Internet security within the school.
Any PC or Mac workstation in use should be relatively modern to ensure sufficient speed and capability. For PC workstations, the minimum requirement is a Pentium class processor, however, a Pentium II or higher is recommended. For Mac workstations, the minimum requirement is a PowerPC, however, a G3 or higher is recommended. Memory requirements vary depending on the operating system used as well as any background running applications, such as network security software.
Because all materials are online, and the program is entirely web-based, there are no other requirements. Genium hosts the ScoresUp server and nothing needs to be downloaded onto school machines. Teachers or students may want to have printers available to them for printing various online curriculum items, however, this is not necessary.
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