I teach MKT 5750 (Marketing Strategy), a CIC course and the Marketing major capstone. My students are predominantly graduating marketing majors.  As many marketing jobs now require students to have experience in content creation and generation and as many marketing jobs increasingly require students to have an aptitude for virtual communication, it is imperative that students learn how to comport themselves in face-to-face and virtual settings before they graduate as marketing majors.

In the past, I’ve had students engage in brief presentations multiple times throughout the semester (3-6 “elevator pitches” lasting 3 minutes; content based on cases) and videotaped these presentations. Students were graded on engagement, content, as well as their ability to effectively convey their points in such a brief period of time. While those presentations were useful for enabling students to students develop brief presentations that clearly communicate content while maintaining audience interest, it has become clear to me that there is room for students to engage in deeper reflections regarding what makes oral (and written) marketing communications most effective. By converting to a hybrid course and integrating across multiple platforms available to Baruch students (i.e., integrating Blackboard with VOCAT and Blogs at Baruch), students in my hybrid class would be asked to play a more active role in content generation (bi-monthly brief written assignments hosted on Blogs@Baruch) and reflection regarding the effectiveness of their own as well as others’ work (using VOCAT and B@B).

Through the seminar series, I hope to:

1. develop a deeper understanding of how to integrate across the three aforementioned platforms and increase the effectiveness of the online learning space,
2. understand what common concerns and challenges arise in the provision of online assignments,
3. engage with feedback from seminar participants to boost the effectiveness of my syllabus, as well as face-to-face and online assignments and,
4. create a successful hybrid course

Finally, active learning goals for students in MKT 5750 range from analysis (of the 3C’s – consumers, companies – competitors) to synthesis of content material, criticism of firms’ marketing strategies (through case based analysis and discussion), and ultimately creation of a coherent marketing strategy for a firm in a final assignment. Engaging graduating marketing majors in face-to-face AND virtual spaces will allow for students to apply these active learning goals in a diverse range of contexts consistent with how students will be expected to function as employees of marketing firms. This will be the first time this course has been taught in a hybrid context and my first experience teaching a hybrid course.