Course Website

http://www.digitalparlor.org/fa07/blakesley2/

Course Texts

• Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures, 2nd edition. Bruce R. Barringer and R. Duane Ireland. Prentice-Hall. 2007. ISBN: 978-0-13-224057-4.
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell. Back Bay Books. 2002. ISBN: 978-0-31-634662-7

These texts should be available at local bookstores and online. A few additional readings will be posted to the course website.

Course Description

The course introduces students to the basics of starting their own business ventures. It can be taken as a stand-alone course, or as the first requirement for the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Topics covered include the following:

• Aptitude and roles of entrepreneurs
• Invention and elaboration of innovative ideas
• Feasibility analysis
• Start-up procedures
• Introduction to finance and funding for new ventures

Coursework

1. Reading Responses: You should respond to questions or readings listed on the calendar and identified as "Reading Response" with one short (200- 300-word) semi-formal written blog post using the appropriate tag (see the prompt on the calendar for tag info). These responses will need to be posted by class time every Tuesday, on the day the reading is listed. (In class on the preceding Thursday, we'll complete "anticipation guides" that will help focus your reading and responses.) During the week, I will promote some of your responses to our front page. You'll be responsible for posting at least two comments and replies to messages posted by others. For help, read the guidelines on the course website: Principles of Reading Responses, Principles for Posting to Your Weblog, and Principles for Comments and Replies. We will discuss best practices for this aspect of the coursework in class as needed. There will be 10 reading responses in all and, thus, at least 20 comments and/or replies posted by the end of the semester.
2. Reading Quizzes and Anticipation Guides: Starting the third week and each week thereafter there will be short reading quizzes to take on our course website. Each quiz will be available by Saturday at 5 p.m. and needs to be completed by Tuesday before class, when the reading is due (and listed on the calendar). On Thursdays in class, we'll complete and discuss anticipation guides, which prepare you for reading the material due the following week and also help focus the reading responses in your blog. You'll turn in these anticipation guides for credit after you've completed the reading the following week.
3. Ad-Hoc Presentations: Each class meeting starting in Week 3, teams of two students will make short oral presentations that introduce innovative ("disruptive") technologies that have (or will) change how people think and act and, thus, how they spend their time and money. You'll be given a list of subjects on the course site and also be encouraged to discover subjects on your own. You will have access to the classroom's presentation technologies so that you can show slides, websites, or other media.
4. Success and Failure Case Presentations: Each week and in teams of three, you'll make a short (5-7 minute) presentation that focuses on the success and failure cases presented in the course texts or available via link on our course website.
5. Midterm Project: In teams, you'll plan and conduct an interview with an entrepreneur, making it into a 5-7 minute video presentation that can be uploaded to our course website or another location. Individually, you'll submit a short (2-page) project assessment document that evaluates and analyzes your experience throughout this project. All team members also will complete a Collaborative Project Evaluation Form and submit it to me in printed form, privately.
6. Final Group Project: Comprehensive Concept Statement. This group project will involve developing and elaborating an entrepreneurial concept or idea, creating the important documents (feasibility study, start-up procedures, funding plan, etc), pitching it to the class in an oral presentation with multimedia components (PowerPoint, Keynote, website), and then assessing the group's effort at the end in a Collaborative Project Evaluation Form.

In sum: Each student will 1) write and respond in the course blogs regularly; 2) complete all reading quizzes (online) and anticipation guides (in class); 3) make one ad-hoc presentation introducing a new technology as part of a two-person team; 4) present one success or failure case as part of a three-person team; 5) complete the midterm video interview project in teams and the written analysis; and 6) complete and present a comprehensive concept statement as part of a group.

All coursework will be supported by the website via our calendar and in class as needed.

Resources

Our class website will be filled with resources, guidelines, and more to help you with your coursework and readings.

Grading

Your final course grade will be based on a percentage of your final total, as follows: A=100-90%, B=89-80%. C=79-70%, D=69-60%, F=59 or below. 

Attendance and Class Partipation

Attendance is required at all scheduled meetings. More than three unexcused absences may result in a lower grade for the course. Excused absences may be granted only for religious holidays or university-sponsored events, provided you make a written request to me no less than one week in advance and that you complete any required work before the due date. Being excessively or regularly late for class meetings can be counted as an absence.

Class participation in all respects and venues (in class, online) is essential for everyone, so you're expected to be actively engaged in class and online. If you fall behind on quizzes, readings, responses, and teamwork, you won't learn much and your course grade will suffer.

Collaborative Work

Teamwork is a required component of the course. You and your project team members are responsible for updating one another and me about assignment development and progress. In addition, you also are responsible for negotiating together all aspects of your work, including planning, drafting, revising, file managing, and scheduling of assignments. When a collaborative project is assigned, you will receive explicit guidelines for successful collaboration. Individual group members will complete Collaborative Evaluation Forms. For more information about good principles of collaboration, see the brochure, Group Work and Collaborative Writing <http://dhc.ucdavis.edu/vohs/>. 

Technology Responsibilities

Familiarity with certain technologies is crucial for participation and success in the course. If you need any assistance now or at any point during the semester, please do not hesitate to ask.

During the semester, you'll need regular access to the Internet and email. Because the course home page is the main locus of the class community, you are responsible for reading and keeping current with all content posted there, including what has been submitted by both the instructor and your fellow students. You'll be responsible for configuring your system to access course materials, to read course email and participate in online discussions, and to submit your work. Very early in the semester, you will be asked to demonstrate that you can meet these responsibilities:

• Register for the course website and complete your profile information.
• Post a message about yourself and your interests
• Read the course description and calendar, then ask questions when you are uncertain about requirements or activities.
• Set up your @purdue.edu email or an alternative that you can access regularly and reliably
• Become proficient sending and receiving attachments via email or blog, resolving file compatibility issues, and following email and online decorum.
• Check the course calendar regularly for updates and explanations..
• Become more proficient with unfamiliar computer technologies and applications, including a content management system like Drupal (the open-source software running our class site)..
• Maintain back-up copies of all assignments via your home directory, disks, USB drives, CDs, or DVDs

If at any time you have problems accessing the Internet from home, you'll need to find a public lab or connection point. Problems with computers will not be an excuse for falling behind or failing to complete required assignments. If your Internet service goes down, use another computer. If your computer breaks, use another computer. In other words, find a way to complete the assignments on time. Because computer problems are a fact of life, always work to complete your assignments early and make frequent backups to multiple media.

Academic Integrity

Purdue students and their instructors are expected to adhere to guidelines set forth by the Dean of Students in "Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students," which students are encouraged to read here:

http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/services/gradeappeals.htm

The preamble of this guide states the following: "Purdue University values intellectual integrity and the highest standards of academic conduct. To be prepared to meet societal needs as leaders and role models, students must be educated in an ethical learning environment that promotes a high standard of honor in scholastic work. Academic dishonesty undermines institutional integrity and threatens the academic fabric of Purdue University. Dishonesty is not an acceptable avenue to success. It diminishes the quality of a Purdue education, which is valued because of Purdue's high academic standards."

Academic dishonesty is defined as follows: "Purdue prohibits "dishonesty in connection with any University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University are examples of dishonesty." [University Regulations, Part V, Section III, B, 2, a] Furthermore, the University Senate has stipulated that "the commitment of acts of cheating, lying, and deceit in any of their diverse forms (such as the use of substitutes for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs, plagiarism, and copying during examinations) is dishonest and must not be tolerated. Moreover, knowingly to aid and abet, directly or indirectly, other parties in committing dishonest acts is in itself dishonest." [University Senate Document 72-18, December 15, 1972]"

If you have any questions about this policy, please ask.

In Case of a Campus Emergency

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. You can acquire updated information from the course website, by emailing me, or by contacting me through the English Department at 765-494-3740.