Introduction to BEMM129J. May 2021

1. Digital Business
Intro Session
#BEMM129
Lisa Harris and Beth Kewell

2. My Digital Profile
Lisa Harris, Digital Educator. Connect via
@lisaharris / L.J.Harris@exeter.ac.uk
Finding me online:
Twitter
LinkedIn
Slideshare
Innovation in Education blog
About.me
HaikuDecks
My motto

3. Ahead of the curve, or just bonkers? 
• My key projects:
• The first inter-disciplinary BSc in e-Commerce, Brunel University (1999)
• The first UK MSc degree in Digital Marketing, University of Southampton
(2009)
• Embedding an active social learning pedagogy within modules (2012)
• One of the first FutureLearn MOOCs: Web Science (2013)
• The first integration of a FutureLearn MOOC and a University module, (2015)
• The first live broadcast via Periscope to an online course (2015)
• “Education-led research” with the Learning in the Network Age MOOC, (2018)

4. Plan for the session
• What are the key module themes?
• The “big picture” of digital change in society – it’s about culture and
innovation, NOT technology.
• New types of organisation – FAANG
• Transformation of traditional business models
• Implications for employees/entrepreneurs
• How does the module work? (**See Module Handbook**)
• Online and based on asynchronous interactions by design (pre-pandemic)
• Real time sessions are “extra” and focused on peer collaboration around
preparation for assessed tasks
• Q&A

5. Digital models of education
Same time, different space
Seminar sessions with contributors in class and
online (BEMM129)
Different space and time
Same time, same space
Lecture theatre or Zoom call (this session)
Same space, different time
Asynchronous discussions between contributors on
FutureLearn/ELE
**A simple focus on the automation of existing systems and processes (same time and space)
misses out on the affordances of digital**
All sectors of the economy face these decisions – accelerated by pandemic but not caused by it

6. Sourced from recent lecture by @Intersticia “The age of the social machine” available here

7. Click here for the full report

9. Sourced from recent lecture by @Intersticia “The age of the social machine” available here

10. What is a business model?
• Having an idea for a new business is not in itself a business model!
• Nor is an organisation’s random collection of social media posts!
• It needs to be financially sustainable
• “Success requires more than the identification of an opportunity, it also needs
optimum alignment of the appropriate skills within the business or its networks,
and the right timing.”
By Gavin Wedell, 3 mins

11. Waves of Disruption
“Digital is not technology; it’s empowering people, organisational
culture and new behaviours”
1. The digital “front end” – adding a new layer to existing systems to
engage with customers
2. Digital transformation – changing the whole business in response to
new competitive pressures
3. The third wave – still at a very early stage…think AI, 5G, big data…
Read “Why digital leadership rocks the boat”

12. Our expectations of you
• You are encouraged to
• focus the set tasks in a way that is most useful for you
• collaborate with your fellow learners for mutual benefit
• You have (almost!) total flexibility in where/when you study
• Please read the materials provided and take part in the discussions =
collective resource for all to draw upon
• Take a CRITICAL approach to your work for high marks

13. Week 1 Overview
• Attend real time session on 13th May (recording will be posted on ELE)
• Join the MOOC where you will be working for the next 2 weeks
• Check out the Module Information, Module Assessment and Week 1
sections on ELE
• Complete the Week 1 Activity in ELE (based on the interview with
Professor Mark Thompson from INDEX)
• Consider being a PEER MENTOR volunteer and contact Lisa to find out
more!!!!!

14. More Resources
• Our free MOOC, Building your Career in Tomorrow’s Workplace, starts
this week
• Future-proofing the Workforce, (2019) by Adecco and Boston
Consulting Group
• Harris, L. and Rae, A. (2011) “Building a personal brand through social
networking”, Journal of Business Strategy
• “Making an Impact” from the “In Business” series on BBC Radio 4,
August 2019

15. Free tools you may like to try
• Appear.in for webinars
• Googledocs for collaborative writing
• Haiku Deck for cool image-based presentations
• Piktochart for infographics
• Biteable and Powtoon for cartoon videos
• PixaBay and Pexels and Unsplash for copyright-free images