eCommerce - First Day on the Road to Success

On the first day of class, I typically challenge students to think of an industry that does not use the web for assistance in conducting business. It's always fun to hear what they come up with; things like fast food, Amish country, and farmer markets always are mentioned right away. Then I offer the same challenge back ...see if they can come with ways that these same industries COULD use eCommerce strategies. A few students offer some examples, but largely the classroom comes up short with ideas for ways these industries and operations participate in eCommerce activities.

Fast forward a few months and students are finding ways for several revenue models to support their own business ideas. Small businesses in automotive repairs, raw food lifestyles, tattoo designs, and sporting goods are finding ways to not only create a web presence, but also increase their income. Additional eCommerce activities are helping expand operations for non-profit charities, retail of religious items, and geneology projects.


It is most rewarding to see the growth of students, who on the first day drew blanks and silence in trying to come up with ways for eCommerce to impact their ideas...and now I see them implement some of these ideas in so many areas. The orginal challenge is now child's play for the students who are excited and passionate about their ideas - and using eCommerce in way they never imagined on that first day.

Degree...or No Degree, That is the Question

As I was researching the feasibility of launching a new eCommerce program at Jackson Community College, one root question continued to pose itself. If the "target" student is interested in getting a product completed - a real, live (virtually, of course), working web page with eCommerce capabilities, are they also interested in credit and/or degrees?

On one side, of course! After all, they will be attending a college. They will be using a textbook, and following the guidance of a professor. They will be completing exercises to accomplish a learning objective. They will learn how to design web pages and integrate business practices in the process. And perhaps, the student will decide to earn more credits and eventually a degree indicating a certain level of knowledge has been obtained in the eCommerce field.

On the other side, they will be using the processes set up by the college, professor and textbook in order to accomplish a product - their eCommerce web site, with detailed, related and linked pages, and an eCommerce revenue model. They will be using this site to generate sales, either product sales or ad-click sales, and will be earning a living. And they will desire these results sooner than a traditional college semester.

So, degree or no degree? The fact still remains that if the student has completed the work as designed by the college, they deserve the credit - even if the student is not interested in the credit at the time they earn it. Many of us get wiser as time passes, and so the credits and potential degree may become more valuable.

For this reason, JCC is offering its eCommerce program in two formats. In the traditional semester, classes are offered 2-6 on Thursday afternoons. In Fall, students launch an eCommerce site using free software, and in Winter, they better manage the site through SEO and mobile technologies. Each semester, students will generate a product - one for THEM, and in the process will be working toward a degree.

If the traditional semester format doesn't work, the same courses will be offered in the summer in workshop formats. Two Thursday/Friday combos in June will launch the eCommerce site, and two Thursday/Friday combos in July will improve SEO and mobile technologies.

Check out the innovative schedule and start creating your eCommerce site, and earning your degree (or not), right away