It is about student engagement again! In particular engagement of Generation Y. Generation Y (born between 1982 and 2003) is roughly our student body. There is a significant change in the way they use technology to learn compared to previous generations. We were countable on books and note-taking while Generation Y feels more comfortable when using technology in order to learn.
In the context of a coursework assignment, Level 1 students are given an option to design a comic or photo-novel about a marketing theory. A photo-novel is a story told by photos and dialogues in bubbles. For the particular project, students had to use their cell phones, cameras and software (http://www.toondoo.com/) found for free in the Internet.
In the unit of Principles of Marketing, students are introduced to some background marketing theories and they are asked to explain them through the use of visuals. The topics assigned to them are originated in consumer behaviour. Students in groups of three have to understand and discuss the theory among them and reflect it in their comic or photo-novel.
Students need to follow specific steps like assigning roles in the group: write the script, photography, direction, costumes and locations. They also need to create their own characters in terms of gender, age, education, occupation, income and lifestyle. They create a short story and they develop the theory through this. They submit their photo-novel or comic printed and by email. They also present it in class and discuss the theory behind.
The majority of students were not familiar with photo-novels. So, only few decided to take the opportunity and design one. Those who did said that they enjoyed it a lot and they had a good time throughout the process of photo shooting. They seem to engage with the theories under question better than those who did a traditional presentation. Creating a comic with interesting characters and stories was challenging. The way the theory was reflected and discussed seemed to be more effective. Students were able to remember the detailed steps in each theory and were also able to discuss it orally without the usual notes or slides. The reason behind this is the hypothesis that photo-novels is an effective tool to Generation Y which is so much exposed to images and visual stimulus.
Students came up with interesting feedback as well. One word was common to the majority of free text feedback: FUN!
Some even used us-their lecturers-as the protagonists of their comic or photo-novel. And that was funny too!!
Aggeliki Papakonstantinou
Business Administration & Economics Department, Academic Director
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