A study that will soon be published in Business Communication Quarterly led by Jeremy Short, Price College Rath Chair in Strategic Management, and co-authored by Aaron McKenny, a doctoral candidate at OU, finds that graphic novels are more effective than traditional textbooks for
“Now anyone in the world can conduct their own study to see if their experiences match our findings,” says Short, who will teach a class beginning June 10 and ending July 15, that is free under the MOOC format and will feature a graphic novel textbook as well as a traditional principles of management text – both co-authored by Short. OU students can enroll through regular registration and take the course for credit, but anyone interested in the class can enroll for free under the non-credit option. Short notes that the only cost of the class under the second option is the cost of the two texts, which can be purchased for under $100 total.
Short cited the mission statement of the university, which includes a charge “to provide the best possible educational experience for our students through excellence in teaching, research and creative activity, and service to the state and society.” “The MOOC format allows us to reach out to the greater state and society in a very tangible way.”
Short also notes a goal of bringing individuals that may not be able to attend classes regularly and not know about the beauty of campus and growth of the Oklahoma City area as other reasons for his unique delivery where all of the content of the class is hosted through an OU site - http://management.ou.edu/. Short’s introductory video highlights unique elements of the Norman, Oklahoma campus and other Oklahoma City area attractions. Further content that would focus on profiling local entrepreneurs and business is planned. “In this way, our goal is to try and bring students that take the class as close to campus as digitally possible.”
