Vera Bradley GIS Project in the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection Students at Ball State are taking advantage of an exciting immersive learning experience with Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., an internationally-known company based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In two classes at the Miller College of Business, Dr. Rod Davis and Dr. Jennifer Bott are instructing a cohort of 15 students to work with Vera Bradley Designs representatives to design roll-out plans for a signature store grand opening in three new markets. Faculty at the Miller College of Business concluded that working with Vera Bradley Designs would be a great immersive learning experience for their students.
The class is working in three groups of five students. Each team will focus on a particular city and will determine the best way to identify information about competitors and cities. The assignment requires the students to create a city report, company report, team report, and a presentation, among other outcomes. Students will research the company and the market, and perform a strategic planning analysis, known as a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis. During a class presentation, Stephen K. Duecker, Information Services Librarian, identified five databases that the students would find useful in their research. Angela S. Gibson, GIS Specialist, also gave a brief presentation to the class regarding the capabilities of GIS and how incorporating demographic GIS data and maps into their research would greatly benefit their project.
Dr. Davis and Angela then met to decide the best way to use GIS for both the students’ self-learning and achieving the project goals. A portion of the project’s grant money was set aside to buy trial licenses of ESRI’s Business Analyst Online, a software package which combines GIS technology with demographic, consumer, and business data to deliver on-demand analysis, graphic reports, and maps over the Web.
Students from this class are also visiting the GRMC to map potential business competitors. To do this,
Angela is using a feature called geo-coding in the ArcGIS software. Dr. Davis said, “The Libraries’ instruction session helped students to identify avenues for information. Students did a good job finding data and understanding what is available.” Commenting on the immersive learning experience, Dr. Davis said, “The students are able to apply what is being taught in their classes to real life experiences. They realize this is not your typical class."
The class is working in three groups of five students. Each team will focus on a particular city and will determine the best way to identify information about competitors and cities. The assignment requires the students to create a city report, company report, team report, and a presentation, among other outcomes. Students will research the company and the market, and perform a strategic planning analysis, known as a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis. During a class presentation, Stephen K. Duecker, Information Services Librarian, identified five databases that the students would find useful in their research. Angela S. Gibson, GIS Specialist, also gave a brief presentation to the class regarding the capabilities of GIS and how incorporating demographic GIS data and maps into their research would greatly benefit their project.
Dr. Davis and Angela then met to decide the best way to use GIS for both the students’ self-learning and achieving the project goals. A portion of the project’s grant money was set aside to buy trial licenses of ESRI’s Business Analyst Online, a software package which combines GIS technology with demographic, consumer, and business data to deliver on-demand analysis, graphic reports, and maps over the Web.
Students from this class are also visiting the GRMC to map potential business competitors. To do this,
Angela is using a feature called geo-coding in the ArcGIS software. Dr. Davis said, “The Libraries’ instruction session helped students to identify avenues for information. Students did a good job finding data and understanding what is available.” Commenting on the immersive learning experience, Dr. Davis said, “The students are able to apply what is being taught in their classes to real life experiences. They realize this is not your typical class."
For more information about using GIS in a classroom project, contact the Geospatial Resources & Map Collection staff.
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