Using Website Builders as a Tool for Teaching the Website Development Process: An Abstract

Abstract

Within marketing, a new sub-discipline of digital marketing has emerged, and, in this field, there has been a call to recognize “a new marketing DNA” for marketing education (Harrigan and Hulbert 2011). This new approach requires that marketing educators create a curriculum that integrates theory and practice with the technology and digital tools used in the industry. This research discusses a digital marketing-oriented, semester-length project in which students create personal branding websites; the assignment is referred to as Website Builders. Utilizing Website Builders allows professors to teach digital marketing technical skills such as search engine optimization (SEO), content creation, and the website development process while incorporating marketing strategy and theory. Website Builders incorporates key SEO strategy components and takes students through the website development process (Zahay and Roberts 2017).

We propose that the Website Builders Method is an optimal means for teaching SEO strategy and website design and assessing student learning outcomes. The assignment is aligned with Krathwohl’s (2002) Taxonomy Table, which is based upon Bloom’s (Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create) and incorporates the Knowledge and Cognitive Process dimensions (Factual, Conceptual, Procedural, and Metacognitive. The assignment maps out activities for the semester on the Taxonomy Table.

Throughout the semester, the marketing educator will deliver lectures on the website development process, including essential marketing concepts related to websites and digital marketing. To use this assignment effectively, the marketing educator must create a website of his/her own. Students create and publish a website by mid-semester and then promote their websites using social media and email campaigns to solicit feedback. Website traffic is analyzed using Google Analytics. Students refine based on feedback and traffic analysis. Peer review is conducted, which allows the students to evaluate other students’ websites and their implementation of the concepts taught. After completing all these steps, students submit their website for a final grade.

This learning process facilitates higher learning by having students develop knowledge of the terminology and abstract concepts. By creating a website, students utilize their critical thinking skills and demonstrate that they can apply, analyze, and evaluate information. After completing the website assignment, the students write a reflection paper that brings each student to Bloom’s final stage of Create based on Metacognitive Knowledge. An analysis of papers (n = 37) revealed that all but 3 students identified key learning objectives in their reflection.