As we're getting closer to launching our new MSc in Digital Marketing (can't wait!), I've been investigating various digital tools for education and teaching to help ensure that our first group of students get the best learning experience possible.

Our motto is to 'practise what we preach', and as such we not only have some excellent industry people involved with the course delivery, but we will also be using the tools of the trade and get our students to do digital marketing from day one.

Doing this research into existing software used in education, alongside evaluating the tools I'm already using as a Digital Marketer, has inspired me to  come up with a few tips that I hope will serve as a guideline and help others working in this space who are trying to find solutions.

Digital Tools for Education - 5 Key Considerations

The underlying motto, and my personal passion, is to practise what you preach. I can't fathom why someone would e.g. teach Marketing, but completely disregard Marketing basics such as ensure consistent branding in their materials, or take into account the customers' (i.e. students') needs when it comes to delivery.  I'm sure plenty of people (including me) have experienced lecturers reading huge amounts of text from an 80-slides long PowerPoint, resulting in the audience not taking in anything, or very little. This is inexcusable really, but even more so in a subject such as Marketing that is supposed to put the customer first.

My general view is that you want to teach your subject in a way that demonstrates your subject knowledge through your actions, and not just in a way that broadcasts facts and theories. Show, not tell! And tools can really help with that. What follows are five key considerations to start thinking about what digital tools and software to use, in an educational environment.

(1) Digital tools should be used by industry

This one is pretty self-explanatory and quite basic. Choose digital tools and software that is actually being used by the industry.  What's the point in spending a lot of time on training students in software and tools that they won't need once they leave University?

I can't speak authoritatively for subjects other than (Digital) Marketing, but I'm sure there will be standard or preferred applications in other creative industries too. For example, if you want to get into the video game industry, then your Game Design degree will hopefully teach you 3ds Max rather than Maya.

(2) Software should not be a walled garden (inward-looking)

This one might be controversial and there isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer. I personally really don't much see the point in VLEs (virtual learning environments) that are  'walled garden' and not used by anyone else other than the actual institution. Many education providers use Moodle, an open-source learning platform, but I have to be honest I'm not a big fan  - primarily because I think it's more important for students to use tools and software that are used in industry / in the real world (see also point (1)).

That's why I'm excited about recent developments such as the JISC framework agreement with Google Apps for Education. What it means is that it's now much easier for UK Universities and Colleges to sign up to and use Google Apps as a tool for education. The JISC contract takes care of  important issues like security, legal and data compliance etc. which means institutions can use the cloud-based software with peace of mind.

Importantly, Google Apps are used quite extensively in business, so you'll be killing two birds with one stone: (1) an effective, modern e-learning environment while students are at University, and (2) very transferable skills with smooth transition to the real world.

(3) Digital tools should be free or freemium

My third consideration when choosing digital tools for education is that they should ideally be free. This doesn't need much explanation. Universities are not-for-profit / charities, and as such can't much afford to be paying for tools left, right and centre. It's also often the case that requirements for teaching are served by a tool's Basic version, in terms of no. of users / accounts needed, storage space, functionality, and so on (as opposed to, say, Business or Enterprise). Finally, when assessing which software to use, it's good to be able to try out quite a number of different tools and test them first, before they are let loose on students. Overall, it makes sense to give priority to software that is either free or freemium.

I'm a huge fan of MailChimp (who isn't!) for precisely that reason, as well as Trello - these are excellent digital marketing tools whose  basic (freemium) version is ideal for education, charities, SMEs, etc.

The smart thing and indeed benefit for these tool providers is that early (basic) adoption breeds familiarity which in turn breeds loyalty amongst its user base. If I ever have a say again on what software gets bought at Enterprise level, I sure know where I'll turn: to the digital tools that I know best and have come to love through their freemium version.  It's quite a smart marketing strategy since, while the freemium version costs nothing, the companies benefit from many happy users who evangelise and promote the tools on their behalf (like I'm doing here, just now). And this in turn generates brand awareness and leads,  which in turn increases the likelihood of sales and uptake of both the freemium and the paid versions. Win win! Or to use Marketing jargon: this is a good example of value exchange. 

(4) Tools and platforms should be used and usable by students

This is another fairly easy one and one I can cover quickly using just one example. Should I use a Google Plus Community, or a Facebook Group as the learning community for our students? Yes, I'm a bit of a Google fan girl but on this occasion Facebook wins hands down because no one uses G+.

Remember the first rule of Marketing: it's about your customers, and about responding to their needs. A customer-centric approach means that you optimise the learning environment for your students, and make their user experience as easy and convenient as possible. Hence Facebook - don't just dictate what you (or Google) think is best.

(5) Digital tools should be mobile first

This is probably THE most important criterion. A no-brainer as far as I'm concerned, but unfortunately this aspect is somewhat neglected in discussions about digital tools for education.

Here are the facts: Most forecasts predict that smartphone penetration in the UK will reach 75% by the end of 2014 (see e.g. the Internet Advertising Bureau UK's prediction from January 2014, or the Guardian's theoretical but data-based forecasts from April 2014).

Thinking about students', and indeed my own digital consumption behaviour, the smartphone is often the first 'go to' digital device. For agile, effective learning, then, tools and software need to be mobile first (e.g. have a mobile / responsive website or an app). It's really important to enable students to complete tasks and study no matter what device they're on! 

While this doesn't apply to all tasks and certainly not to written assignments, I feel that general stuff such as reading required articles / blogs, communicating and collaborating with your peers, asking your lecturer questions etc. ought to all be doable from a mobile device.

This to me seems an obvious conclusion given digital culture, and where your audience is these days. I'm not sure this consideration can be found on anyone's agenda yet (please do point out any worthy initiatives in this area).

A mobile-first or mobile-optimised approach to teaching and learning, in my view, is essential in this day and age. Customer-centricity, the pillar of modern marketing, means to allow students to study wherever they are and whatever device they're on. See also point (4).

Overall conclusions

It's probably never been more difficult to get and keep your students' attention, and engage them in a productive, active and fun learning environment. I strongly believe that we as educators have a responsibility to teach in a fresh, modern way, that takes as its starting point real student needs and digital consumption behaviours, rather than knocking out the same old, same old, using 20th century techniques.

While my colleagues and I will be deploying these methods for our new MSc in Digital Marketing, an innovative approach of using digital tools for education is not just for creative subjects. The requirements of digitally native students is something that needs greater attention across the board, given the UK and Scottish Government's digital first approach, and I feel that we as educators ought to do our best. We're at the frontline of teaching the next generation after all!

Most importantly, using the right digital tools make teaching and learning much more fun.

This Thursday 27th February, 6.30-8.30 PM we're holding a postgraduate opening evening at RGU (Riverside East) where you'll be able to talk to us about our new MSc Digital Marketing starting in September 2014!

Come and see myself and the Course Leader, Jack Keenan, for all your questions about this course and what a Digital Marketing Masters at Robert Gordon University entails! We've plenty of interest already - and can't wait to find out more about who you are and what area of digital marketing you're interested in.

We'll be there to chat about the course contents and the Digital Marketing careers our Masters will prepare you for. It's the first such practice-based MSc in Scotland and we are working closely with industry to ensure we teach and deliver exactly the skills required for you to find a job in Digital Marketing - be it SEO, Social Media, Analytics, or paid digital advertising.

Here's more info on RGU's postgraduate opening evening - register on the site so that we know you're coming!

And if you can't attend or if you're not currently based in Aberdeen, here's a direct link to the course page on the RGU website. It's looking like a very popular postgraduate degree already and we have had plenty of interest - so don't hesitate to apply if you're interested in a career in Digital Marketing. Our MSc will put you right ahead of the competition, and you could have a recognised Digital Marketing qualification within a year 🙂

Yesterday, I completed the final assessment for the first (and completely FREE!) course run by Google Analytics Academy -  Digital Analytics Fundamentals.

It's overall been a really good experience and has helped consolidate my knowledge, hammer in the correct terminology (dimensions, metrics etc.) once and for all, and also got me up to speed on recent changes (such as the renaming of 'Traffic Sources' in the interface to 'Acquisitions' - I'd been wondering where my traffic reports had disappeared to!).

Why Google Analytics Academy ?

"Why Digital Analytics? That's just tech stuff that I won't need to know about", you might say.

Wrong. A good grasp of analytics and digital measurement is essential to making sound business decisions. That's because it's based on real insight and data rather than opinions. It's very exciting actually - imagine having real data about your customers rather than stabbing around in the dark, not knowing whether or not your marketing campaigns work! And spending lots of money unnecessarily as a result...

The beauty of Google Analytics Academy is that it's FREE, and very accessible. Unfortunately, up until now, the only industry recognized GA qualification had been the Google Analytics IQ certificate. And that, believe me, is tough. I had started it some time last year but a lot of the content was too specialised and technical - here's more on the GA IQ test from someone who has successfully completed it.

Google Analytics Academy in comparison is a more concise training program to educate business leaders across the board on effective measurement planning in the digital age. It addresses a fundamental problem faced by many businesses today: On the one side, you have analytics / tech  experts who live and breathe data, but who have little influence or indeed decision making power.

On the other side you have a large number of powerful CEOs, senior business leaders, traditional marketers etc. who have little idea of what business success looks like in the digital age, or how to measure it. Yet it's those people making all the decisions 🙁  !

The academy, and specifically the course I took (Digital Analytics Fundamentals), should be particularly useful for these people, as well as anyone involved with the day to day management of your online marketing activity (including the website) - your designers, content managers, project managers, and so on. Look at the pre-course questionnaire screenshot above where you can slot yourself into what must be their rough target audience!

But now on to the course review itself 🙂

 Google Analytics Academy - Review

Course content (8/10)

The great!

What I loved about this course especially is that it didn't dive straight into the actual software, so doesn't needlessly scare people off. In fact it starts with contextualising and telling us why Digital Analytics is important and aligns it to documenting and measuring business objectives. This is a language that business will understand, and can relate to. Contexualising the subject appropriately is very important to getting your senior stakeholders and decision makers on board - as it's talking about things that matter most to them.

I also liked the overall structure of the course - moving from the general to the specific, and going through all standard reports in chronological order. Admittedly Unit 5 - Navigating Google Analytics reports - can be a bit hard going and newbies may find it all a bit too technical. But stick with it and you'll be rewarded - once you reach the end, it all falls into place and makes complete sense!

The not-so-great

Google initiatives and activities such as the free Google Analytics Academy aren't necessarily about helping customers - there is always an overall business objective (and I don't mind that - there should be!). So, while the course I took was called 'Digital Analytics Fundamentals', really, it is about Google Analytics. So let's not pretend that there isn't an implicit aim to promote the use of GA over rival software, and position Google Analytics as the de facto default product (apparently over 100,000 students signed up to the course!).

In the course, there is also some matter of fact 'naturalisation' going on about using AdWords, and info on keyword data which of course Google will no longer make available free of charge unless you use the paid AdWords product. So the first point of criticism would be that they should perhaps be a little more transparent in that respect, and not pretend that Digital Analytics = Google Analytics.

On a personal note, the ecommerce reports weren't so useful to me, since this only makes sense if you do have ecommerce enabled (and difficult to replicate / play around with if you don't).

Course delivery (9/10)

The great!

My favourite aspect here were the course videos featuring the instructor, Justin Cutroni. He's the Analytics Advocate at Google and an extremely experienced and engaging public speaker. You get the chance to hear and see one of the best digital analytics evangelists out there, beamed right into your home!

I'd say that 99% of learning is probably about the delivery and with Justin involved you are just glued to the screen - a bit like watching Rand from Moz doing a Whiteboard Friday. Videos FTW!

What I furthermore valued about the delivery is that materials were also provided in text form (as downloadable PDFs). This allowed you to tackle the contents from different angles and in different media while making them accessible to people with disabilities (all videos also had subtitles which you could switch on).

The not-so-great

I would say that for me personally, the Google hangout session and the community aspects (forums etc.) perhaps weren't required. That's the only reason I'm deducting a point. I'm sure these aspects are valuable to other people who prefer a communal learning experience. As I've mentioned, it is in fact great to be able to approach learning materials from different angles - because what works well for some, doesn't perhaps work as well for others.

Customer experience (10/10)

The great!

Awesome! Google really practise what they preach and the course delivery, communication and teaching was 100% aligned with best practice digital marketing. For example, I completed the first 4 units pretty fast (they didn't open up units 5 and 6 till a bit later in the course) and then had a bit of a lull. Too many other things to do, and I hadn't looked at it for a few days.

Google then sent me a reminder email about the deadline to earning my certifcate (see screenshot) and that absolutely converted me to going back and doing just that as soon as possible.

If you need proof, just look at the email! Simple, completely customer-centred, and they even included a link to my local time given that the deadline is today (30th October) 11.59 PDT. Thank you, very helpful!

It shows that Google are laser-focused on their customers and throughout the course I felt that they wanted to help me become a better marketer by using their software. I felt well looked after and the incentive to receiving an official certificate, even though the certificate in itself is fairly meaningless, is again a very smart marketing tactic. Incentivising with this reward ensures people stick with the course - I certainly really wanted that certificate 🙂

 The not-so-great

There's nothing really I can criticise in terms of customer experience. Yes, I did probably sign up for further communication about future courses and so on, and yes I did fill in all surveys too so Google will have received some of my data for future use. They have also turned me into an advocate of the course (no.. I do NOT work for them, and they did NOT pay me for this post 🙂 ).

The crucial point here is though - I didn't feel they were being dishonest or just tried to steal my data. In fact I am absolutely happy about providing this voluntarily in return for the course - it's a value exchange after all!

Google Analytics Academy - Conclusions

In conclusion, I think that Google are onto a winner here. Digital Analytics Fundamentals, the course that I took (more Google Analytics Academy courses are apparently on the horizon!) is pretty successful at making analytics accessible, easy to understand, and crucially, tying it back to business objectives thus lifting it out of the geek / analytics / techie silo and putting it centre stage.

I started this post arguing that much more needs to be done educating business decison makers and marketers on the importance of analytics. This is absolutely crucial for businesses to remaining competitive - and successful - in the digital age. Those who don't take this sort of stuff serioulsy will fail. I repeat: they will #FAIL.

Google have done a great job here by taking some of the hard work of education out of our hands, and for that I am grateful, for it is not easy!

All you need to do now is persuade your CEO, board members, and anyone involved in your marketing, to complete the course! And then get everyone around the same table - traditional, digital, old, young, creative...  and start speaking an analytics-inspired language that everyone will now understand.

By bringing your marketing and key organisational stakeholders onto the same level you'll be creating a level playing field. Finally, after years of misunderstanding you'll be able to start communicating effectively with each other about what matters - your customer and your customers' actual journey on the way to purchasing your product or service. This in turn will help you make sound business decisions based on data and will allow you to best service their needs - profitably - in the digital age!

You can access Google Analytics Academy here, and the good news is that even though the course 'Digital Analytics Fundamentals' officially ends today (30th October), all its materials can still be accessed.

What are you waiting for?