Master of Business Administration (Financial Services)

asynchronously. Group and team community formation is enhanced through theuse of such online applications.• For the convenience of most mid-career distance learners, much of the MBA (FS)online component is delivered asynchronously. In addition, faculty members mayrequest synchronous online activities, especially to explain complex concepts orpractices, for example in Accounting, where the faculty member can use “liveclassroom” features to work through specific accounting examples and problems.• BLS supports audio and video meetings in addition to synchronous onlinediscussions and these relate to the class as a whole (faculty and studentcommunity development) or student group meetings (student to studentcommunity development).• Discussion board postings generate community by means of threaded discussionson topics of mutual interest. Furthermore, students gain an awareness of theintellectual development of their classmates in a grounded manner through beingable to review classmates’ written comments.• Information literacy is essential for effective learning in an online environment.At Dalhousie, professional librarians provide online tutorials or LibCasts whichare available to MBA (FS) students (www.library.dal.ca/How/LibCasts/), as wellas customized reference assistance for groups or individuals from the designatedManagement Reference Librarian. These online facilities from DalhousieUniversity Libraries contribute to the faculty/student community in MBA (FS)courses.146