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 Name: M.A. Venkataramanan
Highest degree earned: PhD (business analysis), Texas A&M University 1987
Course taught: Decision Support Systems/Quantitative Analysis
Career history: Known to students as "Professor Venkat," M.A. Venkataramanan has won numerous teaching awards throughout his 21 years at the Kelley School of Business. He has had more than 25 research articles published in a variety of journals, including Operations Research, Decision Sciences, Annals of Operations Research, Naval Research Logistics, Computers and OR, EJOR, and Mathematical Modeling.
Tell us about the Quantitative Analysis class you teach in Kelley Direct:
The class is about quantitative decision making. We teach how to use quantitative techniques in making business decisions. In general we start with the idea of regression and understanding normal curves and statistics. We then get into simulation as well as linear programming. Most of these techniques are widely used in Fortune 500 companies to make decisions from the "nitty-gritty" to the strategic level.
How is technology used in your Kelley Direct class?
We use multiple technologies in this course. Obviously we use PowerPoint and we send out class notes in advance. But the most fun part of the class is still interacting with students. So what we use is a technology called Breeze. It's a great tool because students can log on and see what is on my screen. Typically what I would do in a face-to-face class here I do in a Kelley Direct class. The exception is that I see their questions in the chat feature instead of hearing their voices. I can also project my image to them but that's not a pretty face to see all the time so we seldom project our image.
Students like it because they can ask questions during the lecture. Even though it is online, the students can get the interaction they would get in a classroom, not only with the instructor but also with their fellow classmates.
What if a student cannot attend an online session?
The great thing about the technology is that all of the sessions are recorded and archived. As soon as the class is over we post it so they can view it as many times as they wish. The funny thing is that when I share this technology with my on-campus classes, they also want lectures posted so that they can have the benefit of seeing them again and again.
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