Exploring Emerging Digital Technologies

This unit deepens learners’ understanding of contemporary digital technologies — including AI, cloud, 5G, IoT, blockchain, and the metaverse — and how they reshape marketing, customer experience, and small business operations. Students will investigate practical tools, deployment strategies, digital safety, and how to craft a professional digital presence and legacy that support entrepreneurial goals.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how AI, cloud computing, 5G, IoT, blockchain, and metaverse technologies influence marketing strategies, customer experience, and small business models, citing concrete examples from course case studies
• Evaluate privacy, security, ethical, and reputational risks associated with deploying AI, blockchain/NFTs, and immersive platforms, and recommend at least two mitigation strategies for each risk category
• Apply selected AI and emerging-technology tools to design a simple, measurable marketing or business workflow (e.g., automated customer outreach, content generation, or tokenized promotion) that includes defined success metrics and implementation steps
• Demonstrate creation and optimization of a professional digital presence and a digital legacy plan by producing an online profile and a documented safety/data-management checklist aligned to entrepreneurial goals