Story

A lot of businesses talk about quality customer service.  They even get plaques printed with, “The Customer Is Always Right” and “Go The Extra Mile” on them.  However, when the rubber meets the road, very few companies actually have excellent customer service.  The following story is in the Nordstrom’s manager training manual.  It “proves” to the employee, that Nordstrom is serious about Customer Service.

An elderly woman walked into a large department store (Nordstrom) and approached a manager. She explained that she wanted to return an automobile tire she felt was unsuitable for her car. The manager knew that this woman had been a longtime customer of the store and that she and her friends spent much of their time there.

But, she said, she was unhappy with the tire she had purchased. The manager was surprised, but asked if she had the tire with her. She told him she had the tire in her car’s trunk, but that she had lost the receipt.

“Well, that’s not a problem,” the manager said after a moment of thought. “You can return the tire. Would a store credit be okay?”

The woman agreed and the manager gave her a store voucher for the full value of the tire.

You may think there’s nothing extraordinary about how this particular manager handled the situation. After all, he worked it out so that the woman would still end up spending her money in his department store. And she would probably tell her friends how fairly and respectfully she was treated there. So it was just good business, right?

Well, yes. But there’s something else you should know. This incident occurred in a Nordstrom.  Nordstrom is a store that doesn’t sell automotive equipment—not even tires.

The power of story is underrated.  Stories create context for culture, paradigms for life, and a tapestry for work like no other medium.  People connect with stories by picturing themselves in the situation described.  For example, I disliked the movie “The Firm” not because of the change in ending…but because of the lead actor choice.  Do you know who would have been a better Mitch in that movie?  ME!!!  When I first read the book, I was the one running through the Caribbean, kissing the girls, being chased by the mob, etc.  That’s the wonderment of story.

If you want to be a good manager, teacher, President, parent, or leader of any kind…learn to tell stories.  Stories work.

Do you want to become a betterstoryteller? Need help as an organization creating your own story? Contact jborden@jeffpresents.com for more information!

Serious Games

During the past 9 months, I’ve been asked to present a Serious Game session to 15 different audiences.  I’ve delivered it at conferences, as a workshop, in keynote form, and more.  We start by actually playing a game and then follow it up with practical examples of game elements in various disciplines. 

But every time I present this, I’m left wondering how much the audience really got.  It’s highly entertaining and I’ve been told it’s very engaging.  The idea is to provide example after example of various games in educational settings to “spark” the imagination of teachers.  I hope they say, “That school did X…I’m sure I can change it a bit and do Y…”  And of course I try to find websites and resources they can plug into.

But as creative as I believe teachers to be (this is the reason I believe many people are teachers…they have the ability to figure out how to present information in an unusual way), for some instructors the concept of gaming is still too “out there” to grasp.  It’s not concrete enough for them.  They have trouble tying games to learning objectives or outcomes.  And so, I’m afraid that games in the classroom fall by the wayside.

So I wanted to start at a basic definition of games that might give us a place to work from.  Unfortunately, definitions of games, especially of “serious” games are ambiguous at best.  Often the definitions include marketing terms and analogies like “edutainment” that really put off some teachers.  After all, the moniker of “serious game” was only created to try and break through the wall many teachers have regarding games intersecting with education.  The thought was that the word “serious” would open the door to thought about gaming.  (I hope it has done just that…)  All of that said, here is my first stab at a working definition:

Serious Game Definition: A competition (against others or self) with defined rules and goal(s) that signify an ending.  The purpose of the serious game is not entertainment as the primary, but instead as the secondary objective.  The primary objective is to aid in education, training, comprehension, retention, etc.

But it’s also important to talk about why games even matter at all.  Why take a chance on serious games in your own classroom?  To do so, let’s play a game.  I’m going to make several statements that are backed by research.  However, if you can prove me wrong, I’ll retract this and give you full credit for your work.   Up for it?

1. Games raise retention rates.  Students actually remember game elements longer than through traditional means.
2. Games raise interest (attention).  Students actually find learning to be “fun” when they are contextualized as games.
3. Games provide much less negative pressure than traditional presentation and assessment do.
4. Positive emotion by the learner equals better perceptual maps.  Games provide a more satisfying and enjoyable environment which research shows to help cement concepts and information – basically, any positive emotion associated with a learning concept helps solidify the experience and understanding.
5. Games provide an easy way to incorporate team work.  (If you don’t know how important this concept is, read several of my blogs below)

Serious gaming is serious educational business.  Large quantities of information can be passed to people through gaming contexts.  Unfortunately, too many teachers are ignoring the power of games in their classrooms…at ALL levels.  It’s time to change that, don’t you think?  Google your subject matter and the word game to see what pops up.  You might be surprised at what’s out there and even more surprised at the results you get.

Do you want to play a game?  Need someone to show you how games work and give you (or your teachers / trainers) some practical content ideas? Contact jborden@jeffpresents.com for more information!

Learning About Learning

Learning About Learning:  So I was speaking at a conference this past week when a professor asked me something I hear a lot!  I was talking about how we need to involved technology for our students in their education.  We need to provide varied, engaging learning objects and assets to promote learning style interaction (both individual & generational).  This professor asked a simple question…

“…So how do I learn about all of this stuff that I’m supposed to incorporate into my teaching?”

Fair question!  Let’s see if I can help you figure out where to start and how to approach it…

1. Leave the excuses at the door.  I work a 60-70 hour work week for eCollege.  I teach 2-3 speech communications classes every semester to keep me both grounded and current.  I am taking a full load in my Doctoral work each term.  I have a 15 month old child and a wife with a chronic illness that makes normal life impossible.  I travel 100,000 miles each year.  Please don’t say that you don’t have time to learn about web 2.0, technology, curriculum integration, learning theory, etc.  We have time for whatever we prioritize!  If you want to learn about how to incorporate technology…then make it happen!
2. Set specific times.  Just like any appointment, give yourself 30 minutes on Tuesday morning (or whatever) to read blogs, search the Internet, view videos, etc.  Make it a part of your routine and it is FAR more likely to happen.
3. Use the technology for you.  Please tell me that you are following a blogger or two – those who have specific blogs about your specific discipline.  Use social bookmarking to “follow” experts and thought-leaders for their ideas and favorite selections.  Follow them on Twitter, YouTube, del.icio.us, LinkedIn, etc.  
4. As valuable as a Google search can be, try a YouTube search instead.  Want to see how social bookmarking even works in the first place?  What about Wikis, Blogs, social networks?  Check out the “In Plain English” series available on YouTube.  The great thing about videos is that you can SEE something in action and not have to read about it every time.  That can save you time and energy. 
5. Talk to your colleagues.  I guarantee someone you know is teaching something in their classroom creatively.  What is it?  How might you adapt it to your needs? 
6. Take baby steps.  Just try one thing at a time and you’ll be much more able to keep up.  Pretty soon, you’ll be in the habit of trying “one new thing” per semester and you’ll notice that 10 out of 12 of your past “new things” have stuck!
7. Finally, be creative!  I can’t tell you how many instructors wait half a year until they see me again to find out a website I mentioned during the last speaking engagement.  The beauty of Google is how easy it is to use!  Get those research juices flowing and find it yourself! 

It’s not hard to figure out technology in the classroom…it’s just intimidating to someone who hasn’t done it before.  Make it a part of your teaching and it won’t be hard anymore.  It will be just another thing you do to help your students.  Isn’t that why we’re teaching anyway?  Just like staying on top of your subject matter is essential, so is understanding how to teach.  The mode, the effectiveness, and the reasons can always change…as long as we understand how to make that happen in a way that benefits our students and our classrooms.  This is teaching you know…this is why we’re good at what we do!

Good luck…and good teaching.

Want to hear more about great teaching?  Want to jump start your program with ideas and concepts the lend themselves toward technology and varied learning?  Contact jborden@jeffpresents.com for more information!

Helpful Internet Websites

Back by popular demand, it’s my top 10 favorite websites right now.  I’m in a pretty cool position as I travel around the country talking about online education with online teachers and administrators.  And during my time, I get to see how people use the Internet in various ways.  Some of the sites out there are quite amazing actually.  Let’s see if I can share some of them with you!  So, in no particular order:

1. Woman From The Inside Out -  I spoke with an elementary school Art teacher recently.  She’s a good friend of mine from my doctoral program.  I was commenting to her that I don’t have the first clue how to draw, sketch, paint, etc.  In fact, I told her that I just could never learn art!  She replied with something I’d never heard.  She said, “Art isn’t about learning to draw – it’s about learning to look.  Art is about perspective, not lines on paper.  Your teachers should have shown you how to look at the world and then at the paper…”  This website might teach a budding artist perspective (which they say can’t be done online…).

2. Great home page – If you are looking for a handy website as well as an innovative website, look no further.  AllMyFaves is ideal as a homepage because it lists about 100 of the top visited websites around.  From banking to travel to maps to social networking, this site has the big guns.  But my favorite line on the page is at the top.  The “Weekly Faves” lists 5-7 sites you have never heard of before.  Stay in the know with cool stuff each week – or check the archives and look at the year’s coolest websites.  Great idea! 

3. The Planet - This highly interactive website shows some fascinating statistics, facts, and figures about the Earth.

4. American Rhetoric – You had to know I would have at least one communication website.  This is one of the biggest sites to house videos, transcripts, and audio files of speeches – both political and movie based.  It’s a WONDERFUL site for students too!

5. Interactice Microscope – Can’t teach science online?  Then you aren’t really trying.  This amazing tool can show animal, plant, and other real slides in an interactive form.  The only difference between this microscope and the real deal is not needing to squint to see this one.

6. My favorite Eye simulator - I know this has been on my fave’s list for 3 years now, but it’s just so amazing!  Think of 2 important things.  1) it would take months in a clinic to see all of these illnesses and eye problems.  2) you can never harm this patient with a poor diagnosis!

7. Discover Babylon – How do you cram months (possibly years) of learning into a few weeks?  Easy…games.  This fantastic collaboration between the Federation of American Scientists and Sony Playstation is nothing short of spectacular.  And, can you say curriculum integration?  How about history, anthropology, money, sociology, politics, geography, and more!

8. New Math Video – So, 1/4 of YouTube should be on this list.  Of course, in 2007 YouTube had as much data as the entire Internet did in 2006, so that list would be a bit more than 10!  So, here is proof that education can be fun and that YouTube has educational stuff galore.  And it’s about math of all things…as a liberal arts guy, that’s impressive to me!

9. The PDGA website – Please tell me you don’t stay inside reading blogs and Googling stuff all day.  Remember that great big, fun world out there?  Try enjoying it from time to time.  Get some sun.  Have some fun.  Disc golf is a GREAT way to do all of that for almost no money!  Get 1-2 discs (~$10) and go play 18 “holes” at a park near you.  This website tells how to play and also has a directory of courses around the country.

10.  eCollege Blog – So I have to give a shout out to my team.  The best thing (to me) about eCollege is that we hire faculty members and teachers to train, instruct, and consult on all things education + technology.  This is the team I currently direct and the diversity, innovation, and sound pedagogical elements will come through in our blog we release every Wednesday. 

Remember, this is just 10 sites.  Do you realize there are more than 160 million sites today?  Hopefully you have become quite adept at searching through them.  If not, here’s a little query for you teachers:  Type in your subject matter + applet  OR  your subject matter + simulation  OR  your subject matter + game.  You are bound to find some great stuff you can use every day to enhance learning for your students…

 

 

Want to see some great websites in action?  Need to see how today’s generation uses the web to live, learn, and play?  Contact jborden@jeffpresents.com for more information!