And Happy Victoria Day for those celebrating! I enjoyed your critical commentary on the reports, predictions and analyses about the future of global learning technologies marketplaces. What I hoped everyone could take away from this effort is that the horizon is maddeningly rich and vibrant, and that nobody “owns” it. Whether brave individuals or high-priced […]
Continue reading Welcome to W3: Analyst’s Bootcamp Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
The Gartner Newsroom is an accurate and relevant report on emerging trends in e-learning that is specifically useful to educational administrators. In particular, the press release titled, “Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2012” is valuable for strategic planning in an administrative capacity, because I can refer to the document for emerging trends […]
Continue reading A Critique of Gartner’s Report Posted in: Uncategorized
Lisa;
Thank-you for your perspective from an administrator point of view. It is funny that you brought it up that teachers may not need to predict trends in ET as that is what I have sort of been asked to do.
As a technology teacher I have been asked to sit on our schools instructional leadership team where we will be the “visionaries” for the upcoming school year. I have never tried to be a visionary before and am a little bit nervous having to forsee or create trends in the school. I do like the model that our admin team has set up in that they ask for teacher input and have us involved in decision making. It has proven to be very effective, of course. The teachers really come together to develop great ideas.
Dennis
Thanks Lisa for sharing this. I think it’s certainly debatable how relevant it is for instructors/teachers to be up to speed regarding this type of information. As a librarian who is immersed in emerging technologies, this type of report is immensely fascinating and important. I’ve noticed mobile technologies have been slowly appearing as an important trend in not only technology but also the educational sector.
Allan
I wish I had been introduced to the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative’s 7 Things You Should Know About… series earlier! What a wonderful library of quick-read reports perfect for keeping educators abreast with what’s new, exciting and relevant on the educational technology scene. As I browsed through the titles of the reports I […]
Continue reading 7 Things I wish I knew before! Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Sheza,
I like that you mention the format of the report as something that is important. I couldn’t agree more that an important part of any kind of report is that is easy to read and formatted in a functional format.
Cheers,
Lisa
Hi Sheza,
I’m with you when it comes to bookmarking this site. It really is a you say, a library of reports providing a concise summary. Your suggestion to share this site with colleagues is a good one. When new learning technology is introduced it often answers only “What it is.” or “How it works.” A source that answers more of the questions educators ask is a valuable one.
Hi Sheza,
I found that this website to be very useful, as it has a lot of information and reports on all sorts of technology. Great idea to have it bookmarked 🙂
Karon
Next meet time in Google Docs: 7:30 pm (PST) Wednesday May 23, 2012 There will be ice cream. Dave promised.
Continue reading To the group working on Personalized/Adaptive Learning Posted in: Blog Café, Uncategorized
Um, so I am guessing if this is the “next” meet time, I missed the first meeting? Can someone send me an invite to the google doc so I can see what I have missed? Also, where have we been planning the meet times? I have been watching the posts but obviously missed it 🙁 I am still getting used to maneuvering through the posts so I probably just overlooked something or am looking in the wrong place.
Sorry …
Janet
I have choses to review Dawson and Garry’s 2011 predictions (with the hindsight of a year and half passing). Devices Both writers express their view of 1:1 device to student ratio but have dissimilar views of what that device will look like in public education. Garry, as a Dell employee promotes net books […]
Continue reading Top 10 Ed Tech predictions for 2011 Posted in: Uncategorized
Brian,
Thanks for the overview. I agree with your point about the infrastructure needing to make a significant transition. In my school board, students aren’t even allowed to use their cell phones in class! I see the great things my daughter’s university professors are doing with cell phones to engage learners and I’m a bit envious. Imagine what we could do with tablets! I think I’ll be close to retirement before my board makes the transition to the 21st century.
Deborah
Hi Brian,
I wonder whether the debate over tablet vs. netbook is still in progress. There was BYOD policy at the high school I was recently volunteering at and when we would give the students a research period, the majority still brought in their laptops and netbooks, however on a regular basis you would see students in class with their tablets i.e. iPads, Android tablets, Blackberry Playbooks. So, in some ways I see the 1:1 device to student ratio almost as 2:1 – the tablet is really an appliance tool whereas the laptop or netbook serves the primary purpose. I read the 7 Things You Should Know About iPad Apps article for my post, and it described the iPad as such, “The iPad was not designed to replace a user’s primary computer, so the applications that run on it often turn it into an appliance: a net- book, an e-reader, a calculator, or a student response device” (Educause). The students bring their tablets to class on a regular basis mainly because they are more portable, they contain their calendar, music and browser at the slide of a finger; but when it comes to word processing and proper researching, I think our students prefer and fall back on their laptops or netbooks because of the affordances like a keyboard it offers which the tablets simply do not.
References: Educause. “7 Things You Should Know About iPad Apps For Learning.” February 2011.
The two reports that most captured my interest were the Educause Seven Things and the New Media Consortium 2012 Horizon report. I had discovered both prior to this course and found them valuable for understanding technology trends and challenging my current and future teaching strategies. I would share the Educause Seven Things with other educators, […]
Continue reading NMC Horizon report Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Denise,
Thanks for taking the time to write a review on the NMC Horizon reports. To be honest, I only actually went back and had a look at them after reading your review and I can see what you mean about them being a lot more comprehensive than the 7 Things reports. They are truly valuable in their specificity, as you pointed out. It is difficult nowadays to find reliable information on the web nowadays that is open-source and produced by experts in the field. Looking to the future these reports also seem to offer a better understanding for administrators and CEOs, and would likely be more helpful in assisting them to plan out their future plans for technology integration. Having said that, I think that the 7 Things and NMC have two distinct niche markets – 7 Things works well to give educators an undertanding of what’s current and good to know about in terms of educational technology that is at work in the classroom today while the NMC gives a good outlook for the future of educational technology and gives those who open their wallets something to think about in planning their annual budgets.
The ability to forecast the future trends is extremely important to educators, and even more so to learning technology venture. Regardless of the scale of learning technology implemented, it is an investment temporally, financially and sometimes, even emotionally. Knowing where the technological pathway is gearing towards would help prevent loss and accelerate decision making while […]
Continue reading Gartner’s 2012 Technology Forecast Posted in: Uncategorized
Hello, I visited the learning coach website where Connie Malamed introduced new trendy technology ideas for 2012, in an article titled ‘Learning Technology Trends to Watch in 2012. Connie covered backchannel, content curation, developing in the cloud, the instructional designers role, flipped learning, gamification, HTML 5, and blended learning. In each section Connie provided a […]
Continue reading Connie, the e-learning coach, looks to the future…. Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Regen,
I like that you pointed out the language of these documents. I wonder if the authors of these reports use more technical jargon on purpose – to attract more IT-like folks and confuse education-trained folks. Do you think this is intentional?
Cheers,
Lisa
Hey Lisa,
Great point. Not sure. It is assumed that an article like this wants to attract as many readers as possible. The author also wants to appear as knowledgeable as possible too. The author should have their audience in mind and not want to lose anyone, but at the same time, ‘yes’ keep those who are very informed ‘hooked’ into what is being discussed. I think there must always exist a balance between the level of vocabulary difficulty being used by any author. Great question Lisa. It’s got me thinking.
-Regen
The article written by Connie Malamed provides a succinct overview of what some people may consider the newest and emerging trends for educational technology. Malamed provides the reader with a consistent reminder of the value of her trending technology towards educators and education. This is important for those reading this with teaching practice in mind, […]
Continue reading Malamed – Learning Technology Trends to Watch in 2012 Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Kenton,
I think you make an important point when you note that “concepts rather than services” are discussed. Who’s offering the service is definitely secondary to what the options are and their potential uses in education.
I chose to review “Top 10 Ed Tech predictions for 2011.” The first half of this article summarizes some of the frequently discussed education topics or challenges including: how to improve teaching and learning while integrating technology, personalized learning, product-based assessment, and conceptual learning. With the first five summaries being contributed by a Dell manager […]
Continue reading Review of Chris Dawson’s Top 5 Ed Tech Predictions for 2011 Posted in: Uncategorized
Claire,
Thank your for the succinct overview. I agree that the promotion of Dell products was rather shameless and I can see why you would ‘resent’ it. A critical comparison of other brands would have led more credibility to the article rather than the author’s attempt to balance with his own predictions.
gillian
Claire;
I didn’t think too much about the Dell influence on the article but I agree that the author should have explored other companies before making his predictions. I had to take this article with a grain of salt as it is a blog where the author is probably paid to write quantity, not so much for quality. I think you have a right to be sceptical.
Dennis
HI Claire,
I agree with you too! I really found the Dell summaries off putting and made me less likely to really question the predictions. The only positive thing I can say is that at least they were transparent about the contribution!
Claire,
Thanks for the summary. I agree with you and others who have posted about the decided bias in the article. As Denise pointed out, at least they admitted it. I always try to identify who is sponsoring an article or who may have commissioned it to identify potential biases that may exist. I agree that the article would have been more valuable had other brands been included in the analysis.
Deborah
Hi Clare,
I agree with others here – whenever I read something that is littered with brands (i.e. Dell), I am immediately suspicious bout the content. At that moment – the whole article loses its credibility.
Cheers,
Lisa
I chose to tackle the article that deals with the ten predictions: “Top Ten Ed Tech Predictions for 2011” by Christopher Dawson. The article deals with a very important aspect in the world of computing and education. In spite of the fact that the article talks about predictions which are usually not tangible in our […]
Continue reading Predictions or Analyses! Posted in: Uncategorized
Hussain,
A comprehensive and appropriately critical overview. It is an interesting exercise to view 2 year old predictions and see how accurate they were. I must admit that I don’t envy those who are tasked with predicting future trends in any market – especially the edtech market where the market itself changes so rapidly, but the institutions or the “customers” change so slowly.
gillian
Gillian
Thanks for the note. Yes, I agree with you that making a prediction in the light of the fast pace technology is taking is really hard. I think these big companies which are contributing to the ET, software and hardware have their own ways of speculating the market and its consumers.
Take care
Hussain
While the ELI 7 Things Advisory Group is represented by various educational experts, they do not adequately represent those ‘on the ground’ as there is only member who has a full-time faculty position. As a teacher looking for expertise on teaching and learning technologies, it would be ideal to hear from those using learning technologies […]
Continue reading 7 Things You Should Know About… Posted in: Uncategorized
Danielle,
The links you suggest are a great idea. I also thought that it would be a great enhancement if there were hyperlinks connecting the reader to the companies fwho were featured as offering the new technologies in each brief. In my overview of some of the articles I found myself visiting the websites of the various companies to see for myself what each new technology offered which I found quite helpful.
gillian
Hi Gillian,
I initially thought that links would be a waste of time as they are so easily broken. But as we are living ‘in the moment’ with modern tech, broken links do not matter because who is going to pay attention to yesterday’s top 10 trends – we are only interested in the here and now. That being said, I wonder if there are implications with regards to “advertising” or “endorsing” a product? Perhaps these not-for-profit groups could be accused of not remaining objective in their analyses?
Danielle
HI Danielle
Good comment about the experts not representing those “on the ground” .
I noted that all were from the US and one from Canada, not that this makes it less valuable – I really like the articles! But when I looked at the NMC reports with the 47 international members made the report seem a more robust future view for strategic planning andcontrasted the 7 things as great for an educator to get an overview and then explore.
Hi Denise,
Great point! With the way technology works now, there is no reason why experts cannot work together on a international level. I think the borders that separate the regional markets discussed in this week’s readings are blurring on many levels.
Danielle
It seems easy to look back in time and see how educational technology was implemented into our schools and our personal lives. Making predictions for the future year may not be just that easy. Dawson (2010), a teacher and writer, predicted five ideas that would give students choice in education during the year of 2011. […]
Continue reading Dawson’s Top 10 Ed Tech Predictions Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Dennis,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. The tablets, iPads, laptops, digital cameras and etc are definitely more and more popular for class use nowadays. I recall reading an article about students using digital cameras for science labs to take pictures during the process and then the students use those pictures to document their lab reports. These students resulted in writing better lab reports in comparison to those who didn’t use the digital camera.
I think that you pointed out a very important point in your post and that is to have educators work closely with technology companies in identifying what the needs are for the students and teachers and design something that would further support that rather than go the other way around and have us follow the trend. Great post indeed, keep up the good work!
Karon
It seems as though some of our current devices can do it all. Video, pictures, voice recordings, text, email, and present. Should we make more use of them in the classroom? This is a debate I am about to get into at our school and I still don’t know where I sit on it.
Any ideas?
Dennis
Hello Dennis
These educational tools can be used if they prompt the students to be interactive and responsive to them in a constructive way. But as far as I know there is no specific answer for your question. It all depends on the structure of the curriculum and whether it allows educators the use of technology tools in class.
take care
Hussain
Hi Dennis,
I am not sure I have had a chance to say hello to you! So hello! And nice to see you here!
Making predictions about learning technologies is a risky business, especially when hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to roll out what is meant to be the latest and most innovative tools to enhance learning. Along with these investments come issues with security and privacy (both online and with the devices themselves), bandwidth, tech support and the distractions they may bring to the classroom, to name a few.
I think we are in the same boat as you are in terms of iPad implementation. There are those who are already setting learning goals and objectives while others are just going to play it by ear next semester. To each their own I suppose. But as Dawson (2010) points out, the implementation of new learning technologies need to be learning initiatives, not tech initiatives, though I sometimes think that many tech initiatives, as least in my experience, are disguised as learning initiatives. The interesting thing is the lack of complaints about this! And those who do complain are often those who are already wholeheartedly against technology in education.
Danielle
Danielle;
“As Dawson (2010) points out, the implementation of new learning technologies need to be learning initiatives, not tech initiatives.”
I picked this up from the article as well. Technology is often used for its novelty, not because it is the best or easiest tool to use. As we push for 21st Century skills we have to be careful to “not throw the baby out with the bath water.” Some of the best tools are the simplest tools.
Thanks for your comments!
Dennis
Hi Dennis,
I appreciated your candor and references to personal experience in your critique. While I can see the flaws in many of these reviews and predicitons, I certainly wouldn’t want the task of making them. Like you, I find keeping up to date with the tech world too overwhelming and defer to others when it comes to market trends. However, I would consider myself an early adopter when it comes to using tech in my practice only because schools are so far behind the marketplace that targets them.
gillian
Gillian;
We are finding that teachers and students often have much better and newer technology than schools. This poses the larger question of whether schools should be responsible for providing students with technology or should they follow a bring your own device model? I have heard comments about how students will use whatever is newest, whether it be their own device or a school device.
Any thoughts?
Dennis
Connie Malamed describes eight technological trends in Learning Technology Trends to Watch in 2012. She explains how these technologies are being (or can be) used in learning environments, whom the technologies are used by, and what she expects of them in the future. The report is clear and easy to read; it reaches out to […]
Continue reading Malamed: Learning technology trends to watch in 2012 Posted in: Uncategorized
Colin:
Good, succinct overview. I like the less formal blog nature of this report as it allows some discussion and reflection that may provide key positive and negative experiences. This frees the report from possible bias due to input controlled by funding interests.
Tim
In making my selection of which report to critique in the Emerging Market Projection Library, I felt a little like Goldilocks as I found some of the reports too short and others too long. The report that I found to be ‘just right’ was the “7 Things You Should Know About …” series from […]
Continue reading EDUCAUSE’s “7 Things …” Series Posted in: Uncategorized
Hi Gillian,
Great Review! I love your assessment/critique of Educause Learning Initiative’s “7 Things”. In particular, I liked your critique of the scenarios as being idealized and therefore lacking authenticity. I agree that this is a flaw; luckily they provide links to resources that include discussions and videos of real people utilizing these technologies for more authenticity. One of the seminar videos I watched on cloud computing was very comprehensive and didn’t hold back on the criticism of different issues effecting students, faculty and admin. Definitely a great resource for our group projects.
Cheers, Steve
Thanks Steve.
I agree that Educause overall is a great resource. Starting with the 7 Things Initiative can easily lead you to other links within the website – more comprehensive reviews, strategies for implementation and the seminar videos you mentioned. I think many will look to Educause for their projects.
gillian
Hi Gillian,
A very comprehensive review! And I like your Goldilocks metaphor! Funny and true! 😀
The series is a great starting point and will be appreciated by many just starting out with teaching/learning technologies. And for those with expertise, these make a great “this is what I mean” reference point when working with novices. I thought “The Implications for Teaching and Learning” sections were a little too promo heavy, at least in the few articles I read. But perhaps this is what potential “customers” want.
Danielle
Danielle,
You make a good point that this series would be ideal for tech specialists trying to ‘nutshell’ new technologies for those less savvy – especially for those who control the purse strings. I also agree that much of the reviews are overly optimistic in regards to the potential of each new venture.
gillian
Summary: Connie Malamed’s thoughts on the top emerging technologies of 2012 suggest several trends that she believes will become more prominent and more developed throughout the year. Her suggestions range from backchannel tweeting at conferences to collaborating on the cloud, to support for HTML 5 over Flash and the expansion of blended learning. Overall her […]
Continue reading The eLearning Coach: 2012 Trends Posted in: Uncategorized
I browsed some of the trend reports, and focused my eyes on the “Ambient Insight – Global Learning Technology Market Taxonomy”. It gave me a very clear panorama of the Educational Technology. According to it and other resources, I drafted a small “ET ecosystem” map. The biggest enlightenment it gave me is that “Learner != […]
Continue reading The Ecosystem Knows The Trend Posted in: Uncategorized
Ping,
I loved your ET ecosystem map! It’s nice to see the article turned into a different form.
The idea of laptops not being included in the mobile category seems to be simply because you can’t hold them and operate them at the same time. You need to put a laptop down in order to type on it and, to Ambient Insight at least, that seems to be enough to exclude it! They do acknowledge that laptops are mobile, but suggest that they are defining their category as handheld as well. With the smaller laptops with longer battery lives it is strange to consider that they are not considered in this up and coming group. I agree that it is strange, but I think all they would need to do is re-title their category from mobile to handheld.
Either way I think the main takeaway thought from the article is more about the interactions and connections that you have identified than it is about the categories they divide the tools into!
Nice work, Ping!
-Meggan
Hi Meggan,
Thank you! You helped me to clarify the taxonomy. Yes “holding & operating” is a key point.
In my concept “mobile” is a big term stands for a system, which makes us reachable to the Internet any time and anywhere. Morgan Stanley even regards it as the next IT revolution in coming decade. In that height, I would like to include both “handheld” and “laptop” in my access list, because they cannot replace each other. As for the Mobile Learning, if a supplier wants to get interactions from the user, it might not care too much about whether the inputs were sent from one hand or two hands, sitting down or not. Of course, the “holding & operating” scenarios are very essential for our design, because people DO have more time to carry a handheld than to carry a laptop. We need their time!
Ping
Ping,
I very much enjoyed your review of Ambient Insight. Your map was a very helpful starting point in grasping the essentials of this taxonomy. I can see how this article will be extremely valuable as we assess the various ‘players’ in the market for our ventures. Thank you for your insight on this as you have inspired me to take a closer look for myself.
As for your comments regarding laptops/netbooks as mobile technology, I completely agree that they should be included. I have tried typing on a tablet and found it as frustrating as using my phone. If I were to ever purchase a tablet, the first accessory I would buy would be an external keyboard – which essentially makes it a laptop.
gillian
Hi Gillian,
Happy to see that little map is useful to you. I think a map would be always helpful when we get to a strange place 🙂 I do recommend you to have a closer look at the Ambient Insight report. It’s good to have it in our reading list so early. I think I’ll come back to it over and over because I still missed a lot of information it tries to convey.
Ping
HI Ping,
Thanks for the map. I too found it a valuable way to see the article in a different form.
I wonder if what also separates mobile is that theya re gesture based compared to the traditional laptop, but the issue about mobile technology is probably going to blur soon enough. I just read about a phone that inserts into a tablet that then attaches to a keyboard.
Horizon Report The Horizon report is of particular value to educators and learning technologies specialists and venturers because it provides a review of key trends in conceptual thinking in connection to needs of the marketplace and workforce as well as lifestyles and expectations of individuals, which gives readers the political, economic and social context for […]
Continue reading Horizon Report Posted in: Uncategorized
Because the Horizon Report is published yearly, what I find most interesting, are the trends that disappear from the report. For example, virtual worlds and augmented reality were reported in previous years then suddenly completely dropped. I think as you say it is a “must read for professionals involved in education,” but shouldn’t act as a blueprint for education technology strategy – because things change. It does however focus discussions on what is possible but it is up to organizations to determine which parts will be relevant to them.
I find it interesting also how quickly something that was the “next greatest thing for education” is forgotten and soon out of favour in schools, sometimes even before it gets there. I think there was something about ‘blind luck’ on the introduction for week 2, perhaps this could be an example.
Chris mentioned determining relevant dimensions of new technologies and trends, but is that decision up to the educators, developers, administration of district? What level dictates the actual blueprint for education and what level determines what is relevant for the masses it serves? Is this report then useful for those not making these decisions or only for those that are?
Thanks for your comments. Although virtual worlds and augmented reality are off the ‘list’, they are connected to Game Based Learning and Gesture Based Computing. I agree, Chris, that no one should act on these predictions without putting it in the context of their working/learning environment, and because of the rich layers of our environments there will never be an off-the-shelf blueprint that will not require intelligent thought and adaptation.
In my experience of decision making, the phase of exploration and trial has a strong impact on decisions that are made, and so any teacher reading about and experimenting with technology to enhance education will be able to influence future technology developments in schools, so I would say this report is useful for anyone who wants to improve learning, whether their leadership role is in their title or in their actions.
Hi Chelsea,
I really enjoyed reading your analysis. I especially appreciate you identifying the cultural aspect to these reports. The Horizon report my be accurate for North America, but what about Asia and Africa?
Interesting,
Lisa
After reading about the buyers, end users and learners, I really like the image that was portrayed to compare the three: Buyers (customers) “open their wallets”, End Users (teachers) “open the packages” and the Learners (students) “open their minds”. It really got me thinking…who are the true buyers in my school district? Also, the best […]
Continue reading After reading about the buyers, end user… Posted in: Uncategorized This article talks about how Del is trying to find solutions for schools that can support their learning platforms of choice and the things that they would like to do with educational technology. When I took ETEC 500, I did a paper on using ipods in the classroom to help my French Immersion students improve […]
Continue reading This article talks about how Del is tryi… Posted in: Uncategorized
These 2011 Top Ten Ed Tech Trends article is very useful for educators as well as learning tech specialists and ventures since Dell is predicting that this will be the year of the platform. This is a very important goal for teachers and tech people alike since everyone will be able to be on the same page when it comes to which hardware and applications to use.
Future reports on this topic would be very beneficial since many schools are adapting the BYOD theme and it will be essential that schools, as well as tech specialists and venturers, be offered a common platform for all of the different applications that teachers and companies want to use. If there is no common platform, it will be a nightmare to try to work the system out and make everyone happy.
Before you publish your posting, please make sure that you select a category (eg. Introductions) as well as assign some meaningful tags (keywords).
Donna Forward 9:25 am on May 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Happy Victoria Day to you too David.
I like your comment when you mention that we should never feel that we could never win just because we’re not part of some exclusive club who knows what is going to happen next. It means that we all have the same fighting chance to create a venture that could possibly be successful in the world of cyberspace:)
Cheers,
Donna
David Vogt 10:42 am on May 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks Donna –
Going further, one idea that always inspires me about the creative industries (everything digital) is that Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, etc, have no intrinsic advantage over me or anyone else who has an original, burning idea. Sure, there are a few people like Steve Jobs who are an amazing creative force, but humanity is like that and there’s always room for more.
Indeed, once you have a large company like a Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc, every new idea is hobbled by the constraints of your existing enterprise, so you can never be as nimble or daring as a new enterprise. That’s why most ‘innovation’ today is accomplished by large companies consuming small ones for their ideas.
You’ll see this week when reviewing Elevator Pitches that the proponents aren’t business geniuses of any kind – they’re just ordinary people, like us, who have become passionate about some idea that could potentially change the world.
Bravo to the brave, I say!
David
Sherman Lee 11:23 pm on May 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This is slightly off topic but to feed to David’s comment about how the creative industries have no intrinsic advantage over anyone who has original and burning ideas… I came across this today as I was browsing for some resources for a part of the project I am working on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cJCYM624YJU#!
Enjoy,
Sherman
Hussain Luaibi 12:46 am on May 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Sherman, thank you for the nice youtube. ORIGINAL and burning ideas can’t be stopped once they are born.
Hussain
Hussain Luaibi 1:12 am on May 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hello David, in 2.7 Deconstructing a Pitch, you referred to an article ( as a further reading)”How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea” by Elsbach K. The article is really interesting. But don’t you feel that the writer is inclined towards creating impressions more than anything else. The impressionistic approach in business is risky. And it makes the line of demarcation between real and unreal very thin.
I also have one more question, Do you think setting up rules in pitching one’s ideas is a good thing to do in a fast changing world?Do you think these rules should change from time to time?
Hussain
David Vogt 10:30 am on May 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for these thoughts, Hussain –
On your first question, everyone’s immediate reactions are usually significantly decisive, so cultivating a positive first impression is clearly valuable. However, if there’s no substance behind a positive first impression that’s deadly. I guess the key for me is that if you’ve got a good idea, you’ve got to find a way to hold peoples’ attention until they understand and appreciate it. If people don’t respond to you well they will stop listening very quickly, before they have a chance to ‘get it’. So cultivating a good impression is simply a way of extending their attention span, and therefore increasing your chances of success.
And with respect to pitch rules, no way. Your only objective is to convey a powerful idea in a positive way, so breaking conventional rules of communication is often the best way to succeed with that.
David
Hussain Luaibi 11:33 am on May 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
David
Thank you for the informative reply. I still have a question about the same concept we are talking about. what if someone has a great idea but he or she is hopeless in presenting it. And this can happen not only in business but in teaching as well. For example sometimes you see a teacher who has a great lesson plan and great material but they are unable to convey it effectively. Probably in business it is different because the project holder will suffer if he can’t sell his product but when it comes to education , I think , the students will suffer instead. Back to my question, so what is your recommendation here for those who have great ideas with a kind of inability in presenting them they way they should be? It is sad to see sometimes vibrant projects killed by their creators for not presenting them the way the market asks for.
Thank you
Hussain
David Vogt 12:13 pm on May 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think the answer is very simple in both business and teaching – if you’re not good at presentation, find someone else who is.
In business, so long as the CEO quietly exudes integrity and intelligence they can delegate the presentation of their ideas to someone with sales or marketing or business development talents. However, the CEO still needs to drive the vision, and communicate it effectively to their presentation proxy, so if they aren’t dynamic onstage they need to do everything they can to develop those skills.
The same is true for teaching, I suspect, in that there are lots of guide-on-the-side methodologies that can reduce the requirement for sage-on-the-stage excellence, but won’t make it disappear.
In short, I feel leadership is about effective, commanding presence more than appealing performance, but both entail significant, credible visibility.
David
Hussain Luaibi 10:48 am on May 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
David
Thank you!
Have a great day
Hussain