| 2 Cents Worth by: David Warlck |
| A Difference by: Darren Kuropatwa |
| Edtech Blog by: Mark Ahlness |
| Edublog Insights by: Anne Davis |
| Educause by: Collaborative |
| LeaderTalk by: Collaborative |
| Mistaken Goal by: Kevin Guidry |
| Unit Structures by: Fred Stutzman |
| Weblogg-ed by: Will Richardson |
As students use Red Rover more and more, our goal is to give as much of the user data back to the Admins in a usable format in real time so they can take action.
Here's an example of the new stats dashboard:
Stay tuned as we have more exciting stuff in the pipeline for the next month including classes, customized mass messaging through Facebook, and group leader stats.
My fiancee and I (Tom) recently sold our car and signed up for the non-profit car sharing service iGo Cars. Our reasons for breaking free from the car chains were partly environmental, economical, and practical as we live in downtown Chicago. But three months into the program, I discovered another unexpected reason and it interestingly relates directly to my work with Swift Kick.
When we owned a car, the trip to the grocery store would take an hour and some change to complete. The goal was to get our weekly grocery supplies. That goal hasn't changed since selling our car, but the time it takes to do the task has. With iGo you rent by the half-hour, and I realized the exact same trip to the grocery store can be achieved in under 30 minutes. This gives me an extra half-hour to enjoy the better things in life.
Take this same concept and apply it to being an entrepreneur.
Everyday I have a defined set of tasks I'm working on that builds up to our established weekly, monthly and quarterly goals. Since I don't have a "boss" looking over me, the deadlines for individual tasks are set (or not set) by me and roughly have to be done by the end of the day.
"A task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for it's completion." - Ferriss, Timothy. The Four Hour Work Week. pg. 27. New York: Random House, 2007
Instead of just saying my daily tasks have to be done by the end of the day, I also put a minute deadline on each task. In the morning, before I open my computer to start working for the day, I estimate how long it should take for me to accomplish each task. Then I cut off 5-33% of the time and make that my new deadline. It forces me to "cut the fat" from the task and really focus.
I also downloaded Apimac Timer as a desktop timer to give me a visual cue of my deadline.
It's been three weeks since I started reorganizing my work flow and just like with our trips to the grocery store, I'm able to get the same goal completed in about 1/3rd less time.
Next I'll post about our process for deciding our quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals and the joy of ruthless prioritization.
The list of schools signing up to use Red Rover is growing daily, with UCLA being the newest. A great byproduct of so many active users navigating the system is seeing the new creative ways in which admins and group leaders are marketing Red Rover.
Nick Chapa, a group leader at UCLA, wrote this note about Red Rover on Facebook:
On CNN.com today, there's a front page article announcing that the "Naked Cowboy" has been given the green light to pursue a lawsuit against Mars candy, the makers of M & Ms, for trademark infringement.
Funny enough, a CNN analyst thinks he has a case and could win a tidy sum.
At Swift Kick, we go way back with Mr. Cowboy, aka Robert Burk. We found him in some small town after a NACA conference and couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a little video of him with a "Free Hugs" sign. (Free Hugs is a metaphor / case study for social networking in our leadership and tech training.)
Here's the clip. Pay special attention to the end. We, unlike Mars candy, covered our legal bases : )
Naked Free Hugs from kevin prentiss on Vimeo.
Joking aside, the Naked Cowboy clearly understands the value of open content. He's obviously done that little end bit once or twice before.
Whether or not he read The Long Tail, he's built his brand and fame on millions of FREE tourist style impressions just like ours. He's done it by being out there (well, right) and open (ahem . . . naked). You can connect the dots to our typical blog themes on your own.
I'm sure if Mars had asked nicely, Robert would have been happy to participate for substantially less than the 6 Million he stands to win in the lawsuit.
Either way, god bless America.
I grew up in Minnesota and went to college at the University of Oregon. In high school I had an incredible group of friends. I was never the cool guy per se, but I felt appreciated, influential, and comfortable.
My first year at Oregon was a social mess. I was lonely and often depressed.
In hindsight, it's clear that my sense of personal worth was embedded in my social network. The network I left behind. I went off to college and left my confidence at home.
My roots were deep in Minnesota - 18 years with pretty much the same group. The creation of my group growing up was unconscious and slow; it was identity development in a crock pot. (For those not from the midwest, that's slow marination in low heat.)
It took me a few years to find my friends at Oregon, re-grow some roots, and reestablish my sense of belonging.
Those few years were not very "educational" in the sense of engagement with my classes or academic ideas. Being lonely colored everything in gray. Belonging comes before confidence or problem solving and learning on Maslow's Hierarchy and this is reflected in my transcript. Big lecture halls just made me feel more alone - "water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink."
With my privilege, I had it better than many. My family was strong and supportive (if far away). I had models of college success nearby. It was still a very hard time.
Those years were formative in that I knew staying provincial would be limiting and I had to learn to root my confidence internally. I went through it the slow painful way, the only way I knew how.
We're building a much better way.
A way that's fun instead of painful. We're building a clear path to identity formation in community. We're building a stronger Maslow's foundation so that students can stay focused on esteem, leadership, and actualization.
This is how the academics talk about it:
Thus, the lower performance and persistence rates of first-generation students are more likely attribut-able to the fact that they are less likely to engage in the academic and social experiences associated with success in college (Pike & Kuh, 2005) such as studying in groups, interacting with faculty and other students, participating in extracurricular activities, and using support services (Billson & Terry, 1982; Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005; Nunez & Cuccaro-Alamin, 1998; Pascarella et al, 2003, 2004; Richard-son & Skinner, 1992; Terenzini et al, 1996).From "First Generation College Students" by Jennifer Engle, Adolfo Bermeo, and Colleen O’Brien
How do the students talk about it?
Carlito Umali is giving a commencement speech on Sunday. He is profiled in an article in today's Seattle Post Intelligencer. Carlito is notable because he is a first generation college student, who succeeded against the odds (more than half of first generation college students who enroll in a four year college will not graduate).
What does he think is the most important aspect of his success?
"Community, I believe, is really the foundation of all education no matter what you're studying," the English major said. "In one way or another, you're trying to find community."
From my own experience, I couldn't agree more. What I really appreciate about Carlito is that he is giving back:
Carlito Umali will work for SU's First Generation Project next year, recruiting first-generation students from local high schools. He said he'll try to show students that they're welcome at colleges -- that academia is a diverse community they can find a place in [. . .]
Carlito made it work and now he's going to help others find their place.
If only we had enough Carlito to go around.
Coming In Part 2:
Belonging, Hierarchy, and Engagement
The Long Tail of Cool
Breaking Into the Dance Circle
In the Chronicle this afternoon there was a choice quote:
Weller says new Web tools (such as wikis and video-capture technology) put power in the hands of students, but traditional learning-management systems (such as Moodle and Blackboard) emphasize central control by the learning institutions, so he predicts that “monolithic LMSs will be deserted, digital tumbleweed blowing down their forums. Students will abandon this in favor of their tools.”
This idea is still fringe. Many bets are still on the side of privacy, control and professors' fears about intellectual property.
The first comment for me sums up so much of the education challenge:
Students will abandon monolithic LMSs? Yes, in spirit they will, but as long as institutions are granting the credits and degrees, students [as always] will have to go with the flow.
— Kate Jun 18, 05:18 PM
In short: They don't have to like it. We can control them. Just like China.
Just for the record, I still stand behind a nearly one year old prediction that Mr. Weller at least partially agrees with:
There will be a suite of web 2.0 tools on Facebook. They will beat out Blackboard. Google will gobble.
Dear Umair,
Your Open Challenge was intriguing. Your manifesto required action.
We would like to apply for "revolutionary" status under your definition. If you have not yet found your five projects to advise, we humbly submit ours for consideration.
We are a start up determined to organize the world's education.
The data model of education needs to be turned upside down.
Currently, a student's information is trapped and chopped up into little pieces in the various departments of the institution. This information is encumbered by old thinking, systems and lawyers. The result is an expensive, top heavy and too often irrelevant model of education.
We give control of education data to the students, where they are free to be public. Leaving education footprints in the open allows us to provide recommendations, peer modeling, and peer mentoring. "People like you were successful when they took x class, joined y group, got z job and click here to see their path or ask them a question." The result is better education at a fraction of the cost.
We have invested all of our revenue in developing our web application. Quite literally putting our money where our mouth is - our revenue is from speaking in higher education. This experience has given us initial capital and more importantly a deep understanding and appreciation for the challenges. It has also given us 40+ schools signed up to use our system. We have made solid progress towards our vision.
Student apathy is a massive untapped resource. We want to free that resource by connecting and galvanizing individuals with common paths and common futures.
Our path to this vision is steep, but achievable. We have clear strategic milestones and reasonable acuity in the market - evident in our early success.
A big vision is a big risk. Your help would be invaluable. With your help we will continue to avoid the mundane and explode a truly renewable human resource.
I'm available on the phone or in person to discuss the project further. Thank you for your voice, it's inspiring.
My Best,
Kevin Prentiss
Founder, Red Rover
Setting up Red Rover for an institution is broken down into 3 steps:
Step 1 - Set Up Your Personal Account
Step 2 - Invite Group Leaders
Step 3 - Invite Regular Students
We currently have around 90 schools at various stages of setting up. Though we've worked hard to make sure set up is quick and easy, we want to keep improving the process and providing clearer guides.
Here's our latest video guide for schools ready for Step 2:
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