WebEx: Ideas in Motion

Sandbox Time - The Importance of Play When Learning New Technology

Today’s blog was written by our guest, Phil Montero. He is the founder of YouCanWorkFromAnywhere.com and an evangelist for distributed work.For more than a decade he's been teaching how to work effectively from a home office, the road, or practically anywhere.Visit his blog TheAnywhereOffice.com for more tips and articles about living a digital lifestyle and navigating the changing world of work.

One challenge many teams and organizations face is getting their people to use and embrace much of the amazing collaboration software and technology that is available. In working with virtual teams, we find that many people tend to fall back on email rather than shared online work spaces - or opt for traditional conference calls rather than using web meeting or conferencing services.

Find Their Comfort Zone
The biggest stumbling block is getting your team comfortable with the new software or service and truly understanding the benefits it provides.

In short, why would it make my life or job easier?

Far too few companies provide training on these technologies - so you and your colleagues are forced to figure it out as you go along or after a very brief tutorial. This sink-or-swim mentality causes many of these powerful tools to go untouched and impedes productivity.

The secret to turn this all around is simple . . . play!

The Power of Play
Play is a non-threatening way to remove stress from learning and encourage exploration of the features of new technology. Create some type of project for your team that's fun and everyone will be excited about using the new tool.

Want your team to start using SharePoint or some other type of web-based discussion board or collaboration space? Why not setup a place where they can share recipes, bios, and information about their hobbies and families?

Want them to use WebEx or some other meeting service? Create time to have a regular virtual water cooler where they can share photos, create a poll about which books or movies are their favorites, or pass control of the desktop around to write a story together (with each person typing their paragraph into Word) or give a tour of favorite useful websites.

Play Let’s People Succeed and Fail - Safely
Let's face it, no one wants to explore using a new technology or tool with the pressure of a project deadline; or the possibility of looking foolish in front of peers and co-workers if you are not using it correctly. I'm extremely comfortable with technology, always have been, and I attribute that mostly to the fact that I play with it and explore it's features before trying to use it for something important.

When trying to learn Sony Vegas for video editing I didn't create some critical video for my business website - instead I took some family footage and created something fun to share with friends. When looking to learn more about desktop publishing I didn't immediately create a company newsletter - I created a mock CD cover for my band.

The only limit is your imagination!

Ask the people on your team, they may have some great ideas for fun projects. This is extremely useful for virtual teams: using a fun, playful approach to learning new technology not only leads to greater technology adoption and increased productivity, but also encourages informal communication and team building, which in turn increases trust and accountability.

It's not just about choosing the right tool - it's how you thoughtfully apply it. So find ways for your team to play with the tools you want them to adopt and you'll be amazed at how quickly they find new ways to apply them to their work process and teamwork.

Have you used “play” in your work environment? Tell us about it!

Can ideas change America? Find out at the Rock the Vote health care event.

Join the discussion. Take part in shaping your future.

Rock the Vote in hosting an online event in conjunction with WebEx to get people talking. To share ideas – ideas like the ones below.

Register now.

While the debate about health care continues, you may feel like you don’t have a voice or you don’t understand or that it can’t possibly affect you. But you do, you can and it will. Health care will affect all of us – our parents, our siblings, our friends – and Rock the Vote wants to make sure you have access to information. So you can understand what it all means.

Join this event on Wednesday, Oct. 21st as we bring together a fascinating array of panelists including speakers like Heather Smith, president of Rock The Vote and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy.

Share your ideas.

Prior to the event, we want to hear from you. Post your ideas and stories at PasstheBall.com and we’ll share that information with the team prior to the event. Here are just a few to get the ball rolling (click on the link to see the idea-in-full):

Roll-over Minutes for Health Insurance: Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have roll over type of minutes with your health care provider? Or some type of bonus if you don’t get sick or use your health insurance for a specific amount of time. The individual or family that’s insured could then donate those unused minutes or “bonuses” to a family of need or a charity.

Link to Heal: This social networking site will allow patients and their families to form virtual communities around specific topics of interest or medical conditions and let anyone, “from any part of the world” to be a part of this virtual community…

Re-instate the Lunch Hour: Corporations today, especially those in the high tech industries are promoting unhealthy lifestyles. Eating lunch is a thing of the past. If eaten, it is done while on conference calls at the worker’s desk. The negative implications on our physical and mental health are already visible. Corporations are rewarding those that do not maintain a healthy balance. 

Have an idea of your own? Want to rate what’s there? Visit PasstheBall.com and share, rate or just look around. And in the meantime, register now for this week’s event.

Online Event Details: Wednesday, Oct 21st at 4PM PST |  7PM EST

  

From Kids to Adults: Three Hot Ideas to Improve Learning

Inspired by Steve Wozniak’s talk last week, folks are busy sharing their ideas to improve education at PasstheBall.com [you can hear the recording of Woz’s presentation here].

Our hope is that you will share your ideas as well as we all work to make change in the world. Here are a few ideas that we thought were interesting:

Idea: Teach children what they are capable of learning.
No child left behind presumes that all children are capable of learning everything and that if a student does not get a 4 year college degree that they are going to be failures. Most of the school resources are used to prepare students for college and almost none for Vo-Tec. The reason the high school dropout rate is so high is because some students run into a wall in advanced math and science courses and are forced to drop out because they are not capable of passing. Why not guide these kids to vo-tec classes and prepare them for jobs that are needed and pay well? [See the idea.]

Idea: Break the Chain – Improving Teen Self Esteem and Goal Setting
There are a lot of underprivileged students in my community. Over 50% the students at the middle school I work at qualify for free or reduced lunch, which qualifies us as a Title 1 school. A lot of the homes they come from are not only in a state of poverty, but the adults maintain a “poverty mentality” in which they create situations, real or not, to keep them from moving forward. My idea is to create a group that would assist in showing these students the consequences of their poor choices and to assist them in reaching their dreams. This group would come into the schools and set up a club, provide presentations, and empower the students to create better choices for a better lifestyle. [See the idea.]

Idea: Connect retired mentors with current learners.
Allow students or workers to share their problems with experienced retirees in a virtual problem-solving setting looking for workable solutions and answers. [See the idea.]

Did you know you can get a free trial of WebEx to start working on your idea? Give it a try and see how easy it is to start meeting online. And if you aren’t ready for that, then at least come share your ideas (or rate others) at PasstheBall.com.

  

Steve Wozniak Delivers: Creativity and Technology Belong in Education

On Thursday, September 24th, Steve Wozniak presented a fantastic talk about his experiences getting kids excited about technology in education via a WebEx Ideas in Motion webinar [get the recording here]. 

His enthusiasm was contagious as he passionately discussed the results of his efforts.

Woz, as he is affectionately known, is a huge supporter of teachers and education. He spoke of his great experiences in school as a child and his incredible respect for his teachers and the schools that he attended. 

He acknowledged that testing has its problems, that it’s not as powerful as a subjective judgment. He’d rather see a way to evaluate that takes into account the individual and his or her talents and needs. 

Making the computer part of the process

His idea to inspire the kids is to get them using computers to do the things they are already doing by hand. By making the computer a natural part of the process – from doing homework to completing projects – kids have a way to get comfortable using the tool. 

Along the way, he encourages them to be more creative, to try new things and to not sacrifice communication – large, funky fonts might look fun, but they don’t necessarily help get the idea across.

You can learn more about what Steve is doing with kids and with technology at his website: Woz.org. 

Learn more about our presentation series

This presentation was one of a series being hosted by Cisco WebEx as part of our Pass the Ball efforts. You can click here to see future and past events. You can also subscribe to this blog or join our group on Facebook to learn about new events as they become available.

And don’t forget to Pass the Ball

Visit us at PasstheBall.com and share your ideas. When you share or rate an idea, we’ll make a donation to Teachers Without Borders. We believe when you share your ideas, they get better and we are working to help that become a reality for the ideas growing on PasstheBall.com. 

  

Steve Wozniak and You! Live WebEx Event this Thursday, Register Now!

On Thursday, September 24, Steve Wozniak will be on a live WebEx talking about his dedication to education over the last 35 years. You are invited to attend. Register here to reserve your space. And in the meantime, here are a few excerpts from a fabulous interview Wharton did with Woz in 2008. You can read the entire interview here.

Excerpts from an interview published February 20, 2008 in Knowledge@Wharton. 

In the years following [Apple], Wozniak sponsored two Woodstock-like music festivals known as the US Festivals in 1982 and 1983, taught computing to grade-school students, and devoted much of his time and money to philanthropic activities. His current interests include playing Segway polo -- that is, playing polo while riding the Segway Personal Transporter in lieu of a horse.

Knowledge@Wharton: It sounds like you think this is more than just having a good time. In terms of education, you seem to believe this underlies teaching people how to be creative and inventive.

Wozniak: Exactly. Humor is closely related to the creativity and invention that we're born with. It's that spirit of thinking out something a little bit different -- making up your own jokes.

Knowledge@Wharton: When you taught computing part-time to fifth grade students after you left Apple as a full-time employee, you said that was the most important time of your life. How so?

Wozniak: It was a great time in my life for a lot of reasons. I'd been doing a bunch of philanthropy in San Jose. I felt very good about giving away my money to start good museums: Children's Discovery Museum, the Tech [Museum] of Silicon Valley, a ballet company.

I had wanted to teach my whole life. I just started up a class by inviting a few kids over the phone -- one year's class had six students only.

Then I moved up to 22 kids. Then I started doing multiple full classes of 20 and 30 kids. I enjoyed it so much. I was sharing something I was good at with the kids, and I was helping them make their homework better.

I was not trying to make them be computer people like myself. I said: I have to reach everyone in the class, not just a few who want to be weird little geeky people. I want to reach everyone.

So I taught the kids how to make their homework look good. If they were assigned [a report] I would say, "Let's do the report on the computer. Here's how we can choose the right fonts and make it look good." If they were assigned some history project [I'd say], "Let's do a timeline in the drawing program." Or, "Let's do a spreadsheet with some charts to show some data that you're analyzing."

I would take the real stuff they had in school, and after school I would do [it] in my computer class.

Education is so huge -- you can't have one quick solution. The solutions are very far in the future.

We technologists can figure out how to get more education at a lower price. That's a big key. But the amount of money for education is always going to be too low.

The government has a certain about of money to spend on things. And you think, "Oh, they're just going to determine the priorities: Here's what percentage should go to education, what percentage to the military, what percentage to forestry, what percentage to roads."

But those percentages tend to map to how many votes there are. And there's a little problem in the United States: A family of five gets no more votes than a family of two. So, the families with the kids, [for whom] education is a top priority, don't have a say [proportionate to] the size of their family. Kids aren't really considered in the votes and [in the] money for education, which is just backwards.

Every farmer gets to vote on farm bills. Every elderly person gets to vote on elderly issues. Schooling is a problem because young kids don't get to vote.

Register Now!

Event Details: September 24, 2009, 10am PDT  |  1pm ET  |  5pm GMT (-7:00)

  

Webinar Must See: Steve Wozniak Talks Education Live! on Sept 24th

He’ll tell you he’s never written a speech out in advance. That alone should make the upcoming WebEx featuring Steve Wozniak a fascinating experience (register now).

Based on his 35 years of experience, Woz, as he’s known affectionately around Silicon Valley and beyond, will talk about how he has taken his ideas about education and technology and turned them into reality – impacting the lives of children hungry for new ways to learn.

In this WebEx, you will:

• Learn how Woz has evolved his many ideas and applied them in a way that has benefited thousands
• Discover how he brings computer capabilities and creativity to the classroom
• Hear about his various business and philanthropic ventures as he share stories from his experiences

Join us for a highly personal, unforgettable talk delivered by one of the most influential pioneers of technology.

Register Now

Event Details: September 24, 2009, 10am PDT  |   1pm ET   |  5pm GMT (-7:00)

 

WebEx Forum: Using the Power of Internet and Global Collaboration

Fred Mednick, Founder of Teachers Without Borders, will offer a pragmatic forum entitled, One Idea, 165 Countries on Monday, September 14th. He’ll describe how his organization is using the Internet and tools like WebEx to extend their reach to embrace the world.

He’ll talk about how Teachers Without Borders reaches out to more affiliates, more often, with more information thanks to the Internet. And how the team has overcome issues related to organizational coordination, communication, planning and follow-up.

Plus, he’ll include a look at how the Internet has increased the speed of feedback – allowing his non-profit organization to adapt to the changing needs of different geographies and cultures.

Register Now!

And you can post pre-event questions on our event page on Facebook. Fred will have time to review what’s posted and either address the questions during this talk or after the event on Facebook.

Event Details: One hour WebEx on Monday, September 14, 2009; 10:00 AM PDT | 1:00 PM EDT

WebEx Forum: Join Fred Mednick to choose an education Idea winner!

Join us at an Ideas in Motion Forum where we'll be showcasing three ideas from PasstheBall.com. You can register now to attend.

The session will be hosted by Fred Mednick, founder of Teachers Without Borders. The goal of the session is to have a discussion that can help these ideas get better and then vote for a winner. The winner will get a free year of WebEx to help develop their idea and bring it to life!

The ideas we'll be discussing:

The Link Letter
One way to pass the ball would be to help our students begin to send a kind of “link letter”. That’s what I call a short written message from one student to another student who is not in his geographical area. The message would express hope, humor, or encouragement. It could include an idea or custom or animal or flower that is unique to the writer’s area...<see idea>

Students Rate their Teachers
Students should be allowed to evaluate their teachers. Then taking the evaluations into consideration, the school board should then have unannounced evaluations for those teachers. This allows for the school board to evaluate a teacher in his or her daily environment...<see idea>

Speech Therapy & Sign Language for Special Needs Children Abroad
Often special needs children are last in line to receive any education or assistance in developing countries. Using WebEx you can give speech therapy or any face to face therapy remotely and even teach their countries sign language as well. We can reach more children in need <see idea>

Have an idea for PasstheBall.com? Come over and post it! You might win a free year of WebEx!

Register Now!

Event Details: One hour WebEx on Friday, August 28, 2009  10:00 AM PDT | 1:00 PM EDT

Idea in Motion: Teach astronomy to kids in developing countries

At PasstheBall.com, we saw this interesting idea posted to help kids in developing countries learn more about astronomy from Bruce Berger, Boston, MA USA.

Most children are fascinated by the night sky (okay, I am way past being a kid and I still squeal with delight when I see a shooting star - and I make a wish!). What a great way to engage kids in science and learning by connecting it to the things they see every day! Here's the idea:

"My idea comes from a very successful program I put on during a cruise chartered to see the solar eclipse of 2009. There were three facets to the program – how does a telescope work, let’s make a telescope, and learning the night sky. We had about 20 kids from 7 to 12 years old participating.

Together we explored the need for a telescope, how they work and then we actually ground a telescope mirror. I brought along the components to build a complete scope, and the kids assembled it and got to use it." Read more...

Are you interested in helping Bruce make his idea a reality? We are offering WebEx sessions to discuss cool ideas and if you are interested, let us know. All you need to do it join Bruce's team. If you have ways to make his idea better, add your comments. Then stay tuned, you may be invited to a WebEx Forum to discuss ways to bring Bruce's idea to life!

Have you own idea? Share it at PasstheBall.com.

Big Think Video: Eat, Pray, Love and Get Creative with Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the book Eat, Pray, Love, discusses how she improves her creative process as we continue to share ideas as part of PasstheBall.com. She recently spoke at the TED Conference on the musing on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

This video clip from Big Think features her thoughts on creativity...

We want to hear your ideas for improving life - from healthcare to the environment to education - and more. We believe ideas get better when they are shared and using WebEx is one way to do it!