November 4, 2008 – Silence and Voice

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-11-04

The first two of my student teams presented their team presentations tonight. Excellent work as we are only on class 3 and in week 2! #
Went to vote, but the line stretches on for blocks. Never seen anything like it. #
Going to try for the second time today to vote. #
Going to try for the second time today to vote. #
Voted. #
Voted. #
On my way home. Tonight is my Principles and Practices of Online Course Creation and Instructional Design. #

Do Business Presentation Rules Translate to Education?

Business Week had an interesting article on their website today, Twitter Changes the Game for Pitching, where they discussed four rules for delivering effective business presentations:

Think visually
Cater to “clip culture
Create Twitter-length headlines
Practice regularly and incorporate feedback

While I teach business communication to MBA students, it struck me how useful they may be for education, especially for the adult and continuing education I regularly engage in. I am trying to be more visual in my slides, though I rarely (ok, never) embed videos in my work (mental note to self–try Zamzar.com). I do try to use message titles (focused and active titles that seek to engage and capture the main message of the slide) and I use an adapted version of Brookfield’s Critical Incident Questionnaire at the end of my classes for feedback.

I wonder, though, if I ever share and then discuss these concepts with my students to get their thoughts (as well as feedback)? No better time than to try in class tonight!

Vote Attempt #1

I tried to vote this morning, but the line stretched for blocks and was hours long. I have never seen anything like it . . .

I would have stayed nevertheless, but I am responsible for setting up for a 9:00 meeting, so will go vote this afternoon. I am not voting from a sense of civic duty, but rather a frustration for how distraught we as a nation have become.