Friday, January 13, 2012

TeacherTube Rocks!

Another great technology resource (that is Free!) is TeacherTube:

TeacherTube is an online community for sharing instructional videos. It is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

Among other things, with TeacherTube, community members can:

1.Upload, tag and share videos worldwide.

2.Browse hundreds of videos uploaded by community members.

3.Integrate TeacherTube videos on websites using video embeds or APIs.

4.Make videos public or private - users can elect to broadcast their videos publicly or share them privately with those they invite.

TeacherTube - Try it out!  http://www.teachertube.com/index.php

Friday, January 6, 2012

Measuring Outputs


The Measurement of Outputs in business is Critical to any organization. What is important, of course, is making sure what is being measured is Germane to the Success of the venture.

Two Ways of measuring outputs are to look at the Voice of the Process and the Voice of the Customer:

The Voice of the Process
Output measures that describe the Actual Outputs and capabilities of the process

The Voice of the Customer
Output measures that describe Customer’s needs, wants, and expectations

Both measurements are important to understand what is needed by the customer, and what the system is delivering to satisfy those needs.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Identifying Key Processes


Knowing which of your processes are truly key to the success of your organization takes a bit of analysis.

Four questions can be used for identifying Key Processes:

Ask yourself:

1. Which outputs are of the greatest importance to our customers?

2. Which processes produce these outputs?

3. Which processes are most visible to our customers?

4. Of the processes identified in response to Questions 2 and 3, which seem to have the greatest potential for improvement?

Once you have identified your Key Processes, you will be well on your way to serving your customers better, and growing your business!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Using Humor to Engage Your Audience


As anyone who knows me will tell you, I like to use Humor in my Presentations. I have always found it beneficial in Engaging the participants, and I am confident it helps to improve student learning.

The creative development of Humor in the virtual classroom deals with "How" to teach, not "What" to teach. The use of humor is a teaching tool that increases the amount of "What" that is actually learned by students. Using humor can have a Very Positive Effect on any classroom (or boardroom) experience.

Some teachers and other professionals fear they will not be taken seriously if their material elicits a laugh now and then. Don’t be Afraid! Try using some humor in your presentation, and see how much it is appreciated by your audience.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Getting Your Inbox to Empty


One of the requirement of effective Time Management is the realization that you cannot (and should try to) do everything at once. What you should do, however, is have Control over all of your "In" boxes, (physical and virtual):

Getting “In” to Empty doesn’t mean actually doing all the actions and projects you have collected It just means:

1.  Identifying each item

2.  Deciding what it is

3.  What it means

4.  What you are going to do with it

Once you have done that, you have control, and in effective time management, control is what it is all about.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Toot the Horn!


Perhaps the most important, and often underutilized, tool in truly effective coaching is Giving Praise.

• Great companies and coaches take the time to Recognize good work and good people

• They also encourage their people to Ask for recognition when it is not forthcoming

• It’s good for your people to “Toot Their Own Horn”!

How do you feel when you get praise for doing something well? You want to do More of It!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Moment of Truth



Are you ready for the Moment of Truth?

The "Moment of Truth" occurs every time a customer makes Contact with an organization. You have the opportunity at that time to make a Positive, Neutral, or Negative impression in the mind of the customer.

You might ask yourself:
  • "How does this affect the reputation of the company?"

  • "Do I have a clear idea whether the customer's needs were met?"

  • "Do I have a recordkeeping mechanism in place to track these Moments of Truth?"
The moment of truth happens all day; every day. Are you ready?