Mad Men has episodes that you can sit and really talk about long after the show is over. Yesterday, I caught up with some episodes On Demand. In Episode Five, season three, we find the new British Owners starting to identify the waste in the organization. They bring the waste up to Don Draper, and he states:

“You came here because we do this better than you, and part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are.”

Think about it for a moment. “Unproductive until they are”.

I believe innovation comes from an environment of support and resources. Leaders in the 21st century, in this economic climate, are faced with tough decisions every day. The toughest decision may very well be “letting go” just enough to find the sweet spot of optimal productivity. What is the best way to do this? How do you “let go”?

What does this mean for education which has traditionally been focused on providing content, establishing rigid rules and timelines for students and then expecting students to care about material which is too dense and does not help them with their future goals?

It means that the old way of doing things will become irrelevant to the technologically advanced students who are entering the higher education system.

As I see it, online and campus education programs will need to embrace the following concepts if they are to remain competitive and relevant in the next five years.

Multi-media - The use of video, Adobe Captivate, and voice over lecture presentations will become key as more students want different types of formats.

Online Textbook Accessibility – Paper textbooks are cumbersome and cost too much and waste trees. However, publishers continue to make a fortune off of printing them. The cost trickles down the student who ends up paying an inordinate amount of something they will use for a max of 12 weeks. Once the student goes to sell the book, they only find out their school adopted a new edition and their book is little more than a doorstop. Education of the future has to embrace the Kindle and CourseSmart and other forms of online textbook delivery. There are several programs which allow students to purchase a few chapters at a time. This is key for a student on a budget. This is a selling point to get first time college students into school and over the financial barriers of starting their degrees.

Real-time advisement - Technology has come too far to have to wait inordinate amount of time for students to receive information about their degree plans, course enrollment and financial aid matters. By investing on the front end, providers of higher education will find that a strong process and plan for working with students will increase retention, decrease attrition and raise graduation rates.By using internal advisement wikis and FAQ pages, and providing students training on how to use the tools provided, will raise awareness and decrease dissatisfaction.

Trained Faculty - One of the main reasons some schools are more successful is because the person who interacts with the student is knowledgeable and trained on how to build a culture of curiosity and learning. An engaged faculty member leads to an engaged student. If a faculty member is not engaged with their students, this is a sure indication that the students may not stay in their degree program. Encouraging professional development for faculty on the latest technology and best practices will ensure they will be able to follow through with the student until the very end.

It will be interesting to see how educators keep up with students who are expecting only the best and crave a student-focused environment. Will they be able to meet the challenge?

Essentially, this is important to note how some technological advances are being incorporated into Online Delivery these days are NOT ADA compliant.

In the rush to ensure we are always cutting edge in the online classroom, it is key to note that not everyone may be able to use certain elements found in many learning management systems. Before implementing anything new, it is wise to stop and take a look at the big picture and determine who is affected by any new changes.

While in Seattle over the past weekend, I saw this saying on a Quotable Magnet and this saying is what I had in my mind when I started this site. I started this site/blog in an effort to share my thoughts about this world and that is helping other people find their purpose and their passion. Life is so short, and every single moment is an opportunity for you, and me, and others that you meet to make decisions that will make a huge impact.

In elementary school, I read the popular “Choose your own Adventure” Books. In these books, you get to the end of the chapter and you have two options. You go to page 86 or page 92. Depending on which page and decision you choose, you get a different ending. Usually, there was a good ending, and then there was a bad ending, but if you reached the bad ending because of your decision, you could start again. Or, you could flip through the book  and peruse the different outcomes.

However, life is not that way. You very rarely get a do-over and even if you do, the circumstances surrounding the new effort are usually never the same. You only get one shot with most things and often people let others make their choices for them, which I have been known to do as well. As I get older, I become more aware of how my decisions and how it is ME making the choice, and not someone else. It is up to YOU to make the difference in your life and be a leader of your own life.

If you are passive.

If you are inactive.

If you are not making the best decisions.

If you do not stand up for yourself.

If you do not take risks.

If you do not guard your heart.

If you do not learn how to say no.

If you do not learn how to say yes.

Well, then, someone else did that task for you.

The biggest step for me to help shape MY world was to create the site. I have always been a notoriously private person. However, some people made me realize that, when all is said in done, you only have YOU. In this life, we are offered a few moments to make a difference in someone else’s life. I never wanted to put myself out there for fear of what people who do not know me or who are not my friends (are there such people in this world? ha!) would think about me. Now, I realize, that by doing so, I was letting someone else shape my world. ‘Nuff Said.