Online Education
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WRECKING BALL MARKETING
Pop culture is great way to look at various marketing tools and trends that you can analyze and apply to your own personal brand and product.
It's about becoming relevant and popular in what seems to be a short matter of time. What most people in the general public don't realize that these pop phenomenas take strategic months/years of planning along with a good PR team to develop. I'll take this time to go over the "love it or hate it" Miley #teamtwerk craze and show you how a good marketing plan can help your business get more attention and success. The best part is, you don't even have to be dancing around in an oversized teddy bear costume with a foam finger!!!
Now you might think because Miley was pretty well known before this complete 180 degree turn-a-round in persona, that her marketing route won't work for you but that's where you're wrong! It's about doing your research, creating a strategic buzz or hype around your company, a full fledged launch, and gaining even more attention by saving some surprises for later on. Miley, before the release of her first single off of her latest album was releasing what seemed to be random but fun viral videos of her dancing or twerking in funny costumes. She planned on releasing a more urban geared album and needed to gain the attention of that audience who normally wouldn't be drawn to her, that's where the viral videos came into play! This is part of your initial research before launching your company. Learning who your audience is and what their habits are. Reaching out and interacting with them in their own social environments is a must! This means checking out or taking part in events, conferences, conventions, online blogs/websites, and expos where you can meet and network with potential clients or buyers of your product. Take your time in this phase. The more people "discover" you the greater the chance they may take an interest in your company and potentially start telling other people about what you're doing. It's obvious that the more people know about you the more potential business you may have only if you're targeting the right people. This must be done at the same time you're finishing or polishing up your main business whether it be a website, store, or album.
Once you notice people are getting excited about who you are and what your product is, it's time for a soft launch! Your first single can be phase 1 of your website where you have everything working just right but know that there may be a need for improvements depending on the feedback and traffic you are receiving. Here is where you do even more promoting of your business, but more quickly. Create your own events or become sponsors of popular events where a good amount of your audience will be plus other new demographic audiences. You will start to see people outside of your target audience getting interested in your product. Stay open to feedback and plan for adjustments to keep everything running smoothly.
You have their attention so now it's time to come at them LIKE A WRECKING BALL!!! This will be more of a grand opening or full launch of your company. Come at them with a complete error free website and full service catalogue or clear and concise call to action. By this time you'll feel more confident in your product because of the success you were seeing in the previous phases. You have their attention and it's your time to deliver on the excitement you've created!!! It's more than having a good end product and just putting it out to the public. You know the old saying of "if you build it they will come", well "they" may not find you because they may not know you exist! You first have to take the time to do your research, create an awareness of your brand, launch your company, then promote, and fine tune it as you go. Once you're at the top, it's up to you to hold on to that status by investing in on-going marketing for company. It was long journey getting up there, why would you even want to start to slack off now?
CLICK HERE to enjoy this WRECKING BALL OFFICE DOLL we created for you to have as daily reminder of what it takes to twerk your way to the top!
Online Education Tool Khan Academy Breakthrough for Las Vegas Teacher
The following is an interview I conducted with Chris Reger, a second year math teacher at Brinley Middle School in Las Vegas who came to the Clark County School District (CCSD) after completing a Teach For America program. Chris unlike most middle school math teachers arrived in Las Vegas with a BBA in Finance and an MBA in Securities Analysis from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Chris had been working on integrating Khan Academy, one of the latest innovations in online learning into his classroom last fall. While setting up Kahn Academy for his students, Chris ran into several technical hurdles online and needed help. After approaching All in Web Pro about his problem, we decided to volunteer our time for free to help Chris access this amazing new online educational tool.
Founded in 2004, Khan Academy was not widely known until 2009 when it began receiving press. But despite its humble beginnings it has recently received wide support and acclaim. CBS Las Vegas named the Khan Academy iPhone app as one of the "5 Best Educational Apps to Download" of 2012. Indeed since early 2011, according to Google Trends, search traffic for the term has sky-rocketed; which corresponds roughly to the moment when the founder of Khan Academy, Sal Khan, presented a TED talk in which his work was referred to by Bill Gates as "the future of education".
Several months after getting Khan Academy setup and running in his classroom, I asked Chris if I could do an interview with him to share his story with other teachers in Nevada and to help spread the word about the power of this free and readily available online tool.
Owen Carver: Thanks for taking the time to participate in this interview Chris. As a Clark County School District teacher here in Las Vegas, tell me a little about how you came to work in the district and your first impressions.
1/3 of my students were starting the year on a 1st to 3rd grade math level and another 1/3 of students were starting the year on a 4th to 6th grade math level. Again, these were all 8th graders.
Chris Reger: I have a fairly unique background - one that is far from typical for a teacher here in Clark County. I studied finance in college and completed a master's in business administration. I worked for 3 years at a mutual fund company where my responsibilities included selecting stocks for placement in company portfolios. When I decided to leave that company, I knew I wanted my next endeavor to be something that allowed me to give back. Education has always been a field that I felt strongly about, and Teach for America provided me an opportunity for getting into the classroom immediately. Coming into the district, I knew there were going to be big problems that needed to be fixed. If that weren't the case, Teach for America wouldn't be placing teachers here. In my first year of teaching, 4 of the 5 sections that I taught were pre-algebra 8 classes that nearly all 8th graders in Clark County are now required to take. According to a norm-referenced exam that all students take numerous times throughout the year, I found that 1/3 of my students were starting the year on a 1st to 3rd grade math level and another 1/3 of students were starting the year on a 4th to 6th grade math level. Again, these were all 8th graders.
Owen: How did you first hear about Khan Academy and what attracted you about the program as a possible tool for your own classroom?
Chris: I had heard of the Khan Academy numerous times before moving into education. However, shortly before I started my first year in the classroom, I had the opportunity to listen to Sal Khan speak at a Zappos corporate event. After hearing Sal speak about the benefits of and new tools included on his website I knew this was going to be a tool I had to implement in my classroom. Given what I have stated previously about how far behind many of my students were starting the year, I knew I was going to need all the help I could get in remediating skills.
Owen: Tell me a little more about the challenges you faced as a teacher in Las Vegas when first trying to implement Khan Academy.
Chris: As you'd expect, many of the systems and structure in place in a large school district are bureaucratic and broken. I immediately started asking around about how I could make the Khan Academy work in my classroom within Clark County guidelines. After gaining an appreciation for how tedious and lengthy this process would be, I knew that I couldn't afford to work with the school district. I demanded better because my students deserve better.
Owen: How did All in Web Pro help you access Khan Academy?
Chris: In its earlier days, the Khan Academy required students to log in with Google or Facebook accounts. This logging-on process ensures that teachers can track and monitor student growth and areas that might need more attention. I partnered with All in Web Pro to help create a system that would allow all of my students to have accounts that could be used on the Khan Academy platform. At the time, this process involved the creation of a domain, the application for a Google Apps for Education account, and all the technological wherewithal to make it work. We needed to ensure that student security and privacy were maintained and that the solution we created was cost-effective for an educator. Within a few days, our solution was complete and I was able to introduce all of my students to the Khan platform in our school computer lab. The ability to move quickly and intelligently allowed my students to dramatically increase their learning time over the course of the school year.
my students grew on average by 2.1 years in math in a single academic year
Owen: How has Khan Academy changed how you teach now, and what kind of results have you seen?
Chris: In my first year of teaching, I saw remarkable growth in my students! According to the norm-referenced exam I mentioned earlier, my students grew on average by 2.1 years in math in a single academic year. Furthermore, in my pre-algebra classes, we saw the pass rate on our 2nd semester district final increase to 67% (vs. 14% in the previous year). In my first semester teaching our school's algebra class, our semester final pass rate increased to 88% (vs. 28% in the previous year). Using the Khan Academy allowed me to shift the responsibility for remediation onto my students. This empowered my students to achieve infinite more learning than what I could offer with 1-on-1 or small group study sessions. Thus, I am able to maintain a rigorous pacing schedule with classroom time and shift nearly all student remediation to after-school and individual Khan Academy time.
Owen: What recommendations do you have for other teachers in the Clark County school district?
If you want to do well by your students, you need to figure out systems that you can use to quickly and effectively remediate student skills. I wouldn't recommend waiting on the school district or your school to accomplish this.
Chris: The responsibilities of a well-intentioned teacher in Clark County are enormous. If you want to do well by your students, you need to figure out systems that you can use to quickly and effectively remediate student skills. I wouldn't recommend waiting on the school district or your school to accomplish this. It's quite laughable what the district spends its money on and how easily it falls for the savvy marketing pitch of a technology salesman. In the last five years, there have been so many websites and technologies designed that can truly help teachers more effectively reach students. I've found that most of the items that best allow me to engage students and increase learning are free. We as teachers need to spend some free time exploring these options and taking risks with implementing them in our classrooms.
Owen: Do you know anything about other teachers in the district that have tried Khan Academy?
Chris: Not sure I have much to offer on this one - I would say I know many of the youthful teachers in the district, and I haven't heard of a single one who is using the site as extensively as I am.
Owen: In light of everything you've said, what message would you like to impart to the many parents, voters, and law-makers in Clark County and Las Vegas?
Chris: A strong education system is the result of having a strong set of stakeholders - strong parents, community, teachers, students, and individuals. A breakdown in any one of these areas can lead to the weaknesses that we currently see in Clark County. In our case, there's plenty of blame to go around. From what I've seen, the most successful outcomes in education take place when individuals accept responsibility for outcomes. This happens when parents reinforce positive behaviors at home, when communities are active and involved, when teachers build strong relationships at school, and when students set goals for themselves and chart out a clear path to achieve success. It's easy to pass the blame onto someone else, but doing what's easy rarely achieves anything worthwhile.
Owen: Thank you for your time Chris! This is really amazing and I appreciate you sharing your story with me.
Chris: Anytime, and thank you!
For more information about Khan Academy and some exciting new developments in Las Vegas recently regarding eduction, check out the links and video below.
DOWNTOWN PROJECT DESIGNATES $50 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR EDUCATION INITIATIVES
published Nov 22nd 2012 by the Downtown Project (this article was removed from Downtown Project's website)
5 Best Educational Apps to Download
published August 1, 2012 6:00 AM
March 2011 TED Talk w/ Bill Gates