The London tube strikes last month didn’t just bring trains grinding to a halt across the capital - small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) were victims as well. Figures recently released by the Federation of Small Businesses revealed that over £600 million was lost in working hours, business and productivity over the 48 hours the strikes lasted. As if this wasn’t enough, UK SMBs were met with further misfortune this month as a result of the extensive flooding following the wettest winter since records began. Anyone who lives in Britain is no stranger to wet weather, but the disruption has been so severe in some areas that the government has had to set aside £10 million in hardship funding for those affected, putting the true extent of the problem into stark context. As part of the relief effort, we have pledged to support any small business affected by providing free subscriptions to our online meeting solution, GoToMeeting, to help them get back on their feet again as quickly as possible. Both the strikes and the recent flooding have exposed the continuing vulnerability of SMBs to unpredictable disruptions of this nature. For many, this vulnerability stems from an over-reliance on the increasingly outdated work practice of requiring employees to be physically present in an office in order for the business to function as normal. And as a result, any impediment to employees translates immediately into problems for the business. In a recent YouGov survey of IT decision makers, two fifths (40%) of respondents felt their business lost revenue through employees being unable to get to work. Yet it does not have to be this way. Through simple, intelligent deployment of technology, many SMBs can ensure they remain operational regardless what’s going on in the world around them. Citrix small business customers are already capitalising on the flexibility that our portfolio of cloud service offers to work efficiently from just about anywhere. Whether it’s meeting with colleagues remotely through GoToMeeting, accessing content and sharing files securely using ShareFile or collaborating on projects using Podio, Citrix offers cloud-based solutions for businesses of all sizes and shapes. After all, business success should not be contingent upon regularly running trains or a physically accessible office. It’s easy to get started and could be the key to the future of your business. If you’d like to know what the cloud can do for your business flexibility, please just get in touch. A few minutes talking to us could ensure that next time the UK disappears under water, it doesn’t take your business under with it. Photo credit: FreeBirD via Flickr

"Knock, knock." "Who’s there?" You’ve probably heard this joke one too many times, but humor can be a powerful marketing tool if wielded properly. During one of the many great SXSW sessions I attended last week, I was able to sit in on a session about communicating with humor. "Humor is about change - taking the boring and serious and subverting it to create fresh and unexpected connections that didn’t exist before," commented one of the panelists, Sheri Klein, VP and Director of Research at AD Council. Humor can be used to make a serious topic - like adoption - approachable or a boring campaign exciting. Humor is a tool just like any other marketing tactic. The panel highlighted three key ideas to consider whenever using humor in marketing and advertising. Target prospects that aren’t already advocates. Use humor to make your product or campaign interesting enough for people to talk about and do something - like buy, ideally. Check out this example for pet adoption. Be honest. The truth is funny, but imperfections are even funnier.  If you use humor to own up to a mistake, that mistake could end up winning you more advocates than trying to cover it up. Leverage outside-of-the-box celebrities. Consider using celebrities from YouTube or other social media sites and microsites. They can be your biggest advocates and increase the awareness of your product or campaign with their own fan base. Check out this video by Milana Vayntrub and Stevie Nelson for water.org. Humor doesn’t have to be intimidating. Just speak in your own voice, be honest and use it as a tool to be interesting. And remember, people like poop jokes. Photo credit: Gregory Gill via Flickr

GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining are similar products that serve different functions, but users don’t always realize the differences between them. In short, each product has specific features to help facilitate different types of online events. In our recent webinar, GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining: A Comparison, we covered the differences between each product. We’ve compiled the most relevant questions that you asked during that webinar and paired them with our answers here for your review. But before we dive into those questions, let’s review the core functions of GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining. GoToMeeting facilitates small-group collaboration online. Up to 6 people can share webcams, and up to 100 can join each session, making it easy for teams to meet online. GoToWebinar facilitates large group gatherings and presentations, like all-hands meetings and marketing webinars, with audiences of up to 1,000 people. It has built-in surveys, polls and Q&A, so you can make your online presentations interactive. GoToTraining facilitates online classes and accommodates up to 200 attendees. With course catalogs and attendee reporting, GoToTraining lets you train employees, customers and anyone else online. Now let’s get to your questions about the differences between GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining. Within screen sharing, can you share a specific application or document rather than your whole screen within all three products? Yes, sharing a specific program or document is possible within GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining. Select the application you would like to share using the dropdown under Show My Screen in your control panel. Do GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining all have built-in reporting functionality? No. Running reports on attendance and engagement is a feature built in to GoToWebinar and GoToTraining, since they are designed for larger group trainings and briefings. These reports give organizers insight into event registration, performance and attendee engagement. GoToTraining reports are built specifically for educators and trainers, with performance data on testing scores and evaluation reporting. You can learn more about the reporting functionality of GoToWebinar and GoToTraining on our support site. Will GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining automatically distribute the join information to my attendees after I create an event? No. In all three products, the organizer is responsible for sharing the meeting invite and information with attendees. After you schedule a video conference using GoToMeeting, copy and paste the session information into your meeting invite or get started with gotomeet.me for easier meeting scheduling. In GoToWebinar and GoToTraining, after you schedule a session, use your unique link to the registration landing page to promote registration to your event. Will GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining automatically notify my attendees if I cancel my event? No. You can cancel or reschedule an event at any time with GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining, but the organizer is in control of notifying attendees of any changes. Paid events that you have set up through GoToWebinar or GoToTraining will require extra steps for organizers to reschedule their event. We have step-by-step information on our product support pages to help you cancel or reschedule a paid event at any time using either your GoToTraining account or GoToWebinar account. What formats do GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining produce recordings in? Is there a way to change my recording’s format? GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining all produce event recordings in specific formats depending on the hardware you are using. On a PC your file will be converted to a .wmv. For MAC users the file will be converted to a .mov format. To edit your recording file, you need editing software. Who can change presenter control in GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining? In GoToMeeting only the meeting organizer can give or take control during your video conference. In GoToWebinar the event organizer and assigned co-organizers can present and control the session. (More information about promoting someone to co-organizer in GoToWebinar can be found on our support pages.) In GoToTraining organizers can give control to co-organizers, panelists or an attendee, and they can override that control at any time. Learn more about the roles of organizer, panelist and presenter in GoToTraining on our support pages. What is the attentive feature and why do only GoToWebinar and GoToTraining have it? The attentive feature of GoToTraining and GoToWebinar uses a unique algorithm to show organizers how many attendees are engaged with the presentation. The attentiveness dashboard is housed in the control panel, so organizers can easily check to see how engaged the audience is and, if low, think about adding in something engaging, like a poll. Because GoToMeeting is designed for smaller collaborative sessions it is not necessary for the organizer to monitor the attentiveness of the audience. Who can be unmuted during GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining events? And who controls that functionality? In GoToMeeting, individual attendees control their audio, but organizers have control of attendee audio, too. So if any attendee has background noise coming in, either the individual or the organizer can mute the line. In GoToWebinar and GoToTraining, only the organizer can mute or unmute attendees. If you missed the event and want to learn more about which Citrix collaboration tool fits your needs, watch the recording. Or if you’re interested in learning more about a specific product, check out the recordings of our webinars: GoToMeeting101, GoToWebinar 101 and GoToTraining101. Photo credit: TheBusyBrain via Flickr

We’re sharing SXSW insights all week, and I’ve got one last post for you. I sat in on the session "Beyond Unplugging: How to Stay Sane Online," where the panelists argued that digital detoxes don’t work. I was intrigued. I know I’m not the only one these days that battles the balance between keeping up on work and in touch with friends and disconnecting from my device. Some days I’m so sick of my phone that by the time I’m home from work, I find myself hoping it won’t ring; yet the thought of turning it off makes me anxious. What if someone I love gets hurt and their last dying wish is to call me and they do only to find that my phone is off? So when Rohan Gunatillake, the creator of the meditation app buddhify, and Lauren Bacon, a tech entrepreneur and coach, told the group that we didn’t have to turn off our cell phones to feel free from the technological overload we often experience, I perked up. How? "Digital detoxes frame technology as bad … we need to move past to a more mature conversation about technology," said Gunatillake. Rather than unplugging entirely, they suggest being more mindful about how often and for what reason we’re using technology. Bacon explained that answering an email or text message isn’t just about you and the person you’re answering. When you take time to answer a message, what are you not doing? Did the email interrupt you while you were doing something important, like having a conversation or eating dinner with your family? If so, consider why you answered the message right away. You may find it’s more of a habit that a necessity. Not to mention that only we can set our expected response times for ourselves. Bacon also pointed out that what we need separation from is different for everybody. It could be work email, social networks or group texts, among other things. The insight here may seem simple, but it’s powerful too. Bacon said it best: "It’s about choosing to engage in technology rather than being a slave to it." If you feel like you’re a slave to your email or social networks, consider being a more mindful consumer of technology. Digital detoxes are a don’t. Purposeful participation is a do. Do you feel overwhelmed by technology? Write to us on twitter @citrix to tell us how you deal with technology overload. Photo credit: Tom Magliery via Flickr

Spring has arrived and warm weather is on its way (for most of us, anyway)! Finally, right? And that means it’s time to make those summer plans. Are you planning on taking a vacation? How much time do you take off during the summer? Do you work on your vacations? Tell us in our summer vacation survey. Your responses will help us craft an infographic on how to enjoy your summer while still getting work done. Not only will we post the infographic here when it’s complete, but there’s also a $15 Starbucks gift card in the mix for one random survey participant. Thanks for helping! And no matter what your plans are, we hope a relaxing and rejuvenating summer lies ahead.   Photo credit: Caleb Dorfman via Flickr

We’ve always thought of online meetings as the next best alternative to in-person meetings. They were born out of business continuity needs, so when weather, costs, time or various other dependencies keep us from attending our meetings in person, we can continue to get our work done together. But as we started taking more and more of our meetings online, we noticed some serious bonuses of the online environment. You won’t hear us say that there’s no need for in-person meetings anymore, but we do want to point out some pretty nifty upsides to meeting online aside from the sayonara you can say to your commute. Upsides to online meetings Taking notes on your computer during an online meeting beats taking them on a notepad that, at best, you later transcribe onto your computer for safekeeping and, at worst, you lose or spill your coffee on. There’s no travel time necessary in between meetings. Video conferencing makes it feel like you’re meeting in person, since you still see facial expressions and gestures. Everyone can see the presentation clearly on his or her own screen. Sometimes we bring our laptops to in-person meetings and join just the web part of the online meeting so we can still see the presentation and chat panel. Attend meetings all over the country and world all in one day. Since you’re already actively working on your computer, you can search online or through folders for any data and files that come up during the meeting rather than waiting until after the meeting and following up about it. Recording online meetings make it really easy for people who missed the meeting to be briefed on what happened, and attendees can review what happened if they need to. You don’t have to book a conference room. You can avoid sick meeting attendees, who always insist on shaking your hand or borrowing your pen during an in-person meeting. Use what would have been your commute time to sleep in later, exercise or do whatever else you want to do. Meet immediately as needs come up, since you don’t have to travel to meet. You can stay home when bad weather or illness strikes and still attend your meetings. Everyone looking at the work getting done on screen fosters group focus. People may be more likely to join an online meeting, since they don’t have to host someone in their office or drive to a different office. Meeting online has some serious bonuses, including increased productivity, focus and flexibility. We’re sure you’ve got your own ideas for why meeting online rocks. Send us your responses on Twitter @gotomeeting. Photo credit: Farouq Taj via Flickr

A nice problem to have … is still a problem. Conversion Rate Experts (CRE), a web optimization firm founded by scientist Dr. Karl Blanks and Internet marketing expert Ben Jesson, had too many clients too far away from its Staffordshire (UK) headquarters. It was an inevitable problem, really. Quick flashback: The duo developed a new approach to increasing the effectiveness of websites while working as in-house marketers for an international telecoms company, and, within 12 months, the firm’s sales tripled. Soon the behemoth of all things web Google came calling, inviting them to consult on its split-testing software. Back to CRE’s international expansion struggles, the founders weren’t looking for someone to cry them a river. But they did want to find a way to provide all those faraway customers with friendly and personal service. You can probably guess where the story goes next: Blanks tried out several different online solutions, and GoToMeeting rose well above the rest. Why? Because it had all the features the firm needed while also being easy to use. Blanks is a big enough fan that he recorded a short video about how CRE is using GoToMeeting. It’s only 45 seconds long, but it manages to cover one of the fundamental problems with the science of teleporting and tell the story of a team member who participated in 39 meetings in one week with people in a number of countries he couldn’t even remember. (We checked back. It was 11 countries. That’s a lot of money saved on airfare.) And like any smart team, the people at CRE found other great uses for their newly adopted technology. Like allowing staff to work remotely - 30 of its expert consultants are located remotely across 12 different countries. Has GoToMeeting helped your small business succeed? If so, please tell us more! Check out our video gallery and record a short snippet about you, your business, and how you’re using GoToMeeting. We’ll feature the video on our web and social channels, and maybe even write about it (and you) on the blog! Photo credit: Doug88888 via Flickr

The work week starts and I’ll bet you do things in a certain pattern that has little variation. It’s great to be organized and have methods of doing your work. It keeps you efficient and allows you to perform. The problem that creeps up on all of us ever so silently is complacency. Most people don’t even recognize that they’re trapped. We continue to do things the same way and never think that stagnation occurs. How many training sessions state that people won’t make change happen because things have "always been done this way"? The other side of this spectrum...

So you’ve moved your events online, and now you want to make them better: expand reach, improve participation and better your reputation. But where do you start? These five GoToWebinar tips are as good a place as any. 1.     Customize and separate your GoToWebinar panel. As the event organizer, you own the event, but did you know that you also own the layout of your GoToWebinar panel during your event? To efficiently reference the information on the GoToWebinar panel that you need, you can separate and undock parts of it. Take the Q&A panel for instance: when you press the button with two arrows on it in the top right corner, the Q&A pane pops out and stands alone in case you want to minimize the control panel. On a PC, you can also undock the attendee list, chat pane and audience view. 2.     Use right click as a shortcut. When it comes to muting and unmuting, promoting attendees to panelists or dismissing someone from the session, you need to be able to complete these actions quickly. Enter the right click shortcut in the GoToWebinar attendee list. By right clicking an attendee’s name, you can mute and unmute their line (as long as they are using VoIP or have entered their telephone audio PIN). You can also promote them to panelist or organizer, let them see the attendee list, send them a chat message or even dismiss them from the session. This makes the attendee list your one-stop shop for all things webinar administration. 3.     Let participants show webcams. Live video conferencing engages participants more than audio alone. It’s more interesting to watch someone speak rather than just hear them, so when you get to the Q&A or discussion portion of your webinar, consider opening phone lines to let participants ask questions verbally, and, if they’re up for it, ask them to turn on their webcam while they ask the question. To do so, you’d have to promote the attendee to be a panelist, but, it might be worth the effort. Not only will you likely see a spike in attentiveness, but also the questions and answers might spark a discussion that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. 4.     Create polls in session. The aim of any event is to engage and inform your audience, and a sure way to up level your event is to respond to participation in real time. Notice a spike in participant attentiveness or contribution? If so, you may consider launching an ad-hoc poll related to the current topic. Just select Create a New Poll from the drop-down menu under Polls in the GoToWebinar control panel to create a poll in session. You can create up to eight polling questions before or during a webinar, and organizers will be able to see poll results during a webinar as well as in the Attendee Report and Performance Report once the webinar has ended. 5.     Ask anything in the post-event survey. If you’re using the post-event survey to gain feedback on the value of your event, that’s great! Hopefully the responses are helping you to improve your events. However, there are no rules when it comes to the post-event survey. If there’s research you’ve wanted to procure from your audience, why not poll them on that topic as they leave the webinar? You have up to eight questions to pose in the post-event survey, so figure out what data you’re after and ask for it! Two birds meet one stone. How are you up leveling your webinars? We’d love to hear your tips for producing better events on Twitter @gotowebinar. Photo credit: iamtheo via Flickr

By Tim Wackel A few months ago I decided it was time to move forward with a significant home improvement project. I began the process by calling several companies who had done similar work in the neighborhood. Every company was eager to send a representative who spent considerable time with me reviewing the project and gathering the information necessary to submit a proposal. All of the representatives I met with were friendly and had the expertise and experience I was looking for, and their companies had impressive resumes of similar projects they had successfully completed. I was very clear on how fast I wanted the work performed and everyone agreed that my expectations were within reason. This was going to be a difficult decision … or so I thought. After all that work, three of the reps were never heard from again. I’m guessing everyone has experienced this frustration, but I’m still amazed when it happens to me. There aren’t many people on earth who have lots of extra time on their hands. Why in the world would a rep invest over an hour with a prospective buyer and then not follow up? Was the project too small? Did something more profitable fall into the pipeline? I guess I’ll never know. A quick phone call or email explaining the situation would have gone a long way toward gracefully bowing out and saving their brand’s reputation. While I had some reps bail on me, other reps sent competitive proposals in a timely fashion and then immediately went into hard-close mode. Asking for my business came easily for these reps but asking for my thoughts and reaction wasn’t as easy. I started to feel like I was buying aluminum siding and decided that wasn’t much fun. So I soon eliminated those reps from further consideration. What is the "secret" to effective follow-up? And how can you ensure that you don’t push too hard, too little or not all at? Here are four simple but valuable ideas to help you gauge your effectiveness: Don’t put it off. Remember that your prospects are also prospects of your competition. When it comes to follow up, do what you say you’re going to do, when you say you will do it, or don’t say anything at all! Everyone gets busy, and it’s easy for follow-ups to fall through the cracks. Don’t put it off. Use some form of contact-management software to help you track commitments. Don’t like what your company uses? Buy your own! It will be the best $200 investment you make this year. The discipline of keeping your commitments costs pennies, but the regret of having them slip can cost thousands! Ask great questions! Most sales people believe that "listening" is the most important sales skill. And it is important … but it isn’t number one. Asking great questions is the key to moving opportunities forward. "What did you like the best about my proposal?" "What was missing?" "What, if anything, was off target and needs to be re-worked?" "In an ideal world, what would this look like as we move forward?" Follow-up is your opportunity to learn and reposition. Don’t blow it by forgetting to ask high-impact questions. Your goal is not to sell something but to help them make a great buying decision. Remember to keep your focus on them by asking great questions. Be persistent, not pesky. Be sure that you have a good, productive reason for every contact. Not many people are interested in having their sales rep "check in" to see if they’ve made a buying decision, but they are interested in having you follow up to add value to their decision-making process. Share relevant, new ideas or have one of your existing loyal customers call to discuss their experience working with you. Prepare for every touch point by creating a simple agenda or outline for the conversation. Sharing this with your prospect at the beginning of the call demonstrates that you’ve done your homework and respect their time. Don’t just wing these conversations. Just say no! If, for whatever reason, you decide not to pursue an opportunity, contact the prospect right away and let them know. Introduce them to someone else in your organization or refer them to a competitor. Prospects appreciate the truth just as much as you do. Don’t just disappear! Learn the art of a graceful exit and save your reputation and personal brand. Remember that word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool, but it cuts both ways. Everyone appreciates the truth - it’s the trademark of a successful rep. Focus on speaking more truth with prospects who aren’t the right fit. They will appreciate it, and it will free you to focus your energies on other opportunities. Your ability to master the skill of effective follow-up is crucial to your long-term accomplishments. Most reps are great at the first few contacts, but very few know how to truly nurture an opportunity. Learning the art of effective follow-up builds clients, success and your personal brand. Are you mastering these skills? If not, you should be. Want to learn more about the art of the follow up? Join Tim on April 8 for a webinar to hear more tips and tricks and get all your questions answered! Tim is the founder and president of The Wackel Group, a training and consulting firm dedicated to helping organizations find, win and keep customers for life. He is a member of the American Society for Training and Development and holds a professional membership in the National Speakers Association. He earned his Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Nebraska and lives in Dallas where he and his wife raised their two children and are now enjoying their empty nest. Photo credit: *sax via Flickr

In recent years there has been a movement in businesses to reduce outdated systems and increase productivity by embracing automated paperless billing - and AvidExchange is realizing real success offering these solutions. One of the key components to their growth is their ability to foster targeted and meaningful relationships with clients and prospects using Citrix solutions. "In an effort to continuously find new ways to communicate our message to a widely untapped market, we invested in Citrix to utilize their world-class tools to convey our paperless story to the midmarket," says Tom Spencer, SVP Sales & Marketing at AvidXchange. Instead of endless cold calls and generalized junk mail sent to pre-purchased lists, AvidExchange is practicing what they preach by updating their processes to include educational webinars. And what a difference that has made! In fact, they have been able to double their number of new customers over two years using GoToWebinar. By developing a webinar strategy to disseminate information to larger audiences, AvidExchange has discovered a few best practices to share. 1.       Track your leads. Optimize your communication efforts with customers and new leads by collecting and maintaining your audience members’ information using a solution like your GoToWebinar account. Create a unique URL that can be tracked and collect valuable customer insights upon event sign-up that can be managed in one place. This will make maintaining detailed records of new leads a lot easier. 2.       Arrive early, start late. Arrive early to your webinar to practice and load your materials for attendees so you feel prepared and ready to go. Instead of starting your event on the hour, AvidExchange recommends starting 2-3 minutes after the actual start time to allow people time to join and handle any technical difficulties they many have joining for the first time. 3.       Tell audience what they want to hear. Focusing on valuable educational content will attract larger audiences. Provide best practices, industry trends or audience benefits, but don’t discuss your company specifically. Introduce your solution at the end of the event and try to focus more on how your solution solves the problems you have identified during your webinar. Finally, set expectations of what attendees will be receiving after the webinar (a call from a rep, slides, a recording, etc.). 4.       Detailed follow up means better close rates. You already know to follow up with customers and leads within 24 hours of your virtual event with a recording or supporting materials. AvidExchange, however, uses a built-in GoToWebinar feature to further personalize interactions and address customer needs. They recommend saving your questions and polling responses for reps to have when following up with leads. Overall AvidExchange has seen conversion rates that run 50% for registrants to participants and up to 70% for sponsored webinars. Those are some pretty impressive conversion rates! Learn more about webinar program best practices from GoToWebinar. Photo credit: Richard.Asia via Flickr 

After reading my coworker’s recent post about the online meeting vows, I was inspired. Why, you ask? Because we’ve all had an online meeting where someone accidentally interrupted or derailed everyone from the tasks at hand. But instead of calling someone out, we wanted you to laugh out loud at this little list of online meeting pet peeves that all of us encounter some time or another. 1. When you coworker’s dog is "contributing" a little too much.   2. When someone is typing but you can’t figure out whom - and it’s really, really loud.   3. When you realize you sent that private chat message … to everyone in the group.   4. When you realize that you had something in your teeth the WHOLE TIME and no one told you.   5. When you realize you’re not recording … and you should be.   6. When someone is doing something distracting on camera, but you have to pretend to ignore it.   7. When your coworker’s baby joins the video conference.   8. When  someone accidentally ends the event early … for everyone.    9. When your non-work friends send you an IM while you’re still screen sharing.   10. When you share your webcam only to realize that your light source is behind you.   11. When your coworker starts talking about something you can’t see because they forgot to share their screen.   12. When everyone on the call gets a case of the giggles … and can’t stop.   13. When you realize your boss is a mouth-breather.   14. When someone forgets to mute their cell phone and its ring tone is "The Macarena." What’s your online meeting pet peeve? Send us a GIF that shows your reaction on twitter @gotomeeting. Gifs courtesy of: Giphy.com Photo credit: Ealasaid via Flickr

Today we have a guest post by Dr Sandra Bond Chapman, PH.D. Founder and Chief Director of the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas, Dee Wyly Distinguished University Chair and author of Make Your Brain Smarter, is committed to maximizing cognitive potential across the entire lifespan. As a cognitive neuroscientist with more than 40 funded research grants, Dr. Chapman’s scientific study elucidates and applies novel approaches to advance creative and critical thinking, strengthen healthy brain development, and incite innovation throughout life. On average we now live to the age of 80 or older, but our brains are only in their prime until our early 40s. We go almost half of our lives with a brain in a declining condition. Workplace culture and unhealthy habits are the key culprits prematurely robbing us of mental prowess at midlife. Memory, speed of thinking, problem-solving, reasoning and decision-making all power down in our last 30 to 40 years. In a healthy brain, cognitive decline occurs because we let it. Cubicles, unfocused meetings, unproductive conference calls and an excess number of opinions can drive brain drain in the workplace. But it’s not just our work environment that drains our brain of its vitality. Personal habits also influence which path our brain takes: health or unnecessary cognitive decline. Many of the practices we mistakenly take on and believe to be productive, competent and hard-driving skills for career acceleration are actually toxic to our brain. Take Control of Your Brain’s Health You can retrain your brain for health and productivity by taking advantage of a unique quality known as neuroplasticity, the brain’s inherent ability to adapt and change throughout life. Cognitive decline in healthy adults is not an inevitable consequence of aging. Our brain is at least as modifiable, if not more so, as any other part of our body. Here are a few common brain-drain habits and how to combat them: Tethered to technology The need to respond instantly to every email, phone call, text or social media post is rewiring our brain to be addicted to distraction. In this ADHD-like state, we struggle to focus for long periods of time and think deeply about one thought, idea or task. Renounce these toxic tech tethers and "unplug" for a little while. Give your brain some time away from the constant distraction of your smartphone’s siren song and you will find it easier to focus on the task at hand. Multitaskaholic Multitasking is like asbestos to the brain. Our brain is not wired to do more than one task at a time. Multitasking causes brain fatigue and reduces productivity and accuracy. A task that would normally take 25 minutes to complete without interruption takes more than 2 hours when multitasking or allowing disruptions. Embrace the lost art of single-tasking and perform tasks sequentially for optimum brain performance, productivity and accuracy. You will find it easier to get everything on your to-do list done without having to keep switching gears. Constant mental work Just like unrelenting and constant physical exercise causes overexertion and bodily injury, constant mental work is harmful to the brain. Take a brain break and practice doing nothing. When working on mentally challenging activities for more than 25 minutes at a time, step back for 5 minutes. Your brain will quickly reset and recover from fatigue. As an added bonus, new ideas are likely to arise regarding your task. Our work at the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas is dedicated to improving brain performance in individuals of all ages and stages. We have developed strategies that are scientifically proven to make your brain smarter, increase its lastingness and even improve its health. You can create positive brain change when you commit to a brain-healthy lifestyle. If you want to thrive from 9 to 5, you will have to drastically change the way you engage your brain. Make sure that your best brain years are ahead of you - not behind you. If you want to learn more about how to change your brain habits, read our white paper for brain-bettering tips. Photo credit: Hey Paul Studios via Flickr

Our kick-off meeting was an unqualified success - thanks to the overwhelmingly positive attitude that the twelve participants brought to the table. This was a big U--shaped table and with a podium in the middle. Folks came to the podium with well prepared material that opened up discussion. Those who sat around the U kept  the discussions lively, critical, and solution-oriented. Let's do  the same on-line. These conversations can continue on this website and  become more practical, specific and actionable. We have a lot to accomplish in a few months. Thanks for reading -- please write, too.   PS: I am starting a discussion of  Tempo and Progression - based on Joyce's presentation and meant to guide Thomas's music, which will drive the game and the brushing lesson itself.  

How will the kids see themselves on the screen?   Whose teeth will they brush?   Leontyne ran an informal survey of Jenna's ideas for the Avatar.   She had five candidates: PuppetBoyDogMonsterMr TeethRobot.   Each kid identified the character they liked best, and which they liked least.   Then the kid was asked to point to the tooth in his own mouththat matched the one that the Avatar was brushing. (Kids might like an Avatar  --without being able to identify their own teeth with its teeth.)   The results were interesting.    The most popular avatar - Dog- was also the worst for tooth-indicating accuracy.Most kids liked the Dog - but most could not tell which tooth he was brushing.PS: It's a canine!   Mr. Teeth - the naked choppers - had almost perfect accuracy,but he made some kids uncomfortable. The Robot was far more appealling than Mr. Teeth, and nearly as accurate. So we are going forth with the Robot. Summary results below   (sample size: 12 boys, 2 girls)   Thanks, kids, Leontyne and Jenna         AvatarBoysGirls LikeIdentBoys -1Girls0Like-1Ident69%Boys2Girls1Like2Ident38%Boy-1Girls -1Like-1Ident77%Boys-2Girls1Like-2Ident92%Boys 2Girls -1Like2Ident89%  

This is a series now…practically an institution! #2 Removing Gamification from an Enterprise SNS I still haven’t found the real strength to write a post on Gamification.  It is coming, soon.  Until then, you’re just going to have to take this information for what it’s worth.  This study reviews the implementation and focuses on the […]

This is the last post of this series! #1 The impact of tutorials on games of varying complexity This study takes a look at another important component of games, the tutorial.  When designing a game, we always must decide how we will teach our users how to play the game itself.  And most good, high […]

#10 Wang, L. & Chen, M. (2012).  The effects of learning style and gender consciousness on novice’s learning from playing educational games.  Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, 4(1), 63-77. #9 Ventura, M., Shute, V., & Zhao, W. (2012).  The Relationship Between Video Game use and a Performance Based Measure of Persistence.  Computers in […]

I wanted to write something short and sweet today, so I thought this would be a fun topic to tackle.  While this post is not related to games specifically, it is a question that has to be answered before really digging into to any education or training initiative. One of the most common questions I […]

I love deconstructing and reviewing games.  This is definitely a game that I really loved! I first downloaded this game to my iPad as part of an evaluation to be performed for the IITSEC Serious Games Showcase & Challenge.  I hadn’t heard of the game prior to then, but based on the title suspected Algebra […]

This conference had me at hello.  I mean, who doesn’t want to become the supreme leader of the universe?  It seemed a little loose in terms of schedules and speakers, but I figured it was time to try something new.  Let me start by saying, I was lucky to score a ticket.  A friend had […]

Super excited to report that @krisrockwell & I co-penned a chapter in the much anticipated a new book! New Traditional Games for Learning: A Case Book This book is a collection of games for learning, not all of them digital! Edited by Alex Moseley & Nicola Whitton. This book is finally out and available via […]

Hi, my name is Cheryl Keeton. Throughout my career, I’ve been responsible for program evaluation, review, and success. Most recently I transitioned to independent consulting to focus my energy and passion to the field of evaluation. I want to share my experience as one way to make the transition. Lessons Learned: Three years before I decided to become an independent evaluator, I began exploring evaluation from the 50,000 foot view. I attended my first AEA Conference to learn about the many ways evaluation is used outside of my field. I wanted to know who is doing evaluation, how are the various approaches different from the way I do things, and how can I use the sessions to help self-evaluate my strengths and weaknesses. The sessions were fascinating and the community of AEA members was very friendly and helpful. I made new friends and began to establish a network of support. Next I attended an AEA Summer Institute for in-depth learning and practice. I knew I had a firm foundation but the summer study program allowed me to build and grow, extending my understanding, and learning techniques that were new to me. Since those initial steps, I reached out to resources around me to help establish my independent consulting. Gail Barrington gave me the best advice for how to begin when I met her at an AEA conference "do it now while you are still working." Before making the transition, I read Dr. Barrington’s book- Consulting Start-Up and Management: A Guide for Evaluators and Applied Researchers. I got advice from the career center at the local community college and created a web presence. Dr. Barrington’s book has been the best investment and reference for me as the process unfolds. I reached out to the evaluation community through AEA and my regional organization, volunteering on the local and national level and taking advantage of training such as Ann K. Emery’s Data Visualization workshop. Her blog and resources are amazing. I also follow Sheila Robinson, AEA365 Tip-a-Day by and for Evaluators, and advice on Potent Presentations, p2i. I found that knowing what you are good at helps to provide direction as you begin. Fields of experience help me to narrow the scope so I know what projects to consider and where to place my energies for marketing. Gail Barrington outlines this in her book very well. My experience transitioning from in-house evaluation to independent evaluation and consulting has confirmed for me that membership in AEA is essential to provide the big picture and grounding in principles, training is imperative to stay current, and connecting with others in the field is invaluable. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.

You know how when you're early in your career you'll be willing to do just about anything to get your foot in the door? Well, that's how it was for me and my first full-time instructional design role... and the "anything" in this case was a repulsively long commute in bumper-to-bumper traffic every day.I won't lie, the hours in the car were all sorts of stressful and unpleasant, but there was one plus side to it: I finally started listening to podcasts. Sure, before this job I had understood that podcasts were a thing and had even poked at them with a stick once or twice, but I hadn't really bonded with any. Hours and hours in the car, though, gave me a great excuse to try out a bunch and finally find some I loved.The podcasts kept me entertained, but (and this is possibly because I skew towards non-fiction in my choices) they also taught me a lot about how to convey content in a fascinating way. It might seem like an unusual source of inspiration, but they definitely influenced the way I design training. If you haven't gotten into podcasts or if you're looking for some new ones to try out, here are the ones that I've found have helped me out the most as an ID.Podcast: 99% InvisibleListen to it to learn how to: make ANY content interesting, leverage storytelling to convey information, get excited about designThat this podcast on the design of everyday things is my all-time favourite should surprise nobody at all (a big thanks to @marklearns for suggesting I try this one out)! The topics of each episode can range from things as bizarre as the carpet in the Portland airport, buildings that started out as Pizza Huts, or those strange "dancing" inflatable creatures you sometimes see at car dealerships, but when it comes to the content it's always solidly based in finding the fascinating story behind a design. This podcast has given me a lot of ideas of how to use storytelling to make my content more interesting, but it's also been helpful just as a simple boost to my creativity levels.Podcast: Stuff seriesListen to it to learn how to: talk about content in a way that's exciting to your audience, explain concepts in a simple way that newbies can wrap their heads around (without making them feel you're dumbing it down too much), make things interesting that could easily be boring  This is actually a family of podcasts from the How Stuff Works website. Each series covers a specific subject (like history, tech, and science), but is structured basically the same way: the (usually two) podcast hosts use each episode to get you up-to-speed on one specific topic. In the hands of a lot of people, this could end up being a snoozefest of a content dump, but the Stuff hosts are amazing at talking about content in a conversational, chatty way that makes you feel like a friend is catching you up on a topic over coffee. They're also generally quite good at pacing the content for the audience (you won't find it goes over your head or is too easy) and knowing what they can leave out to make things go faster. It's been a great inspiration for how to write training content that's effective and interesting.Which one should you start with? While I personally have a soft spot for Stuff To Blow Your Mind because once they used Katamari Damacy to explain accretion, you're pretty safe just looking for the show topic you like best and starting there.Podcast: Snap JudgmentListen to it to learn how to: talk about content in a way that's exciting to your audience, leverage storytelling to convey information, explain your content concisely There is one simple thing that links all the content in this podcast together: great storytelling. Every episode has a loose theme, like Unrequited (the opening story of this ep is a personal fav), The Return, and The B-Team, and features a collection of stories, often non-fiction, from a variety of speakers that all in one way or another connect back to that theme. The storytelling in this podcast is some of the best you'll find and you'll be astounded at just how much ground they can cover in just a few minutes. I think storytelling is one of the most important parts of the work we do, so I love this podcast as a source for a wide variety of examples of how to do this right.Podcast: Welcome to Night ValeListen to it to learn how to: design for your audience, think about the long game of conveying information, putting fun in your content If you know anything about podcasts then you've probably already heard about this one. Night Vale is one of the most downloaded podcasts these days, which you wouldn't really expect from a show that's pretty much Lake Wobegone by way of The X-Files (with a healthy dash of Eureka in there for flavour). So it's really entertaining if that's your cup of tea (note: it is totally my cup of tea), but what does a silly and bizarre show like this have to tell you about creating great training? Plenty.First, Night Vale knows who its audience is and is written in a way that appeals to that group. Because of this it's not the kind of show that's right for everyone, and it's better because of that. It's a perfect example of how much more effective something can be when it targets a specific audience. Also, it does a great job of long game storytelling. It plants threads of stories here and there for episode after episode, and sometimes these threads don't pay off for months... but when they do it's so much fun to see how everything eventually comes together. This is a great technique to use to make your simulations feel more real or to help content spread over a lot of lessons feel like it's meaningfully connected. Plus, Night Vale is an excellent reminder that humor is a great way to catch and keep attention (writers of dry technical or legal training: take note!).So those are my four favorites of the moment, but I'd love to hear more about the podcasts you find inspire your work (or just inspire you to think your commute is a bit more bearable). Be sure to put your favs in the comments below!