Otus is an application for iOS and web devices that aims to offer everything a mobile classroom could possibly need for both teachers and students.  They've got assignments, assessments, polls, feedback, and more, all packaged within a free and easy to use app.  If you're at a 1:1 school I highly recommend checking out Otus because, quite simply, it's awesome.  Read more on our reviews page.

This Graphic Shows the Effects Texting Has on Your Body http://lifehacker.com/this-graphic-shows-the-effects-texting-has-on-your-body-1716980731   Stephen

Scholastic Publishes Fifth Edition of Kids & Family Reading Report http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/07/scholastic-publishes-fifth-edition-of-kids-family-reading-report/ "Scholastic has published the fifth edition of its popular Kids & Family Reading Report, the results of a survey conducted in conjunction with YouGov that gauges how children and their parents view reading in their daily lives.  The organizations polled over 2,500 respondents, representing ages 0-17, in late 2014. Questions ranged from the importance and frequency of reading for pleasure, what makes a "frequent" reader, where kids are reading, and what kids are looking for when selecting books. Of the children surveyed, 51% were currently reading a book for fun, and an additional 20% had recently completed one. Significantly more girls than boys identified in the former category. The other 29% of students admitted to not having read for pleasure in a long time. Surprisingly, when compared to these numbers, only 46% of children felt pleasure reading and developing skills in this area are important, compared to 71% of their parents. Scholastic also looked at the differences between "frequent" (5-7 days a week) and "infrequent" (less than one day a week) reading. Today, 31% of the children polled identify as frequent readers, down from 37% in 2010. The two demographics responsible for this drop are boys of any age, and readers over the age of 8. Perhaps the biggest reason behind the drop in reading frequency among older readers is the increasing prevalence of other activities, such as sports, extracurriculars, and most notably, spending time using devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. Unfortunately, the report notes that many children have found activities they prefer, preventing them from reading as much as they did when they were younger. One positive finding was that children are far more likely to enjoy reading—and thus take part in it more frequently—when they are given the freedom to choose their own books." … "The study additionally shows a positive correlation between how regularly parents read and whether their children will become frequent readers. The prevalence of books at home is also a strong indicator of a more avid reader. Because so many adults cannot afford to purchase reading material for their families, this makes borrowing from the library critical." There’s more in the report: Scholastic, Inc. "Kids & Family Reading Report." 5th Ed (2015). Accessed May 1, 2015. http://www.scholastic.com/readingreport/." Stephen

7 Common Mistakes About Open Online Education https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/7-common-mistakes-about-open-online-education     "Mistake #1:  "Open Online Courses Are a Substitute for Traditional Courses" Higher order learning is an activity that cannot be scaled. Foundational knowledge may be appropriate for a MOOC (or a textbook, or even a really well-designed educational video game), but advanced learning works best with an educator. The skills that are most valuable for both personal growth and for employment are those best practiced in the context of a relationship with an educator.  These skills include critical thinking, judgement, the ability to synthesize large amounts of information, and a facility in making persuasive arguments using evidence. Mistake #2:  "MOOCs Are Synonymous with Online Education" The online thing that traditional online education and open online education have in common is that both are done at a distance. MOOCs are all about scale and access. Traditional online education (when done well) is all about intimacy and quality. A traditional online course is built around the presence and connections of a small cohort of learners, all being led by an experienced and skilled educator. Developing MOOCs may help schools build technical capacity in traditional online education, as many of the same learning design and educational media principals apply.  But these are fundamentally different educational activities, and should never be confused as sharing goals, methods, or lessons. Mistake #3:  "Open Online Education Will Drive Down the Cost of Education" What open online education is doing is pushing colleges and universities to ensure that our traditional educational offerings are truly valuable. Any school that offers traditional courses (be these courses residential, online, or blended) that are no better than what can be had online and for free will be in deep trouble. It is not clear how this push to quality will impact educational costs. In some cases, MOOCs will drive up the cost of traditional education because creating quality educational opportunities is expensive. The large enrollment lecture course was always more about cost sharing than pedagogy. The days of big classes paying for small classes are over.  Every class offered at a fee will need to offer real value. Mistake #4:  "Open Online Education Threatens Traditional Residential Based Education" If you are involved in open online education (participating, building, teaching), you quickly realize that what MOOCs do best is illuminate the strengths of traditional higher education. Of course, MOOCs also shine a light on the deficiencies of any educational model built on a transmission of information model of teaching. What is most valuable about a good college or university education, and what MOOCs will never deliver, is the learning that occurs in the context of a relationship between an educator and a student. Higher order learning requires mentorship, guidance, expertise, and experience. MOOCs will eventually do a wonderful job of raising the floor for where higher education should begin. MOOCs reveal how a quality college education is more valuable, not less. Mistake #5:  "MOOCs are Prohibitively Expensive to Produce" The super secret thing about MOOCs is that they are they offer an  amazing value for their sponsoring institutions. The people making and teaching the MOOCs are doing so out of love. They are creating art. And like most art, it doesn’t pay all that well. Every open online education team that I know works an enormous number of hours to develop and teach their open online courses. They do so because they love what they are teaching. They do so because they love their schools, and they want to show the world some of what goes on on our campuses. The faculty and non-faculty educators who are putting together and teaching the MOOCs are internally motivated.  They want to connect with lifelong learners.  They want to be in the conversation with how teaching and learning is changing.   Every dollar that a school spends to support these creative educational teams is returned many times over in outreach, excitement, and institutional learning that these teams bring to our campuses. Mistake #6:  "Open Online Education Is A Fad" Open online education is becoming embedded in the fabric of our teaching and learning operations and culture. Schools will keep creating and teaching open online courses because we derive tremendous value from the experience. Creating and teaching MOOCs gives us the opportunity to engage in disciplined experiments in teaching and learning. We can try new things out because the stakes are low.  It turns out that free and open can be liberating for the provider as well as the consumer. Mistake #7: "MOOCs Will Not Change the Higher Ed Status Quo" The big higher ed story that nobody seems to be telling is just how much better colleges and universities are getting. Where everyone is focused on climbing walls and lazy rivers, the real story is improved learning. Visit any campus and you are bound to see experiments going on that are designed to improve learning. The most exciting work is in the redesign of large classes, and the move to offer blended and online degrees for graduate (mostly professional) students. There is huge excitement on our campuses about the research in how people learn, in new methods to improve learning, in the use of data to bring evidence to our teaching designs, and in new technologies to support teaching. The scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) is taking off in a big way. Learning is hot. Educators are cool. And MOOCs deserve some of the credit. The hype around MOOCs played the same role as the dot com bubble.  MOOCs helped lay the groundwork for a sustained conversation about how people learn and how we teach.  The excitement about MOOCs was never justified. But the excitement around learning was and is. Every college and university is working to make sure that the classes offered on campus offer greater value than what can be had online and for free. Methods and practices around residential education are being reexamined and rethought. Learning is understood as a competitive institutional differentiator." Stephen

How the Experts Protect Themselves Online (Compared to Everyone Else) http://lifehacker.com/how-the-experts-protect-themselves-online-compared-to-1720047084 Stephen

12 Satisfying Videos of Dominoes Falling http://mentalfloss.com/article/66449/12-satisfying-videos-dominoes-falling A wonderful summer time-waster. Stephen

For week two of the Tinkering Fundamentals online course we explored circuits! But even more so, I learned about the importance of exploration and fun. Read on to learn what I accomplished while I played with circuits!We were first instructed to watch a few videos on the subjects of circuit boards and inspiration. In one of the videos they talked about the Social Element of Space. How can we design a space for tinkering that will engage learners and encourage them to work collaboratively. One concept that caught my attention was the shape of the tables that they used in the videos. They looked something like this:A table like this serves two purposes. It allows for easier collaboration by drawing learners towards each other, both in the concave spaces on the sides and along the rounded edges. It also prevents the teacher from becoming the center of attention, and instead, forces them to be facilitators around the outside of the space. I found this design most interesting!Another important concept I picked up on from the videos was the thought behind failure and frustration. As teachers, we need to allow our students to fail and to become frustrated with the task. The reason and thought behind this is that those moments of failure and frustration can sometimes lead to breakthroughs in learning. And as I shared in my last post, FAIL = First Attempt In Learning.Activity Sharing: Playing w/ CircuitsFor this week's activity, we were given a circuits kit that include battery packs, alligator clip wires, a motor, a buzzer, and two types of switches. The goal was to explore the materials and learn the basic concepts of circuitry. Here is my reflection for this activity.I was really looking forward to playing around these wires, bulbs, switches, and battery packs! And I appreciated having to take off my "teacher cap" and replacing it with my "student cap".I started out by simply trying to turn on a light bulb.Then I wanted to add in an on/off switch.I then became even more adventurous! I wanted to see if I could use the bigger switch and have it turn on the bulb on one side and turn on the buzzer on the other side. It's true when they say that breakthroughs come when you are at your most frustrated. I almost gave up on this challenge, but reorganized my materials and backtracked through my wires to figure it out.WATCH MY VIDEO DEMONSTRATION!Lastly, I wanted to test out the strength of different types and amounts of batteries. I wanted to put to use the 2x AA battery pack, the 4x AA pack, and the 9V. I tested each to see how bright two bulbs would get and the results were what I expected, in terms of voltage.Week Two Reflection: How has the Circuits Activity Impacted Your Thinking?Whenever I help a teacher introduce a new tool, app, or technology to students I always emphasize the importance of PLAY.  I’ve come across too many teachers that have issues with their students being too distracted and unfocused when they introduce them to new tools and materials at the beginning of a lesson. And this is simply because the students weren’t given the opportunity to explore and play with those tools and materials first. Play is a very important phase of the process in learning. When we, as humans, are introduced to something new, our first instinct is to pick it up and examine it. Explore it and figure out how it works. Try and make it do different things. We learn this skill at a very young age and it needs to continue to be fostered. So I always suggest to teachers that they give their students at least 15 minutes to PLAY with something new. You have to allow them the time to handle it, to explore it, to figure it out for themselves, to be inquisitive, and to have fun. Once this has been accomplished, then they are going to wonder what the teacher wants them to do with it, and thus, you’ll have their undivided attention. This idea of play and exploration is really what tinkering is all about, and I definitely enjoyed that about this activity. I was given an assortment of wires, parts, and tools, and really wasn’t told what to do with them. So I had to play with them to figure it out. I started with the simple task of powering a light bulb, and then challenged myself further to include other switches, and buzzers, and motors, and different types of batteries. And through that exploration and challenge I was able to come to some realization of how circuits work. This is how we, as teachers, need to "teach", or rather mentor and guide our students through the process of investigating and learning. Learning by exploring, and challenging ourselves, and solving problems along the way. This activity helped to solidify the purpose and importance of tinkering in the classroom (and in life!).Tinkering Journal: My Understanding of CircuitsAnother, more complicated, circuit that I created involved using the larger switch to turn on the buzzer when pulled to the left and turn on the light bulb when pulled to the right. This one was quite a challenge for me because it involved a lot of wiring which became very confusing at one point, causing me to connect some of the wires incorrectly and failing at my task. At that point, I decided to backtrack by reorganizing my wires and components, and then starting again. This helped me to refocus and gain better control over the wiring, resulting in a success as demonstrated in my video!Share with me: Do you do a similar activity with your students? How do you address tinkering and play in the classroom?

Helping colleagues learn how to create blended onsite-online learning spaces by actually creating blended onsite-online learning spaces is an exercise we are far from exhausting, as I saw once again while facilitating a session at the American Library Association (ALA) 2015 Annual Conference here in San Francisco a month ago. Being able to foster this sort of blended interaction seems to me to be another critically-important digital-literacy skill along the lines of what colleagues are exploring in our ALA Editions "Rethinking Digital Literacy" course; is not at all difficult or costly to do if we creatively use tech tools readily available to many of us; and actually becomes a fun and engaging way for many of us to extend the size of the learning spaces we typically inhabit, we again saw during that "Blend It" session sponsored by ALA’s Library and Information Technology Association (LITA). The concept, which I’ve explored with colleagues in a variety of settings, is straightforward: using little more than a laptop with a webcam, a projector and screen, and some form of audio system (either a small, portable set of speakers or a connection to an existing sound system within the onsite space that serves as the anchor for our efforts), we create real-time multiple levels of communication between learners/colleagues in a physical setting and colleagues who join us via their own online access points anywhere in the world. This quickly transforms those offsite learners/colleagues from being part of a "left behind" group to being active participants in a learning space that can be thousands of miles wide if those colleagues come from a variety of countries. What makes this personally rewarding for all involved is that we continue to learn through experimentation. The earliest effort I was lucky enough to help design and facilitate used Skype as the tool uniting an offsite presenter with approximately 200 colleagues here in San Francisco for a dynamic and tremendously rewarding exchange. The experiments continued a few years later when two colleagues and I used Skype and Twitter to connect onsite and online participants in a wide-ranging conversation about how we could incorporate these tools and these blended spaces into effective learning spaces. New Media Consortium colleague Samantha Adams Becker and I continue to push this particular learning envelop via Google Hangouts in a variety of settings, so I was ready, at the ALA Annual Conference this year, to carry it a step further by adding a "bring your own device" element to the conversation. After introducing onsite participants to the concepts we were exploring, Harford County Public Library tech trainer Maurice Coleman and I demonstrated the concept by having Maurice step outside the room, use his own smartphone to join a Google Hangout I had started with my own laptop and was projecting onto a large screen that everyone in the room could see, and carry on a brief conversation that those in the room could join by addressing questions to him via the microphone that was embedded in the laptop. The magic moment came when he physically returned to the room—it’s worth noting that by remaining visible and audible via that smartphone, he had never really left the room or the conversation—and we offered onsite participants a challenge: quickly identify someone you know could not be here at the conference, try to reach them using your own mobile device, and bring them into the room now via a Google Hangout. It was learning at its best: those unfamiliar with Hangouts helped others try to set up individual sessions; those familiar with Hangouts tried to initiate their own. And those who were successful let the rest of us know that had eliminated another member of the "left behind" corps through that virtual contact. At its peak, we had nearly a dozen individual hangouts happening simultaneously, and those in the room completely made the learning space their own: some explained to their friends what they were doing and what others were accomplishing; a few kept those sessions live for the remainder of the time we had together. And one particularly creative learner left her seat and gave her offsite colleague a virtual tour of the room by walking around and introducing our offsite colleague to others who were onsite. It may have been gimmicky. It may have been far from pretty. But it was an exploration of digital literacy and educational technology at work in a way that provided a visceral example of how far we literally have come together. How easy it is for us to foster those levels of training, teaching, learning, and collaboration when we’re not afraid to risk failure in seeking small and large successes. And how easy it is to have fun while creating memorable, meaningful learning experiences that will continue spreading long after that formal session ended. N.B. - This is the fourth (and final) in a series of reflections inspired by the American Library Association 2015 Annual Conference in San Francisco and the fifth in a series of reflections inspired by our ALA Editions "Rethinking Digital Literacy" course.

Critical Thinking is more than just a concept, it is a real-life model upon which you can build successful and efficient problem solving skills, skills that prove highly valuable in the workplace and beyond. This technique, with its roots in Greek philosophy, is the application of logic to enable better, more reasoned decision-making. It can revolutionise your everyday life, by improving how you interpret opinions, rationalisations and problem solving practices. Critical Thinking is a system that is often misjudged as criticism, but rather it focuses on the ability to follow logical steps and arrive at a decisive and appropriate conclusion. With some careful and structured training, you too can become a more informed, reasoned decision maker.

Each month, I speak to dozens of teachers about making the transition into online teaching. While some are able to work full-time on their new business, others have other things - jobs, young children, university, travel etc. - that get in the way. I often get asked questions like, &#822... The post How to Transition into Online Teaching while Working a Full-Time Job appeared first on Teaching ESL Online.

Who we are: Hello, my name is Barbara Howard, Chair of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. My colleagues, Katherine Tibbetts, Don Klinger, and Patricia McDivitt, serve on the Joint Committee, which is a consortium of seventeen professional organizations, including AEA. Katherine Tibbetts is our AEA representative. We want to share our work on the Joint Committee with you in a workshop at the AEA Annual Conference this November in Chicago. Joint Committee Standards: Our mission is to research, develop, and disseminate standards, which can be used with confidence to guide sound evaluations of programs, students, and personnel in education. Our standards - The Program Evaluation Standards (3rd Ed.), the Personnel Evaluation Standards (2nd Ed.), and the new Classroom Assessment Standards - are the only educational standards certified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). These standards are compatible with guidelines, principles, and other standards issued by our member organizations such as AEA, primarily because these organizations have a seat at the table when the standards are reviewed and approved through a rigorous process. Many of you may have even reviewed our standards! Hot (Helpful) Tips: Here is how our standards may be helpful. Let’s say you are in a district adopting a new teacher evaluation system. Have you considered things like developing a new policy? Have you carefully planned the training of all the evaluators? What about training all the teachers on what to expect? Do you know if the system will yield valid and reliable results? How will you use the results? Have you thought about confidentiality issues? The Personnel Evaluation Standards can help guide you and your district in developing or implementing a system that will give you the results you desire. On the other hand, whether you are an experienced or novice, independent or in-house program evaluator, The Program Evaluation Standards can guide you in a similar way by helping you to consider all the aspects of a project from the early planning stages to the final report. Our newest standards, Classroom Assessment Standards, guide classroom teachers in the intricate process of developing, selecting, and using assessments to inform their instruction and promote student learning. Regardless of your field or level of expertise, these standards can help you sharpen your skills into best practice. The tools and tips we plan to share highlight the standards even more! Rad Resource: For more information about our standards and the Joint Committee, please visit our website www.jcsee.org Want to learn more? Register for Applying the Joint Committee Standards for Exemplary Program, Classroom and Personnel Evaluations at Evaluation 2015 in Chicago, IL. This week, we’re featuring posts by people who will be presenting Professional Development workshops at Evaluation 2015 in Chicago, IL. Click here for a complete listing of Professional Development workshops offered at Evaluation 2015. 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.

  Living abroad can be a life changing and eye opening experience. By submerging yourself in a new culture, you gain a new perspective on life, meet new and diverse people and feel connected to a community of global citizens. Not only can you benefit from the personal enrichment of living abroad, it is also an excellent career development opportunity and can pave the way for leadership opportunities. From navigating a new city, juggling time zones, adapting to new cultural expectations and learning a new language, living abroad can...

On August 5, @shrmnextchat chatted with Allan Weitzman (@Allan_Weitzman) of Proskauer Rose LLP about "Employee Handbooks-Every Word Counts." In case you missed this informative chat, you can read all the great tweets here:    [View the story "#Nextchat RECAP: Employee Handbooks - Every Word Counts " on Storify]  ...

It’s 3 p.m. on Friday and your boss has already told you that you can head out early for the weekend.  You’re wrapping up a few items and planning to leave shortly when a coworker comes to you and asks you for some help with a project they’ve been working on.  Your first instinct is to say you’re sorry but you have plans and need to leave early for the weekend.  While that may get you a few extra minutes of weekend sunshine, you could be missing out on some valuable work experiences. ...

  A manager has an open position. He will need to work closely with the new hire. Alan applies for the job.  The manager truly loathes him.  I could say it softer but that is the reality. Alan has all the requisite skill, education and experience.  But the sound of Alan’s voice makes the manager’s skin crawl. Based on his intense dislike for Alan, the manager does not want to interview him, let alone promote him. What do you do? As human resource professionals, we all have had managers come to us indicating...

Hiring Steady in August, but Recruiting Struggles Continue for Many HR Professionals In August, the hiring rate will fall slightly in manufacturing and rise modestly in services compared with a year ago, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey for August 2015.   Hiring rates will vary in August compared with a...

  How does the thought of being able to embed a device in your body to make your job easier appeal to you? What about an embedded device to improve your health or make you live longer? Would you do it? Many people cringe at the thought, yet there may be just such a device in your future, if not already present in your life. What to embed? People get uncomfortable with the concept of "embedding" devices in their bodies. Yet many people are alive today because of embedded...

Educational Technology and Digital Content Innovator Joins Richardson;  Christopher Tiné to Head Product Development Philadelphia, PA — August 5, 2015 — Richardson, a leading global provider of sales training and effectiveness solutions, announced today that Christopher Tiné has joined Richardson as SVP & Chief Product Officer. Previously, Tiné was Vice President of Product Development for ESI International and IPS Learning — both part of the Providence Equity Partners family of companies — where he headed the group responsible for product development and design, digital strategy, curriculum, and professional services. "Chris is a seasoned education executive with a proven record of working collaboratively to create exceptional technology-enabled products," said John Elsey, Richardson CEO. "He’s an innovator who will challenge us to think differently about how we create compelling, branded, and proprietary products that delight customers." Says Tiné: "I am very excited about joining the Richardson team. I love developing innovative products that blend cutting-edge technology and outstanding content. This is a great opportunity to join a leader in the field and build on an impressive product portfolio while developing something new and exciting for the market." Tiné has spent most of his career in New York City, beginning at Oxbridge Academic Programs and then moving through several roles in television, including for the BBC, PBS, and NBC News — where his role as producer spanned digital products and content, mobile products and strategy, and digital strategy. In 2009, he helped launch NBC Learn, the education arm of NBC News, and in 2011 was tapped to be Head of Digital for NBC News’ Education Nation, where he was responsible for websites, blogs, social media, interactive journalism, content partnerships, and building cross-functional teams within NBC. In 2013, Tiné moved to Macmillan Science and Education, where he headed Product Solutions and led a full redesign of the company’s Higher Education courseware products. Since 2014, Tiné has led a global product organization for ESI International and IPS Learning with teams in Arlington, Va.; San Mateo, Calif.; London, UK; and Singapore. Tiné is the recipient of a 2010 Emmy Award for digital video and a 2012 Webby Award. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York, an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge in England, and a BA from Bates College in Maine. For more information, please contact Jim Brodo at - jim.brodo@richardson.com About Richardson Richardson (www.richardson.com) helps sales leaders prepare their organizations to execute sales strategies and achieve business objectives. Richardson has the expertise and resources to help clients scale their initiatives quickly and confidently across their entire salesforce and supporting functions. Working together, Richardson helps clients to identify sales best practices, evaluate talent, build capability and consistency through world-class sales training, and sustain necessary change. Richardson ensures that each customized solution reflects the unique culture and values of its clients, driving rapid adoption and lasting results. The post Christopher Tiné to Head Product Development For Richardson appeared first on Richardson Sales Enablement Blog.

Sales Questions that Work You may love watching police dramas on TV, but a good salesperson never recreates the interrogation room in a prospect’s office. The foundation of a good sales questioning strategy is creating a well-paced dialogue based on asking open-ended questions. Here is a list of questions that I typically draw on in developing my pre-call strategy. They can be easily honed for specific situations and are intended to draw the other person into a meaningful conversation. What is the opportunity? What is the initiative we’re here to talk about today? Why is now the right time for this initiative? What is the driving force behind this initiative? What are the expectations? How will you recognize or define success? What changes do you want to see in your organization? What do you want your people to be doing differently How do you see this working within your organization? What are the roadblocks? Are there any champions or other stakeholders with an interest in this initiative? What are the circumstances? How have you been addressing this issue? What is your time frame for getting started? What does your decision-making process look like, and who will be involved? What are next steps and your time frames for implementation? When can we schedule time for a presentation to all of the decision makers? Who else is in the running? Who else are you considering as a partner for this initiative? What criteria will you use in making this decision? What have I not addressed that you’ve heard about and are intrigued by from other potential partners? What else might you ask? Have you thought about this aspect? It’s something that we’ve helped other clients address with XYZ. What sensitivities do I need to be aware of? What have I not asked that I need to know? Whichever questions you ask, keep these tips in mind during any sales questioning: Avoid yes-or-no or multiple-choice questions. Avoid asking multiple questions at once. Pose one question at a time, and wait for the answer. Listen closely to the prospect’s answer and, when appropriate, let it set the direction of follow-up questions. Never answer your own question; let the prospect speak instead. Never formulate your next question while the prospect is answering the previous one. Keep your attention on the prospect’s answers. Good listening goes hand-in-hand with good questioning. Questioning is one of Richardson’s Six Critical Skills for sales. Presence: Ability to project confidence, conviction, and interest in body language and voice Relating: Ability to use acknowledgment, rapport, and empathy to connect Questioning: Ability to explore needs and create dialogue Listening: Ability to understand content and emotional message Positioning: Ability to leverage client needs to be persuasive Checking: Ability to elicit feedback These are the skills that allow salespeople to create a meaningful dialogue; establish themselves as trusted advisors; understand client needs, priorities, and perspectives; and close profitable business. Each skill builds on and supports the others — and, at the heart is the ability to ask the right questions to move your sales opportunities forward. Learn more about Richardson’s Consultative Selling Sales Training Solutions. The post Sales Questions that Work appeared first on Richardson Sales Enablement Blog.

"It was like a phantom swooped in in the eleventh hour and killed the sale." We've all been there...You had a series of great meetings. You built rapport and developed a strong, trusted relationship. You uncovered (and got agreement) on the buyer's needs—needs that they didn't even know they had. You spent days working with your delivery team to scope the project and craft the proposal. You sent it off to your contact and called him at the time you had scheduled to review it: Buyer: "Thanks for putting this together. You've really hit the nail on the head outlining our company’s needs. I like the phase-by-phase approach you're proposing, allowing us to make adjustments along the way. I just need to have Brian take a look and give the green light." You: "Wait. Brian? Who's Brian?"      

Although I currently work in business development at GP Strategies, my first nine years with the Company were in project management. I managed countless implementations, migrations, and upgrades for learning and talent management systems. As technology changed, as functionality was enhanced, as clients became more sophisticated, and as project scope became more complex and advanced, one thing stayed constant: My clients were never completely satisfied with the product they were using. Even if it was the market leader and the latest release, it never met every single requirement. And the most common complaint was that it could not accommodate an existing process. This is where, as a project manager, as a product expert, and as a consultant, I struggled to understand the reasoning. How could this product not be able to do what they need it to do? Were their requirements so unique and so complex that no software company had yet to develop and incorporate the functionality or configuration they asked for? What I soon learned was that these organizations had done things a certain way for so long, and despite this major technology initiative they are going through, they still plan to continue executing their processes the same. The issue is that, in the past, those processes had always been done simply because of the existing limitations within the organizational environment (people and technology) that existed. However, the system implementation changes that environment; therefore, they have the ability to change processes. Too often the technology is blamed because it appears to fall short as far as its functionality goes if it cannot support an organization’s existing business processes. Everyone knows change isn’t easy, but with all that these systems are offering in the competitive marketplace today, organizations may be able to easily improve their processes if they welcome change and allow the system to meet their needs. Clients get stuck on, "We’ve always done it this way" and don’t think, "Well, we’ve got an awesome new product, so maybe it’s time we change our processes to work with it!" Stop expecting or demanding that the software works with you, and instead, work with the software. Then the software will work for you. Technology, particularly cloud technology, is leading the way in learning and talent management, and it might be time to rethink long-standing processes and give your organization new life. What’s holding you back from trying a new way of doing things? You might be happy with the outcome.

Often the people who need to use government services the most are those who find it the hardest to do so. They don’t want to interact with us - they have to. Joanne Schofield - content designer, DWP I’m a content designer with the team building the digital Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim, a benefit for those who have difficulties as the result of a health condition or disability. We want to make the digital PIP claim as effective as possible and I make sure what we write meets the needs of the users clearly, simply and quickly. If you’ve seen the existing paper application form for claiming PIP, you’ll appreciate this is no mean feat. I recently joined our user researcher, Simon Hurst, at Sense, a national charity that supports people who are deafblind. Deaf-blindness is a combination of sight and hearing loss that can affect a person’s ability to communicate, access information and get around. There are about 250,000 people who are deafblind in the UK, many with varying degrees of vision or hearing. We met with five deafblind users to get their views on how we could improve our latest version of the digital PIP claim. The importance of assistive technology This was my first user research session with people with sensory impairments and it was clear that assistive technology can massively affect the quality of life and independence of its users. There are a range of innovations - that magnify the screen, change the screen colour, read the page content aloud - to make it easier.  These technologies are going a long way to minimise the frustrations of using a computer and going online for many people. We asked our users to look at the latest version of the digital PIP claim using laptops that were available in the Sense office. A screen from the prototype digital PIP claim tested with users at Sense Although assistive technology was available on each machine, it became clear that the unfamiliarity of the browser, the size of the screen and the layout of the keys all had a significant impact on the usability of the laptop for our users.  At our next session at Sense we will encourage users to bring their own, familiar devices. Using assistive technology The way the users interacted with our digital service varied. Marcus and Atif had helpers who would read the content of a page out or type for them; Steven and Margaret relied on screen readers; Norman, Marcus and Atif used screen magnifiers; Atif had a hands-on sign language interpreter (he would touch the interpreters hand to understand what was being signed); and Marcus would print a page out, memorise the order of the questions, hand-write the answers, before then completing it online. Whichever approach they relied on, it was apparent that completing a transaction online can be a long process and exhausting for both the user and the helper or interpreter. Regular breaks need to be taken. We’re developing a ‘save and continue later’ function for the digital claim which we hope will make this easier. Joanne Schofield and Simon Hurst from the Digital PIP Claim team The session also highlighted that not all assistive technology interacts the same way with our webpages. The pages worked well with one screenreader but less so with another, so we’ll be making sure we work closely with experts in assisted technology to understand the differences better. And, we’ll be testing the online journey with as many different types of assisted technology as possible. The impact of second or third languages The session was my first experience of seeing hands-on signing. There are roughly 150,000 people in Britain who use British Sign Language and it’s the preferred language of 50,000 to 70,000. English was the third language of Atif, after sign language (his first) and Urdu. So he had to translate everything through two other languages before being able to gain any understanding of what the digital claim was asking of him. When trying to explain something as important as his quality of life, it became apparent how draining and frustrating this would be. Making services clear, simple and accessible So, we’re going to go back on a regular basis and work more closely with Sense (and other organisations that support people with health conditions and disabilities). We need to make the digital PIP claim - and all government services - clear, simple and accessible to all, especially for those who find our services the hardest to use. This won’t just make our services quicker and easier for all our users, but for many, it’s essential.

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey Who are the folks who judge applications for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award? In an ongoing blog series, we have been interviewing members of the 2015 Judges’ Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. In the interviews, they share their insights and perspectives on the award process, on their experiences, and on the Baldrige framework and approach to organizational improvement. Dr. Mike R. Sather, a third-year judge Director Emeritus, Cooperative Studies Program Department of Veterans Affairs, Clinical Research Pharmacy Coordinating Center What experiences led you to the role of Baldrige judge? Past member of Quality New Mexico’s Board of Directors Past member of Quality New Mexico’s Panel of Judges 2003 ISO 9001 Registration (Quality Management System) 2004 Recipient of the VA’s Robert W. Carey Award for Organizational Excellence 2004 Recipient of Quality New Mexico’s ZIA Performance Excellence Award 2009 ISO 15378 Certificate of Conformance (Packaging of Pharmaceuticals) 2009 Highest-Ranking Officer of Clinical Research Pharmacy Coordinating Center, Recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award 2013 ISO 21500 Certificate of Conformance (Project Management) 2013 inquiry by Dr. Harry Hertz as to my willingness to serve on the Baldrige Panel of Judges You have a great deal of experience in the nonprofit sector. How do you see the Baldrige Excellence Framework as valuable to organizations in that sector? The Baldrige framework is a holistic foundation for all quality management systems. Medically, we treat patients in a whole-person fashion (physical, emotional, and spiritual), which is often referred to as a holistic approach to the practice of medicine—it’s seeking optimal health and wellness (i.e., the wellbeing of the person). It is only common sense then that we apply this same principle to managing a nonprofit organization or any organization. Organizations are made up of many different types of people and components with missions and visions, and it is reasonable to believe that taking a holistic approach to managing an organization will enhance its ability to fulfill its mission and move closer to accomplishing its vision. That holistic approach to management is inherent in the Baldrige framework and its Criteria. How do you apply Baldrige principles/concepts to your own work experience/employer? The Baldrige framework is being used in our organization as the primary framework by which all other quality management systems (ISO, OPM3, Lean) are being integrated to create a Total Performance Excellence System (TIPES) or Quality Hierarchy (The True North), while exploiting the core strengths of our organization. As a judge, what are your hopes for the judging process? Or, in other words, as a judge, what would you like to tell applicants and potential applicants about the rigor of the process? Baldrige training for examiners, offered each year, is exceptional. The rotational group approach to teaching these Criteria/principles offers much in the way of interaction, meaningful discussion, and group learning. The Baldrige Criteria are always in a two-year cycle of continuous improvement that ensures their relevancy to the real-world environment. The Independent Review and Consensus Review processes require numerous hours of review and discussion on an application, leading to a feedback report that is specific to your organization. If you as an applicant are fortunate to receive a site visit from the Baldrige Program examiner team assigned to your application, your organization will receive the benefit of many hours of additional review, discussion, and consensus, making the feedback even more meaningful to you as an organization. The judging process adds even more rigor to the reviewing process. A lead judge is assigned to your application and receives comments from each of the other judges on your application. The lead judge makes a presentation of your application during the closed all-judges meeting; an intense discussion of your application then occurs with the examiner team leader (via teleconference to answer specific questions only) to determine whether or not you will be recommended as an award recipient. The entire Baldrige review process (i.e., Independent Review, Consensus Review, Site Visit Review, and judging processes) offers a rigor and robustness that ensures the "deservingness" of each recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. What encouragement/advice would you give examiners who are reviewing award applications now? Your all-encompassing work in evaluating compliance with the Criteria and attention to detail is extremely important to the judging process. Making a rigorous effort to understand the workings of an organization in relation to the Criteria is principal to a meaningful and successful review process for the applicant. See other blogs from the 2015 Judges’ Panel: Dr. Ken Davis, Michael L. Dockery, Laura Huston, Miriam N. Kmetzo, Dr. Sharon L. Muret-Wagstaff, Ken Schiller, Dr. Sunil K. Sinha, Dr. John C. Timmerman, Roger M. Triplett, and Fonda L. Vera. Greg Gibson, a candidate for the 2015 panel, pending appointment, will also be interviewed for this series.

Imagine if every person acted like a lady or gentleman…. Etiquette Tip: Ladies and gentlemen are polite when speaking on the phone. At The Ritz-Carlton, we utilize a system called the Three Steps of Service when we interact with guests in person, via email or over the phone. Step one involves using a warm and sincere greeting. Your phone greeting should reflect the professionalism and competency of your organization. There’s a difference between speaking on your personal mobile phone and a phone conversation in the workplace. Starting a conversation with "Hey" or "What’s going on?" may feel friendly to some, but more likely, it will feel too casual and off-putting to most of your clientele. Phone calls should begin with an appropriate greeting such as "Good morning" or "Hello." This level of polite professionalism should be maintained throughout the call. For example, if employees need to answer another line, they should ask "May I place you on hold?" and then wait for the reply and assent—before picking up the new call. When returning to a caller placed on hold, be sure you thank the caller by name for waiting. When concluding a call, always thank the lady or gentleman on the other end of the line and bid them farewell using his or her name. Using good phone manners may feel more formal. However, combining a warm and friendly tone of voice with polite words creates a welcoming and inviting impression of your organization. ∞ The motto of The Ritz-Carlton is "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen." This motto sets a tone of goodwill and grace for all. The Blog Post Etiquette & Engagement: Polite appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.