Tag: Interactive Media

Let’s discuss this — online

Today more and more of us discuss topics online. We’re video conferencing, contributing to discussion boards, or commenting on colleagues posts. It’s what we do.

Preparing for my classes  I came across these 15 rules for online discussions. I decided to share them here because these rules are rock solid for life on the .net.
These come to us directly from the Online Education Department at Touro College. You can access the great infographic and original posting at 15 Rules of Netiquette for Online Discussion Boards [INFOGRAPHIC]  http://blogs.onlineeducation.touro.edu/15-rules-netiquette-online-discussion-boards/.

15 Rules of Netiquette

  1. Before posting your question to a discussion board, check if anyone has asked it already and received a reply. Just as you wouldn’t repeat a topic of discussion right after it happened in real life, don’t do that in discussion boards either.
  2. Stay on topic – Don’t post irrelevant links, comments, thoughts, or pictures.
  3. Don’t type in ALL CAPS! If you do, it will look like you’re screaming.
  4. Don’t write anything that sounds angry or sarcastic, even as a joke, because without hearing your tone of voice, your peers might not realize you’re joking.
  5. Always remember to say “Please” and “Thank you” when soliciting help from your classmates.
  6. Respect the opinions of your classmates. If you feel the need to disagree, do so respectfully and acknowledge the valid points in your classmate’s argument. Acknowledge that others are entitled to have their own perspective on the issue.
  7. If you reply to a question from a classmate, make sure your answer is accurate! If you’re not 100% sure when the paper is due, DO NOT GUESS! Otherwise, you could really mess things up for your classmates and they will not appreciate it.
  8. If you ask a question and many people respond, summarize all answers and post that summary to benefit your whole class.
  9. Be brief. If you write a long dissertation in response to a simple question, it’s unlikely that anyone will spend the time to read through it all.
  10. Don’t badmouth others or call them stupid. You may disagree with their ideas, but don’t mock the person.
  11. If you refer to something your classmate said earlier in the discussion, quote just a few key lines from their post so that others wont have to go back and figure out which post you’re referring to.
  12. Before asking a question, check the class FAQs or search the internet to see if the answer is obvious or easy to find.
  13. Check the most recent comments before you reply to an older comment, since the issue might have already been resolved or opinions may have changed.
  14. Be forgiving. If your classmate makes a mistake, don’t badger him or her for it. Just let it go – it happens to the best of us.
  15. Run a spelling and grammar check before posting anything to the discussion board. It only takes a minute and can make the difference between sounding like a fool and sounding knowledgeable.

Rule of Thumb

If you wouldn’t do or say something in real life, don’t do it online either.

Chat1 Graphic from Flaticon & Freepik

Thank you again to Touro College & University System for their insight to communicating better online.

This flows with my blog about how to communicate better at https://imentor4success.com/2018/06/19/how-to-communicate-better/.

Take care and enjoy. It is fast approaching.

Jan

Resources you can use

These resources have taken me years to find. Check them out. There may be some link you need to move you forward.

For this blog, I wanted to share with you resources I refer to my clients. I’ve compiled these over the past decade. These resources allow me to spend less time on reinventing the wheel and more time on being creative and strategic for our clients.

Resources

A weather vane stands out against a blue sky like these resources can help you stand out in a digital world
Reverend Mary O’Malley Photo

My friend, Marya O’Malley, uses some of these resources. You can find her photos on Pexels at https://www.pexels.com/@marya-omalley-417651. The sunflower photo is also from Marya. Thank you, Marya, for sharing. You learn more about Marya on her website at  https://www.maryaomalley.com/. 

Take care and enjoy, Jan

P.S. If you have resources you use and want to share, send to us at iMentor4Success@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for the share. We will credit you if you like. Again, thanks. Jan

sunset city view from balcony using PRISMA app
A photo I took from my balcony in May 2018 using the PRISMA app and my iPhone. I use this resource all the time to create works of art from photos I have taken through the years.

Pecha-Kucha (chit-chat)

What is Pecha-Kucha?

Pecha-Kucha is a slide presentation style used throughout the world. It originally started in Japan as a way for designers to showcase their talents.

Pecha-Kucha takes you from boredom to stardom by keeping your audience entertained. You use your creative ability to tell your story in 20 slides at 20 seconds each. Using this technique, you take your audience to the questions and answers (Q&A) part of your presentation within 6-minutes and 40-seconds.

That’s a good thing.

Daniel Pink introduced me to this technique in his Wired Magazine article Pecha Kucha: Get to the PowerPoint in 20 Slides Then Sit the Hell Down.

Because I’ve witnessed too many, too long, and too boring slideshow presentations, I embrace Pecha-Kucha. I remember one presenter who had 20 minutes and brought 55 slides. He took twice as long and pushed the entire afternoon line up back by an hour. Plus when I looked around the room, I saw eyes closed and heads resting. Not cool.

Imagine conference speakers using this 6-minutes and 40-seconds presentation technique. Audiences would be alive — even at “siesta time” following lunch. Audiences expect to be entertained. Slideshows with more graphics and fewer words can do this. Plus this can add more time for you to interact with your audience. Again, increasing audience satisfaction.  That’s what every speaker wants.

My first Pecha-Kucha

Here’s mine completed in January 2012 as part of my master studies at Quinnipiac University.

You will find some terrific examples on YouTube including instructional videos.

I found this simple, straightforward style for presenting my story refreshing. If you watch my video, you will see that it follows one of my most precious principles in communicating and design — the KISS principle…

Keep it Simple Stupid.

It also follows William Zinsser’s teachings in On Writing Well. Here, Zinsser instructs us to communicate with simplicity, clarity, brevity, and humanity. You can do that with Pecha-Kucha.

Stand out from the crowd.

I encourage you to use this technique in your presentations.

To learn more, check out the organization at http://www.pechakucha.org/.

Wired Pecha Kucha: Get to the PowerPoint in 20 slides then sit the hell down by Daniel H. Pink on August 21, 2007 | Retrieved from  https://www.wired.com/2007/08/st-pechakucha/