Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, was our keynote speaker. He shared several entertaining stories of tipping point moments \u00e2\u20ac\u201c those moments when someone does something that transforms. The big message was that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on the verge of a tipping point with eLearning. We just need someone to come along with a transformational application of systems like Blackboard. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be cheap and will require putting several disparate pieces together that none of us see today, but when it happens it will be transformational.\n<\/p>\n
\nNot sure I agree here. While most of us would like a transformational embrace of the resources we provide, not all changes are transformational. The academy in particular is slow to embrace change because the current methods of teaching have been adjusted and proven over time.\n<\/p>\n
\nHe focused on Connectors \u00e2\u20ac\u201c people who know people from a large number of social circles. Most of us have work circles, home circles and maybe two or three other circles depending on our interests. Connectors have 10 or more circles, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the ones you want to find when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to get the word out. They know people you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more important \u00e2\u20ac\u201c people know them and listen to them. Paul Revere was a connector \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Gladwell highlights him in his book. While Paul Revere rode in one direction to alert the populace, William Dawes rode in the other. Revere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s towns raised the alarm and were ready when the British showed up. Dawes, who didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know people the way Revere did, failed to reach the people who would gather the troops, and the British rolled through those towns.\n<\/p>\n
\nHe also explained Mavens \u00e2\u20ac\u201c people who know everything (instead of everyone), and who are driven to share the good things they know. Gladwell\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brother is a computer Maven, helping him to buy the right computer so he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to understand the world of MHz and GB. Mavens are the ones who keep grocery stores in line. Stores have learned that people buy stuff when you put a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Consistently Low Price!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d sign on everything. So what keeps stores from setting high prices and putting \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Consistently Low Price!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d signs out there? Mavens. Mavens know when a price is low, when a bargain is good or bad, and if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not behaving nicely they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll tell everyone they know<\/i>.\n<\/p>\n
\nAll in all a pleasant keynote. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll keep thinking about what it is we need to tip eLearning, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not convinced it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tip-able thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, was our keynote speaker. He shared several entertaining stories of tipping point moments \u00e2\u20ac\u201c those moments when someone does something that transforms. The big message was that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on the verge of a … Continue reading