Wandering the World…

I just got my student reviews back from this last semester (see below), and so I thought it would be good to give you a follow-up report on the Web Analytics class (ISys 590R) I was asked to teach. I talked about my unique approach to teaching this semester in a previous blog entry.

In this entry, I wanted to report on how that strategy paid off, and what I would do differently next time.

In the class we:

• covered some of the basics in eBusiness, SEO, online marketing, and the role and value of web analytics in it all,
• dissected web analytics implementation methods and discussed the strengths and weaknesses in each,
• participated in hands-on consulting experiences and data analysis using Site Catalyst (through the Omniture Web Analytics Competition) and Google Analytics (through required personal blogs, and in our case study),
• received exposure and personalized feedback to the experts who are on the cutting-edge of the field (through reading and commenting on expert blogs, guest speakers, participation in the Omniture Summit, and participation in the OWAC competition).

My two goals for the class were:

1. create a sharing atmosphere where each person considered themselves a learner and a teacher (through in and out of class hands-on, immediately applicable projects and assignments),
2. get students thinking like experts through as much association with as many as possible.

As a result of this class:

• many in the class have received job offers (several with Omniture, and several others with companies they have worked with during the semester as a result of their new skills)
• several in the class who have their own e-businesses have seen an increase in their profitability (some with really cool stories I could tell you)
• overall relationship with some of the major experts in the field has been strengthened
• during the OWAC competition 4 of my students placed in the top 3 teams, wining over $6,000
• several students said it was one of their favorite classes at BYU
• on the last day of class, the students gave a standing ovation (of course they were already standing because they were leaving, and maybe just clapping because they were glad it was over!

Here are some examples of constructive comments that the students in my class last semester made on the anonymous university class evaluation form (they liked the course and the teaching style, but wished for a bit more structure):

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Clint is a great professor. He is engaging, inspiring, and just overall, a nice guy. He did a great job of bringing experts in the field into the classroom. He was extremely respectful! Thanks Clint!

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Great class!

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Clint is a great teacher. I like his teaching style. We’ve already talked about this, but I think the class needs a little more structure.

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This is was one of my favorite classes taken at BYU and the teacher was one of my top 3 favorite teachers I’ve had in my 6 years at BYU.

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First Clint was the best prof. that I have ever had in any collage class to date and Clint has left a high standard for any teacher to follow. He made himself very available out of class and maintained great communication out of class via email, and in class. He bent over backwards to get industry leaders in the field to come in and speak with us. WOW Clint is a fantastic teacher and is very open to feedback, almost more welcoming to negative feedback than positive. This great teacher was also aided by the fact that this is a great course which BYU is lucky to have. It will soon be a class at all university’s with any business school of any reputation. I am an electrical engineering major and was happy to come to jump the fence to come to this class. I would love to take Web analytics part 2. I took this class for the subject not because it at all helps me toward by ee degree or strategy minor. That is how important it was to me. I don’t regret it one bit. Two thumbs way up, for the instructor and the class.

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This is the best class I have ever taken at BYU. It really helped prepare me for my career. I loved the Web Analytics competition. The professor did a great job making class interesting and keeping everyone involved. I learned a ton.

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Maybe it’s the nature of the class but it seems like there was no way to see if a students schedule would be conducive to this class. I understand that during the competition we were busy but then it seemed like after we were done the class was scatter brained. Not the teacher just the class. It seems like assignments were assigned when the teacher felt like they came up, in the sense that as we were talking about different things suddenly he would say, oh great, an assignment! Then we were required to do it. It would have been nice to have a little more structure.
I did love the class though. I felt like I learned a lot and I loved having the guest lecturers. Thanks.

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Good class . . . could have used a bit more structure to it, but excellent instructor!

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I really like the professor, but I think the class was a little too loosely structured. I enjoyed the fact that I didn’t have to worry about my grade and I could focus on learning. However, there wasn’t much of a syllabus/course schedule that helped me know what was going on. He did send emails, which helped, but they were only for the next class period or two.
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They are much better comments than the first time I got student ratings (about 3 years ago) - so it is nice to see some improvement ). As you can see, however, the loose structure of the Web 2.0 approach still left students feeling a little lost. So, in consideration of ways to improve -

• I think there can be a little more structure and guidance, without encroaching on the overall teaching approach (e.g. give a little more details of upcoming events and assignments, request specific things to be blogged about instead of leaving it so much up to students, require in the first couple weeks for students to post a comment or question on an expert blog, etc).
• The other thing that I think would help is to start the consulting experience we do in the class before the OWAC competition, allowing data to be collected during that time, and then analyzing it and giving data-driven recommendations after they have their experience in the competition. This might also give the class a feel of a little more consistency throughout the semester.
  

It was very fun to teach ISys 590R this semester. I thought it was both personally and professionally rewarding. I hope those students keep in touch - if they keep learning at the same pace it will not be very long before they are the recognized experts in the field.

I also have some more exciting ideas for how to improve even more the tie with experts through the Web 2.0 tools - but perhaps you will have to wait until next semester to find out what those are…

Through a recent dialogue I have been having online (with someone who is trying to convert me to their world view) - I have more clearly got an idea for what I think is a more helpful mindset and approach to intercultural or interfaith communication. It is a sensitive issue, and I am sure I have made tons of mistakes already in my attempts to build trust and collaboration among different people - so I am very curious what your thoughts are too.

The ideal in my mind is if people go into a situation/conversation/collaboration with the idea that the two or more people (with different perspectives and from different backgrounds) can come up with a better solution than either could on their own. So, in practical terms, that Africans and Europeans, Chinese and Americans, Mormons and Catholics, Muslims and Hindus, Men and Women, etc., etc., etc. (or any number of combinations) working together could come up with a better overall solution than either could on their own.

I now realize that some things help foster the effective collaboration of people with different perspectives, while other things make it very difficult. I’m curious what you think too.

Here is just one thought -

What to do: If the situation is set to invite each person to go into the conversation looking for what the strengths of the other persons perspectives are, and searching for how the best in what the other person believes/perceives can be utilized to the overall benefit of the relationship - that seems to help inspire trust and make for healthy productive collaborations - where a lot of open and interesting learning and innovation can occur.

What not to do: If, on the other hand, either party begins the conversation by feeling it their duty to try and prove something (either the superiority of their own perspective or the faults in the other persons perspective) - assuming the world would just be better if everyone saw things the same way that they did - I think this pushes the conversation into a situation that is less than helpful. I think it is very helpful and healthy to talk about differences and alternative perspectives (especially after a core of trust and respect has been established) - but this ethnocentric/condescending approach (consciously or unconsciously assuming the world would be better if everyone saw things the same way as you) seems to:

1. - push the conversation into defensive mode, where each party begins to look for the flaws and holes in the others approach/perspective,
2. - closes off the participants to a greater richness of life that comes from seeking to learn, love, and listen, with no strings attached.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree/disagree?

What do you think helps for the most productive interfaith/intercultural communication and collaboration?

Differences in Perception, Logic, Reasoning

The problem with making friends with older people is that they don’t stay around very long, leaving the broken-hearts behind of those who deeply miss them. The blessing, however, of knowing someone like Ruth Sowards is that her quick wit, profound wisdom, and genuine love has left such a deep impression that it will live on in my life (and the thousands of others who she has touched for the better) continuing to inspire us to be better people regardless of what side of the veil she is on.

I met Ruth Sowards through Colonel Butler, and instantly fell in love with her sense of humor and her eyes that sparkled. In some of the darkest days for me over the last four years, she offered me invaluable wisdom, hope, strength, and laughter which lifted my spirits. She made the dark days brighter, and the sweet moments sweeter. I remember as we were eating diner together one day, she leaned over to me to ask what my goals in life were. I thought for a moment, and told her that my main goal was to have integrity. At first I thought she was going to say something like, “Oh, come on - you have integrity” - but her wisdom and wit was sharp as always. She just wryly smiled, nudged me and said, “Why do you have to be so different from the rest of us?”

Especially as Colonel and her aged in years, he would visit her almost every day until his passing. When I was in the country I was lucky enough to be able to go with him on many of those visits, easily coming to understand why there were so many people that loved Ruth. One woman confidently told me that if I just kept listening to people like Ruth, I would turn out OK. After Colonel’s death, Jeremy and I tried to fill in for him and visit her every day possible, but last week she took a turn for the worse. The instant I found out about her condition and new location I dropped everything on a Friday night and went to go see her.

Tucked in the bed of the nursing home room, she looked like she was in a deep sleep. Her daughter asked if I wanted to hold her hand, and when I touched her gently her eyes weakly opened. At first she looked blankly at me, and I wondered if she would recognize me at all. In a few short moments, however, a bright smile came over her face, and looking at me (with a familiar sparkle in her eyes) she asked her daughter what she was doing hanging around with people like this! With strength she grasped my hand and pulled me close so she could give me a kiss and tell me she loved me. She propped herself up to tell me she loved me more than she ever had and share with me a few more words before she drifted off again into a deep sleep. I came to find out that the local Bishop had also come to visit her a little before I did. As he was getting ready to leave, he held her hand and told her that he was going to be leaving now. As she lay there dying, she stirred long enough to tell him to make sure and call her if he needed anything. So characteristic of Ruth!

Over the next 7 days, her grasp got weaker and her words more unrecognizable… As she would sleep, her children would share with me stories about her life that would make me laugh and leave me feeling inspired. Although her physical strength was weaker each day, my recognition of how truly amazing she is got stronger. Her father died when she was young leaving her mom to raise 4 children through the depression years. Her only two brothers also died when she was fairly young, one in a car accident and the other died in World War II. She ended up marrying a great man, and raised her family while running a golf club, boy scout meetings, an investment club for women, and many church relief society activities, just to name a few of causes she was devoted to. As a woman of compassion, anyone was welcome and felt welcome in Ruth’s house - but as a woman of strength (and without pretense) no one was too high and mighty to avoid her firmly correcting them if she felt they were doing something wrong. The investment group she started with other women invested early in a company despite her husband telling her that he was sure it would fail (he called it “the greasy spoon” but we all know it now as McDonalds). She knew and was respected by the most well-known in the area (many of whom she had held when they were babies - maybe making it OK for her to tell them off if they needed it) and she was equally friendly with least well-known in the area. It didn’t matter if you were a leader of a corporation or a little child from next door - she somehow saw the best in you and helped you see it too. And especially important, she absolutely loved her husband and raised wonderful children. How on earth she did what she did in her life is amazing to me - and how lucky I felt to be counted as one of her friends.

That is part of what made it so difficult today at about 8:00pm when she quietly passed away into the next life. Her only sister, who was in a similar condition, joined her only a couple of hours later.

• Ruth’s funeral will be at 3050 Mojave Lane, Provo UT 84604 this Monday, April 21st, at 11:00am (click here for a map). The viewing will be at Berg Mortuary the night before from 6:00pm-8:30pm.

Ruth - you will be deeply missed. This world is a better place because of the laughter and love that you filled our lives with. God be with you ’till we meet again.

For those of you who knew Ruth, do you have any favorite memories, stories, quotes of her that you could share?

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Here are some pictures from the funeral.

I heard Ed Catmull, innovative president of Pixar and Disney animation studios, speak on Thursday at BYU. He spoke about a topic that I have been thinking a lot about lately - how do you create the best situation for a multidisciplinary team to work on something that has never been done before?

He started with a comment made to him by a producer: “It is not finding good people that is our problem, it is finding great ideas.” Ed Catmull argued why this statement is wrong. He gave examples of great ideas in the animation studio that did not work with a certain team, but another team took them and made them hugely successful. His point was that the most important thing is to create a team that works well together, especially when you are doing something that has never been done before.

Here are some of his ideas:

• Everyone needs to understand that they are equally valuable and important (e.g. neither the programmers, the artists, or the managers could feel like second-class citizens)
• Things will go wrong when you are the first people to do something new, don’t be afraid of making mistakes, just find ways to handle them well. “We are in the job of doing something new,” Catmull said, “Our measure is not whether we avoid different things. It’s how we respond to things when they go wrong.”
• Don’t let everything that is good mask the things that are not good - do a “postmortem” analysis, a review of each project to discuss what went well and what could be better.
• Managers are simply responsible for helping the team merge well.
• “I’ve always believed that you shape the management team around the talent rather than try to force people into a certain way of doing things.”

I also heard Brent Adams speak this semester on the same topic. He has been the driving force behind BYU’s very successful multidisciplinary computer animation program. In the past few years 1,500 animations have been submitted to the student Emmys, and BYU students have impressively won 5 out of 12 best computer animation awards and 2 of the 6 student academy awards.

He said where education has typically been an “individual sport” (with even group projects not being designed very well) -the advantage in this world will always go to those who can out-innovate and out-collaborate their competitors. Brent gave some very valuable ideas for designing multidisciplinary teams to work well in creative collaborative thinking:

• Flexibility – approaching the problem from many different directions
• Fluency – ability to generate LOTS of ideas (if you want to have a good idea, have lots of them)
• Novelty – originality, uniqueness, “I would have never thought of that”, innovation
• Definition – being good at defining the context, constraints, etc.
• Roles – design roles and responsibilities which allow people to play to their strengths.

“Successful innovation is the union of convergence and divergence processes – weaving in and out when coming to an appropriate situation.” (paraphrase)

Aside from how much I like both the Pixar and BYU animation movies, my interest in this all stems from the fact that I think some of the most innovative teams in today’s world will be both multidisciplinary and cross-cultural. I am interested in finding the best technologies and techniques to reduce the miscommunication and increase the innovative potential from having such a rich combination of experiences, expertise and perspectives.

Questions:

Does anyone have any good ideas about how to create an effective, innovative team?

Has anyone been a part of a team like that? If so - what made it work well?

One of the first times that I met Colonel Eugene Haynes Butler, an 80 year old retired air force fighter pilot, he said to me: “You know one of the biggest problems with your generation?” I waited for a totally different remark than the one which followed. After a short pause he said with a smile, “That I am not a part of it.” (then laughing his unforgettable laugh)

If you have ever met someone who is full of compassion, humor, and seems always able to make any situation they enter better by being in it - then you might have an idea why it was so easy to love and want to be around Colonel Butler, with his unique combination of being confident (e.g. “the best fighter pilot ever”), colorful (e.g. calling bad drivers on the road “those perverts!”, always adding either “Mr.” before your name or “baby” at the end of your name - for example, “Speak to me Mr. Joey” or “Hi Jeremy-baby”), and compassionate (in too many ways to name). Over the next few years we ended up forming a friendship that has changed me in ways which words can not do justice - who I am because of him is forever changed for the better.

Just try to imagine for a moment having someone walk into your life who then begins to do everything in his power to make you happy and successful, who introduces you to all of his favorite people, who teaches you things about generosity and true friendship through his everyday example, who makes you laugh every day, who convinces you that he would do anything he could for you, who talks about how great of a person you are to everyone he knows (even when they get sick of hearing it), who wants to get to know everything he can about you, and who (even knowing your weaknesses) still would defend your name to the death - all the while making you feel like it is you who is doing him some great favor! And then to see first hand how he was also able to do this for countless others in various degrees without making you feel any less special!

If you can even begin to imagine what that would be like, then you will know why it was so difficult for me to go to the intensive care unit of the hospital on Thursday to see this friend of mine unconscious in a coma and on life support, then within 25 hours watching him peacefully slip away into the next life.

I have the burden and honor of speaking at his funeral this Wednesday, and then trying the rest of my life to somehow live up to his personal example and his belief in me.

One thing he always joked about was his own death, and I have wondered since his passing why he was so fearless of death? Being Easter yesterday, I thought specifically of how he repeatedly said his favorite song of all time was Amazing Grace - and the few times he would open up and share with me his feelings about God (not in a contrived, self-righteous way at all - but with a tone that was totally void of pride yet still confident, grateful, and secure).

For so many reasons, I am not worried about him now - I believe he is in a much better place and that one time in the future I will be able to see him again. It just is so hard to think of life without him for now.

If you ever come to Provo, look around and see if you can find a framed quote posted in several of his favorite places…

“Once in a great while, a certain somebody comes into our lives who mirrors our thoughts, lifts our spirits and brightens our hearts. And all of a sudden, life has new meaning and greater purpose than ever before.” (Marieta Donaldson)

(In honor and memory of Colonel Eugene Haynes Butler, war hero, true friend, and loyal patron of Chuck-a-Rama)

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Here is a link to the speech that I gave at his funeral: The poetry of Colonel’s life

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Here is the memory video I created in his honor. (If you can’t view it, then click here.)

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Here are some pictures from the day of the funeral (click on title to see picture):

Placing Flowers on Casket

Bagpiper Playing Amazing Grace

A Fighter Pilot’s Casket

Headstone of an Everyday Hero

That is the question I was able to ask several times as I lived this last weekend with monks in a monastery at the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Louis. It might seem strange to meet someone on a plane, keep in touch via letter off and on until 10 years later you ask if you could go across the country to visit them for a while - but in this case, that is exactly what I did.

10 years ago I sat next to a most remarkable man on an airplane traveling from the UK to the US - I was 21 years old and returning from 2 years of being away from home as a Mormon missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Patrick Barry was 80 year old man who had spent most of his life as a Catholic Priest and monk after the Benedictine order. We had a great conversation (very interesting, open, and edifying), the end of which he we mutually agreed to pray for each other and keep in touch.

Since over the last year I had been thinking, talking, and writing a lot about interfaith communication, collaboration and innovation [feel free to join the FaceBook group on this topic], when I was writing my Christmas letter to Patrick, I wondered why on earth I had not ever gone to the monastery to visit this wonderful man and learn more about what his life and work was all about, and asked him if it would be possible and appropriate for me to come visit. He responded warmly, and when the flights were cheap I bought my ticket.

When thinking about visiting a monastery, I had no idea what an enjoyable trip I would end up having… [to be continued…]

Paul Rusesabagina spoke on Tuesday at BYU. I liked how he titled his presentation: “Hotel Rwanda: A story yet to be told” - because the story is not over yet, and each of us can be a small part of making it a better story than it otherwise would be.

In both Rwanda and Burundi there was a genocide of nearly a million people in the last two decades (15% of the population). Paul Rusesabagina stands in stark contrast to the ethnic violence as an example of someone willing to risk his own life to stand against the prejudice and senseless violence that erupted there.

He argued that the majority of the ordinary people do not hate each other so much, but that very poor leadership will take advantage of differences in order to divide and conquer.

He shared some powerful and sobering stories of the past and current situation.

For example, imagine trying to rescue dozens of people from an ethnic group (different from you) who are being called “cockroaches” and exterminated - police stop your car, they call you a traitor, and demand you to take their gun and shoot everyone in your car or else they will shoot you. You know they are serious because you see dead bodies scattered around you. What would you do?

Paul Rusesabagina faced this exact situation, he did not back down, did not give in, and through quick thinking was able to tell the guards that he understood they were tired and frustrated, but that there was an alternative situation, another option to solve the problems they face. He said he learned through this experience that as long as you can get people to speak with you, then you can always negotiate an alternative course of action. He was able to save the lives of not only these people, but over a thousand others who took refuge in the hotel that he managed.

Towards the end of his speech he encouraged all of us there: “Don’t stand by. Stand up, and do what you can, do what you can to help Africa. You can do something.” He said that if you don’t stand up for what is good, then the world will fail, but that we are the hope of the world if we do stand up. He said that if you want the world to get better, you can make it better. If you want it to stay the way it is, it will stay.

The question I ask myself is:

How can I stand up? What best could I do that would actually make a difference?

Listening to him made me think about the conference I am helping organize in Africa (Uganda) this summer - Technology for Innovation and Education in Developing Countries (TEDC 2008). It seems like a small drop in the ocean of what could be done to assist those in disadvantaged situations, but at least it is something.

I am always keeping my eyes and mind open for other meaningful things that I could be involved in, or even just be aware of and support in some way - so if you can think of anything, then let me know. I feel like getting involved in things that help are usually reciprocal and end up benefiting all involved.

It is strange to have never met a person, and to still feel so close to him/her, like that person has made such a difference in your life, and even as if they are one of your most trusted friends. Gordon Bitner Hinckley was one of those people for me. His words have entertained and inspired me for most of my life, and without a doubt my life is better because of him. He will be missed.

Some clips from the press release of his passing:

“President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97…

President Hinckley was known, even at the age of 97, as a tireless leader who always put in a full day at the office and traveled extensively around the world to mix with Church members, now numbering 13 million in 171 nations.

His quick wit and humor, combined with an eloquent style at the pulpit, made him one of the most loved of modern Church leaders…

He was a popular interview subject with journalists, appearing on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace and on CNN’s Larry King Live, as well as being quoted and featured in hundreds of newspapers and magazines over the years. During the Salt Lake Olympics of 2002, his request that the Church refrain from proselytizing visitors was credited by media with generating much of the goodwill that flowed to the Church from the international event…

President Hinckley received a number of educational honors…

President Hinckley was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award by the Boy Scouts of America;

was honored by the National Conference for Community and Justice (formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews) for his contributions to tolerance and understanding in the world;

and received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

In 2004, President Hinckley was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in the White House…

President Hinckley wrote and edited several books and numerous manuals, pamphlets and scripts, including a best-selling book, Standing for Something, aimed at a general audience. In it he championed the virtues of love, honesty, morality, civility, learning, forgiveness, mercy, thrift and industry, gratitude, optimism and faith.”

I liked this tribute, from a well-known CNN broadcaster:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z58eHBnEHhk

I have been involved in a lot of interest and discussion lately about

1. How can I frame good research questions in Educational Technology?

and then

2. How can I match them with an appropriate methodology?

There are a lot of sources you could use to answer these questions (and I am interested in what other people know in response to these two questions too, and what are the best resources you can suggest to others).

As a starting point for the discussion, here are two short articles which helped clarify some things in my mind as I was preparing to conduct my own dissertation research.

1. Explore, Explain, Design

2. A Model of Technology Capable of Generating Research Questions

For any who are interested in participating in an online discussion about these questions, please post your questions in a comment response to this blog post. Also please post any insights or questions in response to these two articles.

I have also invited the author of these two articles (Dr. Andy Gibbons - very well known in IDT) to be available to help read and respond to some of the questions/comments that you post, according to his availability. Potentially we will also have a chance to do a live online meeting with him at some point within the next couple months (I will post more as I know it).

This discussion is intended to help any who are in the process of deciding what and how to do their research. I have a feeling that we can all learn a lot from this discussion.

Most people already know the sad news about why the Finnish government ordered a day of nationwide mourning today.

Click here to see associated press article

Today I was at a house meeting where several people were talking about how to work through the grieving process. While he was talking, one Lutheran minister mentioned that one in four deaths of males in his congregation here in Finland were due to suicide. He suggested that for many reasons we need to do better at sharing with each other, even sad thoughts and emotions, and generally we need to be more concerned about and connected with each other.