Learn to Love to Learn

Learn to Love to Learn. Such a simple phrase, but when you’re keynoting to 400 people it can be a mouthful. Recently I keynoted at a student technology conference. The auditorium was filled with students, teachers, administrators and state level educators. I pounded away on how the world is flat. How students need to prepare for a world economy. Career education isn't just about vocational education, but is really about preparing one's self for global competition. The US needs students to learn to be creators and innovators. It’s also imperative that we attract more girls into technology and the sciences.

Now to set this up a bit; some of you know that I spent about 4 years or so as a professional improv comedian at a club called Comedy City in Kansas City. I have spoken to large groups before, so being in front of a bunch of people is not a big deal for me. In all those years, I have hit a few experiences that I struggled with, but you have to just let it go and move on.
No - not this time. I came to the point when I wanted to give everyone a big key phrase to success in the future. Behind me, the power-point changed and I was poised to deliver the big phase. So, I started to say “learn to love to learn.”

What came out was a jumbled mess of nonsense. So there I was on stage, struggling to say this phase while being overshadowed by a 15-foot high power-point behind me. I keep stammering through a plethora of versions like “love to learn to learn”, “learning to love”, and “loving learning and learning to love …” It was essentially a verbal train wreck but I was committed to say it even if it killed half the audience.

By this point in time, the whole first row is mouthing the phrase to me. I see the person who asked me to give the keynote sitting painfully still and pretending to be in her happy place. As the train is jumping the keynote tracks, I turn to the president of the association who is sitting next to the podium and say in Groucho Marx style, “You can jump in here anytime and help!” Priceless is truly the only description of her face as she realized that the stammering idiot is now asking her for help.

If the idiot would just turn around and read it from the giant screen this all could be over. But instead I tried to pull her onto the train in front of 400 people - many of whom will be voting or not voting to continue her presidential tenure the next day. With a deer in the headlights look she simply blinks and stares back. I turn back to the crowd and slowly muster up what was the last attempt and say, “Learn to Love to Learn.”

The crowd erupted in cheers as the three minutes of terror came to an end. They cheered as if collectively they just found out that the multiple root canals planned for them had been called off. I practice that phase often now. The moral of the story is to simply turn around and read.
The rumor is – a video of this debacle will soon find it’s way to a hidden place on our website. If you discover it’s hiding place, and can stop laughing, please let me know because a handsome reward awaits you.

CarbonAde Makes Newsweek

CarbonAde is a game that is part of our Video Game Design and Web Game Design curricula. You can check out all of our curricula titles at www.isupportlearning.com/noflash/Curricula.html - As it pertains to Newsweek – it is the result of a visit that Newsweek did to Paul Ackerman’s class at Edgewater High School in Orlando. Needless to say, Paul is very excited to see his student in Newsweek. I would have liked to see Paul and Edgewater make the story because of their commitment to changing the nature of education by truly engaging students.



BTW - Paul recenlty received "Top Program" honors from Disney. When you get the chance to talk to Paul ask him about meeting Mickey.

Keynoting indeed...

Original Blog Date: February 7, 2007

I am flying back from the TCEA conference in Austin. As I sit down in 18A, a man sits beside me. A few minutes pass by as flight attendants continue to cattle prod the mass of humanity down the very narrow aisle. During this uncomfortable shuffle, people keep saying “Hi Coach” to 18B. A few even stop and ask for autographs.

We take off and Mr. 18B pulls out an iPod. We start to talk about technology - and soon the conversation turns to games in education. I tell him that I work for a company that creates interactive video games for education. He tells me that he just bought a Sony PSP to learn about video games. I showed him that there are games on his iPod which got a big southern smile from him. We talked some more and then he introduced himself as Mack Brown, the Head Football Coach for University of Texas.

His interest in video games and education comes from seeing how consumed many of his players are with video games. He was on his way to speak to 1000 coaches. We shared some keynoting stories and then I started to ask about one of my favorite topics -motivating students. In his case motivating students of the game. You could tell Mack was a natural leader, and very comfortable in that role. He is also an educator. I specifically asked him, “how do you motivate when the game looks to be lost?” He told me that when things are tough at half time it is important to be honest. Be honest and be positive. He told me some great stories of half times when the Longhorns were down, and how he had to get the team to focus. He talked about the need to find the energy to be there for every player. We talked about how leadership doesn't always come from a star player. When you need to turn the game around, the rallying cry comes from the others along the sidelines. Those grass roots leaders who step up to give energy to the team. He said that when they review games they look at the videos of the field and the sidelines. In those sideline tapes you find those turn around leaders.

We also talked about recruiting the best. He said something that really struck home for me: at the top of the list was attitude. The most important questions he asked himself when recruiting was, did he like the player and did the player like him? He told me that if the player doesn't have the right attitude and dislikes you - then how hard will he play for you? I have always believed in the power of the personal connection. Mack just gave me the football analogy. We design our educational role play games to give students personal connections. In our company, we do not have sales people just to foster those real personal connections. It is our personal connections to our educators (players) that make each of us work so hard to win the game (teach). I told Mack that if Travis were here in 18A he would be going nuts to meet someone at the pinnacle of the game like him.

Mack brought out his PSP and we talked more about how to engage the digital learner, how digital media and learning was really changing education and the world. We talked about designing player motivation into a game. It was so cool for me to speak to someone so outside of my world (football - I don't even remember who won the superbowl) and for us to be talking about the same thing - motivating learners. The flight landed and Mack was continuing on while I was getting off at Memphis. As I was getting up Mack did a great favor for me. He said “Steve, let me give you something for Travis”. Mack pulled out a Longhorns Card and wrote a note to Travis. That card is sitting now on Travis' desk right beside his Lamar Hunt picture, and photo of Joe Montana's last snap. When I gave it to Travis I got to tell the story of how I met Mack Brown, and how we saw eye to eye on motivating students. It was a great story about a great connection.

What about Dave?

Original Blog Date: January 3, 2007

Honestly, I like having another employee named Dave. First, he is cheap. His benefits package costs me nothing, and his salary is zero. He answers the phone regularly and has never solicited me for a raise. He seems polite and does a good job answering people's questions, so much so that now Dave has a following of customers who call back to ask specifically for Dave. Ethically I don't know what to do. I have never sought to live a “double life.” When I go home at night, it is “Daddy” or “Hun” that walks in the door. Dave does on occasion joke about the cheap boss who won't give him his own desk. When it is time to clean the bathrooms Dave is usually someplace else leaving me with the mop. So I guess he is really more of a helpful intern than a true employee. Though our interns are regularly threatened with bathroom duty - they too avoid the mop. The name Dave around here does have another meaning - so it is funny that I get called Dave so much. You see, if you look at our logo you will notice that it is David. David with a sling throwing a stone at the giant. At the end of the day we are the little company that steps up to tackle the big problem. So sometimes I get to be Steve the lead developer/CEO and all around very good-looking guy - and some days I get to be the little guy with a rock, a sling, and big problem to knock down.