Oh the places you'll go

It has been years since I've actually been in a college classroom.  While I visited many campuses during my stints with Macromedia and Adobe, it was almost always on the IT side. Classroom presentations have typically been via the company's web conferencing system. I haven't engaged in a real classroom presentation since leaving university life a bazillion years ago.

So it was especially nice to join Kim Foreman's ITEC 830 class, F2F, at San Francisco State last night. I had asked Kim if I could sit in on the class for a while before presenting, and she graciously agreed. I hope it didn't make people uncomfortable for me to be there. But I wanted to get a vibe from the group, before I said anything. I'm glad I did. Reinforced my previous decision not to do 'death by powerpoint" to them. I had hoped for a conversation, and we seemed to find things to talk about.

About half-way through class I found myself listening to the questions and discussions and suddenly thought of the Dr. Seuss poem, Oh the Places You'll Go:

    "Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!"

The more we talked, the more I found myself wanting to do a vulcan mind meld with them, to point out some of the big speedtraps they will encounter on their personal elearning roadtrip. I wanted to better understand what they think we can do to make the world a better place for teaching, learning, performance suport with technology innovations.  And share. And share. And share.

    "Will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed. (98 3/4% guaranteed.)"

But of course, it's impossible to do that kind of sharing without sounding a tad ridiculous. It begs the question of what defines success...and we only had 60 minutes. But we certainly had enough time for me to feel a real boost from their enthusiasm, skepticism and dedication. Thanks for a great evening. Very nice to meet some of the next generation of IDs

    "Kid - You'll move mountains!"

Comments

[Jim]

My name is Jim and I play in a suburban Chicago band called Kid, You'll Move Mountains.
I'm just contacting you because I had found your site through Google. It alerts us anytime that phrase ("kid, you'll move mountains") is used on the web, so I thought since you had it on your page, maybe you'd like to check out our group.

We have a CD out on iTunes, as well as on our website or CD Baby. You can also friend us on MySpace or Facebook.

Anyway, take care and hope you enjoy the music. If so, pass the word on to your friends!

Best,
Jim

myspace.com/kidyoullmovemountains
kidyoullmovemountains.com