The friendly skies

The United skies may be friendly, but they do cost you.

Spotty internet from Memphis to Denver: $3.99

Decent internet from Denver to Anchorage: $3.99 / hour (but what they don't tell you is as soon as you cross the Canadian border which extends 32,000 ft in the air evidently you lose the service you just purchased)

Even watching the map of the flight path to try and determine which mountains you are flying over: $7.99 (of course you get the rest of DirecTV and movies too, but don't forget the lost signal at the Canadian border)

houston@figment-consulting

Two questions on the K12 quarterly report

Thursday morning K12 released its quarterly report. Shortly thereafter my inbox was flooded with emails from people who have both agreed and disagreed with my assessment of the K12 ship is sinking (wrote several blogs about it over the past year).

Two of the dominant points common to each email I received are found in these two questions:

Q1. In reading through the transcript it would appear K12 is taking some ideas from your playbook -- focusing more in teacher and student interaction, spending more attention on retention, and using some of the terms you have proposed over the past year. What do you think?

Q2: With the latest report and the stock price soaring upward now, are you willing to say that you might be wrong in your assessment of K12, and that indeed it is turning a corner?

I had numerous emails noticing the use of terms and intense focus on the teacher-student relationship that I posit is THE most critical element in virtual schooling. I also had numerous emails wanting to say I have been wrong about the K12 ship. It was a fun day to read emails.

As for being wrong, I am always open to that possibility which is why I refer to myself as a Specialist and not an Expert in virtual schools. Specialists are always improving their game, learning, and growing. Experts believe they know all they need to know. So, yes I am willing to admit to being wrong.

Not sure though that is the case here just yet. One quarter of seemingly positive news doesn't make for a different story. I am not going to spend time picking apart the report -- in time it will either prove to be true or not on its own. But, this quarterly report does not alter my assessment of the overall ship.

As for K12 borrowing anything from my playbook -- while potentially flattering, I am not one to believe that is the case.

I continue to lead the charge in focusing on students as customers, placing the teacher-student relationship at the middle of it all, and building a remarkable learning experience (emotional and academic). If anyone wants to borrow it, that is perfectly fine.

We need a new virtual. Remember, sometimes when you "turn a corner" it means you may be on your way to going in circles.

houston@figment-consulting.com

The middle

It's safe here in the middle with everyone else.

We hang out with friends who go by the names of: Incremental Gains, Basis Points, Closing the Gap, More Focused, Churn Rate (and his brothers Attrition and Retention).

We pat ourselves on the back for what we call improvements while failing to realize we are only comparing ourselves to everyone else in the middle.

But, it's safe here. And, we like safety.

houston@figment-consulting.com

The edge

The edge can be a scary place.

It's lonely out there.

You feel exposed out there.

You are just not sure it can support you out there.

But, the edge is also the place where remarkable happens.

The edge is also the place where real change occurs.

The edge is also the place where virtual schools need to go.

Embrace the edge and you can impact the world.


houston@figment-consulting.com

Building a remarkable learning experience

Author, blogger, and mentor Seth Godin describes remarkable as something worth talking about. In other words, the service you are rendering is so remarkable your customers cannot help but share it with others.

We have the potential to build a remarkable learning experience in virtual schools -- one that is worth sharing, one that your students and families cannot help but share with others.

Remember though, remarkable encompasses far more than just academics.

You can read more about this in my Virtual School Manifesto: Nine Essential Ingredients.

houston@figment-consulting.com

The Relationship Strategy in virtual schools

212% YOY increase in leads

167% YOY increase in enrollments

35% increase in retention in first year

25% reduction in attrition rates prior to October 1

Lowest number of student absentees for the first day of the new semester in the history of the school


These are some of the results from building relationships with prospective families, and existing families from the virtual schools I have had the privilege of serving these past two years.

When we put the teacher-student relationship in the middle, and not just the student, we are then on the right path of fulfilling the promise of virtual schools.

houston@figment-consulting.com

The photo is in honor of MouseWorldRadio.com who apparently is ceasing their broadcasting on January 31 after 17 years of faithful service.

3D Printing and Virtual Schools

3D printers have the ability to:

* Allow us to travel among the stars
* Save rhinos from poachers
* Replace missing limbs on humans
* Build automobiles
* Fly

In essence, 3D printing is revolutionizing the way in which we live, and will live in the future. And, it is merely one way in which technology is transforming our world.

Enter virtual schools. We have the potential to transform education, radically, with virtual schools.

We can reach students no matter where they are, bring students together across the state, the country, the world, and connect students with the future. Virtual schools, unlike any other type of education, have this capability, this opportunity, this responsibility.

With virtual schools we can bridge racial, demographic, and social gaps in ways no other type of education can. Even more importantly, with virtual schools we can inspire students, open their world to possibilities, bring the world to them, and expand their horizons, their thoughts, and their dreams in ways no other type of education can.

The moment we quit trying to make virtual schools look and feel like traditional schools is the moment we open this box of potential and release the energy within it.

Let's dream beyond the moment and desire more. Let's move toward re-imagining the virtual learning experience rather than trying to adapt and adjust the current model.

Let's think virtual learning instead of virtual schools. Let's make it a verb and not a noun. Let's dream big, dream boldly, and dream beyond our level of comfort. Let's dream in 3D.

houston@figment-consulting.com