A blank sheet of paper . . .

In 1974 Marty Sklar had just been promoted to creative leader of Walt Disney Imagineering -- the creative force behind the theme parks and other guest experiences. At the time Walt Disney World in Florida had just opened and EPCOT Center was on its way (Disneyland in California was in operation). Over his tenure as the leader, it grew to eleven theme parks across the globe on three continents.

Back to 1974 though. In one of his first meetings, Sklar set out a black piece of paper in front of the Imagineers who had gathered for the launch.

"There are two ways to look at a blank sheet of paper," Sklar told the creative team. "It can be the most frightening thing in the world because you have to make the first mark on it. Or it can be the greatest opportunity in the world because you get to make the first mark -- you can let your imagination fly in any direction, and create whole new worlds!"

If a blank sheet of paper were placed in front of you, how would you see it? Answering that question can make all the difference in the world as to what you may or may not create moving forward.

The virtual school model is broken . . .

Rogers Morton, the campaign manager for the presidential candidate, Gerald Ford, had lost 5 of the last 6 primaries when he uttered the phrase, as reported by Washington Post, "I'm not going to rearrange the furniture on the Titanic."

Morton uttered this phrase as he took over leading the campaign just a month prior. He knew, that in order for Ford to win, he could not continue to do what had been done. It wasn't working. It could not be tweaked. It could not be adapted. It had to be fundamentally changed.

Unfortunately for Ford, the changes made were too late and Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States later that year.

My hope, as I utter the same "Titanic phrase" as it relates to the current virtual school model, is that it is not too late for virtual learning. It already is for the current model and that is fine. However, there is hope, I believe, for virtual learning -- a new model, "a new hope" as Star Wars might say.

Mr. Morton was correct though. We cannot merely rearrange the deck chairs, nor play music while the virtual school Titanic we are sailing on is sinking. The iceberg has already been struck so merely altering course will not do. The current model is already taking on water and there is an undeniable tilt to the ship.

What we must do is to rethink the virtual learning ship altogether. We need to throw away the old blueprints and rebuild with a new idea in mind.

After the Titanic struck the iceberg it took only 2 hours and 40 minutes for the mighty luxury liner to sink below the Atlantic surface. How long will it take the current virtual model to sink now that the iceberg has been struck?

That is why the time is now to reimagine virtual learning. The ocean still beckons for those willing to sail it.

#virtualschools #virtuallearning #elearning #blendedlearning #K12 #education #EpicCharterSchools #A3Education #GeorgiaCyberSchool #OhioVirtual #ConnectionsAcademy

And, as I was saying . . .

In late 2016 I penned what I called "My Last Blog Post" and I thought I meant it. However, here we are three years later and I find myself writing again.

In some ways so much has changed in the three years. In other ways, very little has changed. Since I last wrote the virtual school model has continued to deteriorate.

California sued K12
ECOT (Ohio) was shut down
A3 (California) leaders are under investigation for crimes
Epic (Oklahoma) leaders are under investigation for embezzlement
Georgia Cyber and K12 are in litigation

What hasn't changed much? Virtual schools continue to struggle with academic progress, retention, and in-year withdrawals.

Search "North Carolina virtual schools" and you will see what I mean. Then, search "Georgia online schools" and you will see it again. Oh, wait, search "California virtual schools" and you will see it once more.

So, over the past year, I have taken my effort to the state level. By working with states, I intend to reimagine virtual learning, create new models of virtual schools, and serve the kids the way they deserve to be served.

All I needed was "one little spark of inspiration."

#virtualschools #K12 #GeorgiaCyber #NorthCarolinaVirtual #A3 #EpicCharterSchools #elearning #Tennessee #Ohio

My last blog post

Over three years ago I launched Figment Consulting with the plan to right the virtual school ship. Since then I have had some wonderful opportunities to work with some school leaders who are truly working to build virtual schools that work -- for families.

It renewed my hope in what virtual could be, and should be.

However, over the past three years, I have also had the opportunity to expand the role of Figment and branch out beyond the confines of education. In doing so it allowed me, and us at Figment, to play in fields that produce inspiring work.

Most recently we helped launch former American Idol Terrian's music career with her debut single, 'I Am Free.' And, we continue to work with her, guiding her as she moves into her next stages beyond the launch.

Also, we have had the pleasure of working with Disney Master Artist, and celebrity artist, Kevin-John. He is an amazing talent and a wonderful personality. Currently, we are working to expand his brand in new and exciting ways that could propel him far down the path of celebrity over the next few years.

We have also had the pleasure of one-off efforts with some unique talent in a variety of fields, fields that lend themselves to producing good (not just good work, but good overall). To say it has been fun would be an understatement.

But, what to do with my passion for virtual schooling? What should I do with my desire to help schools build virtual schools that serve families -- I still recall the tens of thousands of families I have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with over the years. And recently I have been able to present my message from Pennsylvania to British Columbia.

However, I thought about leaving it all behind, and I was close to doing just that. In the end, though, after months of contemplating, soul-searching, and planning, I have decided to let Figment continue to evolve down the path it is headed -- talent management, marketing consulting, sales training, SEO, design, and simply producing great, fun work. In other words, putting good in the world.

With that decision, I then turned my attention to continuing the effort to help virtual schools. In essence, I am splitting the two, separating them. Moving forward Figment will concentrate on marketing, sales, and talent management, with me continuing to lead the charge.

I will also be launching a new endeavor that will allow me to continue working to expand the message of what virtual schools need to succeed. It will continue to be based on my Virtual School Manifesto: Nine Essential Ingredients. 

It will allow me to produce material, further conduct seminars, training, and speaking engagements focused on virtual schooling, but it will be separate from Figment. Soon I will launch it under my own name, Houston Tucker.

So, while this is my last blog post at Figment, I am not leaving (Figment will be taking over this blog). I care too much about the work we are doing at Figment to let it go. However, I also care about helping virtual schools serve families the way they deserve to be served.

Thank you, readers. Over the years it has grown from my family reading my blog posts (mostly because I asked them to) to hundreds and thousands reading it daily.

Stay tuned. More to come from Figment and me.

houston@figment-consulting.com

One Little Spark: One customer's response makes all the difference to one mom

So much of what we read these days is negative, with a capital NEGATIVE. Add in a presidential race and the negativity seems to escalate.

In hopes of offering something different, I wanted to share this with you. It is a story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from Aisha Sultan.

In this story, you will see how one customer's response made all the difference in the world to a mom with a high-functioning autistic child. It gives us all something to think about and my hope is it encourages each of us to proactively look for ways to bring a little spark of encouragement to someone this weekend.

houston@figment-consulting.com

92% benefit academically, according to K12

The press releases sent out by K12 look impressive: 92% of parents in Utah Virtual Academies agree they benefited academically

It is even conducted by Edge Research, so it must be impressive. I mean, 92% is an overwhelming percentage in agreement. And, we all want kids to 'benefit academically.'

Take a closer look at the survey and the results begin to unravel. Let's look at the details:

1. 92% is actually based on the number of parents who responded to the survey, and not an overall percentage of families. That means the survey was conducted as a response survey. This typically means you will receive biased results because it is not representative of the overall population but rather dependent upon the response of the participants of their own volition.

2. According to the survey, to achieve a 100% response rate, the UTVA survey should have received 1,510 responses -- that is how many parents there are in the UTVA database of families.

3. How many responded? 1,000? 800? 500? -- actually, only 142 parents responded -- that equates to a 9% response rate. You read that correctly, only 9% of the potential population base responded.

4. A more accurate assessment would be 92% of the 9% of parents who responded agreed their children benefited academically from the curriculum (130 of the 142). 91% of parents in UTVA did not respond to the survey.

5. This means the headline of the press release is, at best, inaccurate. At worst, well, I will leave that one alone.

What does this mean overall? K12 is working hard to write a story, and they hope you only read the headlines.

It's time to stop blurring the truth. It's time to spend less time on press releases, and more time on crafting a story worth writing that leads to one worth sharing.

houston@figment-consulting.com

I Am Free

'I Am Free' is the debut song of former American Idol contestant Terrian Bass. It is a beautiful song from a wonderful young lady whose story is an inspiring one.

We here at Figment were proud to be part of Team Terrian and the launch of her musical career. And while the story we have to share with her continues, the beginning of the journey was a huge success.

We invite you to visit her re-imagined website www.terrianbass.com, download her debut song for free, and become a part of her story.

Figment handled:

* Website re-imagining
* Marketing strategy and development
* Public relations
* Lyric video development
* Social media strategy
* Overall messaging strategy

At the end of the day though, her success is due to the beauty of her song, and the message it holds.

Thanks Terrian for allowing us to play a small role.

houston@figment-consulting.com