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Blockbuster’s largest shareholder calls Blockbuster worst investment ever made

On 03/23/2011, in 21st century, change, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, disruption, future of higher education, game-changing environment, leadership, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, online learning, pace of change, staying relevant, strategy, surviving, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Blockbuster’s largest shareholder calls Blockbuster worst investment ever made — from FastCompany.com by Austin Carr

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After years as Blockbuster’s largest shareholder, Carl Icahn, who at one point amassed some 17 million shares of the now-bankrupt company, has called Blockbuster “the worst investment I ever made.”

In a candid piece written for the Harvard Business Review, Icahn opens up about the rental giant’s struggles and failures in an ever-changing industry.

“[Blockbuster] failed because of too much debt and changes in the industry. It had too many stores, Netflix created a better business model, and then Redbox kiosks and the whole digital phenomenon eliminated the need for consumers to go to a separate DVD store,” Icahn wrote. “Maybe the board did make a mistake in picking Jim Keyes as [John] Antioco’s successor—Keyes knows retailing and did an excellent job with the stores, but he isn’t a digital guy.”

From DSC:
I write about Blockbuster — and I emphasize the items above — because Blockbuster did not respond to the changes that were occurring around them.

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What about those of us in higher education?
How’s our response(s) coming along?

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The pace has changed -- don't come onto the track in a Model T

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Staying Relevant

 

5/2/11 addendum:

4/7/11 addendum:


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What’s the best way for learners, employees, organizations, & publishers to deal with constantly-moving *streams* of content?

On 03/18/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, active learning, adult learning, career development, change, collaboration, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital textbooks, distance education, informal learning, instructional design, learning ecosystem, learning theories, lifelong learning, microlearning, online learning, online media, pace of change, professional development, publishing, RSS, social learning / networks, social media, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, textbooks, training / L&D, ubiquitous learning, workplace, by Daniel Christian

What's the best way to deal with ever-changing streams of content? When information has shrinking half-lives?

From DSC:
After looking at some items concerning Connectivism*, I’ve been reflecting upon the following questions:

  • What’s the best way for us to dip our feet into the constantly moving streams of content?
    (No matter the topic or discipline, the streams continue to flow.)
  • What’s the optimal setup for K-12 based “courses”?
  • What’s the optimal setup for “courses” within higher education?
  • How should L&D departments deal with this phenomenon?
  • How do publishers and textbook authors want to address this situation?

Thinking of Gonzalez (2004; as cited in Siemens (2005)) description of the challenges of rapidly diminishing knowledge life:

“One of the most persuasive factors is the shrinking half-life of knowledge. The “half-life of knowledge” is the time span from when knowledge is gained to when it becomes obsolete. Half of what is known today was not known 10 years ago. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months according to the American Society of Training and Documentation (ASTD). To combat the shrinking half-life of knowledge, organizations have been forced to develop new methods of deploying instruction.”

Stephen Downes addresses this and points to a possible solution to this phenomenon in his presentation from 3/15/11 entitled “Educational Projection: Supporting Distributed Learning Online.”

Excerpt/slides:

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I need to put more thought into this, but wanted to throw this question out there…more later…

 

 

* From DSC: Some of the items I looked at regarding Connectivism — some directly related, others indirectly-related — were:

Siemens, G.  (2005).  Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age.  Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm.

Downes, S.  (2005).  An introduction to connective knowledge.  Retrieved from http://www.  downes.  ca/post/33034.  Downes noted that this was published in Hug, Theo (ed.  ) (2007): Media, knowledge & education – exploring new spaces, relations and dynamics in digital media ecologies.  Proceedings of the International Conference held on June 25-26, 2007.  November 27, 2007.

Kop, R.  & Hill, A.  (2008).  Connectivism: Learning theory of the future or vestige of the past? International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, v9 n3 p1-13 Oct 2008.

Tracey, R.  (2009). Instructivism, constructivism or connectivism? Training & Development in Australia, December, 2009. p08-09, 2p.  Retrieved from EBSCOhost. ISSN 0310-4664.

Kerr, B.  (2007).  A challenge to connectivism.  Retrieved at http://learningevolves.  wikispaces.  com/kerr.

Sims, R.  (2008).  Rethinking (e)learning: A manifesto for connected generations.  Distance Education Vol.  29, No.  2, August 2008, 153–164.  ISSN 0158-7919 print/ISSN 1475-0198 online.  DOI: 10.  1080/01587910802154954

Lisa Dawley.   (2009).  Social network knowledge construction: emerging virtual world pedagogy.  On the Horizon, 17(2), 109-121.   Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 1880656431).

Hargadon, S.  (2011).  Ugh.  Classic politics now extends to social networking in education.  Retrieved from http://www.  stevehargadon.  com/2011/03/ugh-classic-politics-now-extends-to.  html.

Cross, J.  (2001).  Crowd-inspired innovation.  Retrieved from http://www.internettime.com/2011/03/crowd-inspired-innovation.

Rogers-Estable, M..  (2009).  Web 2.0 and distance education: Tools and techniques.  Distance Learning, 6(4), 55-60.  Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 2017059921).

Marrotte-Newman, S..  (2009).  Why virtual schools exist and understanding their culture.  Distance Learning, 6(4), 31-35.  Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 2017059881).

Hilton, J., Graham, C., Rich, P., & Wiley, D. (2010). Using online technologies to extend a classroom to learners at a distance.  Distance Education, 31(1), 77-92.  Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals.  (Document ID: 2074810921).

Attwell, G. (2010). Personal learning environments and Vygotsky. Retrieved from http://www.pontydysgu.org/2010/04/personal-learning-environments-and-vygotsky.

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How do we best educate our students to be successful in this type of workplace/manufacturing environment?

On 02/24/2011, in 21st century, change, curriculum, education, engineering, strategy, student-related, surviving, workplace, by Daniel Christian

How do we best educate our students in this type of environment?

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Also see:

  • A Whole New Mind — by Daniel Pink
    To survive in this age, individuals and organizations must examine what they’re doing to earn a living and ask themselves three questions:
    1) Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
    2) Can a computer do it faster?
    3) Is what I’m offering in demand in an age of abundance? (p. 51)
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Surviving the future

On 10/20/2010, in Augmented Reality (AR), biology, dangers of the status quo, economics, emerging technologies, ethics, faith, future, geography / geology, global / globalization, health, internet, morals/values, political science, sociology, surviving, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Surviving the Future

From biotech visionaries growing new body parts, to in vitro meat, from a global sensor web that monitors the health of the earth’s biosphere, to a massive effort to reverse-engineer the human brain, Surviving the Future takes a disquieting and astonishing look at some of science’s most radical new technologies.

The film also takes a hard look at the ‘new normal’ of the climate crisis, as we balance our desire to be environmentally responsible—to ‘do the right thing’—and still participate in the consumer economy that is, for better or worse, the basis of our society.

Surviving the future is an unsettling glimpse into the human psyche right now, as our culture staggers between a fervent belief in futuristic utopian technologies on the one hand, and dreams of apocalyptic planetary payback on the other.

Thought provoking and visually stunning, Surviving the Future looks at the stark and extreme choices facing our species as we prepare ourselves for the most challenging and consequential period in our history.

From DSC:
These are some of the things I was alluding to in my post here…I’d be more comfortable with many of these things if the state of the heart were in better condition.

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Signals — from Purdue

On 10/16/2010, in education technology, student-related, surviving, by Daniel Christian

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Also see:
Purdue’s student achievement technology goes national — from ecampusnews.com
‘Course Signals’ is an educational technology tool designed to boost student retention and success

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From DSC: Some of the elements of the perfect storm in higher ed

On 09/10/2010, in 24x7x365 access, budgets, business side of he, changing business models, cost of getting a degree, curriculum, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, disruption, education reform, education technology, engagement / engaging students, funding / grants, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, leadership, learning ecosystem, mobile learning, multimedia, online learning, open courseware and systems, strategy, student-related, surviving, traditional / tradition, ubiquitous learning, United States, by Daniel Christian

The perfect storm in higher ed -- by Daniel S. Christian

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We have to turn this situation around…

On 09/09/2010, in community colleges, creativity, education, education reform, engagement / engaging students, passions, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, United States, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:

Here in the United States, the waste continues…

As I was reading the article mentioned below, I was reminded of a graphic I saw a while back after the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion:

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Oil spill -- day 53!

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This graphic reminds me of a very valuable resource that still isn’t being “realized” — and, as a result, the leakage continues to cause a mess. And that has to do with the amazing amount of talents, abilities, and gifts that are being wasted daily when students drop out of school or college.

So I appreciated hearing about what some of the community colleges are doing to try to “cap the spill” — to stop this waste of talent.

We must help students find and develop their passions. Should we look at changing some of the requirements/curriculums out there? If an emphasis on STEM isn’t working, is it time to try something else like arts, music, game design, shop/woodworking, automotive work, or something else that many of these same students might be more passionate about?

Addendum 4/5/11:

Also see:

Community Colleges Get Creative With Remedial Education — from edweek.org by Caralee Adams

Record numbers of students are arriving on community college campuses this fall, but a majority of them—nearly 60 percent—aren’t academically prepared to handle the classwork.

Three out of every five community college students need at least one remedial course, and fewer than 25 percent of those students successfully earn a degree within eight years, according to the National Education Longitudinal Study.

“We really have to figure out how to get developmental education right, or any dream that we have of increasing the number of college graduates in this country or eliminating disparities across racial and ethnic groups—that dream is going to tank,” said Kay McClenney, the director of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement and an adjunct faculty member in the Community College Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

Pushed by federal expectations, tightening budgets, expanding enrollments, and what the foundation-supported Strong American Schools campaign estimatedRequires Adobe Acrobat Reader  to be a $2 billion-and-rising annual cost for remedial education, community colleges have started experimenting with a range of strategies to address those numbers.

 

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A reflection while studying Kirkpartrick’s Level 3 Evaluations (i.e. changes in behavior)

On 02/10/2010, in change, colleges, corporate / business world, future of higher education, surviving, training / L&D, universities, by Daniel Christian

From –> The Ultimate Use for 360 Feedback (2008).

Starting at paragraph #3:

A much more powerful application of 360-degree feedback goes beyond the diagnosis to support changes in behavior (emphasis DSC). A doctor’s diagnosis can reveal the disease, but this information can’t cure it. Likewise, 360-degree feedback can identify priority areas for improvement, but this information isn’t enough to improve work habits. Changing a behavior pattern may require instruction, followed by months of reinforcement. Try changing the way you eat or the way you swing a golf club. Tiger Woods made changes in his swing early in 2004, and he didn’t start to win again until almost a year later, after persisting through hours of practice every day.

The problem is that even with the best of intentions, when people try to do things differently, initial attempts tend to feel awkward. When these efforts don’t achieve the desired result, frustration and discouragement follow. Without a formal program of follow-through reinforcement and without support from the direct manager and others in the workplace, people tend to fall back on what feels familiar and comfortable. They eventually return to their old way of doing things. (emphasis DSC).

To achieve the desired changes in behavior, 360-degree feedback needs to be followed by several months of reinforcement, involving ongoing learning, ongoing feedback, coaching and accountability. It takes that long for the brain cells to grow and reconnect into new pathways that are the physical basis for new behavior patterns.(emphasis DSC).

From DSC:
I’m reflecting on this in that I agree that:

  • It takes time to change
  • It takes a sustained, purposeful, often-times tough effort to change
  • It takes buying into the need for change

Now…I’m thinking about what it takes to change behavior on a massive scale…say as in a university or college. Affecting the culture and/or the strategic directions of a university or college — to the point of a massive change in behavior — WOW! No wonder why culture is so hard to change.

It’s hard enough to get people to change when they see the need for change. But now consider our current predicament…how do you get people to buy into the need to change directions when they can’t yet see the need for change?

Problem is, a time is quickly coming on those of us in higher education where change is not going to be an option — not if you want to keep your doors open. The need for change (i.e. a significant decrease in enrollment) may not be seen until it’s too late. Even given a new game plan to deal with things, the culture may not be able to sustain that kind of change. It doesn’t know how. It’s not used to that level of change.

So my advice is to start sewing the seeds of change now within your university, college, or school. Develop a culture that is more responsive…more nimble…more willing to change and to try new ways of doing things. If you are successful in helping the culture be open to change, you have made an enormous contribution to what it will take to survive this next decade.


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