SmartDraw has a Blog

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About 5% of visitors to this blog who found it via a search engine were looking for SmartDraw, a visual design and flowcharting tool for PC’s.  I’ve used SmartDraw for several years and was even an Affiliate for a while. When the 2007 version arrived, there were several complaints from the market and many customers wound up on my site and made their comments about SmartDraw 2007 here.

I’ve just been informed by Paul Stannard, CEO of SmartDraw, that the company has launched the SmartDraw Blog.   So go ahead and tell SmartDraw what you like or dislike about their products and services, because markets are conversations and it’s better late than never to join in.

Portrait of the School as Mortuary

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Donald Clark’s view of the Damien Hirst’s “School: The Archaeology Of Lost Desires, Comprehending Infinity And The Search For Knowledge”, is summed up as:

I think he’s got this nailed. The loss of identity, uniformity, submergence and deadening of life the classroom. The sheer tedium of it all – an 11, soon to be 13, year minimum sentence. The religious imagery of the caged dove as the teacher caught in a pseudo-religious preaching role. The shark is the lurking bully and the ever-present air of frightening violence that is typical of the school experience. Like the students the teacher is merely a larger trapped, farmed animal. The classroom is the mortuary of lost desires. The search for knowledge only emerging after you recover from its leaden effect.

A rather damning indictment of our industrial school system from the perspective of a renowned artist. I think that this installation is great for encouraging conversation. A little digging and I came across Hirst’s statue of Virgin Mother; also disturbing and intriguing at the same time.

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Remembering what’s important

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In the long run, what subjects you covered in school are not that important. Neither is the fact that all your students got over 80% on the final exam. Pete Reilly reminds of this with Tim’s Story:

I had a long relationship with Tim. He was stubborn about not following the rules. If there was homework, he ignored it. If there was reading or studying to be done, he usually left it undone. Grades didn’t motivate Tim. Punishment didn’t deter him. School held no interest. Most of us, including myself, I am ashamed to say, treated Tim like a lost cause.

It’s no wonder that Pete was given the Best Newcomer Edublog Award last year.

What business are you in?

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From Tom Haskins, are two views of business today.

Exhibit A:

“There are firewalls and silos to stay inside of. There are lines of authority to conform to and procedures to execute. There are consequences for stepping out of line, going around someone or finding loopholes in the policies. There are scripts for handling phone calls, policies for handling exceptions and rules for procedural compliance.”

Exhibit B:

“Networks may function with routers to redirect linear transmissions through a past of least resistance. Networks support search and find processes that come up with unforeseen options. Networks reconfigure themselves to accommodate changes. They do not go on hold because local resources are tied up. They do not overtax a reliable node and fail to spread the challenge system wide. They get things done by letting the network do its thing.”

And then I remembered this cartoon from Hugh:

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So what business are you in – Silos or Networks?

I’ve noticed that even many so-called “new economy” companies are still based on the command & control models of the industrial age. They’re like dinosaurs wearing mammals’ clothing but they won’t be able to keep warm during the next ice age.

We’re hearing a lot about the millenials demanding a more flexible workplace and I think that with the impending demographic crunch here in North America, we may not be far from a real change in the dominant model of how we work. Let’s make sure that we have some reasonable options.

The Inexorable Wave of Technology

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The Internet and and other information technologies have changed everything, whether you like it or not. The ability to connect people, information and ideas from any node in this massive network has changed all the rules.

Reverse Marketing Engines, from Make Marketing History:

So, in spite of the demographic realities, the considerable doubts about the longevity of brand loyalty and the radical changes to daily life that digital technology has wreaked, businesses still repeat the mantra of attracting youth, capturing new users and molding technology to their traditional way of doing business. Changing marketing thinking in the corporate world is clearly akin to turning round an oil tanker.

A digitally literate UK? from Strange Attractor:

“The fact is, that most of those working in education, in politics, in the civil service are the equivalent of modern day illiterates. Without understanding how to read and write on the web, there is no other way, really, to describe this state of being.”

Younger Docs, from Nine Shift:

The National Center for Heath Statistics reports that 44% of physicians aged under 35 report using full or partial electronic medical records. That’s opposed to physicians aged 65 and older, where only 18% of docs use e-records.

Cameron Bales made this comment on doctors and medical records, after reading the post above:

If retiring docs hope for money from selling a practice, and or have all of their patients easily get a new doctor then they need to implement EMR [electronic medical records]. Young docs would rather start from scratch, pick their own patients and not fight with paper records they can’t read. If a retiring doctor can’t sell their practice or even find somebody to give it away to they have the expense/hassle of keeping all those medical records for x years (10 to 18 years depending on the age of the patient).

Three stories and an argument

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I’ve supported Creative Commons (and use a CC license for this site) for several years and see it as a leader as we move to a digital economy. Larry Lessig’s presentations are usually quite informative, but it’s obvious that he put a lot of effort into his TED Talk this year. As Larry says, this talk is “Somethings old, somethings new, lots that’s borrowed, none that’s blue.”

He points out that we are living in a society where most of our children are doing illegal activities (AKA piracy) because we haven’t figured out this whole digital universe yet. Let’s get it right for our kids

Take 20 minutes and watch the presentation on how creativity is being strangled by the law.

Update: Don’t believe me? Here’s what Garr Reynolds has to say:

The 18-minute constraint forced Larry into making the best talk I have ever seen him make. He nailed it. His content was good, the argument was logical (even if you do not agree with it) and his visuals and the way he effortlessly controlled the visuals behind him is the perfect demo for the way it should be done. 

Trust

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Trust is something that you have to work at every day. Yesterday I got some comment spam referring to a Squidoo page. I use the Squidoo service and have created a few lenses, so I thought I’d forward evidence of the spammer to Squidoo’s administration. They quickly responded:

We’ve reviewed and locked these lenses, along with the accounts responsible for them.
Squidoo has a zero tolerance spam policy (http://www.squidoo.com/pages/tos) and we appreciate your help keeping a few bad actors from ruining the web for the rest of us!

I now trust Squidoo to take action on spam. As it becomes more difficult to hide on the Net (for better and for worse) it makes sense to be trustworthy through your actions. The latest Carnival of Trust reviews ten excellent articles on the issue of trust:

In each Carnival of Trust, a theme emerges; in this one, it’s policy on trust. Issues of policy and trust in health care, in direct marketing, in marketing, in leadership.

School, Work & Improv

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Last year, our son was on the Improv Team at school. You could tell it was Tuesday because he was so hyped to go to school and attend improv practice. I remember little from high school but it was things like the school play, a sports team or some neat project that sticks in my mind 30 years later; not the curriculum of 3 R’s.

It seems that what is learned in the “non-core” subjects really is the most important in long run. Art, physical education, theatre,  newspaper club, the yearbook, all provide richer learning experiences than sitting in a class (thou shalt not leave your seat) preparing for some important, graded test. Would our education system be better if it only consisted of electives and non-core activities? Could it be worse?

At our son’s high school, the Improv Team is competitive, and many students who want to do it don’t make the cut. I’ve read a couple of articles that show that improvisational skills may be much more useful than algebra or calculus will be for the majority of graduates. Perhaps improv should be compulsory, instead of math.  Michael Kindred-Pratt writes about improv skills in the workplace;

The main benefit of improv comedy is that it teaches students how to deal with uncertainty. People must make incredibly difficult decisions on the spot, which forces them to think quickly. There are no scripts or plots in improv, and no matter how hard we try, there are no exact scripts or plots in the business world either.

John Moore says that a major benefit of improv skills is that failure is an option. He writes that from improv, one can also learn how to:

  • be a passionate follower;
  • be a better listener and reactor;
  • make instinctive decisions and deal with the consequences;
  • trust others; and
  • make others look good

Not bad for a non-core educational activity that doesn’t even get class time.

ecoRevolution Video

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Our son is an ecoholic, or so he says in the video, “Ecoholics Anonymous“, one of three finalists in the Aliant Get Green Student Video Contest. The students at Tantramar Regional High School have already won $500 for their school and the grand prize winners will be attending the International Symposium on Business and the Environment in Moncton on 27 November.

Check out these 5-minute videos and you can vote for your favourite on the site. You know which one I voted for ;-)

Industrial Schooling in Contravention of the UN

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According to UNICEF, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (to which Canada is a signatory):

… is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not.

Notice that this Convention does not just address legal rights but a much broader spectrum of rights, which our government has agreed to in writing.

Here is Article 13 of the Convention:

1. The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child’s choice.
2. The exercise of this right may be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; or
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.

Let’s look at how the New Brunswick Department of Education uses curriculum and enforced homework in contravention of international law:

  • Students are told what to write about, when to do it and to what external standards over which they have no input or influence. Failure to comply results in punishment of imposed loss of time, the threat of poor marks or other more subtle coercion.
  • Students only receive information that has been approved by and screened by external authorities.
  • Children are only given the option of either attending public school or receiving no support from public funds in order to seek knowledge themselves.

Article 16:

1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
2. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

In our family, the school, under the direction of the Minister of Education, imposes significant interference with our children’s privacy, family and home as every evening is spent doing anywhere from 2 to 5 hours of imposed homework. This is completely arbitrary as the Province has never been able to prove that homework serves any purpose that is clearly deemed useful to society.

Article 28:

1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:
(a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;
(b) Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need;
(c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means;
(d) Make educational and vocational information and guidance available and accessible to all children;
(e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that school discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child’s human dignity and in conformity with the present Convention.
3. States Parties shall promote and encourage international cooperation in matters relating to education, in particular with a view to contributing to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy throughout the world and facilitating access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching methods. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries.

First of all, there is little choice, even in high school, meaning that one size fits no one, except the system. Attendance is encouraged only through coercion, as most students (let’s take a poll) would opt out of our school system as it currently exists.

Article 29:

1. States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to:
(a) The development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential;
(b) The development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations;
(c) The development of respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own;
(d) The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin;
(e) The development of respect for the natural environment.
2. No part of the present article or article 28 shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions, subject always to the observance of the principle set forth in paragraph 1 of the present article and to the requirements that the education given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be laid down by the State.

Once again, the curriculum is imposed from above, with no input from individual students and not taking into consideration individual needs. Even the natural environment is not respected as students are daily bused to consolidated schools in diesel-fueled vehicles because the Department has arbitrarily closed smaller schools over the years and emphasized factory-style education farms.

These are only some examples of how our government agencies are letting down the people of New Brunswick (the only example I can speak about with first-hand knowledge) and not allowing each young generation to realize its true potential. This convention covers fundamental rights and it is obvious that those in charge of our education system are ignoring their obligations. Children have the right to choose and be involved in seeking knowledge and expressing themselves (Article 13). This is a legal right.