From Teacher to Programmer By Mélanie L. Sisley Published in EFL Magazine October 2019 Ever watch someone completely absorbed by a computer game? Ever wonder what it would take for you to get your students’ attention with that amount of intensity? Ok maybe computer-game-intensity is a little much, but wouldn’t it be nice to have
“When we treat people merely as they are, they will remain as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they should be, they will become what they should be.” Thomas S. Monson Whether we are attempting to educate, influence, or criticize, our underlying objective is usually to gain the trust of
by Mélanie L. Sisley “Be safe instead of sexy.” In the 1990 movie Crazy People, Duddley Moor plays a bitter ad executive who lands in a mental institution after a breakdown. There he turns his bitterness into craftiness and starts a new trend in the advertising world: tell the truth. Moor’s “revolutionary” technique becomes a
by Mélanie L. Sisley “High impact learning” is a term I often hear in the organisational training literature and community. It ‘s a theme that conjures all kinds of thoughts and feelings for me. For instance, am I a high impact learner? What does low impact learning look like? What are the ingredients that make
By Mélanie L. Sisley, with special thanks to Karen Henchey, July 2018 “I feel happier” was only one of the many redeeming comments patrons of the West Island Women’s Center (WIWC) said about their experience. To see “happiness” emerge as one of the words that describe the center was like getting 100% plus bonus points in a chemistry exam. The
by Mélanie L. Sisley The competition for quality is fierce out there. But perhaps the very answer to quality is dependent on our sloppy, creatively unguarded side. Just imagine what could happen if we let the unfinished, unpolished ideas come out without fear of judgment or ridicule. Study shows the quality effect In his course
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Benhard Shaw Communication, particularly in science and technology, is not just the presenting information, data and evidence; it is presenting it in a way that is understandable. Communication is a two way street: It’s not just talking, it’s listening; it’s
Revisiting “THE FINE ART OF BALONEY DETECTION” When I speak of reason or rationalism, all I mean is the conviction that we can learn through criticism of our mistakes and errors, especially through criticism by others, and eventually also through self-criticism. (Karl Popper, 1958/67) In a previous article for Neurobox.ca, I wrote about disinformation and
Let’s take a trip down memory lane… Think back to when you were in school. Think of a teacher that had the gift. They knew how to explain things in a way you could understand. They had stories, metaphors, a way of simplifying a concept, of making it relevant to your life. Whatever the technique,
5 DIY Tools to Jazz-up Your Visual Communication
Get your audience’s attention with banners, drawings, comic strips, animation…no previous artistic experience required “The medium is the message” Marshall McLuhan Among the many projects that I have undertaken, be they presentations, videos, lectures, eLearning, newsletters, or posts for social media, I’m always on the lookout for way to enhance visual communication. I like tools
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