We talk to Zena on an early March afternoon. Zena is in her home in Syria, we are in our London office. She greets us enthusiastically, and after some fiddling with Skype’s sound settings both sides are ready to discuss Sky School’s pilot course and Zena’s personal experiences. Being located in Syria, far from our three hubs in Jordan, Kenya and Greece, Zena is one of only four students who completed the pilot short course on the topic of ‘Social Entrepreneurship - How to become a Changemaker’ entirely online.
Zena tells us that she is 17, and that she is currently enrolled in a government school. We are interested to know how Zena feels the ongoing war in Syria has affected her. ‘’Before the crisis started I used to travel a lot, I used to go places, I used to join new things. But that just stopped: because of the war, it was no longer safe to do any of those things.’’ She quickly turns to her education: ‘’In my city we welcomed many internally displaced people from cities where the situation was really unsafe, so the school was a little bit overcrowded. That really affected us. At the same time, there was the war going on, some bombing and shelling… so it affected me psychologically.’’
We ask Zena why she decided to apply to the Sky School short course. ‘’When I was a little girl I used to dream of starting my own business. When I heard about Sky School’s social entrepreneurship course, I got really motivated to apply. Another reason is that the course was not only about being an entrepreneur, it was also about being a changemaker. Being a changemaker is something we need desperately in our society. It’s really an opportunity that I would not miss.’’
‘’Today, nothing is impossible. As long the course was studying human centered design: ‘’It was the very first time that I heard of it. I find it crucial when you want to start thinking of a business: starting by thinking of a problem that may need solving in society.’’ Zena adds: ‘’Another thing that was really valuable was sharing my stories with others, and learning about others’ stories. I am Syrian and I live in Syria, but there were some Syrians who were abroad and who have had to leave the country. It was amazing learning about them and their stories.’’ Zena has a clear sense of purpose, and she wants to make a positive impact on her community. ‘’I think the course gave me more hope and confidence in my ability to make a difference. It also gave me a sense of responsibility, I am the one responsible for making a difference,’’ she says. ‘’The course taught us that young people are strong enough to change their societies and their world.’’
Being one of only a few students who completed the course entirely online, we are incredibly curious to hear more about Zena’s experiences being a Sky School student without having access to a hub. ‘’I did a couple of courses online before the Sky School course,’’ Zena says. ‘’Today, nothing is impossible. As long as we have internet we can access anything and learn I call them that because social entrepreneurship is not physics, it’s not maths, it’s not English - it’s a life skill. It’s a skill to make money, to connect with others and solve a problem.’’
‘’This curriculum was designed to fit the mindset of a young person living in these circumstances.’’
Having completed the pilot course, we want to know how Zena views the role that Sky School has to play in refugee education. ‘’What I really like about Sky School is the idea of it being a global high school specifically for refugees and people living in conflict areas. It’s a very new idea, no one ever thought about that, and because of that I was motivated to participate. I wanted to know how the curriculum worked, because I was pretty sure it was unlike any other curriculum. It was designed to fit the mindset of a young person living in these circumstances. So that was very, very motivating for me.’’
Zena also has ideas for the further development of the curriculum, saying ‘’what is important to include is computer science classes. You can be a programmer and you can make money right away: you can work from your home, and do projects wherever and whenever you want.’’
‘’I believe that the psychological and mental damage caused by the war is greater than the physical or financial damage.’’
Zena’s passion for education is evident from speaking with her. As the interview draws to a close, we ask Zena about her hopes and plans for her own future. She says: ‘’My plans changed after the war started. Now I am aiming to study psychology, hopefully at a university abroad, to provide mental health services for young people like myself who have lived through war circumstances. I believe that the psychological and mental damage caused by the war is greater than the physical damage or the financial damage. I have observed that many young people have given up on their dreams, or lost hope for a better future. I want to change this, and impact positively on their lives.’’
We believe that creating a curriculum specifically designed for refugee youth and youth affected by conflict is only possible when the experiences of learners like Zena are incorporated in each phase of development. Zena, one of the first Sky School students ever, truly embodies the belief that young people affected by conflict are tomorrow’s changemakers, rebuilders and innovators.
While Sky School’s focus is currently on delivering learning through a blended learning model, we are keen to find ways for students like Zena who are living in areas outside of our learning hubs to take part in courses, and will be exploring more online-only possibilities for courses in the future.
tagged with sky school, refugee, refugees, refugee education, zena, interview, student, pilot course, online, hubs, changemaker, social entrepreneurship, social change
Australia snapped a seven-game losing streak to beat South Africa by seven runs in the second ODI in Adelaide and keep the series alive.
Australia, who were thrashed by six wickets with more than 20 overs to spare in the opening match, dug deep with their bowlers getting them over the line.
Marcus Stoinis was the pick of the attack with 3-35 off his 10 overs, including the crucial scalp of David Miller, who hit a stubborn 51.
Kagiso Rabada had earlier taken 4-54 in Australia's innings, in which Alex Carey top-scored with 47 and last-wicket pair Adam Zampa (22) and Josh Hazlewood (10) shared an ultimately crucial stand of 27.
A colorway made for the ladies. The Fuchsia Glow and Polarised Blue flows through the whole Flyknit upper while black speckled midsole piping is supported by a white sole and finished off with a black swoosh. A very pretty colorway that I wish would be made available for the men. Click below for our recommended shoelaces!
SMS marketing is an affordable solution for restaurants nationwide. At this point, that’s hopefully something we’ve made pretty clear. But, on top of being cost effective, it also allows you, the SMS marketing user, to engage with interested customers. You can grow a qualified list of subscribers who, if marketed to correctly, will remain loyal for years to come. Now, in addition to brick and mortar restaurants, did you know that SMS marketing can help you increase traffic to your food truck? Tons of people open up their business with the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. Unfortunately, this isn’t always effective. You might sling the best burgers in town, but if no one knows you exist, your business won’t grow. So, now enter SMS marketing.
We highly recommend all food truck owners take advantage of this mobile communication tactic in 2016. Take note of these few tips before firing out your first SMS campaign.
Sometime, food trucks see a decrease in business because loyal foodies don’t know where they’re parked. Let’s say you give a new food truck a try on Thursday at your local park. You loved the food, and plan on returning the next day for lunch. But, when you go back on Friday, the food truck is gone. If you would’ve connected with them via text, you’d be able to provide returning business.
Do more than sharing your location. Share special offers. You can actually kill two birds with one stone. Fire out a text that reads something like, “We’re parked on East Avenue today from 9AM-4PM. Show this text for $2 off your lunch order.”
Use it as an advertising tool. In bold lettering, paint opt in details on the side, front, or back. Make sure you also include an irresistible opt in incentive, as this will also help you quickly grow your list.
Join forces with the top SMS marketing provider for food trucks, Give us a ring at 1.800.688.6290 to learn more, or head over to the pricing page and sign up for a free plan.
Recently Redbox sent a message to individuals on their text message marketing list that presented them with a link for a scratch-off deal. No one knew what kind of deal they would be getting until clicking the link and playing the game. The message was simple: “It’s time to reveal a deal.” At that time, those who received the message were directed to click the hyperlink and ‘scratch’ to find out what that deal was going to give them.
Redbox is a text marketing winner. The brand has consistently used SMS to engage customers and build their list of loyal customers. Each time the company puts out a new campaign, they seem to have it all together and now what it takes to get the excitement growing strong. The company is versatile in their marketing efforts as well, and that is a plus for both the brand and the customer.
Many text message marketing campaigns fail for the simple fact that they do the same thing over and over again. Customers quickly lose interest and eventually opt-out because there is nothing new or exciting taking place.
Once the customer received the message, they were taken to a page with a Redbox vending machine image. To scratch, customers simply ran their finger over the screen. Underneath was a code that could be used to get a free movie.
This form of marketing is stepping up the text message marketing platform, using rich media content. SMS is one of the best ways to reach a customer, and Redbox has managed to become a leader in their efforts.
In this presentation 10 transformations are described that all organizations must undergo to become a true learning organization. This is needed to rapidly adapt to changing contexts. These contexts change faster and faster due to social media. By following these 10 transformations, an organization is more adapted to this new changing (social media) context and can learn just like any individual person can.
3. Inside =OutsideAn organization should not make adifference between inside and outside.You draw your customers inside andyour employees blog and twitteroutside. No more secrets, justtransparency. The advantage you had inthe old days by secretly developingideas internally, that same advantageyou now have by adopting opennessand honesty and by looking forinteraction with partners and with themarket. And the market will interactwith you. The public assists in productdevelopment, in service and in tip #1: Do not write internaldocuments, but create everything as ifit should be presented or publishedpublically.
4. Control ƒDirectionYou do not control an orchestra, butyou direct it. The same goes for a ﬁlmcrew. And for a ﬂock of sheep‚ ... Agroup of individuals, animals as well aspeople, do not like to be controlled.However, they do accept direction.With the correct vision and objectivethe director plays along withdevelopments and events andcapitalizes on the movements of thegroup. Anyhow the group will proceedin the right direction, ﬂuidly andcontinuously.Learning tip #2: Let everyone be freeon social media and impose only 1 rule"be social and responsible only andfollow each other".
5. Incident ƒContinuousToo often and increasingly more oftenpeople only react to incidents.Organizations stumble from oneincident into another. Incidentmanagement has always been tricky,but now with the viral distributionpossibilities of the social media it hasbecome a true art. Instead of focusingon incidents people could better focuson creating a reputation and thisrequires vision, leadership andperseverance. Qualities that demandcontinuous attention and discipline.Learning tip #3: Implement no isolatedsolution for an isolated problem butalways try to let a new routine springfrom it. For example: "everything thatcan be settled within one minute mustbe settled immediately and should notappear on a to-do list".
6. Isolated ƒEmbeddedFocus is good but also results in anarrow view of reality. This is exactlywhat often happens if a problem or aneed is detected within anorganization. Often these are isolated,just as the person or the team that islined up to tackle the issue. Instead ofisolating a problem, a need, a personor a team, within a dynamic andcomplex world it often is better toembed them in a (learning)organization at appropriate locationsor even everywhere. Following thistrain of thought item 3 represents the“what” and this item the “how”: Howdo you achieve continuity..Learning tip #4: Dismantle thecommunication department, do notcall them communication managersbut communication advisors andspread them throughout the companyand incorporate them in the line.
7. Delegated ƒCommittedWith his invention of “scientiﬁcManagement” also known asTaylorism, Frederick Taylor has taughtus to delegate. And so did allmanagement books after him. And thatis difﬁcult because ‘to delegate issomething you have to learn’. But whatis the use of delegated responsibility ifyou still have to check the workextensively afterwards, as is often thecase in practice? Instead of delegating,people should rather be committed toan identical objective or a desiredresult.Learning tip #5: Before you asksomeone else to do something, askyourself if you should not do ityourself. If this is not the case, thenﬁrst formulate the question as abrieﬁng in an e-mail. A good brieﬁngrequires commitment to achieve thesolution.
8. Distributed ƒIntegratedThe distribution of tasks and work is askill in itself. And many learnedorganization experts have described allkinds of specialisms. Every single oneof these specialisms is deﬁnitelyvaluable, but in the current cross-media and cross-channel world inwhich work becomes more and moremulti-disciplinary, distribution of tasksand expertises is increasingly lessoften a solution. Distribution of tasksand expertises often results in faultyconnections between cases. Theintegration of specialisms often resultsin more productive and more efﬁcientprocesses. And better results.Learning tip #6: Start every week withall people of your group, unit or with ajoint session in which everyoneindicates his/her challenge for thatweek: thus you create an integratedteam.
9. Projects ƒProgramsA project is characterized by a startand an end. The project leader and theproject team start it and they ﬁnish it.Today a product, a website or acampaign is no longer ﬁnished at go-live. There is continuous workinvolved: "The continuo beta". So thereshould be no steering on projects andtheir continuity.Learning tip #7: Rename projectmanagers into program managers andno longer ﬁnish any project withoutthe presence of a long-lasting businesscase or follow-up planning.
10. Consolidation ƒTransformationActually it is strange that in a dynamicworld that changes continuously, anorganization often speaks ofconsolidation. Of course gettingfamiliar with new learned matters isimportant, but consolidation inhibitsthe learning capacity of theorganization. Instead of steering andmanaging by should be leading.Change! In other words..Learning tip #8: Do not have initiatorsof new ideas defend themselves, butlet those who criticise these ideas doso. Every meeting again.
11. Structure ƒCultureThousands of books have been writtenabout (organization) structures. Andconsultancy organizations have madebig money out of it. There is astructure for all processes and for alltypes of organizations. As it is theimplementation of a structure seemsto be an objective on its own.However, structure is not an objectivebut a means. And this means must bedeployed to achieve the desiredculture and the desire to maintain thewish to change. For all other mattersonly choices and clarity are necessary,not structure.Learning tip #9: Determine what is thecollective (internal and external)assessment of the culture andsubsequently remove one centrallyconstructed structure or consultationevery quarter and measure again.Yourprogress will not falter.
12. Staf ƒCoreOrganizations that have distributed,delegated, consolidated and isolatedoften have large staffs and staffdepartments. They are all very busywith extremely important work. Thusthe distance between the staffdepartments and the core processbecomes increasingly larger. Thiscauses bureaucracy and paralysis.Whereas on the other hand everyorganization once started with its corebusiness. Exactly this represents theadded value and the passion. This iswhy you want to work there, be theircustomer and know more about it.And because you want to know moreabout it, you are constantly looking forit and you share that knowledge. Thisis exactly the intrinsic learning of theorganization.Learning tip #10: Make sure thateveryone within the organization hasproductivity objectives and measurethem. No exceptions.
Presents an innovative tool that supports design and evaluation of a Web site’s information architecture. A case study demonstrated that it can significantly reduce resources required to design information-rich applications.
3. Why it is important?  Structural design greatly affects user experience  Current approaches (e.g. Card Sorting) often neglected:  Time constraints  Cost to recruit users and run the studies  Increased complexity for data analysis  Challenging for large sites (>100 pages) 3