I am always a little skeptical of stats – but these caught my attention:

• There are 7 billion people on Earth. 5.1 billion own a cell phone. 4.2 billion own a toothbrush. (Mobile Marketing Association Asia, 2011)
• It takes 90 minutes for the average person to respond to an email. It takes 90 seconds for the average person to respond to a text message. (CTIA.org, 2011)
• 91% of all smart phone users have their phone within arm’s reach 24/7 – (Morgan Stanley, 2012)
• 44% of Facebook’s 900 million monthly users access Facebook on their phones. These people are twice as active on Facebook as non-mobile users (Facebook, 2012)
• It takes 26 hours for the average person to report a lost wallet. It takes 68 minutes for them to report a lost phone. (Unisys, 2012)
• 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action, over half leading to purchase. (Search Engine Land, 2012)

Here is a highlights video that summed up the event (better than my photos do):

Found an interesting article about how video games are becoming a more and more common part of education.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

About half of elementary and middle school teachers say they use digital games at least twice a week with students, while nearly 70 percent say that games help students who are struggling with reading and math and 60 percent say gaming helps them personalize their instruction and meet the needs of all students.

There is actually a school in New York City who’e entire curriculum is based on games!

Over the last several years I have become more and more interested in experiential learning and learner-centered teaching approaches. I have learned much from my brother, Michael Novelli, in this area and we have taught a few workshops on the topic together. I ran across an article that I found really interesting about schools that are changing their approach to be Whole Child-Centered —”one that nurtures a student’s academic, emotional, and physical needs and prepares them for the real world.”

This immediatley made me think of ways that the church is “educating” and how we might learn from these models. A few things that stood out:

• Staff and students have worked hard to build a true community and learn from each other
• The school has also fostered strong relationships with individuals, institutions, and community organizations that can help the students learn and develop
• Parents are also intimately engaged in the workings of the school
• There’s an extensive mentoring program—both adults and older students
• The design of the building also helps create a sense of the community

Let me know your thoughts.

Read the full article HERE.

Great lecture by Jon Cleese on Creativity (this is a trimmed version).

Quiet, space and time = environment for creativity

I am considering how I can block out time each week for this. Much to consider from this video!

[ht: churchmag]

A recent study found that 20 somethings (digital natives) switched media (from smart phone to tv to tablet to computer and back, etc). about 27 times per non-working hour. This is 35% more than older “digital immigrants”.

The article explores what this might mean for advertisers. The question it raised in me is, what does this mean for teachers and media creators?

It also reminded me of this scene from Portlandia.

Read the full story here.

[ht: michael novelli]

I am very excited to welcome a new team member to Imago starting today! His name is Chris Bowman. Over the last 10 years, Chris has grown to become a friend. Not only is a Chris a very talented video editor and designer, he’s passionate about doing work for companies and organizations that are making a difference in the world. Welcome Chris – I am so glad we get to work together! To find out a little more about Chris go HERE.

Just ran across this site by Subaru. You answer some questions about your first car, type in your story (and can narrate it too), pick a soundtrack and it creates an animation of your story! Pretty cool and creative marketing idea. Not sure I know a ton more about Subaru or am more interested in buying one, but I had a lot of fun making this. On the other side, I AM talking about Subaru – that probably counts for something, right? Here is my video – now go make your own!

I recently read a very interesting article on CNN by Priya Parker entitled, “Millennials Paralyzed by Choice”.

She contends that through social media millennials constantly hear about “all the cool places they could be and cool things they could be doing, which always seem better than where they now are.” This constant stream is shaping a “defining ethic” of this generation, who when facing major life decisions seem to be paralyzed by FOBO – the “fear of better options”. Here are a few really interesting segments:

More and more, particularly among those who have yet to make those big life decisions (whom to marry, what kind of job to commit to, where to live), FOMO and FOBO – the “fear of better options” – are causing these young leaders to stand still rather than act. “The way I think about it metaphorically is choosing one door to walk through means all the other doors close, and there’s no ability to return back to that path,” one subject told me. “And so rather than actually go through any doorway, it’s better to stand in the atrium and gaze.”

Those with the most options in this generation have a tendency to choose the option that keeps the most options open.

Have you found this to be true? Could this change the way you interact with millennials?

Read the full article here.