Team Bonding Activities—a stepping-stone to Team Building We’ve been neglecting team building. It hasn’t been on purpose. In fact, we’ve been trying hard to keep our teams together despite physical distancing and the absence of consistent day-to-day interactions. We’ve gotten together over...
Read More
Have you come across a Photo Deck or other set of Conversation Cards recently? You know those decks of innumerable glorious and provocative images? Perhaps you’ve seen them and wondered what use they might be. Photo Decks are popular for their huge variety of applications, especially as conver...
Read More
Let’s say you find the perfect learning game—for communication, listening, negotiation, leadership, process improvement, problems solving, critical thinking, time management—then what? Games work because they remove players from their usual setting and create a safe environment to take risks a...
Read More
I asked Jonathan Winkler, a seventh grade history teacher in Newton, Massachusetts to test out a new Me First Buzzer System. At my request, he gave it to me straight and shared his Game Buzzers experience—successes and challenges. To set the scene, understand that he introduced this snazzy new b...
Read More
While we’re at no shortage for videos these days, the bigger question is how to make the most of video clips for memorable video learning, no matter how long or short they are. The exact prescription of what to do or how to do it, depends on the clip of course, but this handful of…
Read More
You already know that learning requires an investment of time and mental focus. Listening to a lecture, reading a book, playing an experiential game, or watching a video can only get you so far. The real learning happens when you apply Thinking Methodologies to digest, discuss, and process the learn...
Read More
As a designer of conversation starter tools, which I’m proud to say have been wonderfully received, I have some strong feelings about what makes a good icebreaker question and what simply fails to inspire sharing. If you’re hoping to weed through the millions of discussion-starter ques...
Read More
As 2016 was drawing to a close, I got the happy news that two of our new fidget toys, Loopeez and Gyrobi, were selected among Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Toys of 2016. While I’m thrilled that our tools were recognized and am eager to add that seal of approval to our packaging, it got me thinking...
Read More
As we try to regroup and refocus after our country’s “great divide,” we all need to work hard at setting new ground rules for respect and open dialogue. A refresher on good manners is long past due. As you talk with people who may have different viewpoints, you may first want to ...
Read More
I have a friend who’s always said you don’t have to get to know someone in the first 5 minutes… or even the first few times you meet. It takes a lifetime to get to know someone. How true that is. And yet, for many, our tendency is to rush and learn as quickly as possible…
Read More