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New Generation Learners

I wanted to venture in the manufacture and retail of school supplies, so when I heard about the seminar entitled Tech Tutor 4: The Next Generation of Learners, I knew I had to be there. Why? Because I am currently studying some classic business principles and current trends that may be applicable to a school supplies business. (Read my previous article about timeless business principles and current trends here: How I Merge Classic Business Principles and New Trends.)

School supplies may be considered as basic commodities because students use them regularly during school days, however, with the current economy and latest technological developments, a very important question now comes to my mind. If printed textbooks may eventually give way to e-textbooks, what would become of regular notebooks and pad papers? So I went to the seminar to get a glimpse on what could be expected in the future world of education, at least in the eyes of the learners.

In Tech Tutor 4, it was pointed out that PowerPoint presentations and videos are but ordinary productions that students and teachers now do in their classes. Thus, the seminar included some sessions on photography, videography, and PowerPoint. Nonetheless, there were also a few product presentations from representatives from Microsoft Office and other software and hardware companies about their latest products which students and teachers alike can use in their classes. It was the first time I heard about SkyDrive  which is an app that enables the user to save and update files automatically in sync between his/her computers (PC or Mac) and SkyDrive.com.

Of course the main man of the seminar, Mr. Jerry Liao, presented the most interesting topics that include the characteristics of new learners and how their learning is heavily influenced by new technologies. One concrete example he gave was that with the use of smartphones or laptops (considering of course that students and teachers in the future already normally use these gadgets in their classes), students can easily validate real-time if what their hearing from their teacher is correct.  Vice versa, through the help of expert teachers, students can check if what they are reading on their phones is indeed factual. Learning then becomes more interactive wherein both students and teachers can share knowledge. Then Mr. Jerry Liao showed a very exciting clip about augmented reality.

Mr. Liao further presented how students could use future smartphones in their learning. Future smartphones could scan and detect objects, places, and people’s faces then give their names and other information about them. So, when students go on a field trip, they could simply use their phones and focus it on, say, a flower, and their phones would give out the flower’s name and other details like its scientific name and medicinal properties. Or students could be on a trip in a historical site and again, their smartphones could give accounts about the places they visit.

Going back now to how I will use what I have learned in this seminar to my prospective business. I daresay that although it is good to take things one step at a time, I should also be forward-looking so I don’t get left behind. Who knows perhaps in the latter phases of my business, I could develop a school supplies augmented reality? But hey, that’s just future me talking. For now, I would simply remember that my target market is very dynamic, visual,  present in the world wide web, and eager to learn as long as they are having fun. School supplies can be fun. : -)

How I Merge Classic Business Principles and New Trends

Everyone knows that it is important to know the current trends in line with one’s business. Knowledge of the current trends (like what is in, what is out) is as big a factor as having increased financial intelligence first  in entrepreneurship. As Spencer Johnson mentioned in his self-improvement book, Who Moved My Cheese?, “If you do not change, you can become extinct!” Well, if you are someone like me who is still enjoying the conception of your business, you don’t want your business to become extinct even before it is born, right? But you also do not want to be too engrossed with studying the current trends that you lose sight of the basic principles of succeeding in business. We don’t want that risk, don’t we?

So, before jumping into learning about the new trends and adopting each and every new fad you discover, remember that embracing change should not mean foregoing proven truths and classic principles. A dynamic business is one that is structured on both established principles and changing realities. 

One example of a combination of both is like this: A classic principle in business is to know the customers’ needs, like check Maslow's hierarchy of needs as well as study what people seem to need but no one is offering yet. Then, add to that classic principle the observable reality today on people’s buying behavior. For instance, lately, people have a higher chance of buying something that has been liked by a great number of friends and thousands of other people in Facebook rather than a product that has been offered to the buyer by a telemarketer who tries to convince him/her over the phone and saying “Sir/Ma’am, we have something that you need.”

Now this kind of businessperson, the one who conducts a business research based on classic business principles and then combining it with the current marketing trends is on the right track. One evident type of business is a manufacturer of classic products, let's say, a bath soap, which is a basic need of people. Then realizing that many people now in their area of concern want to have fairer skin, they began to add glutathione in their soaps and proceeded to offering the product to the public using the latest advertising strategies and promotions.

So, this marriage of the classic and the new for my business is what I have in mind when I went to Tech Tutor 4 yesterday, September 25. Tech Tutor 4 is a seminar on multimedia in education facilitated by educator / business technology specialist, Mr. Jerry Liao. In that seminar, I got to know my target market (the youth) and learn about some latest technological trends that my target market raves about. You can read about my post about this seminar and how I intend to use the knowledge I gained here in my future posts.

In the meantime, here is a photo I took on one of the slides presented in the seminar--the one that contains ideas I could use to guide me in my prospective business:

Elle goes into business and is having fun! You too, go into business! :)