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Andy Molinsky, professor of organizational behavior at Brandeis International Business School, discusses practical techniques for getting outside of your comfort zone, and how that can develop new capabilities and experiences that can help your career. His new book is Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge and Build Confidence.
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SARAH GREEN: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Sarah Green Carmichael.

There's this diagram you've maybe seen. It's about getting outside your comfort zone. There's one large circle called your comfort zone and then a smaller circle well outside it called "Where the magic happens." Sure, it's a little cheesy, but that hasn't stopped this doodle from plastering the walls of college campuses, workplaces, maybe even your own cubicle. And it also appeared on the HBO television series Girls.

- You get it, right?

- Yeah, I get it. Of course I get it.

- Here's your comfort zone. This is where the magic happens.

- So, like, the magic happens outside your comfort zone.

- Yeah.

- Uh-huh. OK.

But there's something missing here, according to Brandeis International Business School Professor Andy Molinsky. That's the path from your comfort zone to where the magic happens. In his new book, out this week, he explains why that path is so difficult and outlines the way out.

The book is called Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge and Build Confidence. And Andy Molinksy joins me now. Welcome, Andy.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Thanks, Sarah. Happy to be here.

SARAH GREEN: It's great to have you.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Yeah.

SARAH GREEN: So how can you tell if you're avoiding something that is making you uncomfortable just because it makes you uncomfortable and you're avoiding it, or because there's a really good reason?

ANDY MOLINSKY: I think we're really good at tricking ourselves and tying ourselves into psychological knots around these issues.

SARAH GREEN: Yeah. My dad likes to say that smart people come up with the smartest excuses.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Exactly. A question that I like to ask myself, and that I like to ask people who I work with on helping to learn to step outside their comfort zones, it's sort of a thought experiment. If all of a sudden you could snap your fingers and making anxiety go away- just as a thought experiment in whatever situation it is- really eliminate it, would this be something that you'd be excited and happy to be able to do?

So for instance, if I were afraid of networking, of stepping into one of those loud rooms, and you walk in and all these people are talking. And you're thinking to yourself, who am I to be here? What can I possibly say? How am I possibly going to enter one of these conversations? And you're so nervous about it. If you think to yourself, if you could erase that anxiety, is that something you'd like to be able to do?

And I think that that question, at least for me, is very helpful in distinguishing situations where we've rationalized to ourselves, oh, it's not that important from situations that if we could learn to cope and learn to step outside our comfort zones, might be a great addition to our repertoire.

SARAH GREEN: I do hear people talk about networking a lot that way. And public speaking is sort of an obvious one. What are some of the other things you've heard people talk about that are examples of this kind of thing?

ANDY MOLINSKY: So in my book Reach, I spoke with- interviewed and also observed- people in so many different professions. Managers delivering bad news, firing people, performing layoffs, police officers evicting people from their homes or repossessing property. Doctors performing painful procedures on children, and also then having to explain this to the parents.

I talked to rabbis and priests who had to step into- now it's funny, because with clergy, you often don't necessarily think of the human behind the role- but who have to step into a room, maybe, of people they've never met before and deliver last rites. And some priests say to themselves, who am I to be in this situation? Like, who am I to be able to do this? I talked with small business owners who are afraid to pitch and promote their ideas, who are uncomfortable with small talk, be it a networking event because maybe they're introverted.

I spoke with a goat farmer who was so proud of the goat's milk soap that she was able to produce, and she was terrified to sell it. So there are all sorts of situations in our lives where there are things that we'd like to be able to do- to accomplish a task, to perform a new role, to step into a new job- but they're outside our comfort zone.

SARAH GREEN: Yeah. Sometimes this behavior just doesn't feel authentic. We're trying to do something and it's like, this just doesn't feel like me. Tell me a little bit more about how that can get in that way.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Yeah, so in all these situations, they're outside your comfort zone for a reason. And I've uncovered a series of what I call psychological roadblocks that oftentimes, if we just sort of think about it, we say, oh, it's scary or it's fearful to step outside my comfort zone, or I'm so anxious. But what's really behind that?

And one of the things that might be behind it is authenticity, the idea that I'm stepping into this situation, and this just does not feel like me. I remember the first time I taught a class. Now in graduate school- I have a PhD in Organizational Behavior- and in graduate school, you might be surprised to know that we're actually not really taught to teach. We're taught to do research. I love teaching, but we weren't taught to teach.

I remember the first time I stepped into a classroom. It was at the University of Southern California in LA. And I walked in there- I was much younger, of course- and the students were not that much younger than me. And I just felt like a complete fraud, like an imposter, in a way, and also totally inauthentic. People were calling me Professor Molinsky, and I'm like who's that? Oh wait, me. It just did not feel like me. And there are many, many situations where people feel inauthentic. And that's a real barrier, I think.

SARAH GREEN: Well, and that kind of points out one of the other challenges you talk about, too, which is the competence challenge, which sounded to me a little bit like the imposter syndrome, where you think. I can't do this.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Yes, definitely. I think they're related. Number one and number two are very related. It's almost like a vicious cocktail of feeling inauthentic and also feeling incompetent, the idea that I'm stepping into this new role, whatever it might be, or this new task. I have to go public speak. I have to deliver bad news, whatever it might be. And you're afraid you're not going to be good at it.

And by the way, you probably have some valid reasons to believe that. Plus, not only that, but you might be afraid that other people will see you as not good at it. So it's not only the anxiety of being not so good at it, but also the fear and embarrassment and potentially shame of knowing that your incompetence is pretty visible.

SARAH GREEN: But how incompetent is it, really? Because you have in the book some really good stories from people like Natalie Portman, Cheryl Sandberg, Larry David, who have had this feeling, too, and talked about it. And they're not incompetent people.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Right, exactly. You know, I didn't put it in there to make the book sexier. I put it in there to normalize it. Natalie Portman in particular, she gave a stirring speech at Harvard commencement several years after she graduated about her feelings of being an imposter. So she was walking around as a student at Harvard. And if you looked at her from the outside, you'd assume, Natalie Portman, super confident, incredible actress. I can't even possibly go over and talk to her. w But inside what she said she was feeling as like a total nobody and an imposter, and that who am I to be here in this group? And she talked about it.

And I think it's really important to understand that if you feel like an impostor, hey, join the crowd.

SARAH GREEN: One of the other concerns that you lay out as sort of the challenges. We've talked about authenticity, competence. Another one is likability. Maybe if you're trying to do something new, be more outspoken in meetings or get better at giving tough feedback, it's already hard, but then you're thinking, maybe this will make this other person not like me. Is this something that you have also struggled with? And how have you dealt with this, and how have the people you studied dealt with this?

ANDY MOLINSKY: Yeah. I experience this every single time I press send on a Tweet. In the world of being an author nowadays- I didn't know this going into it, that- I thought being an author with writing a book, right? Cool. You get to share your book. But in some ways you almost have to be your own PR firm, not in a bad way, but you have to spread the word.

And when I first started writing these Tweets and posts and so on and doing social media, and I wasn't that used to it before, I mean, I felt all these things. I felt inauthentic. I felt incompetent because I was doing it all wrong, these crazy hashtags, and afraid that people would think that I'm this crazy, boastful, awful person who is just like this self-promotion machine. And it feels like I'm afraid I'll be unlikable. And maybe I'm right. Maybe some people feel that way. I think that's a real concern for a lot of people.

SARAH GREEN: So how did you deal with that?

ANDY MOLINSKY: Good question. I think there are a lot of ways to deal with something like this. One important thing is that I had to do it a lot. You know, if you're afraid of delivering bad news, and you get up the courage to do it- and I talk in the book about finding a source of conviction to enable you to push through the discomfort. Also I talk about customizing. I don't know if we're going to about this later, the idea of you finding your own way of doing it and so on. And you can do all that.

But then, if you're not delivering bad news for another eight months, it's probably not going to stick in a way, right? So I was constantly doing it, so that helped me. I think also it was discovering why I was doing it. I wasn't doing it for any sleazy reasons, unsavory reasons. I was doing it because I care about this book. Someone once told me, you wrote a book. You shouldn't hide it. And I actually think that the ideas in the book can actually help people. I know they can, actually. So I felt that sort of a conviction. That helped me. Plus I also found my own style, too.

SARAH GREEN: You've mentioned customizing. So what does it really look like to customize the behavior that they you're afraid of?

ANDY MOLINSKY: That was one of the most surprising, and frankly exciting, insights that I had from doing research with people across so many different contexts, so many different professions. When we're stepping outside our comfort zone, I think oftentimes people feel it's a sort of a helpless and powerless experience. But you actually have more power than you think. And that's where customization comes in.

This morning you probably customized your latte, customized your cappuccino. We customize our cereals, our, bicycle, our clothes and so on. We have the power to sort of tweak and personalize and customize the way we behave. And even if it's done in a subtle way, if it's done in a way that's meaningful to you, it's almost like making it a little bit more comfortable or putting a little bit more of yourself into it.

Let me give you some examples. So for example, if you are afraid of networking, let's say, you might script out a few words that you know really help you to get into a networking conversation. You might wear your power suit. You are not feeling powerful, but you know what? When you put that suit on, you feel just a little bit more powerful. You get intimidated by very large, noisy networking events, and it's really tough for you. Maybe you bring a friend just to know that that person is there. You don't want to cling to that person, but just know that person is there.

Maybe you go at the beginning of the event, because if ultimately the event's a 1,000-person event- it's super noisy, super stressful for you- it's not going to be 1,000 people at the very beginning. So you can almost craft a very, very large event into a smaller event.

Let's say it's public speaking, and let's say you're very uncomfortable with public speaking. Maybe there's a possibility for you to change it to a Q&A session. Maybe that's more comfortable for you. In fact, I talk in the book about how Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin, he does that, actually. There are a variety of things. Oh, and one other thing you can do is you can bring a prop. You can bring a prop, just like an actor might bring a prop on stage. And sometimes those props- it's not like bring some massive, obvious prop. These are often very subtle. I talked about a power suit. There are others, too, yeah.

SARAH GREEN: Yeah. It's funny you mention a prop, because I immediately think I have a couple of items of clothing that always spark comment. It's like a man would wear a weird tie, maybe, or a subtly weird tie, and people would say, oh, what's the deal your tie? Or I have a big orange jacket thing that I wear sometimes, and people say, I love your jacket. And it just is something that people are going to say- it's a conversation starter at those kinds of events.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Yeah, exactly. So I thought this was a cool one. I have a student who is very, very shy and uncomfortable making small talk, but she really wants to learn to do it. So she started bringing a selfie stick to social situations. Now if you think about it, that's not only an ultimate conversation starter, but it's a conversation and social creator, because all of a sudden people are using it. And then if she takes pictures she needs to get their email addresses- or for her it's probably their Snapchat accounts or something, whatever is so they can share. And all of a sudden it catalyzes the social interaction, when in fact, if she didn't have that, she probably would have been in the corner sipping her drink or something like that.

I was afraid of public speaking for a long time, and I used to wear a ring, a very special ring. It's a tiger's eye stone. It's a very unusual stone, and my great uncle found it on the beaches of the South Pacific, and he had it made into a ring. And I always admired it as a kid. And once I learned what it was about, it represented courage for me and I started wearing it. He ultimately gave it to me, I started wearing it to give talks. And no one knew that. But for me, it almost was that just a little bit of courage.

So it might not just be one thing. It might be multiple things, and they're often very, very subtle. But they can just nudge you forward. So that's customization.

SARAH GREEN: I actually have something like that, too. My grandfather had an army bracelet that I would wear sometimes when I had a big presentation. And I'd think, he fought World War II. What I am doing today is really not a big deal.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. And it's a sort of private, personal experience, but it's an example of customizing.

SARAH GREEN: Yeah. Yeah. One of the other ones is clarity. Can you give us maybe an example of what clarity looks like?

ANDY MOLINSKY: Sure. I think that when we're in situations outside our comfort zones, oftentimes we kind of go to emotional extremes, especially when the anxiety is high. Psychologists call it catastrophizing. So we think of the absolute worst case situation and we kind of almost fixate on that. Or some of us, actually, fixate on the other side of it, like the ideal situation. In other words, let's say public speaking, like I'm going to be awful. I'm going to be a total, utter failure. I'm going to embarrass myself. So that's the thought going in, and do you think that thought makes you want to do it?

Or the other extreme may be, I'm not doing this unless I'm a prodigy. I've got to be not only a TED-style, speaker but I've got to be the TED-style speaker of TED-style speakers. And so that's obviously unrealistic as well. So I think what clarity is- and I found among the people who are successful that I've worked with and that I talked to- finding some sort of reasonable, grounded perspective that's somewhere in the middle.

So for instance, yes, I'm scared to speak in public, you might say. And it might not be perfect, but I'll get through it. And I'm probably going to learn something from it. Next time around it might be just a little bit easier. So that's what I mean, sort of a psychological middle ground. And I find that that is really important, combined with the customization and the conviction, to be able to push you forward in these difficult situations.

SARAH GREEN: The other challenges you talk about in your book is how sometimes we might worry that thing that feels uncomfortable actually is immoral, and we might avoid doing it because we almost feel like it would be wrong to do this. How can you sort through those feelings if part of you is really worried that the thing you're avoiding doing isn't just hard to do, but that it actually might be not the right thing to do?

ANDY MOLINSKY: Yeah, it's a good question, and that's a tough one. So I open my book Reach with a story about a woman, Lily Chang, who had to fire her best friend from her startup. Now imagine that, having to fire your best friend. And this is not a fictitious story. This is a real story.

She felt real serious moral qualms about this. It was gut-wrenching for her to do it. But she had a source of conviction, which was that she had hired people to work for her company. They had left really good-paying jobs, and she felt committed to them. On top of that, she felt committed to the people who had provided funding for her company. Plus she also wanted to succeed, and so on. So she had multiple sources of conviction that helped at least carry her through this very difficult moment, and ultimately, that won the day. And she did it because the greater good was, in her estimation, truly worthwhile.

SARAH GREEN: So when you talk about some of the tips and tools and advice that you give people about really finding a source of conviction, what are some of the questions we should be asking ourselves to do that? What are some places we should be thinking about to find that sort of conviction?

ANDY MOLINSKY: Sure. And it's very personal, conviction. And it's different for every person. And there are many different sources, which is the good news. So for instance, for some people their source of conviction might be respect, that for instance, you could ask yourself the question, doing this behavior, will it make me look good in other people's eyes? Or will it win people's respect? Those types of questions.

Another source of conviction might be skill development. Maybe that's what you really care about. And by the way, these aren't mutually exclusive. You might have multiple sources of conviction. But for instance, doing this behavior will help me develop skills I don't currently have, or maybe even improve existing skills. These are the kinds of questions. Or maybe it's career advancement. Or for some people, it's about boosting their self-esteem. Doing this behavior, I know it will make me feel proud. It's not easy, but I know it will make me feel proud.

Or finally, for a lot of people, it's helping others. For instance, doing this behavior, stepping outside my comfort zone in this situation will help me contribute to a cause I care about or make a difference in other people's lives. As I said, it could be a combination of some of these. But these are the types of questions that you ask of yourself. And once you locate it, and once you embrace it, it's actually a really powerful tool for you.

SARAH GREEN: Part of what I want to do here also is sort of flip this around. So say that you are managing someone who you need to help grow outside their own comfort zone. How can you use some of these techniques to get that other person to reach outside their own comfort zone and try some new things? And how can you support them as they do that?

ANDY MOLINSKY: Number one, I would want to help them understand what their own psychological roadblocks are. So in other words, they might feel anxious, they might feel uncomfortable. But why? What specifically? And we talked a little bit about it. Is it authenticity? Is it competence? Is it likeability, morality, and so on? Where is your pain point, in a sense? Because I think that to help someone forward, you really need to, as you said, a finer point. You need to have a finer point on the anxiety or where it comes from in order to sort of develop a way of grappling with it.

I think it's also important to help people- and this is really where that perspective taking of having a mentor or a coach or- I'm not sure what context this is, but someone who's helping someone through the situation- I think it's really important for people to understand where and how and why they might be avoiding. In the book I talk about all sorts of ways in which we're great at avoiding situations outside our comfort zone, rationalizing, as we talked earlier about why- you know, I don't really need to do this. And I think it's really critical, that's critical, to have that real talk-style conversation with someone to try to see where their avoidance might be happening.

And then finally, I think it's very, very helpful to use the framework that I talk about in the book, the idea of conviction, locating your source of conviction, helping someone customize their behavior so that it feels a little bit more natural and authentic, and then help them with that clarity piece to try to not fall off the deep end.

Ultimately, what you want to do is you want to nudge someone, encourage them, motivate, incentivize, whatever your word is, get them to try it, because I think that is the ultimate thing. When you try something, you can have some amazing discoveries. You can discover, number one, this isn't as bad as I thought it was, and a lot of people discover that. And number two, I'm better at this than I thought I was. And that can propel you forward in a major way. So getting someone to actually do it and try it, that's the key, I think.

SARAH GREEN: Yeah. Or I'm just as bad at this as I thought I was, but actually, it's not that embarrassing.

ANDY MOLINSKY: It's not that embarrassing, exactly. Right. I can live. I'm not going to die.

SARAH GREEN: Exactly. Exactly. How can we just develop a better attitude towards this?

ANDY MOLINSKY: You know the movie Swingers where the guy says, you're more money than you think you are, or something like that? I think we have more resilience, more capability than we actually realize. I actually wrote a Harvard Business Review article about this exact issue, that if you think about your life, you've been stepping outside your comfort zone your whole life. I have kids, and I imagine some of the listeners do. And when they move from crawling to walking, that's a big move outside your comfort zone. When you go off to school for the first time, when you go from elementary school to middle school to high school, from high school to college. I see that poignantly. I teach at a university.

SARAH GREEN: But it's terrifying.

ANDY MOLINSKY: It's terrifying, but people do it, right?

SARAH GREEN: Childhood is terrifying.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Childhood is terrifying, but you made it through. And don't forget it. Don't let your past successes be like Teflon, be nonstick. Let them be stick, in a sense, and carry that with you. And remember that you're probably braver and also more capable than you think you are. I think that if you can realize that you can turn the tables, and that you have more power than you think, you can locate your source of conviction. You can customize your behavior. You can find that clarity, all those things that we're talking about. You can pinpoint where your sort of emotional blockages are and so on.

That starts to make you feel a bit more in control. And I think that that's what starts to build resilience.

SARAH GREEN: Andy, thank you so much for joining us today.

ANDY MOLINSKY: Oh, I really enjoyed it, Sarah. Thank you.

SARAH GREEN: Andy Molinsky is a Professor of Organizational Behavior and Director of Brandeis International Business School's Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership. His new book is titled Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge and Build Confidence. You can read more of his work, including the article he mentioned, "You're More Resilient Than You Give Yourself Credit For," at hbr.org. Thanks as always for listening to the HBR IdeaCast. I'm Sarah Green Carmichael.

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Andy Molinsky, professor of organizational behavior at Brandeis International Business School, discusses practical techniques for getting outside of your comfort zone, and how that can develop new capabilities and experiences that can help your career. His new book is "Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge and Build Confidence."

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Leadership: A Conversation with Marshall Goldsmith and Sam Shriver

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Leadership: A Conversation with Marshall Goldsmith and Sam Shriver

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Dr. Sam Shriver of The Center for Leadership Studies interviews world-renowned business educator and executive coach, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith. During this interview, Goldsmith discusses Dr. Paul Hersey, Situational Leadership® and a variety of other topics based on his vast leadership experience.

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According to the Education Resources Information Center, "For companies to stay competitive, they must continually bring new products and services to the marketplace. One strategy organizations can use to support this requirement is to provide their sales force with training that enables revenue generation". As you'll discover, eLearning is the perfect solution for delivering training to improve your sales staff performance.

eLearning: The Basics

The most basic definition of eLearning is "electronic learning". However, it's about more than just attending a school or college online, taking a few courses, and getting a certificate. Today, with all of their new technological advances companies can use eLearning to help their staff learn how to improve their sales skills.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, "Online learning opportunities and the use of open educational resources and other technologies can increase educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning; reducing costs associated with instructional materials or programs".
Some of the benefits of eLearning vs. traditional learning include:

Tailored to specific needs.
With eLearning, a company can actually tailor the curriculum to its needs. For example, if the company wants to focus on marketing for one group of employees and sales etiquette for another, it can be done.

Flexible.
Unlike traditional schools where students may need to wait a semester or longer for a particular class to become available, there are now software programs available to create particular classes and curriculum.

Ability to track progress.
Instead of waiting for the "report card" to come out, you will be able to track the progress of the employees enrolled in the eLearning courses. Managers can also monitor the success, strengths, and weaknesses of each student to better address their needs.

Smaller bits of information.
Instead of trying to cram a week's worth of instructions and lessons into a three-hour training video, companies can break down the information into bite-sized classes or programs that will likely be better absorbed than longer classes.

3 Ways eLearning Creates Better Sales Staff Performance

1. Product Training In An Instant.

To be able to sell a product, the salesperson must know about it; how it works, its benefits, prices, availability and so forth. Because products can change, it's important for employees to have the ability to keep up to date on the information. In sales, a lot of the personnel are out of the office working with their customers and they don't always have time to research the products to see if anything has changed. A short product update online seminar could be very beneficial in this instance. Alerts could be sent to cell phones and emails could be sent with the information.

2. Accessibility.

Once a week sales meetings tend to be dull for many employees. Many times the information is not retained or is forgotten shortly after the meeting. Plus, not all employees will always be able to attend the meetings and will therefore miss out on any updates or important information. With eLearning, employees can get the current information and updates sent directly to their digital devices. This allows them the ability to download and study the information at a time that may be more convenient. This is especially helpful for sales personnel who are oftentimes out of the office and working with clients or prospects.

3. Healthy Competition.

The sales world is already competitive, and sales employees are generally competitive as well. However, a friendly competition via eLearning can help to motivate internal staff while also providing the important information and training they need. Gamification is the process of eLearning through games and introducing fun and competitive games that are educationally related to your company is a great way to encourage competition.

5 Types Of Microlearning That Help Improve Your Sales Staff Performance

A report by the Sales Performance International warns that sales training can be too much of a good thing. Approximately 50 percent of learning content from multi-day sales training is forgotten within five weeks! The truth is that people tend to learn better when the learning materials they receive are in smaller doses or chunks.

According to the eLearning Industry, "In essence, micro-eLearning offers students and employees the opportunity to more easily absorb and retain the information that is being offered, by making lessons and course activities more manageable and 'digestible'".

Here are a few types of microlearning that can help improve your sales staff performance.

1. Online games.

These would be games designed by the company that are in some way educational for the employee. They can be lesson-driven so that each level in the game passed is another level in lesson achievement.

2. Slideshows.

The human brain tends to retain visuals more than the written word which is why slideshows are so successful. These provide valuable information in a short amount of time.

3. Videos.

Again, instead of reading materials and perhaps zoning away from the information, people tend to find videos more entertaining. Instructional and informational short videos can be developed with an engaging tone that will capture the attention and help ensure the information is retained.

4. Interactive Simulations.

Hands-on learning is essential for some people. It also reinforces the information and lessons they are learning. For example: A sales team could be shown how to work a transaction from beginning to end, then the simulation would have the employees do the same transaction on their own.

5. Podcasts And Blog Posts.

These are other types of microlearning tools where the employees can watch and read at their own convenience.

The importance of eLearning is growing among businesses and corporations as they discover not only the benefits of the flexibility of eLearning, but also the invaluable ways employees can learn and grow their skills. Staying up to date with the products and/or services of the company, the newest technology and newest trends will help your sales staff performance in a big way.

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Presentations and videos with engaging visuals for hybrid teams | Prezi Present

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Welcome to Prezi, the presentation software that uses motion, zoom, and spatial relationships to bring your ideas to life and make you a great presenter.

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UNLIMITED Audiobooks and eBooks | All You Can Books | AllYouCanBooks.com

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All You Can Books gives you UNLIMITED access to over 40,000 Audiobooks, eBooks, and Foreign Language courses. Download as many audiobooks, ebooks, language audio courses, and language e-workbooks as you want during the FREE trial and it's all yours to keep even if you cancel during the FREE trial.

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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The list of challenges facing higher education is long: At the top are state disinvestment, increasing competition for research dollars, price pressure, Title IX and new market entrants. Yet our economy depends on the success of higher ed institutions; a well-educated workforce is critical to the U.S. economy.

Our industry is poised to see a wave of integrations and closures. Moody's predicts a tripling of college closures in coming years. Generally, the smaller the institution and the endowment, the more susceptible the college. The largest and most well-endowed institutions may feel immune, thinking they are "too big to fail." Yet in reality, in the digital economy, no institution is immune. Leaders and boards of directors should plan today for how to transform themselves tomorrow.

The Competition Is On

Reliance on net tuition remains high, averaging more than 45 percent nationwide, 10 percent higher than during the most recent recession. Tuition is rising at rates of 7 to 8 percent, well above the inflation rate. Competition for students is increasing. In many regions (for example, the Midwest and Northeast), the number of high school graduates is declining, and many public institutions are competing for out-of-state and international students, who pay more and thus subsidize in-state students. This combination presents a challenge.

To perform well in the face of such challenges, institutions need to invest deliberately and heavily in two things: talent and technology. In particular, "top 100" institutions that pride themselves on quality of education and research should have quality of technology and talent to match.

Talent Is a Must

Institutions have long focused, and rightly so, on recruiting and retaining faculty talent, particularly faculty that can attract significant research grants. However, institutions need to invest in quality talent in all functions: lecturers, student advisers, technologists and fundraisers. Talent may come from successful new entrants in the market or institutions at the leading edge of transformation, yet they share characteristics that are key to the 21st century economy. They are change-receptive, digitally adept and customer-focused.

Students and visitors expect a top-notch experience commensurate with the institutional brand, and high-quality experience requires high-quality talent. As cost pressure increases, institutions require talent that embraces continuous improvement, whether that means reducing costs or delivering innovation that delights.

Strategically Using Tech

Technology is the second part of the equation. Institutions tend to be highly distributed, with departments that insist upon their own procedures. Unique ways of conducting specialized research are one thing. Unique ways of providing email or processing expense reports are unnecessary, sapping resources that should go to innovation.

Most institutions have a master plan for the physical campus. Leaders should focus equally, if not more, on a digital master plan. A digital strategy is more than a snazzy website and Wi-Fi in the residence halls. The strategy must be strong from the ground up, from secure, reliable infrastructure through the mobile application layer, and it should address on-premises and cloud-based systems in the full portfolio.

As many institutions are short on time as well as money, decision-making cycles must shorten. Tuition may be set annually, but decisions related to talent and technology are made constantly.

Talent, technology and time: Higher education institution leaders must focus on all three to succeed as the industry continues to transform.

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Talent and Technology Are Keys to Higher Ed Success

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The list of challenges facing higher education is long: At the top are state disinvestment, increasing competition for research dollars, price pressure, Title IX and new market entrants. Yet our economy depends on the success of higher ed institutions; a well-educated workforce is critical to the U.S. economy.

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The list of challenges facing higher education is long: At the top are state disinvestment, increasing competition for research dollars, price pressure, Title IX and new market entrants. Yet our economy depends on the success of higher ed institutions; a well-educated workforce is critical to the U.S. economy.

Our industry is poised to see a wave of integrations and closures. Moody's predicts a tripling of college closures in coming years. Generally, the smaller the institution and the endowment, the more susceptible the college. The largest and most well-endowed institutions may feel immune, thinking they are "too big to fail." Yet in reality, in the digital economy, no institution is immune. Leaders and boards of directors should plan today for how to transform themselves tomorrow.

The Competition Is On

Reliance on net tuition remains high, averaging more than 45 percent nationwide, 10 percent higher than during the most recent recession. Tuition is rising at rates of 7 to 8 percent, well above the inflation rate. Competition for students is increasing. In many regions (for example, the Midwest and Northeast), the number of high school graduates is declining, and many public institutions are competing for out-of-state and international students, who pay more and thus subsidize in-state students. This combination presents a challenge.

To perform well in the face of such challenges, institutions need to invest deliberately and heavily in two things: talent and technology. In particular, "top 100" institutions that pride themselves on quality of education and research should have quality of technology and talent to match.

Talent Is a Must

Institutions have long focused, and rightly so, on recruiting and retaining faculty talent, particularly faculty that can attract significant research grants. However, institutions need to invest in quality talent in all functions: lecturers, student advisers, technologists and fundraisers. Talent may come from successful new entrants in the market or institutions at the leading edge of transformation, yet they share characteristics that are key to the 21st century economy. They are change-receptive, digitally adept and customer-focused.

Students and visitors expect a top-notch experience commensurate with the institutional brand, and high-quality experience requires high-quality talent. As cost pressure increases, institutions require talent that embraces continuous improvement, whether that means reducing costs or delivering innovation that delights.

Strategically Using Tech

Technology is the second part of the equation. Institutions tend to be highly distributed, with departments that insist upon their own procedures. Unique ways of conducting specialized research are one thing. Unique ways of providing email or processing expense reports are unnecessary, sapping resources that should go to innovation.

Most institutions have a master plan for the physical campus. Leaders should focus equally, if not more, on a digital master plan. A digital strategy is more than a snazzy website and Wi-Fi in the residence halls. The strategy must be strong from the ground up, from secure, reliable infrastructure through the mobile application layer, and it should address on-premises and cloud-based systems in the full portfolio.

As many institutions are short on time as well as money, decision-making cycles must shorten. Tuition may be set annually, but decisions related to talent and technology are made constantly.

Talent, technology and time: Higher education institution leaders must focus on all three to succeed as the industry continues to transform.

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Talent and Technology Are Keys to Higher Ed Success

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The list of challenges facing higher education is long: At the top are state disinvestment, increasing competition for research dollars, price pressure, Title IX and new market entrants. Yet our economy depends on the success of higher ed institutions; a well-educated workforce is critical to the U.S. economy.

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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This year was ripe for higher ed innovation. Just take a look at coverage from EDUCAUSE, which highlights the trends that have flourished in 2016. Colleges across the country have transformed learning spaces, advanced their libraries technologically, and bolstered campus security.

Along with increases in cloud adoption, the rise of virtual reality and stronger cybersecurity programs, here's a look back at the biggest higher ed tech trends of 2016.
SIGN UP: Get more news from the EdTech newsletter in your inbox every two weeks!
1. Understanding the Power of Data

This year, data has been a huge factor for a lot of industries, higher education included. Tech decision-makers on a number of campuses have started to examine where data might fit into daily operations.

Data has also powered some significant positive changes across campuses. At Middle Tennessee State University, predictive analytics fueled by student data have helped advisors to bring their retention rate up to 95 percent.

University of Maryland University College has made analytics an integral part of their operations, and because of it they could reduce marketing spending by 20 percent.

It turns out students actually don't mind that universities are collecting more information on them than ever before. Ninety-eight percent of student respondents to an Ellucian survey said they want their schools to use their personal information to improve the overall college experience.

A KPMG survey found that 41 percent of universities were using data for forecasting and predictive analytics. This number is only expected to rise next year, with EDUCAUSE naming data-informed decision-making and predictive analytics to improve student success to their 2017 Top IT Issues list.

2. Protecting Colleges from Growing Cybersecurity Threats

Known for their caches of research data and personal information, higher education institutions were the number two target for cyberattacks in 2016. So this year, colleges stepped it up in terms of cybersecurity tactics.

With many finding that threats are introduced by users more than they might think, universities are working to create better security habits. In January, the University of Dayton kicked off a yearlong "cyber mindfulness" campaign of proactive activities like phishing tests and incentives for reaching security goals.

Cybersecurity will also be top of mind for 2017, as EDUCAUSE named security as its top IT issue for the coming year.

3. Seeing the Valuable Potential for Virtual Reality

From improved headsets by Oculus and Google to the launch of several "experiences," virtual reality made a lot of strides this year. So many, in fact, that Forbes forecasted next year to be the year for VR.

But what about the implications for higher ed? Well, some small steps were made for VR at universities. Indiana University Bloomington is working toward creating a shared VR workspace for students in all disciplines.

Because of its immersive capabilities, the promise of VR for medical students is pretty huge. In fact, the University of Illinois at Chicago is already using VR as a way for students to put themselves in the shoes of elderly patients.

4. Creating Robust Networks for Even More Devices

A ubiquitous and powerful Wi-Fi network is now so important for students, that colleges like the University of California, Irvine are prepping for students that haven't even arrived yet. As students bring more connected devices to campus - EDUCAUSE estimates 61 percent will have at least two - it has gotten even harder for universities to provide the bandwidth needed.

With a combination of network optimization, creative IT policies, and research to prepare for the incoming Internet of Things, universities are being proactive about creating the networks of the future.

5. Increasing Utilization of Cloud Services

Cloud adoption is growing quickly in the higher education sector, and 81 percent of IT leaders in higher ed say they will be spending even more money on cloud services next year.

Cloud has made it possible for colleges to have scalable data centers, more efficient software rollouts, and even more accessible labs for science classes.

The next few years will see even more growth to the cloud. A MeriTalk survey found that 39 percent of applications at college today are cloud-based and by 2021 that number is expected to climb to 62 percent.

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The 5 Biggest Higher Education Tech Trends in 2016

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This year was ripe for higher ed innovation. Just take a look at coverage from EDUCAUSE, which highlights the trends that have flourished in 2016. Colleges across the country have transformed learning spaces, advanced their libraries technologically, and bolstered campus security.

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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Much like dining halls, health centers and laundry services, Wi-Fi is considered by today's college students to be a must-have service.

A recent report from the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research found that 61 percent of college students have at least two devices that they want to connect to college networks.

With demands like that across campuses, colleges need to take steps to ensure that students are able to access what they need for education and entertainment.

By understanding what data is taking up the most bandwidth, how they can act proactively, and what types of policies will help, universities will be one step closer to doing just that.

1. Pinpoint What Is Taking Up Bandwidth

EdTech has discussed how video streaming sites like Netflix use up a ton of a university's network bandwidth, leaving universities to incur the costs of the oftentimes sizable bill for recreational viewing.

Houston Community College, which has 75,000 students across 26 campuses, reported to Campus Technology that 65 percent of all wireless traffic at their schools was video-based.

"This puts a heavy load on each wireless access point, coupled with the fact that most wireless environments at the college have a high physical density of users - from common areas to libraries and the classroom," Kyle Cooper, the school's director of network and telecom, told Campus Technology.

But besides the likely bandwidth hogs like YouTube, Hulu and Netflix, university network administrators might be overlooking another potential drain.

Cloud apps that automatically sync files like Box and Google Drive, and even OS updates from Android or Windows, can slow down a network, eCampus News reports.

"Developers design file syncing apps to operate continually and transparently in the background," writes Bruce Miller on eCampus News. "OS updates can trigger at a moment's notice with a new software release. Both file syncing and OS updates can use a substantial amount of bandwidth."

Miller also writes that Dropbox has a policy of taking up 75 percent of bandwidth available when it is updating, unless that option is manually turned off.

In an article on the technology news site MakeUseOf, Brad Jones writes that Windows 10 has been using a ton of bandwidth from automatic updates and file syncs.

"Files in specified folders are automatically uploaded to the OneDrive service, and files stored online can be downloaded automatically much the same way," writes Jones. "This can amount to several gigabytes worth of transfers very quickly."

Users can set a limit to how many gigabytes are transferred in the settings of OneDrive, Jones writes.

2. Be Proactive and Prepare for Increased Usage

Even if students are made aware of the apps and upgrades that are using large amounts of bandwidth, they'll still want to install a new OS upgrade for one of their mobile devices when it's released. And more and more students will continue to bring more and more devices each year. Universities can prepare for this.

University of California, Irvine got even more proactive by installing 1,315 Cisco Systems 3702i access points in its residence halls in preparation for expanding their network over the next few years, EdTech reported in August.

"When we designed it, we said 'Picture five years from now when students are showing up with more wireless devices than they've got now,' " Kevin Ansel, former director of student affairs IT at UCI, told EdTech. "...we needed to think ahead, so we built a system that is very robust."

The University of North Carolina Wilmington also sought a Cisco solution to create a scalable network, according to a news release on Cisco's website. With the Cisco technologies, UNCW network administrators were able to determine the number of users on any access point, view signal strength and proactively adjust to achieve better coverage before incidents were reported.

3. Create IT Policies That Work for You

Some universities may also consider enacting policies that will prioritize what can be deemed valuable bandwidth. Miller's eCampus News article suggests that campuses struggling with Wi-Fi performance should try using management tools that can prioritize education and productivity apps over those used for entertainment.

"Administrators set policies to block, rate, limit, and prioritize apps based on a variety of factors, including time of day, device type, user type or location," writes Miller.

In an article from mobility platform provider Secure Edge Networks, it is suggested that colleges limit apps like Netflix to a set amount of bandwidth during certain peak education hours, then open it up to unlimited availability during nonpeak hours.

"This would allow you to ensure your mission-critical applications like online testing wouldn't be at risk from crashing because other students are trying to binge-watch The Walking Dead."

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3 Tips for Optimizing College Network Bandwidth

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Much like dining halls, health centers and laundry services, Wi-Fi is considered by today's college students to be a must-have service. A recent report from the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research found that 61 percent of college students have at least two devices that they want to connect to college networks.

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easel.ly | create and share visual ideas using infographics

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Easel.ly is a simple web tool that empowers anyone to create and share powerful visuals (infographics, posters)... no design experience needed! We provide the canvas, you provide the creativity.

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Have you ever thought about creating a Wordpress website? 

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Have you ever thought about creating a Wordpress website? 

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Learn about it from this site.

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Easy-to-follow step-by-step guide that teaches beginners how to create a website. Includes WordPress tutorials, web design tips and more.

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Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more.

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How to Create Infographics in Minutes (Canva)

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Infographic Maker Trusted By 11 Million Users - Piktochart

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With Piktochart AI, you can create stunning infographics, reports, presentations, and more in seconds. No design experience needed. Start for free.

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All you need to learn in this site!

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Google Drawings, part of the Google Apps suite, can also be used to create an infographic. It does layer-based image editing very well, as you can see by this infographic I created. And students can use the Google Research tool to locate CC-licensed images to use in the infographic. ( Key commands for Google Drawings)

Kathy Poe at The Fletcher School had her students create an infographic as part of a larger research project. She graciously shared the work!

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Infographics are a visual representation of data. When students create infographics, they are using information, visual, and technology literacies. This page includes links to help you develop...

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Go to http://twitter.com and find the sign up box, or go directly to https://twitter.com/signup. Create a Twitter account. If you are creating a Twitter account for a specific purpose or class requirement, you might want to read Disposable Twitter Accounts for Classroom Use by @ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education Enter your full name, email address,...

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Social media tutorials to help you get acquainted :)

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Social media tutorials to help you get acquainted :)

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Free Social Media Tutorials at GCFLearnFree

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Social media can be used for many things: staying in touch with friends and family, promoting your cause, and keeping up with trending topics and news. Knowing how to use social media is an essential 21st century skill. Find out more with our social media tutorials.

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If you ask students who their favorite teacher is, they will probably name the one who's constantly present on Facebook, answering their questions and posting links to content that makes learning fun. You can become that person if you start using social media as learning tools. Read on; we'll show you 5 tricks that will reveal the new face of education thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms you can use.

1. Create a Facebook group for your class.

This is where the magic starts. Almost every teacher has created a Facebook group for their class, but not everyone knows how to use it. There are few ways you can put that group to good use:

Share something that will make your students laugh.

Post notes to remind your students about the instructions of important assignments, as well as the submission deadlines.

Encourage your students to post links to great online resources related to the curriculum. You can give extra points for this activity.

Set discussion topics every week. Think of a topic close to the most engaging lesson of the week, and invite everyone to discuss. You have to motivate the students to participate, so ask relaxed questions that will make them think, but won't stress them out.

Allow and encourage the students to ask any question they have. If they don't know how to handle the assignment, help them surpass the difficulties they face.

Discover motivational TED talks and post them in the group. There are many successful people who made progress because they had great goals and worked hard to achieve them. There is hardly a better motivator for learning than a great TED talk.

Constantly search for new online resources that make learning fun, and share the links in the group. Then, ask your students to watch/read/listen to those materials and share their opinions during class.

2. Use blogging for students' homework assignments.

How about using blogging as a tool for homework assignment submission? Each student can have a personal blog where they will share book reviews, history research papers, and other assignments they usually submit in print. This is a much better option, since everyone will be able to see what the others have done with the topic, so the healthy competitive spirit will drive them forward.

When you assign team projects, you can ask several "bloggers" to collaborate within a group and publish different parts of the finished paper on each blog.

Of course, you should also have a blog. You can use it for posting discussion topics and inviting everyone to comment. In addition, you can post weekly updates for the lectures you just went through, so the students who missed the classes will keep up with the coursework.

3. Use Twitter for bringing fun into the classroom.

Most educators interested in introducing social media into the teaching processes are focused on Facebook. They perceive Twitter as a network that's mostly used for fun. The fun aspect of Twitter is not necessarily a bad thing.

You can introduce a daily hashtag related to a certain topic you elaborated in class, and ask each student to discover a fun fact related to it. Then, they should post a tweet under that hashtag, and the entire class will follow the activity. This is a great way for the students to realize how the things they learn at school are being implemented in the real world. For example, you can set #spiders for a daily hashtag and start posting fun facts like no 2 #spider webs are the same. Then, ask your students to dig through online resources and discover their own fun facts about spiders. You can all discuss the information you find the next day in class.

Twitter is also a great place for you to get connected with other teachers. You can support each other and share tricks and resources that help you do your job.

4. Pinterest for pinning educational resources.

You know how hard it is to keep all important online content in the browser's bookmarks. You keep losing the resources you need no matter how hard you try to organize the toolbar. Pinterest is a great platform for organizing educational resources. When you browse and locate something you could use - you just pin it in a board you created for the relevant category.

You can also use Pinterest as a search engine for educational content. Just write your topic in the search bar and you'll discover some cool resources you can present in the classroom.

Needless to say, you can share the boards with your students, so they can explore them in their free time and expand the knowledge they gain in the classroom. Ask them to create their own boards with educational resources, so you'll understand what each individual is mostly interested in. For example, one student will mostly pin resources from the area of history, and others will be interested in literature. From then on, you can encourage them to explore their strengths further.

5. Use YouTube for the flipped classroom concept.

This video sharing platform is a great option for introducing the flipped classroom concept into your teaching methods. You can share educational lectures and resources in video format, and expect your students to watch the material instead of writing homework. Then, you can discuss the lecture and do the homework in class.

This concept requires more work on your part, since you'll have to record the lessons and edit the videos. However, you can substitute that effort by telling your students to view free educational videos that have been published by popular YouTubers.

Here is another way to become the coolest teacher at the school thanks to YouTube: tell your students to film themselves making presentations of the projects you assign, and then post the videos on the channel.

Social Media Platforms Are Useful When Teachers Know How To Use Them

The above-listed tips probably gave you a new perspective on the way you can use social media as learning tools that fit into your teaching methods. These activities will require you to invest some of your free time. Of course it's easier to show up in the classroom, present the lecture and expect the students to do their part of the work.

However, the efforts you put into social media activity will yield great results. You'll finally start seeing enthusiastic faces in the classroom, since your students will realize how fun learning can be. Start using social media platforms as learning tools, and you'll soon notice you're making a big difference into the way your students perceive education.

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5 Ultimate Tricks Of Using Social Media As Learning Tools

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If you ask students who their favorite teacher is, they will probably name the one who's constantly present on Facebook, answering their questions and posting links to content that makes learning fun. You can become that person if you start using social media as learning tools.

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This is an excellent overview of things to be aware of when filming.

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Tips for Smartphone Vlogging and How to Improve It!

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In this episode of How to Vlog, we will show you tips for vlogging with a smartphone. Smartphone cameras are great for vlogging! Today I'm going to show you how to record great looking videos using your phone.

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Five tips for recording audio on your phone

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Five tips for recording audio on your phone

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5 Great Tips For Recording Audio With Any Smartphone Or Tablet

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Your phone is very smart. With Angry Birds, Facebook and mobile office applications, it's all too easy to forget that some of the features we use most were often available on those very old mobile phones as well. Obviously, that includes calling and texting, but recording audio isn't a cutting-edge technology either.

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Being able to record audio at a moment's notice is a handy, yet often overlooked, feature of modern smartphones. iPhones come with a voice recording app installed, as do many Android phones. There are a variety of free recording apps...

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“5 Simple Questions Lead to #StudentEngagement | info from @edutopia & Rebecca Adler art & graphics from @LanceFuhrer”

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Problem Based Learning Examples from McMaster University

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Problem Based Learning Examples from McMaster University

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Problems written for an Undergraduate Course in Pharmacology - Introduction

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What is Inquiry or Problem based Learning?

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What is Inquiry or Problem based Learning?

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What is Inquiry-Based Learning?

Based on John Dewey's philosophy that education begins with the curiosity of the learner, inquiry in the classroom places the responsibility for learning on the students and encourages them to arrive at an understanding of concepts by themselves.

At McMaster University in Hamilton, Inquiry-Based Courses are offered to all first year students with Inquiry-Based Learning following the four basic stages of Self-Directed Learning where students take more responsibility for:

Determining what they need to learn

Identifying resources and how best to learn from them

Using resources and reporting their learning

Assessing their progress in learning

Most courses will draw on one or more of these stages, while a comprehensive senior inquiry course will have all four of these elements. Students will take the initiative and be largely responsible for seeing they successfully complete their learning in a given area. Generally, students draft a "learning contract" that specifies what they will learn, the resources, and how their learning will be demonstrated and assessed. Throughout the course students then execute their learning contract with the instructor submitting a grade on completion of the contract.

Why Teach Inquiry?

Encouraging learners to be self-directed is a critical skill that students need to acquire in order to be successful in post-secondary education and their careers. This method encourages students to build relevant research skills, such as identifying learning goals and resources that are then implemented to meet deadlines.

Inquiry-Based Teaching Strategies

Our colleagues at McMaster suggest that:

Teaching through "inquiry" involves engaging students in the research process with instructors supporting and coaching students at a level appropriate to their starting skills. Students learn discipline specific content while at the same time engaging and refining their inquiry skills. An inquiry course:

Is question driven, rather than topic or thesis driven

Begins with a general theme to act as a starting point or trigger for learning

Emphasizes asking good researchable questions on the theme, and coaches students in doing this

Builds library, interview, and web search skills, along with the critical thinking skills necessary for thoughtful review of the information. Coaches students on how to best report their learning in oral or written form.

Provides some mechanism (interviews, drafts, minutes of group meetings, bench mark activities, etc.) to help students monitor their progress within the course.

Draws on the expertise and knowledge of the instructor to model effective inquiry and to promote reflection.

Guidelines for Creating an Inquiry-Based Class

Denise Jarrett, writer and researcher for Inquiry Strategies for Science and Mathematics Learning, indicates that inquiry-based instruction improves student attitude and achievement, facilitates student understanding, fosters critical thinking skills, and facilitates mathematical discovery. She provides guidelines for creating an inquiry-based classroom that provide students with the time, space, resources, and safety necessary for learning. These include:

Engaging students in designing the learning environment.

Integrating science laboratories into the regular class day

Using inquiry in the mathematics classroom

Employing management strategies to facilitate inquiry

Reflecting the nature of inquiry by displaying and demanding respect for diverse ideas, abilities, and experiences; modelling and emphasizing the skills, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry: wonder, curiosity, and respect toward nature; enables students to have a significant voice in decisions about the content and context of their work; and nurtures collaboration among students

Resources:

Institute for Inquiry
Created in response to widespread interest in inquiry-based science instruction, the Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry provides workshops, programs, on-line support, and an intellectual community of practice which affords science reform educators a deep and rich experience of how inquiry learning looks and feels.
A Questioning Toolkit
Learning based on the process of enquiry: Conference proceedings. University of Manchester, 2003.
Document can be downloaded ( Learning Based on the Process of Enquiry)

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Based on John Dewey's philosophy that education begins with the curiosity of the learner, inquiry in the classroom places the responsibility for learning on the students and encourages them to arrive at an understanding of concepts by themselves.

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How to Use Twitter. Different social media sites have different uses, strengths, and advantages. Twitter could be called a 'real time social networking' site, a place for sharing information as it happens, and for connecting with others in...

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From breaking news and entertainment to sports and politics, get the full story with all the live commentary.

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An ePoster is an electronic poster displayed digitally instead of printed on paper as a traditional poster. ePosters are offered as an alternative to traditional printed posters. Poster-presenters are required to submit an electronic version of the poster prior to the event.

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This video show how to use PowerPoint to create an ePoster.