FR Business Blog

FBLA Student Sign Ups

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 15:24:00 +0000

Please fill out this form to join FBLA. You will also need to get a check for $35 to Mr. Crider by September 30th. Loading...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:17:00 +0000

Creative Commons: What every Educator needs to know from Rodd Lucier

Web Page Design Week 5 Assignments

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:37:00 +0000

This week we will wrap up the assignments from last week and begin to look at quality design principles.
You should have completed Lessons 1-6 by the end of class on Tuesday.

1. Tuesday
Finish Lesson 6
http://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/webd2/student/unit1/module4/lesson1.html

2. Review Lessons 1-6
We will go over the key points to these and maybe even take a quiz!

3. Review design principles for quality web sites.
Web Typography from Web Monkey

4. Continue with Lessons 7-8 and begin to break into groups for website project 1.
Lesson 7- http://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/webd2/student/unit2/module1/lesson1.html
Lesson 8- h ttp://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/webd2/student/unit2/module2/lesson1.html

Microsoft Office: Week 5 Assignments

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:14:00 +0000

This week we will continue to work with Word 2007. We will wrap up our research paper and start our newsletter/brochures.

1. Tuesday we will finish our research papers and upload to Moodle, if available, or print. Make sure to check the rubric to make sure that you have all parts of the project completed.

2. Wednesday we will begin the newsletter/brochures. I will go over the different tools that will be needed for each of these. Then we will select one or the other to complete and get to work on creating them.

This should take us to the end of the week.

How to Create a Newsletter in Word 2007

How to Create a Brochure in Word 2007

International Business Week 5 Assignments

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:58:00 +0000

This week we will using my blog for posting of weekly assignments. I am not sure yet how i will have everyone post assignments but we will cross that bridge when we get there.

This week we will continue with our country research as well and delve deeper into the Flat Classroom Project. Here are the items we will be covering this week.

1. Wrap up the Country One Project and present.
2. Join the FCP Wiki, fcp13-1.flatclassroomproject.org
Make sure to use the same naming convention that you used on the ning, BobB_FRSH
3. We will watch the Thomas Friedman video from his MIT Lecture. Take notes on this lecture and record the big ideas from watching this video. Please post to this wall five things from this video that you found interesting, had a question about, or wanted more information about.
Wall

Created with Padlet

4. We will select which of the topics we will be using from the Dan Pink book A Whole New Mind and begin to break those sections down. We will complete a BDA Reading/Writing Activity for this as well.

5. We will be setting up a Diigo account and connecting to the FCP Group.

6. We will be watching the video Growing Up Online and discuss creating a Positive Digital Footprint. And we will be watching OverExposed!

7. Dan Pink Right Brain Rising
8. Dan Pink Right Brain Rising 2

FBLA Roster Signup 2012-2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:40:00 +0000

Flat Classroom Project

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:15:00 +0000

My 3rd Period International Business class participated in the Flat Classroom Project. This project allows students from all over the world to collaborate on an online video project. It was difficult but a great learning experience for all of us.

Here are the links to the Flat Classroom Ning and Wiki.

Student Summit
At the end of the project as a reflective activity the student participated in the Student Summits. Each student was required to create one PowerPoint slide and speak about their experience with the project.
Here is the recording of the summit.

Awards Ceremony
http://fcp11-3.flatclassroomproject.org/Awards

Slideshow of the Awards Ceremony

Flat Classroom® Project 2011-3 Awards Ceremony

View more presentations from mrsdurff2

Alyssa Boren won an Special Mention for her video The Youtube Effect

New Student Bloggers!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:19:00 +0000

Today 150 students grades 9-12 started blogging! We will be posting on topics in Microsoft Office, Web Page Design, International Business and Business Law.
Be on the look out for a list of student blogs from my classes and please encourage your students to follow some of our students on their quest for blogging excellence!
Have a great year!

Student Information

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:58:00 +0000

I would like to gather some information about each of you. Please fill out the form and click "Submit". Thanks and have a great year!
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Video Example

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:05:00 +0000

RSA Animate creates cartoon drawings of different speeches given by experts in a variety of fields. This particular video is from Sir Ken Robinson's speech on the changing paradigm of education.

Shift Happens

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:29:00 +0000

Twitter for Business by MJones

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:35:00 +0000

My Entrepreneurship students are just getting started with blogging. Here is a post from MJones on using Twitter for your business. Great job MJones!

If you’re starting a business and you’ve asked yourself “Can twitter be beneficial to my business?” don’t worry, you’re not the only one. With twitter growing more and more popular, people have started using it not only for personal reasons but also to help their business grow. Now some would say that twitter is just another social networking site and shouldn’t be used in the office but don’t you need a little social networking when it comes to business? How else are you going to reach out to clients or find tips from other business owners that could turn out being very beneficial to you?

I think you’d agree with me that reaching out to your audience is important; with twitter it gives you a chance to do this. Posting (or tweeting) about your business, your products, or your ideas will give people the chance to see what your business is about and advertise it. Twitter also gives you the chance to post advice to other people who might be starting a business and vice versa. As much as you might not want to admit it, you can’t start a business on your own and reading on twitter what other people did to help them out with their business could also help you. So now you’re saying you understand that twitter is beneficial but “how do I get followers?”- Blogging. Research actually shows that if your business blogs it will get more twitter followers. So don’t cancel out the idea of twitter just because you don’t know what it is or because you are worried it’s only for personal use; you could be missing out on the chance to advance your business. And with twitter growing more and more it’s becoming easier and easier for you to access it so don’t ignore it, go tweet.

Outsourcing by Nick Guzik

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:30:00 +0000

My Entrepreneurship students are just starting to learn about blogging. Here is a post from Nick Guzik about Outsourcing. Good job Nick!

For my blog, I have decided to investigate the loss of American Industry. The early 20th century was a prosperous time in which America made its own cars, bread, and weapons. Sometime after WWII however, American factories began moving oversees due to a phenomenon called outsourcing. This happens because large corporations discovered that by setting up factories in third and second world countries, they can make cheaper goods by ignoring American labor laws and exploiting poverty and overpopulation. It has gotten so bad that American-made goods are actually a premium in America. I personally believe that unless we start making something, our country will only continue to decline. We need to find some way to force American companies to build here and get back our industry from China, Mexico, and other impoverished nations. However, the great masses of the people are too disorganized to initiate a mass boycott; it’s simply too easy to succumb to the evils of wal-mart and other large companies. The only hope for American industry rests in the power of the state, under a radical economic theory called protectionism. In protectionism, the state installs high tariffs to make it more expensive to buy from other countries and thus protect its own economy. The idea of free trade seems to be a part of the American belief in freedom, however, unless we are willing to get rid of laws that protect thousands of workers from brutally unfair exploitation, we can’t hope to compete with the third and second world regimes. I believe that if we were to implement this policy, it would stimulate industry

A New Way of Advertising by William Shultz

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 12:20:00 +0000

My Entrepreneurship class is taking its first steps into the world of blogging. Here is a first post by student William Shultz. Thanks Will!

It seems that there is a new way of advertising your business or product, however the concept of how is not new. For a long time, companies have sold their logos and advertised their products on shirts. When you wear a Coca-Cola shirt, you advertise their company and a specific product from their company. You also pay for that shirt and they make money that way, too. Now there are social networks which can be used to the companies advantage, not through advertising of their own, however. Once consumers who use the social networks buy their product or hear news about their company, they tend to blog about it. They can say how wonderful the product is and say how they like certain features, the low cost, etc. The blogging will get the word out about the product even faster than advertising. News can be on the other side of the planet in a few seconds. However, this method of advertising can backfire. If someone doesn’t like a product or company, they can say bad things about it and not get in trouble. They can spread the word about a common malfunction or mention any other issues with the product or company such as poor customer service. The most common malfunction that I hear about is the Red Ring of Death that the Xbox 360 gives out a lot. I probably would never know about it without blogging. Whether it’s a friend blogging or me blogging, the news traveled fast and to just about everyone. Social blogging can be the best thing in the world for a company, but it can also be the one thing that brings a company down.

Responsibility and Authority

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:09:00 +0000

What do you think of this?

Many people struggle at work,school,home because they want more authority.

It turns out you can get a lot done if you just take more responsibility instead. It's often offered, rarely taken.

(And you can get even more done if you give away credit, relentlessly).

Taken from Seth Godin blog post.

First Week Survey

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:06:00 +0000

Click on this link to access the Getting to Know You Survey. I wanted to ask some questions so that I get to know you a little better. You might also learn a thing or two about your classmates.

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Welcome to the FR Business Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:23:00 +0000

Im sure you are all glad that summer is over and you can get back to school and do some learning! We will be using this blog throughout the school year to do some of that learning. I will post resources, articles, videos, and more to help us in our learning journey this year.
It is also my hope that we will all create and use our own blogs to learn in this class.
One of our focuses this year will be to understand how quickly the world is changing and what that will mean for you as a student, worker, and citizen in the new global economy. You will be entering the workforce soon and you should know what you are in for. Here is our opening day video that should set the tone for the year. Enjoy and please comment here about how you will prepare yourself for the working and living in this world.

Shift Happens 2010

Succeeding in Modern Business

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:14:00 +0000

What does it take to create and sustain a successful business today? There are many experts with many different opinions. Seth Godin is an author/blogger that we will look at frequently. Here are his ideas for creating a modern business. What do you think? After reading this what type of business would you start?

1. Build in virality. Consider: Groupon.
2. Don't sell a product that can be purchased cheaper at Amazon.
3. Subscriptions beat one-off sales.
4. Try to create an environment where your customers are happier when there are other customers doing business with you (see #1).
5. Treat different customers differently.
6. Generate joy, don't just satisfy a need for a commodity.
7. Rely on unique individuals, not an easily copyable system.
8. Plan on remarkable experiences, not remarkable ads.
9. Don't build a fortress of secrets, bet on open.
10. Unless there's a differentiating business reason, use off the shelf software and cheap cloud storage.
11. The asset of the future is the embrace of a tribe, not a cheaper widget.
12. Match expenses to cash flow--don't run out of money, because it's no longer 1999.
13. Create scarcity but act with abundance. Free samples create demand for the valuable (but not unlimited) tier you offer.
14. Tell a story, erect a mythology, walk the walk.
15. Plan on obsolescence (of your products, not your customers).

Notes:

3. The cost of selling a subscription to your product or service is not a lot higher than the cost of selling just one, but you benefit by having sales you can count on at low cost. Your customers benefit because you depend on them more and they save time.

5. Everyone has different needs and expectations and resources. The internet lets you tell people apart and give them what they need.

7. AKA as Linchpins.

9. If you're building a business on trade secrets or lack of information among your customers, you're trying to fill a leaky bucket. Far easier to bet on the more people know, the better you do.

10. Because cheap software and the cloud are going to continue to get cheaper, and custom work that's worth anything is going to continue to get more expensive.

12. The best people to fund your growth are your customers.

13. When the marginal cost of an interaction approaches zero, you benefit by creating plenty of them.

14. We can tell.

Creativity- Habits of Creative People

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:12:00 +0000

The following link takes you to a site that explains the top habits of highly creative people. Click here

Top Two Habits
Habit 1- Creativity flourishes in solitude
Habit 2- Participation

The site lists some additional ideas for fostering creativity, check it out.

Simple 5 Step Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:57:00 +0000

Here is Seth Godin's simple 5 step plan for everyone and everything.
The number of people you need to ask for permission keeps going down:

1. Go, make something happen
2. Do work you're proud of.
3. Treat people with respect.
4. Make big promises and keep them.
5. Ship it out the door.

When in doubt see #1!

What a Business Plan Should Look Like?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 May 2010 11:54:00 +0000

We spend the majority of our work in Entrepreneurship class writing a standard business plan. We have all the sections that they recommend; Executive Summary, Industry, Marketing, etc. Seth Godin proposes an interesting perspective on how he thinks business plans should look. Maybe its time for Mr C. to make a change?

Here is his post and a link to his blog.
The modern business plan
It's not clear to me why business plans are the way they are, but they're often misused to obfuscate, bore and show an ability to comply with expectations. If I want the real truth about a business and where it's going, I'd rather see something else. I'd divide the modern business plan into five sections:
• Truth
• Assertions
• Alternatives
• People
• Money
The truth section describes the world as it is. Footnote if you want to, but tell me about the market you are entering, the needs that already exist, the competitors in your space, technology standards, the way others have succeeded and failed in the past. The more specific the better. The more ground knowledge the better. The more visceral the stories, the better. The point of this section is to be sure that you're clear about the way you see the world, and that you and I agree on your assumptions. This section isn't partisan, it takes no positions, it just states how things are.
Truth can take as long as you need to tell it. It can include spreadsheets, market share analysis and anything I need to know about how the world works.
The assertions section is your chance to describe how you're going to change things. We will do X, and then Y will happen. We will build Z with this much money in this much time. We will present Q to the market and the market will respond by taking this action.
This is the heart of the modern business plan. The only reason to launch a project is to change something, and I want to know what you're going to do and what impact it's going to have.
Of course, this section will be incorrect. You will make assertions that won't pan out. You'll miss budgets and deadlines and sales. So the alternatives section tells me what you'll do if that happens. How much flexibility does your product or team have? If your assertions don't pan out, is it over?
The people section rightly highlights the key element... who is on your team, who is going to join your team. 'Who' doesn't mean their resume, who means their attitudes and abilities and track record in shipping.
And the last section is all about money. How much do you need, how will you spend it, what does cash flow look like, P&Ls, balance sheets, margins and exit strategies.
Your local VC might not like this format, but I'm betting it will help your team think through the hard issues more clearly.

Become an Elite!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:52:00 +0000

Go to Seth Godin's blog and check out his post entitled, Are you an elite?

What do you think about this? Are you an elite? Why or why not? Is he accurate in saying that you can choose to become an elite or not? Why would anyone want to be an elite.

Hmm, I think I am working on becoming an elite.

Debt

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 07 May 2010 11:53:00 +0000

I thought this post by Seth Godin on his blog was excellent and the link to Dave Ramsey's Truth About Debt is also excellent. Here is Seth Godin's blog post.

Consumer debt is not your friend
Here's a simple MBA lesson: borrow money to buy things that go up in value. Borrow money if it improves your productivity and makes you more money. Leverage multiplies the power of your business because with leverage, every dollar you make in profit is multiplied.

That's very different from the consumer version of this lesson: borrow money to buy things that go down in value. This is wrongheaded, short-term and irrational.
A few decades ago, mass marketers had a problem: American consumers had bought all they could buy. It was hard to grow because dispensable income was spoken for. The only way to grow was to steal market share, and that's difficult. Enter consumer debt.

Why fight for a bigger piece of pie when you can make the whole pie bigger, the marketers think. Charge it, they say. Put it on your card. Pay now, why not, it's like it's free, because you don't have to repay it until later. Why buy a Honda for cash when you can buy a Lexus with credit?
One argument is income shifting: you're going to make a lot of money later, so borrow now so you can have a nicer car, etc. Then, when money is worth less to you, you can pay it back. This idea is actually reasonably new--fifty years or so--and it's not borne out by what actually happens. Debt creates stress, stress creates behaviors that don't lead to happiness...
The other argument is that it's been around so long, it's like a trusted friend. Debt seems like fun for a long time, until it's not. And everyone does it. We've been sold very hard on acquisition = happiness, and consumer debt is the engine that permits this. Until it doesn't.

The thing is, debt has become a marketed product in and of itself. It's not a free service or a convenience, it's a massive industry. And that industry works with all the other players in the system to grow, because (at least for now) when they grow, other marketers benefit as well. As soon as you get into serious consumer debt, you work for them, not for you.
It's simple: when the utility of what you want (however you measure it) is less than the cost of the debt, don't buy it.
Go read Dave Ramsey's post: The truth about debt.

Dave has spent his career teaching people a lesson that many marketers are afraid of: debt is expensive, it compounds, it punishes you. Stuff now is rarely better than stuff later, because stuff now costs you forever if you go into debt to purchase it. He's persistent and persuasive.

It takes discipline to forego pleasure now to avoid a lifetime of pain and fees. Many people, especially when confronted with a blizzard of debt marketing, can't resist.
Resist. Smart people work at keeping their monthly consumer debt burden to zero. Borrow only for things that go up in value. Easy to say, hard to do. Worth it.

FR Project Think Presentations

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:47:00 +0000

Here are the presentations from Ms Giron's and Mr Crider's FR Project Think groups. For Project Think students were placed in cross curricular groups between Mr. Crider's Entrepreneurship class and Ms Giron's Communications class

Desiree Markantone/Maddy Rae/Shawn Hickey
http://prezi.com/5cyzospb_3fr/

Project Think on Prezi

Heather Viglione/Monica Drutch/Jared Zalondis
http://prezi.com/1ydhccgahpkq/

Symphony Team A on Prezi

Jeff Fornataro/Ella Clark/Sydney Taylor
http://prezi.com/ep9-6-bszl-f/

Design on Prezi

Valerie Cumpston/Brian Brown/Kasey Seigel
http://prezi.com/lhtb9v-jrmbi/

Design on Prezi

Ashley Arabia/Tonya Galmoff/Mark Liscio
http://prezi.com/_bk3ynjhpjdj/

Project Think- Story Team B on Prezi

Micah Markantone/Lettie Beasley/Stephanie Vendemia
http://prezi.com/ucgebk4ab1cq/

SymphonyB on Prezi

Sahiba Nagpaul/Tyler Horgan/Chelsea Watts
http://prezi.com/tw9ytqtxcbyb/

Empathy Team A on Prezi

Rachel Fedishen/David Glancy/Heather Jenkins
http://prezi.com/ghgon4z-by_y/

Empathy on Prezi

Greta Edgar/Jessica Steele/Eric Altman
http://prezi.com/fo36dd1ipdj0/

Dan Pink- Play on Prezi

Ryan Gallucci/Stephanie Knight/Kaelah Shaffer
http://prezi.com/rfntxcpftjit/

play on Prezi

Stephanie Lieb/Amber Bettuccio/Kalli Lodovico/Kevin Bauer
http://prezi.com/b9zeeutys2m9/

Project Think on Prezi

Today's Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:11:00 +0000

Good day! Today I thought that I would post a few things.

First, our field trip to the Entertainment and Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon on Friday couldn't have been better. The students from Ms Giron's Communications class and Mr. Crider's Entrepreneurship class were well behaved and found alot of good information for their FR Project Think. Students toured the facilities, played games and video taped examples of their aptitudes; Design, Story, Play, Symphony, Empathy, Meaning. For a better understanding of this view either the project wiki or take a look at the book, A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink. You can also check out the ETC Website here. If you want to see a true 21st century educational experience check their program out.

For Business and marketing students check out this interesting post by Seth Godin last week.
Finding your brand essence
I got an email from someone who had hired a consulting firm to help his company find their true brand selves. They failed. He failed. He asked me if I could recommend a better one.My answer:The problem isn't the consultant, it's the fact that if you have to search for a brand essence, you're unlikely to find one.

Standing for something means giving up a lot of other things, and opening yourself to criticism. Most people in the financial services industry (or any industry, actually) aren't willing to do that, which is why there are so few Charles Schwabs in the word.

First, decide it's okay to fail and to make a ruckus while failing. THEN go searching for the way to capture that energy and share it with the world.
Clothes don't make the man, the man makes the man. Clothes (and the brand) just amplify that.

Does this make sense? What would you do? How would you decide on the brand essence of another company? Do you even know what branding is? If you are going into business you should.

Have a great week!