I like the creativity in the "tablets" option, and the simplicity of the "tents" option. For the "tablets," you may want to consider who would be purchasing the tablet – would each student be required to purchase a tablet (And if so, would the tablet have uses outside of just acting as a name-card? Would professors integrate tablet-use into the course to improve classroom learning? Is there a way to provide discounts for buying in bulk? Do you foresee a trend for schools to require students to own tablets, as there is a trend toward offering textbooks via tablets, etc.?), or would the school cover the cost (Could this cost be incorporated into tuition? Again, would there be a lower bulk-price?)? For the "tents," is it possible to look into different material options that are more durable and professional looking than just paper? For instance, what about engraved plastic or metal tents?
In reference to concept 2, I agree that this solution is very costly and carries a lot of risk with it. I wonder if adoption would be better if the school were to subsidize the purchase of the tablets. Did you consider that? Maybe the case for tablets could be supported by other school related uses...Also, one question I have that isn't clear in the drawing is whether the tablet is self supporting or is there a case or desk feature required to prop it up?
In reference to concept 3, I think there are potential work-arounds for the constraint of the tents being lost or stolen. For example, storage can be the responsibility of the Professor, or there can be a tent collection unit where you pick up and drop off your name tent, etc. Something to consider. A benefit is that the skills and materials to make this are relatively available at the school right now and it wouldn't require much of a behavior change.
Concept 3 - This seems like a good and simple response to the problem at hand. They could be very similar to the ones we have now, but with a fold instead of being printed on both sides. Similar to the current tags these will get lost, but they are rather cheap to replace. Any of these options will likely get adopted in room 106 too and with this option it can be rotated as necessary depending on the room set up in 106, which changes with the professors. I agree with Nida that this is similar to what we do already and requires little behavior change which is a HUGE bonus and upside for this concept.
Concept 3: Changing name card to tent is cheap and easy to do. For the constraints, students should not loss it since they use to having a name card anyway. It would be better if students need to carry only one name card that can be a tent in room 230 and can be folded to put on other room table. We may use the same material that we use to make our existing name card to make the new one so it will solve the quality matter. However, all name cards will need to be remake anyway. However, if it works, next year Owen will need to make only one name card that can use in every room.
The tents are a simple method for addressing rooms 230 and 106. Students already bring name cards, which makes the change easier. Owen could supply the stock paper and provide a template for students to re-print in case they lose their name cards. This would address the issues of losing tags and the durability of the new name tags if they are printed on paper.
Concept #2 - While I suspect that most students would like the embracing of having tablets in the classroom (I know that I would like to be able to bring my tablet into more classes), this just seems a little to complex to address what on the surface is a fairly simple problem. And while I like the creativity, someone is going to have to take on the costs of making tablets available to the whole student body, whether that's students themselves or the administration.
If you wanted an electronic solution, would you be better off attaching a tablet, or tablet-like device to the desks where you could sign in (by login and ID swipe) and have it display your name. Then your upfront investment is smaller because you are only outfitting the room, not every student.
Concept 3: This seems like a viable and workable option. Students are already provided with laminated name tags (which are distributed at the beginning of each year), and so providing tents instead of regular name tags seems extremely easy, and students do not need to change their current behavior. Also, we could get rid of the name cards all together and have students use the laminated name tag tents in each room. In order to minimize the risk of students losing them, there could be a $5-10 cost of replacing them.
Concept 2: I really like this idea. I think Owen has a huge opportunity to improve our name cards up to the standards of other business schools. After visiting a few schools before coming to Owen, Georgetown had plaques for their name cards with the Geogetown business school logo and their name, making the classroom look very professional. It really made an impact on me to have just those personalized name cards in each class. Students were proud of their name cards and were less likely to lose them throughout the year. This may be something to consider while improving the name card problem in room 230.
Concept 2 - I like the high tech/forward looking aspect of this solution, but the cost constraints and other risks you've mentioned are problematic.
And even if Owen were to subsidize the costs of tablets for all students (as some other schools have done), it would likely be because there are certain educational/classwork reasons for it. Which means that the tablets would be in use during lectures, and not available to just display student names. Same goes for students that would bring their own tablets into school, they would likely rather use them to take notes during class than just sit out as name cards. Power consumption is another concern - it seems slightly wasteful to keeps a bunch of tablet plugged in to just function as a nametag...
Concept 2: this idea is creative, but I agree on that it is a little bit too much for solving the name tag issue as the technical features of the tablet would be underutilized. Also, the benefit of enabling all the students to see the name of their classmates from any part of the classroom would be eliminated because the tablet is not a two-sided display.
Concept 3: this idea would find very little resistance as it wouldn't imply a major change in the students' current habits. In addition I would note that any of the choices elected may be considered as temporary solutions that apply only to solve 230 and 106 furniture issues, that may not have happened if the name tag usage had been considered at the moment of choosing/designing/purchasing the desks.
I like the creativity in the "tablets" option, and the simplicity of the "tents" option. For the "tablets," you may want to consider who would be purchasing the tablet – would each student be required to purchase a tablet (And if so, would the tablet have uses outside of just acting as a name-card? Would professors integrate tablet-use into the course to improve classroom learning? Is there a way to provide discounts for buying in bulk? Do you foresee a trend for schools to require students to own tablets, as there is a trend toward offering textbooks via tablets, etc.?), or would the school cover the cost (Could this cost be incorporated into tuition? Again, would there be a lower bulk-price?)? For the "tents," is it possible to look into different material options that are more durable and professional looking than just paper? For instance, what about engraved plastic or metal tents?
ReplyDeleteIn reference to concept 2, I agree that this solution is very costly and carries a lot of risk with it. I wonder if adoption would be better if the school were to subsidize the purchase of the tablets. Did you consider that? Maybe the case for tablets could be supported by other school related uses...Also, one question I have that isn't clear in the drawing is whether the tablet is self supporting or is there a case or desk feature required to prop it up?
ReplyDeleteIn reference to concept 3, I think there are potential work-arounds for the constraint of the tents being lost or stolen. For example, storage can be the responsibility of the Professor, or there can be a tent collection unit where you pick up and drop off your name tent, etc. Something to consider. A benefit is that the skills and materials to make this are relatively available at the school right now and it wouldn't require much of a behavior change.
ReplyDeleteConcept 3 - This seems like a good and simple response to the problem at hand. They could be very similar to the ones we have now, but with a fold instead of being printed on both sides. Similar to the current tags these will get lost, but they are rather cheap to replace. Any of these options will likely get adopted in room 106 too and with this option it can be rotated as necessary depending on the room set up in 106, which changes with the professors. I agree with Nida that this is similar to what we do already and requires little behavior change which is a HUGE bonus and upside for this concept.
ReplyDeleteConcept 3: Changing name card to tent is cheap and easy to do. For the constraints, students should not loss it since they use to having a name card anyway. It would be better if students need to carry only one name card that can be a tent in room 230 and can be folded to put on other room table. We may use the same material that we use to make our existing name card to make the new one so it will solve the quality matter. However, all name cards will need to be remake anyway. However, if it works, next year Owen will need to make only one name card that can use in every room.
ReplyDeleteConcept 3
ReplyDeleteThe tents are a simple method for addressing rooms 230 and 106. Students already bring name cards, which makes the change easier. Owen could supply the stock paper and provide a template for students to re-print in case they lose their name cards. This would address the issues of losing tags and the durability of the new name tags if they are printed on paper.
Concept #2 - While I suspect that most students would like the embracing of having tablets in the classroom (I know that I would like to be able to bring my tablet into more classes), this just seems a little to complex to address what on the surface is a fairly simple problem. And while I like the creativity, someone is going to have to take on the costs of making tablets available to the whole student body, whether that's students themselves or the administration.
ReplyDeleteIf you wanted an electronic solution, would you be better off attaching a tablet, or tablet-like device to the desks where you could sign in (by login and ID swipe) and have it display your name. Then your upfront investment is smaller because you are only outfitting the room, not every student.
Concept 3: This seems like a viable and workable option. Students are already provided with laminated name tags (which are distributed at the beginning of each year), and so providing tents instead of regular name tags seems extremely easy, and students do not need to change their current behavior. Also, we could get rid of the name cards all together and have students use the laminated name tag tents in each room. In order to minimize the risk of students losing them, there could be a $5-10 cost of replacing them.
ReplyDeleteConcept 2:
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea. I think Owen has a huge opportunity to improve our name cards up to the standards of other business schools. After visiting a few schools before coming to Owen, Georgetown had plaques for their name cards with the Geogetown business school logo and their name, making the classroom look very professional. It really made an impact on me to have just those personalized name cards in each class. Students were proud of their name cards and were less likely to lose them throughout the year. This may be something to consider while improving the name card problem in room 230.
Concept 2 -
ReplyDeleteI like the high tech/forward looking aspect of this solution, but the cost constraints and other risks you've mentioned are problematic.
And even if Owen were to subsidize the costs of tablets for all students (as some other schools have done), it would likely be because there are certain educational/classwork reasons for it. Which means that the tablets would be in use during lectures, and not available to just display student names. Same goes for students that would bring their own tablets into school, they would likely rather use them to take notes during class than just sit out as name cards. Power consumption is another concern - it seems slightly wasteful to keeps a bunch of tablet plugged in to just function as a nametag...
Concept 2: this idea is creative, but I agree on that it is a little bit too much for solving the name tag issue as the technical features of the tablet would be underutilized. Also, the benefit of enabling all the students to see the name of their classmates from any part of the classroom would be eliminated because the tablet is not a two-sided display.
ReplyDeleteConcept 3: this idea would find very little resistance as it wouldn't imply a major change in the students' current habits. In addition I would note that any of the choices elected may be considered as temporary solutions that apply only to solve 230 and 106 furniture issues, that may not have happened if the name tag usage had been considered at the moment of choosing/designing/purchasing the desks.
ReplyDelete