Thursday, September 25, 2014

Silicon Valley Group Combines Hiking with Brainstorming

What is HikeStorming?


The idea started sometime in 2012. There were two groups that were both popular at the time (in Sacramento... where I was living at the time). One was TEDx­, which offered participants the chance to meet other creative entrepreneurial types. We would get together to watch inspiring videos as well as organize local events featuring dynamic, interesting speakers. The other was hiking Meetups, which were attracting hundreds, if not thousands to sign up for daily and weekend hikes in the foothills of the Sierra, Bay Area and beyond.

One provided great ideas and a positive open-minded experience with creative and intelligent people. The other provided scenery, great views, camaraderie, a challenge as well as the opportunity to get in shape and lose weight.

So....why not combine the two?

                       
Simple concept: Hiking + Brainstorming = HikeStorming

There is no doubt that groups of people already go out on hikes, runs or bike rides to work on ideas. But, this would be different — better organized, deliberately divergent, utilizing the latest information on creativity, brainstorming, cross-pollination and an actual curriculum to get people talking, thinking and using constructive targets for what to accomplish on each hike.

We could even plan events for CEOs, visionaries, startups or corporate or organizational departments, whereby facilitators would guide members on a day hike to get people out of “ruts” or to open up new pathways for personal or group discovery. Set this in places like Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Los Angeles or any major urban area, and you have a great recipe for full participation and action!



Limitless Combinations of Activities

  • Basic idea generation, startup discussions, etc.
  • Cross-fit sessions with brainstorming breaks
  • Hiking / beach sessions
  • Camping / hiking with structured facilitation
  • Hikes with different themes, e.g., comedy, philosophy, acting, business strategy, book clubs, music, art, meditation, motivation, emotional intelligence, app development, engineering, writing, etc.



Benefits to Members


  • Improved health, i.e., possible weight loss, endurance, stamina, muscle tone, improved cardio-vascular system, etc.
  • Meeting like-minded, creative, intelligent and fellow health-conscious people
  • Great networking possibilities
  • Promotion of ideas, companies, causes, etc., either on hikes, through social media channels, YouTube, etc.
  • Generating better ideas through cross-pollination and random interaction with people of different professions / occupations
  • Recruiting team members / Co-founders and prospective employees in a stress-free and healthy environment
  • Testing out wearable technology and a possible alternative to typical office work environments

Want to get involved? 

Why sit down at a table, when we could be true to the concept and meet on a trail? Join us next Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Santa Teresa County Park. We’ll hike while working on some ideas and plans. If you want to keep this idea alive, I really need your help. Simply put, I can’t do this alone.

On the table for the planning session:

  • Branching out — finding new Locations
  • Event Organizers and Assistant Organizers
  • Curriculum, i.e. ideas for mixing concepts and getting things accomplished on hikes (see Limitless Combinations of Activities above).
  • Getting things on the calendar



Interested in Gamification or Game-Based Learning?

I’m currently looking for both business partners and software engineers to help in developing a 1.0 mobile app for a popular social studies game. The groundwork has been laid, research done, proof of concept is there and investors have shown interest. Just need a team who can meet once a week to help in building a mock-up version or help in launching a crowd-funding campaign. Check out Global Challenge here.­




Silicon Valley HikeStormers has a sponsor! 

Locally-based Treasury Curve of Palo Alto has offered one free hour of consultation on money management for CFOs and treasurers plus free access to their Cloud Based Money Fund Portal to all members of Silicon Valley HikeStormers.

Speaking of sponsors, if you have any contacts or connections who would like to help us out -- for example, a wearable tech company, sporting good store, sports drinks manufacturer, etc. please let me know. We'd love to have their help and maybe pass on some discounts to the group.

Suggested Reading:

Why we should listen to introverts
The science of hiking
How hiking is helping those with PTSD (Imagine what it can do for you).

That’s all for now. See you on the trails!

Lee Chazen
Founder, Silicon Valley HikeStorming

Monday, June 09, 2014

What is the SmartEdPad?



Full disclosure: I'm now Content Strategist for SmartEdPad (by SPED K12, Inc.). As such, my job is to create a clear and understandable message about our product. I'm very happy in this new role since I believe this tool (the SmartEdPad) has the power to transform the way special education programs are administered. Beyond that, there's potential in the future for this technology to help with differentiated instruction in general education as well - as the SmartEdPad makes it easy to offer customized views for each student. And, unlike the iPad, this platform was designed to be dedicated so that students only see what the teacher or therapist wants them to see.

Our partner on this project, Maxit Media, did a terrific job of reducing the message about this product down to under 2 minutes. They created a great story-line, a simple message, introduced engaging graphics and nice sound effects. We appreciate their creativity, dedication and eye for detail!

This video will show you why we created the SmartEdPad and how it's helping people in the special education field. If you have further questions, please call us at 1-800-982-9430, or visit http://smartedpad.com/Contact.

Thursday, November 07, 2013

In Honor of my Mom, Joyce Landers Chazen


Joyce Sondra Landers Chazen, 77, passed away peacefully in her home in Lincoln, California, on Nov. 2 after bravely battling cancer. A peaceful woman and always giving of herself, Joycewas many things to many people. A loving daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and friend to many, together with her husband of 52 years, Marshall, she always had room in her heart -- and frequently in her home -- for the homeless and mentally ill.

Life was an adventure with a consistent theme, helping others. A native of Buffalo, N.Y., she graduated from Bennett High School in Buffalo and the University of Buffalo, she was promptly recruited by the NSA as a code breaker, which she declined (but could explain why her Scrabble-playing friends and family never stood a chance). Instead, she chose to briefly work for the Girl Scouts of America before marrying and raising three sons. Joyce always said that if she wanted a simple life, she would not have married Marshall. It was not simple, nor was it easy, but it was certainly with adventure and many rewards. Together they moved out West, where they would spend the rest of their lives, living in Tucson, Ariz.; Cedaredge, Colo.; Greeley, Colo. (where she would get her master's degree in occupational counseling from the University of Northern Colorado); Cheyenne, Wyo.; Concord, Calif.; and Reno, Nev.; before settling in the Sacramento area.
She grew to love Tucson and the beauty of the desert. As a stay-at-home mom, she frequently volunteered for charitable and political causes. But she really came into her own when, in her husband's struggle with health conditions, she stepped into new roles and responsibilities -- mostly taking on positions that would help others.
She was co-director of the Biofeedback and Stress Management Institute of Wyoming, executive director of the Reno Suicide Prevention and Crisis Call Center, and administrator and counselor for Jewish Family Service of Sacramento, among other roles. Later, she would become the main editor on her husband's book - Your Diabetes Control Handbook.
In between, she cared for Marshall after his frequent surgeries and for her parents. But they also managed to have a lifetime of travel, for business and pleasure, frequently going to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, but also to China, India and Vietnam. And in retirement she continued to give of herself to such causes as the Women Democrats of Placer County and was often seen at various venues registering voters.
Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, Sam and Gertrude Landers; and her husband, Marshall. She is survived by her sons, Gary and Lee of Roseville and Aron in Menlo Park; and her grandchildren, Jessica, Monica, Sam and Anne.






Obituary written by Gary Chazen (with edits by Lee Chazen)

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Some Thoughts on Ed Tech and the Sacramento Ed Tech Meetup

I thought this was a great discussion on both the positive trends and real obstacles to work in the Ed Tech field. I wanted to bring up one point last night, but didn't get the chance. And maybe this helps to address David's point about civic responsibility.

My argument is that it shouldn't matter if one is in the private or public sector, works at a public school, private or charter school -- is an entrepreneur or works for the government. If one's aim is to improve education by making it more engaging, interesting and interactive -- where people can explore ideas, search for meaning or find areas of interest (while learning the basics) - then does it really matter what sector they're from?

If educational innovation and the development of Ed Tech products is not supported by larger institutions, but the search for market success drives work in this area, then I guess I would have to ask what the problem is in supporting entrepreneurs? That is, I'd like to see more meetings between these various groups, i.e. get educators working with developers and investors so we can work towards getting on the same page and driving or encouraging more innovation. Plus, if points, badges and gamification can work in the classroom so well, wouldn't it be a contradiction to not support financial incentive for successful entrepreneurs. What about promoting partnerships and profit sharing with the public schools?

One of the things we learned from our Education Super Collider event at HackerLab (back in November of 2012) is that Ed Tech is like the Wild West right now. It's a mass of different parties with different interests and even using different sets of vocabulary, i.e. academic vs. business vs. weird "startup language."  Navigating this is difficult. So, if this or any group can help figure out some good strategies for bringing apps, games, platforms and projects to students, this will really help.

Thanks to Sheila HerdJason Fabbri, Paul Smith and HackerLab for putting on this event.

Note: the picture references a comment made at the meetup about young Spock's education - as portrayed in the prequel. 


Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Criterion Based Reviews of Ed Tech Products

This idea was long over due -- criterion based reviews of Ed Tech products, platforms, games, tools, etc. by educators. Here is a link to the reviews I wrote last spring for EdTechReview.com  Please feel free to add your comments below.



Sunday, July 07, 2013

Resources 4 Teaching