Currently, I am looking for a job and sometimes I do trial assignments. I would like to share how Gemini (Google AI) helped me to design a program for one of the trial assignments.

I was drafting a program for managers, who are experiencing stress at work due to some reorganization in the company. While such changes give a lot of opportunities, it is still a quite frustrating period. Therefore, it was decided to design some kind of course or any other activity to support them.

My idea was very simple: to provide several workshops for the managers, where they would analyze their strong skills and some areas to improve. So they could rely on their strong skills and believe that they could survive any changes.

I started my program with the topics in time management and giving feedback. Then I asked Gemini how would it design such a program and I was impressed with its suggestion. It recommended starting with the webinar on the whole idea of restructurization, its main steps, challenges, and expected results. So simple yet so thoughtful!

Of course, I’ve added this webinar to my course, and now I’m thinking about how many other courses of mine could be improved by AI. Do you use open AI to help design educational programs? Share your results in the comments!

Today I want to talk about my favourite peak-end rule. It’s a psychological heuristic when people tend to evaluate the situation based on its final moment. How is it related to education? Organise your students some kind of celebration, make them defend their project, and then tell them how great it was. They will keep warm memories of that.

At my training, there was a defense phase after which I said some nice words to all the teams, and highlighted their strong sides and their hard work. After that, they applaud themselves and I believe this will stick to their minds for some time. At least I hope so.

You can read more on Wikipedia

Today I was a trainer on a course for students of one of the big commercial universities in Almaty – Almaty Management University, AlmaU. I had 5 hours to share everything I knew about how to create educational products. Well, I received very positive feedback, mostly focusing on how entertaining the training was. I am happy to tell you my secret: talk as little as you can. In total, my talking time was about 60 minutes. The remaining four hours were dedicated to hands-on activities and discussions, ensuring an interactive and participatory experience for the students.

Initially, I had concerns that my theoretical segment might be too concise, risking a lack of comprehension. However, it became evident that after a mere 10 minutes, maintaining focus would become a challenge for the students. Indeed, witnessing the dynamics of today's students, distinct from those of my academic years, was a fascinating experience. It reminds me of the evolving nature of education yet it keeps me confident, I still can keep up and provide training with good quality.

This Thursday I'll be conducting a webinar on how to create a product lineup, how it is connected to a skillset and why it is so important to understand what your MVP consists of. Sounds like three topics, but believe me, they are all of the sema thing. Webinar will be conducted in Russian. Please register on the link above.

According to Dr. Vyacheslav Dubynin, a notable biologist, the fact that we only use about 5-7% of our brain at any given time is beneficial. He explains that as we switch tasks, different portions of our brain activate — each time using roughly 5-7% of the brain's capacity. This is a fascinating aspect of how our brain functions. When we are focused on solving one problem, other parts of our brain are resting. Dr. Dubynin suggests that by varying our activities, we can leverage this mechanism to give different areas of our brain time to rest. This approach to alternating activities can help in maintaining a healthy and balanced brain function. 🧠

Dr. Dubynin emphasizes the importance of not just varying our mental activities but also including physical activities in our routine. Physical activities provide a different kind of rest for the brain, allowing mental rest and rejuvenation. Incorporating a mix of mental challenges and physical exercises can lead to a balanced and healthy brain function, maximizing the periods when parts of our brain are resting. 🥳

I’ve been thinking about how I can use this knowledge in my courses, but I understand that no one would agree to include physical exercises in the course. Imagine mixing lectures with short, energizing physical tasks like standing up, stretching, or doing a few push-ups. 🏃‍♂️🏋️‍♂️🧘🏻‍♀️ These activities could not only encourage the students but also provide the mental rest that our brain needs. The challenge lies in finding a way to seamlessly blend these exercises into the curriculum in a manner that is both engaging and beneficial, creating a dynamic and holistic learning experience. What are your thoughts on this? Share in the comments!

What I keep in mind when I want to implement a new tool

When I see a new tool, that can be a game-changer for my students, my first thought is usually something like this: “How and when to include this into the curriculum?”. It could be a new progress tracker or an interactive map. However, I stop and ask myself the most essential question: “Do my students need one more tool in their course?” Here are some crucial factors I bear in mind when facing this dilemma:

❄️ Minimizing Cognitive Load: Juggling multiple platforms can be overwhelming for students. They must adapt to each platform's unique interface and functionalities. One in – one out. Can I replace one tool with another? Or even better: Can this tool replace two others?

❄️ Alignment with Educational Objectives: Any new tool should directly contribute to the learning objectives of the course. Is this going to help students to learn? Does it add just fun element to the course?

❄️ Cost-Effectiveness and Sustainability: Consider the long-term financial implications and sustainability of integrating new tools. Usually, I think about the number of students: Will it be effective if the number of students goes up or down? Will it work if tomorrow instead of 50 students I have 500?

❄️ Student Feedback: If I implement this, how can I assess that it works? How can I collect feedback and be sure students like it?

As you can see, I can be quite skeptical about some tools to be incorporated into the course, however, I believe this is my way to protect students from cognitive load and the company from unexpected expenditures.