Some key trends are sweeping the medtech industry, forcing it to undergo a fundamental shift in its commercial model. The U.S. healthcare system is becoming more consolidated. Medtech also is moving to a value-based care model with a focus on outcomes, and its purchasing practices are becoming more sophisticated in an attempt to drive down price and reduce the number of suppliers. All of this puts pressure on medtech companies to ensure that they will survive (and thrive) amid these changes.
The commercial operations function—with an aim of not just being "sales operations"—can enable this transformation by evolving from an execution-focused function merely supporting the sales organization to a true business partner enabling the commercial teams take these challenges head-on.
In order to address these challenges and stay relevant, the commercial operations function must first determine how mature it is as an organization and should continually strive to grow in capabilities to prevent itself from being marginalized. By doing so, the commercial operations team is able to drive significant sales productivity gains and reduce operational costs, and thus contribute significantly to top-line and bottom-line revenues.
They have a well-defined strategy and vision. A high-performing commercial operations team has a strategy and vision for the organization that's well-aligned with the company's commercial strategy and priorities, and then converts those priorities into KPIs to determine how well they are performing against these objectives. The function is headed by a strong leader who not only has the operational chops to be the "COO" of the commercial organization, but also is a strategic thinker who aspires to earn a seat at the executive table by running commercial operations as a profit center. The group's guiding principles center on a learning mindset: being current on domain, analytical and technology expertise; possessing an agile and consultative culture that challenges the status quo of the commercial team; and focusing on continuous, process-driven improvement. More importantly, they are driven by the vision to unburden the sales force from administrative tasks and reduce any non-selling time, thus accelerating the sales process and improving customer experience.
They are data- and analytics-driven. Leading commercial operations organizations invest far more than the laggards in the right data sources and in building a strong analytics foundation. They believe that analytics is a key value driver in both top-line and bottom-line growth, and they firmly believe in garnering a high ROI from analytics. They harness advanced analytics and act as an insights hub for the commercial teams, leading to better decision-making, improved targeting and more meaningful customer engagement. They leverage analytical models to drive better contract design and identify ways to stem revenue leakage. They understand that analytics goes beyond just reporting and that there's a value chain associated with driving value from analytics—from data to analysis to insights to decisions—and invest in strengthening the linkages to ensure that value is being delivered at each stage of the chain (most importantly at the decisions stage).
They continually improve commercial processes. Strong commercial operations teams fully comprehend various commercial processes—be it forecasting, territory and quota management, account planning or sales compensation administration—and the interdependency between them. They also are aware that these processes can't be designed or executed in a disconnected fashion. As a result, they work with the commercial teams to design, plan and execute processes in a more integrated manner. They strive to standardize, automate and, where possible, outsource the processes leading to significant optimization, accuracy and cost reduction. They invest in several process improvement and streamlining initiatives throughout the year to identify areas of inefficiency. They build a business case for improvement, and they work with commercial leadership to implement the improvements and ensure that they have a positive impact on sales productivity and morale.
They invest in hiring and nurturing the right talent. High-performing commercial operations leaders are fully aware of the role that talent plays in making commercial operations a trust advisor and a change agent. They hire the right mix of domain experts, business analysts and technologists, and provide them with a clear path to grow in their roles. Instead of letting their teams slog and get burnt out supporting the sales teams, leading organizations equip their teams with the training, analytical tools and technology required to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. Entry-level members may start with working on report building or programming, but over time, they graduate to solving more complex business problems and working on more strategic issues, while the routine work is either automated or outsourced. Leading companies also encourage role rotation between headquarters and the field to foster collaboration, empathy and innovation across the commercial organization.
They make purposeful investments in technology. There's no doubt that technology is needed for commercial operations to be successful in driving growth, as it makes both commercial operations and the sales force more effective, thereby improving productivity and business growth. However, the technology investments—be it in a CRM application, a business intelligence tool or a contract management solution—should be purposeful and anchored around some guiding principles of improving effectiveness. We've seen that leading commercial operations organizations ask some hard, probing questions before they invest in a technology. Can this technology improve sales rep productivity by 15%? Can it drive more meaningful customer engagement? Can it help identify new revenue generation opportunities? What should the change management plan be so that the field teams adopt this technology?
The leaders work with their commercial counterparts to develop a strong business case for technology, gain executive buy-in, lay down the vision, build a change management strategy and set clear expectations that technology alone can't drive change. It has to be ably supported by the four other traits in order to be successfully adopted.
In our experience, commercial organizations that have a strong charter for their commercial operations function have seen a 5 to 8% revenue improvement and 10 to 15% reduction in commercial costs. There are exciting times for the industry ahead to reinvent the commercial model, and commercial operations has a critical role to play in this transformation.


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Sound On Sound - Mar 1990	Shape of Things to Come
Shape of Things to Come
by Show in Los Angeles.
Your chance to check out some of the new products launched at January's NAMM
EMU SYSTEMS PROTEUS/2
After Proteus/1 comes Proteus/2, a bigger and completely different sounding sample playback unit. The new Proteus/2 (£1349 inc VAT) is not a replacement, but a big brother that delivers eight megabytes of sampled sounds instead of the original four megabytes. Featuring similar functions and 16-bit sound quality, Proteus/2 offers 32-voice polyphony and draws on an entirely new set of sounds borrowed from the Emulator III's vast sample library. The sounds are mostly orchestral in nature, complementing the rock/pop bias of Proteus/1, and as with the original unit Proteus/2 sports six individual audio outputs which can be configured as three stereo pairs, with programmable panning.
In an effort to satisfy current and potential Proteus owners, Emu have very sensibly located the eight megabytes of sounds in memory so that one half of them can be supplied as a four megabyte expansion (£450 inc VAT, plus installation charge) to existing Proteus/1 owners, thereby increasing its range of samples to offer both rock and classical sounds. In addition, an XR version is being released, which increases the number of preset locations from 192 to 384, and will cost £1619 inc VAT. Proteus/2 should be available in the summer.
Emu Systems UK, (Contact Details).
YAMAHA SY55 WORKSTATION
Hot on the heels of the SY77 synthesizer and TG55 tone generator comes the SY55. As the product number indicates, it's related to the TG55 and on the face of it would seem to be a TG55 with a keyboard attached.
Whereas the new SY77 offers RCM synthesis, AFM, AWM2 plus a sequencer, and the TG55 offers just the AWM2 sampled sound sources, the SY55 goes for a third variation and offers you AWM2 with an 8-track integral sequencer. This combination results in a workstation-type keyboard offering 74 waveform samples in ROM, 64 preset ROM voices, 64 internal RAM memories, a selection of drum/percussion samples assigned to 61 keys, 34 programmable digital effects, and stereo audio outputs, all for £1099 inc VAT.
Sonically, the SY55 uses 16-bit samples played back at either 32 or 48kHz, with 24-bit internal processing and 22-bit digital-to-analogue conversion to the outside world. Additional memory is available via RAM cards, which can be used for storing patches and sequences.
Yamaha-Kemble Music (UK) Ltd, (Contact Details).
DIGITAL DELAYS FROM TC ELECTRONIC
From Danish manufacturer TC Electronics come two new products, the TC1280 Stereo Digital Audio Delay and the TC1380 Multitap Digital Audio Delay (three taps).
Both units use the same ultraquiet signal processing technology employed in the much acclaimed TC2290 sampler, and feature a full 20Hz to 20kHz effect bandwidth and a soft roll-off high end filter. Delay times can be entered as either time or distance (feet and metres), making these ideal units for both studio and live work, where the Multitap unit is most ideally suited to correcting PA speaker delays.
All inputs and outputs are via XLR connectors and the units have a security lock function for permanent installation applications.
TC Electronics UK Ltd, (Contact Details).
LOW COST HARD DISK RECORDING FOR MACINTOSH
The ADAC-SE, from Lynett Systems, is a new full 25MHz digital signal processor card for the Macintosh SE, designed for high quality audio applications and priced at just £449. The card consists of a high speed digital signal processor which may be programmed from the Mac, a stereo 48kHz 16-bit analogue-to-digital convertor, eight audio outputs, and a DMA controller to allow direct access to the Macintosh's RAM.
A free set of software is provided with the card which allows the Mac to be used as a 4-voice multitimbral stereo sampler, with sound editing features and realtime MIDI control from pitch wheel and velocity control curves, etc.
Most significantly, the software also allows the card to function as a direct to hard disk recorder, allowing stereo 16-bit sampling of any duration - limited only by the size of your hard disk (internal or external). Audio files may then be edited and a cue sheet function allows direct from disk playback.
The ADAC-SE is aimed at musical applications such as remixes, film and TV effects cueing, and multimedia applications.
Lynett Systems Ltd, (Contact Details).
ENSONIQ EPS EDITOR
Desert Island are now importing a new editing program for the Ensoniq EPS sampler developed by Australian software house Gelva Software. EZE, as it is named, runs on a standard Atari 1040ST with hi-res mono monitor and makes great use of the EPS's Wavesample Overview Command, which allows very fast transfer of data between the keyboard and the computer. The speed increase is due in part to the way in which EZE controls the EPS functions inside the Ensoniq, machine itself, rather than having to bring an entire sound into the computer just to carry out simple operations. When a sample needs to be worked upon, EZE transfers only the selected part in a matter of milliseconds, thereby speeding up the entire sample editing process.
EZE costs £140 and a demo disk is available from Desert Island.
Desert Island, (Contact Details).
PASSPORT SOUND EXCITER FOR MAC
Passport, one of the oldest established music software companies in the business with a long tradition of supporting Apple computers, have looked carefully at the imminent release of Apple's new System 7.0 operating system which will contain their new MIDI Manager. The facilities provided by Apple's MIDI Manager have allowed Passport to develop Sound Exciter, a self-contained 8-voice software synthesizer.
The program can be used for a variety of purposes, most obviously as a musical synthesizer that allows you to audition music played from your Mac MIDI sequencer without the need to plug in any external sound generators. The two programs are internally 'soft-linked' via MIDI Manager rather than via a traditional MIDI cable. This 'soft-linking' of programs looks like it will have tremendous repercussions across the Macintosh music software field for both programmers and creative end users alike.
With Sound Exciter, the sound is actually generated through the use of the Mac's processor, 8-bit D/A convertor and internal speaker, making it ideal for audio proofing of your sequences. The unit responds to MIDI note, velocity, and other messages over all 16 MIDI channels and can play back up to eight sounds simultaneously over any eight channels.
Sound Exciter is compatible with Studio Session, Jam Session, and MacRecorder, and also makes an ideal music/sound source for 'multimedia' (Apple's latest buzz word) applications as well. The program will be released soon in America and will cost under $100 dollars. The UK price has yet to be announced.
MCMXCIX, (Contact Details).
ZETA MIDI GUITAR
For MIDI guitar fans comes the Mirror 6 from Zeta Music Systems of America. Designed as a 'no compromise' MIDI guitar, the Mirror 6 uses a customised Kahler 2700 series guitar linked to a 19" rack-mounting MIDI processing unit. The MIDI aspect of the system is based around fret scanning and pitch extraction technology that triggers MIDI notes within one millisecond on all strings.
In common with any self-respecting MIDI guitar, individual strings can be programmed to transmit on different MIDI channels in Multiple-Mono mode, or you can select Poly mode which assigns all strings to the same channel. The inclusion of 100 memory locations allows you to personally tailor your guitar's response to match your playing style(s) and the receiving synthesizer's capabilities.
As well as standard guitar controls for volume and tone, the instrument is fitted with a 'soft knob' which can be assigned to various MIDI continuous controllers such as modulation or aftertouch. Plus, on the deluxe model, the 'Accelerometer' is a special MIDI continuous controller which is affected by the motion of the guitar, ie. shaking and neck movement.
The Mirror 6 comes in two versions, the Standard at £2499 and the Deluxe (tremolo, breath controller, accelerometer) at £3199, both inc VAT. A Zeta MIDI violin is also available.
Zeta Guitars, (Contact Details).
WINTER NAMM SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
- Anaheim Convention Centre
- January 19-21 1990
- Reporter: Paul Wiffen
One of the most exciting pieces of news at NAMM was that the team of designers from Sequential (taken over by Yamaha in 1987 and then passed on to Korg last year) have finally come up with a new synthesizer!
Being launched under the name WaveStation (WS for short), this new Korg machine bears more than a passing resemblance to the last Prophet, the VS (although its case design owes more to the T3 heritage). Taking the concepts of Vector and Wavetable Synthesis further than either the VS or the PPGs and adding a new technique called Wave Sequencing, the WS is, to my ears, the most exciting synthesizer (in the purest sense of the term, as opposed to PCM-based machines) to hit the market in several years.
Wave Sequencing can essentially be thought of as the ability to create your own custom wavetables; you get to specify the waveforms used at up to 32 locations along the time axis and then the WS interpolates between these in real time as the oscillator is sounding. This gives you the harmonic movement that was always possible in the earlier PPG machines but with infinitely more flexibility in the actual choice of waveforms (previously you were always stuck with the waveforms and the order that the manufacturer had decided upon). Four oscillators per voice are available (each of which can be running any of the 32 available wave sequences) and these can be mixed manually, using the joystick, or automatically with the mix envelope, as per Sequential's Vector Synthesis.
The patches they were playing at NAMM already showed a greater breadth of synth timbres than I have ever heard from one synth before, including rich fat analogue sounds, PPG and VS-type moving timbres, and even inharmonic FM-style patches.
The Korg WS is 32-note polyphonic and dynamic allocation is used to make the most of this, especially in multitimbral applications where it can respond independently to all 16 MIDI channels. Of course, no modern day Korg product would be complete without a couple of effects processors, and sure enough they are there (although some of the algorithms we heard sounded brand new!). There are two card slots (one for new waveforms, one for programs and performances) and the same four output configuration as on the M and T series keyboards. The WS looks set to retail at under two grand in the UK. For an old Sequential junkie like me, I can't wait to get my fix!
Roland's new keyboard at Anaheim was the D70, the first machine to expand on the sonic capabilities of LA synthesis, as introduced three years ago by the D50. The PCM waveform side of the new machine has been expanded to include full multisampled waveforms ranging from acoustic instruments to digital synth textures (as opposed to the attacks and static loops in its predecessors). Consequently, the purely imitative timbres on the machine are a lot more realistic. But for me, the most interesting side of the machine is that it too has taken a leaf from the VS book - the four partials can now also be mixed in real time by an envelope, on what Roland are calling a 'tone palette', thus greatly increasing the sonic complexity that can be programmed into a patch quickly and intuitively.
The D70, with its 76 keys, also includes all the functionality of the A50 master keyboard, and in multitimbral mode can respond on six MIDI channels at once in addition to the drums and percussion, which default to MIDI channel 10 as on all Roland gear. The D70 should also slide in at under two grand in the UK.
The new Boss DR550 features the best sounds from the R8 and R5, for under £200.
For the more impoverished musician, there was good news from Roland in the shape of the Boss DR550 drum machine. For well under £200, this little machine is a real must. It features all the best sounds from the R8/R5 drum machines (including those from the Power Drums card), in conjunction with the standard Boss pattern display to facilitate step-time entry. However, this doesn't mean that the machine can't be programmed in real time (for the first time on a Boss machine) and the sounds can even be triggered with velocity via MIDI, making the DR550 an excellent sound module for drums and percussion with your sequencer. These little monsters will be selling by the cartload.
At the more expensive end of the Roland price range, the S770 sampler was receiving its first full demonstration, proving that it is now ready to ship (it should be in the stores by the time you read this). At previous shows it was only shown sampling via the digital inputs, to demonstrate its superb sound quality, but at NAMM it was serving as the sound source for an entire band. Its 24-voice polyphony and 16 megabytes of memory were providing all the voicing for the merged MIDI inputs from a keyboard player, guitarist, drummer, and MC500 sequencer, and it proved more than capable of handling all these simultaneously. The S770 comes with a 40Mb hard disk crammed full of sounds and should also be able to use Macintosh SIMMs for memory expansion (keeping the price of a fully expanded 16Mb machine to about the same as that for a fully expanded 8Mb S1000.
Also in the pro range of Roland product, the DM80 4-track direct-to-disk recorder was previewed at a special dealer meeting at NAMM, although it was not shown publicly (as with the S770 this time last year!). It will be similarly priced to the S770, at around £5000.
Yamaha followed on the rave reviews the SY77 has been getting (especially from SOS's Martin Russ) by launching the SY55. However, this might not please FM programmers like Martin so much as it omits all the new advanced FM stuff he is getting excited about and chooses to concentrate on the PCM sounds (in the same way as the TG55), together with the signal processing (two effects simultaneously), and sequencing (8-track). It also features two digital filters per voice. Of course, leaving out all the FM facilities brings the price down considerably, and at around £1100 it will be stiff competition for the Roland U20, Korg M3R, and Proteus.
Talking of Emu's baby, NAMM saw a new Proteus launched. Proteus/2 features 8Mb of ROM sounds concentrating exclusively on the sounds of the symphony orchestra. Proteus/1 owners need not despair, however, as a 4Mb expansion card is available to give them all the sounds not covered already in their machine, and this will be shipping at the same time as Proteus/2.
On the computer music front, the main news was provided by a co-operation between Opcode and Digidesign. Called Audio Vision, it is an expansion to Opcode's successful Macintosh Vision sequencer program, which can now use Digidesign's Sound Tools hardware to record two tracks of digital audio synchronously with the sequencer tracks. These can then be cut and pasted in traditional Mac fashion along with the MIDI events to produce complete pieces of music, with vocals and guitar solos for example within the sequencer. Of course, to get full bandwidth audio from Sound Tools you need to use at least a Mac SE30, which makes Audio Vision a pretty expensive system - but any amateur detective should be able to foresee a much cheaper version in the near future. Add together the fact that Digidesign launched Sound Tools for the Atari Mega 2 and Mega 4 at NAMM, together with the fact that they are C-Lab's distributor in the USA, and it wouldn't surprise me if there is a version of Notator and/or Creator shown at Frankfurt which can do the same thing on the Atari. Remember where you read it first!
Steinberg's main news at NAMM was that Cubase has now been ported over to the Apple Macintosh. Amazingly, this is the first sequencer on the Mac, since the demise of the ill-fated Total Music, which can show music notation within the sequencer (without the need to boot up a separate program). This makes it ideal for people like me to whom edit grids mean very little and who like to refer to traditional music notation to see their mistakes. Of course, Cubase on the Mac boasts all the other features of the program which made it such a hit with reviewers when it first appeared for the Atari ST, and being able to run on a reliable computer can only improve its reputation. Pricing should be the same as the ST version.
Just to prove that hardware sequencers aren't dead, as some people keep trying to assert, a computer printer manufacturer, Brother, made their first appearance in the music industry with a stand-alone sequencer at a very modest price. The MDI40 works on the 2-track merge principle (keeping one track free for recording by merging previous tracks together) and should be ideal for those who find even an Atari 520ST with Prol 2 out of their price range. The MDI40 features a 3.5" disk drive for saving and loading sequences and a 14,000 note capacity. Expect plenty of change out of £200 if it makes it to these shores...
But the most exciting products at NAMM came from a company new to the music business: the Zoom Corporation. In fact, they are formed from people who have been doing design work for Korg for years, but in this new venture they have started with signal processors. Their first two products are the Zoom 9010 and the 9002, both using the company's ZFX1 custom LSI chip to produce high quality multieffects. The 9010 features four discrete digital processors in a single rack space, complete with the necessary four inputs and outputs to make this truly useful in studio/home recording applications. It features full 16-bit 44.1 kHz clarity throughout and has a dynamic range in excess of 90dB. Programs include reverb, chorus, delay, pitch shift, compression, phasing, distortion, amp simulation - in fact, all the usual goodies.
The Zoom 9002 is a strap- or belt-mounting guitar effects unit which allows up to six effects to be produced simultaneously, including EQ, compression, distortion, flanging, phasing, chorus, reverb, etc. This beautifully designed little unit provides an amazing sound quality direct to your amp or headphones. With its amazing looks and sound, I predict it will be the 'hip' unit for guitar players from the moment it hits the UK shops. No UK distributor has been announced yet, but when they are you'd better order early for Christmas! And watch out for the keyboard products from these guys later in the year.
Sound On Sound - Mar 1990

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Microsoft announced 15 new titles that will receive support for the extra power of Xbox One X, including Far Cry 5, Fortnite, L.A. Noire and Okami HD. The full list of games optimized for the new premium console is now 130 titles.
The release of Xbox One X is getting closer and Microsoft has recently updated the list of titles that will leverage the extra power of the new console through the Xbox One X Enhanced program. The list, which we remind you is constantly updated, was posted on the official site of Xbox.
There are now 130 games that will offer technical enhancements, including titles already released that will be upgraded in a free way to support the extra power of the console.
The console will offer 4K resolution but also a series of enhancements that will optimize the overall gaming experience by providing more stable frame rates, faster uploads, more detailed effects, and a multitude of other benefits.
Among the new games included in the list is also Far Cry 5, which was absent in the previous list released at Gamescom in Cologne, while The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus are still conspicuously missing from the list.
Below we listed the 15 new games that will be optimized for Xbox One X.
This list also informs us that publishers like Rockstar Games, THQ Nordic, Square Enix and Capcom are interested in supporting the new premium console of Microsoft. We remind you that Xbox One X is currently available for pre-order on Amazon UK.
Remember that Xbox One X will debut on November 7th at a price of $499 USD.


text:
investing in true innovation
In 2000, Lennart Perlhagen made the first investment in Novocure, leading to the founding of what has become a global oncology business – and a decades-long partnership and friendship.
From the moment Lennart Perlhagen met Novocure founder Professor Yoram Palti, Lennart felt inspired by Yoram's brilliant mind. In 2000, Yoram shared with Lennart his idea of using electric fields to treat cancer. Lennart understood the risk was very high. He knew that it would be an immense challenge to develop an entirely new cancer treatment and to bring it to patients. However, that didn't stop him.
"I like to invest in new ideas that have the potential to change the world," Lennart said. "I believe Yoram's cancer idea was one of those and still is."
He decided to invest in the concept of Tumor Treating Fields, which led to the founding of Novocure.
"Yoram is full of ideas," said Lennart, who lives in London. "I invested in it, though I didn't quite understand the technology. I only knew that Yoram was a brilliant scientist."
I like to invest in new ideas that have the potential to change the world. I believe Yoram's cancer idea was one of those and still is. —
Ennart Perlhagen,
Novocure's First Investor
Professor Yoram Palti, Novocure founder
Lennart recalled the early days of Novocure when he and Yoram began talking about building a company if the first experiments were successful. Then preclinical research began to show that Yoram's concept worked, and the company began to come to life.
"Working with Yoram is always very exciting because he's coming up with ideas that are so out of the box – and then you start to see that it's actually working," Lennart said. "It's a lot of excitement."
In the beginning years, Lennart said, Novocure faced – and overcame – many challenges. To invest in innovative ideas, he said, you have to be an optimist. Lennart helped to raise many rounds of funding. Additionally, he said, Yoram's driven nature led the company to persevere over the initial hurdles.
"Yoram never gives up," Lennart said. "He keeps inventing things and solving problems. He was so convinced that this was going to work, and he just kept pushing it."
Lennart served on Novocure's board of directors for 15 years until he retired in 2018, helping to guide Novocure as it grew from a preclinical research organization into a global oncology business. He said he feels very satisfied that his initial investment in Novocure helped the company become what it is today. He recognized the value that Novocure may bring to shareholders, the many jobs that have been created and Novocure's mission of striving to extend survival in some of the most aggressive forms of cancer.
One of the most satisfying aspects of his involvement in Novocure, he said, was working with Yoram. Yoram and Lennart continue to collaborate today on other projects and talk every day.
"It is tremendously satisfying to be involved in creating something from just an ember, from an idea, that doesn't exist in the real world, and to see it grow," Lennart said. "Yoram is fantastic. He is a very unique person."
Yoram recognized the magnitude of Lennart's initial investment in Novocure more than 20 years ago.
"Lennart's willingness to take an extremely high risk – based on trust and friendship – made it all possible."


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For those of you wanting to quit smoking I bet you have tried lots of ways, from cold turkey to patches to gum. One method I have never tried (yes I still smoke and I hate myself because of it) is the Nicorette Inhaler. I have seen people trying these on flights and in buses and they do look kind of funny, but not only are they meant to give you the nicotein rush you expect (trying to emulate that of a cigarette) but they also keep your hands busy, which is one of my biggest problems. This promotion is only valid for today and is limited to certain quantities, so hurry, if you see the Aveeno offer then your trying to early, if you see 0 left, then you're trying to late.


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Another bite at U20 Afcon cherry for Uganda Hippos
There aren't survivors in terms of playing staff from that Kobs' team that even the villain – Paul Willa – could have easily forgotten where he placed his 12-yard kick.
By ISMAIL KIGONGO
Uganda's last attempt to make the U20 Africa Cup of Nations ended in disappointing fashion but with heads held high.
Identical 1-0 victories for both Uganda and Cameroon took the two-legged second round tie into a penalty shootout, which the former lost 5-4.
Yet another opportunity to appear at the Afcon, which also doubles as the U20 World Cup qualifying tournament, presents itself today.
Coach Morley Byekwaso's team must beat Kenya in a semifinal to reach the Cecafa U20 Championship final in Arusha, Tanzania.
That would be enough as the top two teams qualify for Mauritania 2021.
"My primary target is to see that the team reaches the final of this tournament," Byekwaso told the Fufa website before the tournament kicked off.
The U20 side have flip-flopped. They started with seeing red in a goalless draw with South Sudan before a 6-1 rout of Burundi with Braces from Ivan Bogere and Isma Mugulusi effectively burying the struggles of the opening day.
Byekwaso will be hoping for the same against the Kenyans who topped group C with wins over Ethiopia and Sudan.
ikigongo@ug.nationmedia.com


I was thirteen when my mom died. Her life was taken away by a man I never met before. She was the brightest woman I have ever met. Her hair was brown and curly. She had bright green eyes and a heart of gold. The day she left was one of the worst moments in my life .
I stared at her stone cold body with tears waiting to come out. My bright blue eyes sparkled with every tear that ran down my cheek. I was temped to run out of the room, but decided not to. I didn't want to look weak in front of my step-dad, Charles. He didn't treat me well, but I was ordered by him to like him. He was strong man with a bad temper. He already had a son, Tim, and a Daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was also strong and so was Tim. They both took after their dad. But I, Abbey Chin, was the unwanted child. I never understood the reason why my mom married him, was it because she was scared? I knew why. He hit me without my mom knowing and Elizabeth and Tim went along with it. They would laugh seeing me crying.
The only hope in my life was to find my biological father. I was in eighth grade and still no sign of him. I almost gave up looking for him. He never showed up in my life, and he never tried to contact me. What I didn't know at the time was that I knew him, very well may I add. I didn't know him as well as I thought I did, though.
I went to school a couple days later and everywhere I looked people were either staring at me or whispering about me. It was the worst feeling ever! My stomach turned with every insult coming out of people's mouths. I sat down in my chair which was of course, right next to the teacher's desk, Mr. Badry. He was short and skinny. He had bright blue eyes and black hair. He had a beard thing going on but it really made him look younger. He was about 40 years old and had a girlfriend who was also a teacher at the school, her name was Ms, Felly. She was one of the prettiest teachers and one of the nicest too. She was also really short with black hair. They were my favorite teachers.
Mr. Badry walked in the room and immediately looked at me. He paused at the door and just starred. Everyone was rushing to get to homeroom and I just sat there trying my hardest not to cry. You could see that he really cared and wanted to help, but he couldn't there was nothing he could help with. He came over to his desk and put his stuff down. He then looked up at me with eyes so gentle you couldn't stand it.
"You okay?" He asked. His voice was deep and soft.
"No, not really." I said not looking into his eyes.
"You know, I lost my father when I was your age." He replied. He was almost whispering.
"Yeah well, I lost both my parents. One before I was born and one at age 13." I said. I didn't mean for it to sound mean but I think it did because he stopped talking and took out his laptop.
I looked up again trying not to make it obvious that I was looking at him. He looked so worried and what if it was about me? Why does he care? What made me so special? I didn't know. The rest of the day was a big blur. Mr Badry and Ms. Wallace, my math and science teacher, said not to worry about homework because I was having a bad time. It was so nice to have one thing off my back and not have to worry about it.
I got on the bus and surprisingly didn't have to sit with anyone. I leaned up against the window and put my head phones in. I just kept starring out the window but not really starring. Too much was on my plate today. I didn't talk much at all that day. Too scared of what people might say. The bus ride wasn't long at all. I was the third stop and was about a fifteen minute ride from the school.


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The Rotting Zombie's Round-up of Horror News for April 2020
It is my intention to eventually get rid of these monthly news posts I do, something I hoped to achieve this month, but alas it was not to be so. The reason I wish to do away with them is for two reasons. Firstly so that it frees up another day in the month to put up a review, and secondly so that instead of waiting till months end I can instead immediately put up any news I receive on my Facebook and Twitter pages. If you so wish you can go and follow me on those pages, only if you want to though.
The UK is now deep into its lock down and I am finding only leaving the house to go to work or do my weekly food shop a bit draining, but least this makes for memorable times. I am still three quarters of the way into Doom Eternal, to be honest...I'm not loving it as much as I thought I would! I still need to stick up a review of Resident Evil: Resistance, but to do that I have to give the game one last go, this is turning out to be quite the task though as I think the game is very dull. Onto the news!
Season 2 of NOS4A2 is due to premiere on AMC UK Tuesday 7th July at 09:00 PM GMT. This supernatural horror series stars Emmy-nominated actor and producer Zachary Quinto and Ashleigh Cummings. It is based on Joe Hill's best selling novel of the same name. I haven't actually heard of this show before getting the press release. Apparently this picks up eight years after the events of season one and has a man named Charlie on a path of revenge against someone named Vic.
Another month and another team-up that Terror Films has partook in. This time they have joined up with the AVOD YouTube Channel, Watch Movies Now! Terror Films entire library is coming, kicking off with The Bone Box that arrived on 4th April, followed by Dead Body, After Dark and The Chair. A new film from their catalogue is due to arrive weekly. The channel has over 142,000 subscribers, with more than 12 million views per month.
In time for the 40th anniversary of Friday the 13th comes "First Jason's 40" hot sauce from Gemini Crow/Demon Vegan. These companies have joined up with Ari Lehman (the original Jason Voorhees to release these. First Jason's 40 'is a majestic hybrid of sweet and heat. Peaches, Molasses & honey deceptively draw you in right before the heat grips your tongue and continues to rise, which can only be described as slightly less painful then a machete to a head.' Other hot sauces from Demon Vegan include Slasher Sauce and a red Habanero based sauce called Blood of the Lake. Head here if you want to get a hold of any of these.
The first ever 'virtual Phantasm horror convention', known as Phantasm-con 2020 is coming this May 1st and 2nd. The convention is raising funds for personal protection equipment for first responders and veterinarians during the COVID-19 crisis that has swept the globe. The virtual convention includes a live main stage featuring Q&As and interviews with celebrity guests and fans. An exhibit hall where visitors can click thru to popular online stores and sites for memorabilia. A film room with interactive watch parties that gives fans the opportunity to hang out with celebrities in real time during scheduled screenings. Autograph 'tables' and chat rooms where photos and posters will be available via online stores. Also included are art rooms, links to delivery food and drink sponsors, and contests and giveaways. Of course the legendary Reggie Bannister shall be in virtual attendance.
I have a lot of time for the Phantasm series, they are a great series of horror films, for more details about this virtual event head here.
Erotic horror The Last Roommate had its unrated DVD release on 14th April from SCS Entertainment. This film that stars Jenn Nangle, Julie Anne Prescott and Shawn C. Phillips is about a young woman who falls in love with her seductive new roommate, together they fall into an erotic tangle of violence and deadly obsession. The film can be purchased here.
Also from SCS Entertainment comes 5G Zombies, releasing on DVD and VOD 1st March. This takes place in a world overtaken by a recent virus pandemic (sound familiar?). All governments have conspired together to brainwash the remaining survivors using 5G technology, in order to create a new world order. This is a British/American anthology. Sadly there are plenty of utter morons in the real world who really do believe 5G is the root of all evil. Check out the world premiere trailer below.
MGI Films have announced the DVD release of their new horror film, The Devil's Fairground. It is out now at Amazon and Walmart in the U.S and Canada. In this lovely titled horror two competing paranormal TV shows converge on an abandoned haunted amusement park, which just happens to be the gateway to Hell. The Amazon link is here.
Horror-Fix Pictures are due to go into production this November on horror comedy The True Tale of Ole Splitfoot vs. the Lesbian Warrior Nuns of the Great White North. This is to be set in a remote Canadian town whose only industry is the local maple syrup processing plant. A group of lesbian warrior nuns, posing as strippers stand guard against the hordes of Satan. The film has been described as 'the most f*cked up horror-comedy ever made'. Veteran actors Michael Paré and Robert Lasardo are part of the cast.
It isn't often a press release makes me laugh, but the one for Dutch film We was one such one; "Artsploitation Films now realises that not changing the title (original title, Wij, is We in English) has made it challenging (ok, nearly impossible) for people to find it on the internet."They have provided links to the various sites it is able to be downloaded/streamed from. This includes Prime Video, VUDU, Apple TV, Google Play, Kino Now and Vimeo.
Horror comedy Murder Made Easy has had its soundtrack released on all digital platforms. The original motion picture soundtrack came from Sean Spillane (The Woman, Tales of Halloween, Jug Face). Spillane said of the soundtrack, "Writing, performing and recording the score for Murder Made Easy was an absolute blast. In such a character driven story I used various genres of music to further reflect each character's personality." Back when I reviewed this lovely Agatha Christie inspired horror I gave it a grand 8/10 rotting zombie heads and said of it, "I came to this with expectations of a dull murder mystery and left having really enjoyed what I had witnessed". I love a good soundtrack so added this one to my Apple Music collection.
Russian horror comedy Why Don't You Just Die! is out now on Blu-ray and Digital HD and will be there to watch on the Arrow Video Channel on 4th May. I said of this "an always interesting and often amusingly chaotic story" and gave it a solid 8/10 rotted zombie heads when I reviewed it earlier this month. Check out a clip below.
Jeff Payne has released some stills from the next installment of his 'The Pale Faced Lady' series, titled In Darkness I Wait. Payne says for this one "I'm going full terror...tense atmospheres, dread, and horror...my goal is to scare my mom on this one haha!". This follows on from The Pale Faced Lady and She Will Return. This third part in the short film trilogy is due to arrive soon.
Power-rock group MF Ruckus have released the third chapter of their post-apocalyptic comic book The Front Lines of Good Times. This follows the band as they 'attempt to survive and thrive in the post apocalyptic hellscape of the year 2040'. The third chapter is titled Acropolis Now! and sees the band arriving at Scrappertown where they put on a gig at a local speakeasy, The Acropolis. This is written by vocalist Aaron Howell and illustrated by This is Heavy Metal creator Jake Fairly. This third chapter is available as a high quality PDF, and best of all, it is free for download from the bands website, check it out for yourself via this link.
New episodes of Death Squad are currently available on RUKU, Amazon, and Stirr on the Popstar! app or streaming. The show is about five ex-military zombie killers sent to an off-line bio lab. This was filmed in Yerevan Armenia.
Finally, turn based strategy/RPG video game 1971 Project Helios is due to release on PC, Playstation 4, Xbox-One and Nintendo Switch on 9th June thanks to RecoTechnology. This takes place in a dystopian world that is scarce in resources, and also covered in a thick layer of ice. The turn based combat pits you against three different factions as you try and locate a key scientist.
Labels: Horror Films, Horror General, Horror Music, Horror Video Games, Horror Videogames, News, Trailers
The Rotting Zombie's Round-up of Horror News for A...
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She's Allergic to Cats (2016) - Horror Film Review
Why Don't You Just Die! (2018) - Comedy Horror Fil...
Island Zero (2018) - Horror Film Review
The Erl King (2020) - Short Horror Film Review
The Shadow Walkers (2006) - Horror Film Review
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The Bone Box (2020) - Horror Film Review
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Rutabaga (2018) - Horror Film Review
Beetlejuice (1988) - Comedy Horror Film Review


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Tag Archives: cosmetic surgery
Batting Gorgeous Eyelashes Becomes Fashionable Trend in Las Vegas
It's no secret that smoldering glances and flirtatious flutters lose a lot of firepower when your eyelashes are on the floor. That's one reason Latisse, the first, FDA-approved, prescription treatment for growing longer, thicker eyelashes has created such a whirlwind. The other reason? Our stifling economy.
Many have probably heard of Latisse, but now its use is becoming increasingly trendy, especially in large metropolitan U.S. cities. Some say the sagging U.S. economy is a major contributing factor for the popularity. Spas and skin clinics report brisk sales, even without advertising, to women who have lost eyelashes and those who never had many to begin with.
Las Vegas usage reportedly leads the pack, being an economical alternative to other more costly body enhancements including breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, liposuction, hair extensions and all other cosmetic nips and ticks.
Commercials like Brooke Shields' pitch for Latisse have graced television airwaves since 1997, when a change in Food and Drug Administration policy first made it feasible for pharmaceutical companies to hawk their products in explicit fashion, instead of just mentioning a product's name and encouraging consumers to ask their doctor about it, such ads remain controversial. (The U.S. is the only nation in the world that allows this kind of advertising.)
The medication results are apparently not hype. The prescription drug medication grows your eyelashes longer and thicker. It contains brimatoprost (0.03%), a prostaglandin that has been used for several years to treat glaucoma. During treatment, some glaucoma patients noticed their eyelashes getting thicker and longer. Someone smart at Allergan put two and two together, and behold, a treatment for thinning lashes was born.
Latisse goes on like eyeliner, applied directly to the upper eyelid at the base of the eyelash. It is applied once a day, usually in the evening. Using it more often will not increase eyelash growth. It usually takes about a month to see results.
The results, however, are not permanent. If you stop using it, your lashes will eventually return to their previous appearance.
If you have a history of eye pressure problems or are using eye medications, you should consult an ophthalmologist before using Latisse. The most common side effect is itching or redness of the eyes. This occurred in about 4% of patients in a large clinical trial.
A month supply of Latisse and the applicators are reportedly sold for a little over $100 dollars. However, some patients have found that by applying less it can last significantly longer, up to 10 weeks, many report.
Filed under Las Vegas, news, Uncategorized
Tagged as beauty treatments, cosmetic procedures, cosmetic surgery, cosmetic treatments, eyelashes, fashion, fashionista, growing eyelashes, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Backstage Access, Las Vegas news, Latisse, news
Breast Implants for the Asking
An idea spawned casually over drinks at Pure nightclub in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2005 is paying off big-time. Seeing a cocktail waitress in the club who explained to guests she was saving money for breast implants and the willingness of many men in the group she was serving to immediately pledge anywhere from $5 to $50 to her cause – raising $750 before the night was over – prompted enterprising entrepreneurs Jay Moore and Jason Grunstra to return to California and try the same process online, launching www.MyFreeImplants.com
Cyber-solicited cosmetic surgery has apparently come of age.
Acceptance of the idea, though, started slowly, with only four women in 2005 raising enough money for their implants. Today, 425 women have reached their fundraising goals of $5,000 to $7,000, exchanging messages, photos and videos for cash donations. The site's founders expect $2.6 million in voluntary donations this year; that's down from the $2.8 million raised in 2008- the recession is apparently hitting everyone.
Women who want breast implants join the site for free. At a minimum, men must buy "message credits to email with the women- $1.20 per message, $1 of which goes to the woman being messaged. Men who want more from the site must pay $9.95 a month in membership fees, which busy the so-called "benefactors" a few free message credits, and, more important, access to every woman on the site: her photos, blog entries and else she makes make available. These benefactors can make direct donations to women they like, or negotiate an exchange for their donations.
It's strictly forbidden to exchange actual addresses, e-mail or otherwise. And giving your real name is cautioned against.
About 2,000 men are paying the monthly fee; men who are, in effect, paying money to give to women they're told they will never meet.
The average donation is $30, though some have donated the full cost of a surgery.
Surgeons can pay for ads to appear on the site or pay $295 annually to be listed among recommended doctors, provided they're board certified.
Women on the site never actually get the money they raise. Instead, it's held in trust, with interest accruing, until they meet their surgery goal. Then, when the surgery is complete, the organizers pay the doctor directly. On average, women take from six to seven months to meet their goal, though it can take years for many. The trust holds about $2 million now.
Some surgeons have refused to accept the Web sites patients, denouncing the process as degrading, shocking and appalling, relating it to an offshore lottery on a person's health. But many surgeons are going along with the idea.
The hard part of it all for many of the women is persuading strangers to give them money online. The "trick" is that women have to spend hours online developing relationships with benefactors, enticing them to send more message, buy photos and make donations. The large investment in time it takes to be successful is why 140,000 women have created profiles on the site, but only 3,500 are active.
When the surgery is done, women are also contractually obligated to provide "after" pictures, so the people who made the donations can see what they paid for. (The post-surgery photos available online are all of clothed women.) The contract also requires women to stay on the site, talking to their benefactors, for an additional six months.
Filed under entertainment, Las Vegas, news, travel, Uncategorized
Tagged as breast augmentation, breast implants, breast surgery, cosmetic surgery, fundraising, implants, Jason Grunstra, Jay Moore, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Backstage Access, online businesses, plastic surgeons, plastic surgery, Pure Management Group, Pure nightclub, Web businesses
Looking Youthful Will Cost 'Ya – – $12 Billion!
Americans spent nearly $12 billion on cosmetic procedures to look good good last year – much of it on breast implants, surgical face-lifts and Botox injections – a medical practice feeding frenzy that has touched everyone from young professionals to aging baby-boomers.
Saving face doesn't mean one has to go under the knife. From hyaluronic acid injections to fractional resurfacing, nonsurgical options are an essential part of facial rejuvenation techniques.
What started with Botox now includes a host of Restylane, Puragen, Sculptra and Evolence remedies.
Dr. Paul Lorenc of New York believes cosmetic surgery has become more popular today because it's much easier to perform, there's less downtime for recovery and it's more exposed in the media, saying, "What we are doing 10 years ago was archaic. We have progressed tremendously in the name of patient benefits and safety."
The No. 1 surgical procedure nationwide in 2008, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, was breast augmentation. The average cost is $3,885 for silicone gel implants and $3,603 for saline implants.
The top nonsurgical procedure in the nation was Botox injections ($2.46 million) at an average cost of $443 each.
Face-lifts are still the main component of cosmetic treatments, with 132,000 procedures performed in 2008 at an average cost of $6,728.
Since 1997, the number of cosmetic procedures nationally has increased 457 percent to 11.7 million surgical and nonsurgical procedures annually. Women have 10.6 million, or 91 percent, of the procedures.
Tagged as American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, babyboomers, Botox, breast augumentation, cosmetic surgery, cosmetic treatments, Dr. Paul Lorenc, Evolence, face-lifts, facelifts, facial rejuvenation, fractional resurfacing, Las Vegas Backstage Access, Puragen, Restylane, Sculptra
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Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden's Baby Girl's Full Name and Date of Birth Revealed
The couple welcomed their first child together in December. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Liz Calvario
Royal Fans Applaud Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Official Royal Exit
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex came to an agreement with Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
The stars are celebrating the finest producing work of the year. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer use their HRH titles and plan to return taxpayers' money used at their Frogmore home. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
The singer opened up about her mother's final days during her Miami concert on Friday. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Producers Guild Awards: How to Watch ET's Official Red Carpet Pre-Show
The PGA Awards are one of the last great Oscar predictors -- and they're this Saturday! [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Meghan Markle Is Casually Dressed While Picking Up a Friend at the Airport
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'You': Ambyr Childers and James Scully Break Down the Best Deaths of Season 2 (Exclusive)
The actors spoke with ET about the twists and turns in 'You's second season, now streaming on Netflix. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
'Knots Landing' Stars Dish on the Show's Famous Guests and Behind-the-Scenes Secrets (Exclusive)
ET was with the actors of the '80s hit series to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary! [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Walter Mercado Documentary 'Mucho Mucho Amor' Coming to Netflix
Fans of the late astrologer will get to watch the inspiring documentary later this year. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Written by Corey Haley, originally published through his blog.
This post is one in a series related to using Learning Sprints as described by Agile Schools and Dr. Simon Breakspear. The purpose of sharing these experiences is to help other school leaders in putting in place Learning Sprints by sharing triumphs and lessons learned throughout our experiment.
We are launched into the Learning Sprints world as of Friday. I presented the concept to the group of teachers that we have chosen to run our incubation with and are now on to defining and understanding our Sprint. The group our school has chosen to experiment with is the grade 7-9 teachers. Our large focus is going to be literacy. Here are some things that I learned and that I am thinking about after a few days of reflection.
The biggest help that I found when presenting to the group of 7 teachers was that I had incubated my incubation. Incubating in the Learning Sprints world is to start with a small group of teachers that will act as an experiment and facilitate a school-wide adoption of Learning Sprints. What I chose to do is to start by speaking with a teacher who is in this group in advance to get feedback and to refine with another perspective. I found this to be valuable when presenting to the other teachers. This teacher spoke up a few times when I was presenting to clarify areas from a teacher perspective and made the process much easier. One suggestion I would have to any school starting out on this Learning Sprints journey is to incubate your incubation.
The other big contributor to the teacher's understanding of Learning Sprints is the visuals and videos that are available on the Agile Schools website. I like to think I do a pretty good job of communicating, but I don't come close to the concept knowledge of Dr. Breakspear who appears in the videos. Also, just like a class, providing multiple ways of accessing knowledge (in this case a visual to support my speaking) is beneficial. I would suggest any team to use them.
The aspect of this presentation that I found taking the most time was getting the teachers to know that they are in charge of defining the particular strategy or intervention. I want them to make decisions based on their knowledge of the students at our school. A teacher came to me and shared that they were confused as I had explained that our focus was to make small changes, yet I had defined a broad goal (literacy across subject areas). They felt as though this was unaligned. How I explained this was that it is a leader's role (with help from staff) to set the broad focus area using data and through knowing our students. It was the teacher's job to attack the problem (literacy) using their lived experience and knowledge of the students in their grade as a filter. The teacher chose the small changes, the administration chose the large goal.
I also feel an important piece of our setup was ensuring that strategies and interventions will be based on research and evidence. The main source I suggested for our incubation group is Visible Learning for Literacy by Hattie, Fisher, Frey. The source of this information needs to thought out beforehand. I chose this particular book because of the easy to access strategies and because I think it is based on high-quality research. Making the research-based strategies available easily is important when they become busy. I don't want the to resort to pseudo-science or worse, make no change at all. Make accessing quality strategies and interventions easy for staff.
I was extremely happy when the group decided to try to make one change right away, before our next meeting. They understood this was about small differences being put in place right away to test them for efficacy. In the words of one teacher, "Why wait?". Agreed. Why wait? Let's get on this journey from day one. Let's try to get better right away.
This post is part of a series related to using Learning Sprints as described by Agile Schools and Dr. Simon Breakspear. The purpose of sharing these experiences is to help other school leaders in putting in place Learning Sprints by sharing triumphs and lessons learned throughout our experiment.
Our teachers have been in their first sprint for almost 2 weeks, so it was time for a check-in. The first sprint was designed to be a bit longer at almost 5 weeks. We chose this length as it was the start of the year and teachers are getting to know their students and as deal with all the start-up paperwork and routine building. Even though we are early in the year, I felt it was important to come together to get some feedback, make adjustments, and at minimum make sure teachers did not forget about our sprint focus. Sure enough, there are lessons to be learned already and changes to be tried.
Our first sprint was put in place quickly and our goal was less defined than it could have been. My thoughts were that this quickness would help us to learn fast and it was OK if we made errors at the beginning as we were new to this process. It makes me think of the early Facebook mantra of "Move fast and break things". Our goal was to have teachers start a small improvement right away. The lack of refinement and definition of the goal is something we will tighten up next time. Some teachers have not had a problem with this broad goal, others found it more difficult. New rule, always define your goal more than you think you need to.
Our first intervention was a strategy focusing on summarization. I have learned that even a strategy can be too broad and too big. When we started discussing how this strategy had been put into place, we realized that it could get overwhelming. Summarization is a complex skill and our students had differing levels of mastery. Some teachers found their group could dive right into summarizing texts, while other teachers needed to explicitly teach some ways to summarize (and even define what summarizing was). Lesson learned, even a strategy needs to be small.
Another area that we will improve in the next sprint is clearly defining the assessment tools that we will use to know the impact of our intervention. Again, in the interest of moving quickly, we did not define how we would know if what we did made any changes to student learning. We have decided to aim for more qualitative feedback from students during this sprint, but I want to move into more quantitative measures for the upcoming sprints. Change for next time, know how you will know if what you did had an impact.
My last reflection is on the leadership aspect of this process. I realize I need to hand over more authority and responsibility to the teachers involved. I need them to know the structure of the sprints, the areas to cover when evaluating, the ways to come to define the different aspects of the process. My goal is that as soon as possible, they can engage in this process without me there. I need to remember that we are in the incubation period and that if we are to scale this project, I need people who are independent with this collaborative process and can work out issues that arise. I will not be able to attend every Learning Sprint meeting in my school, which means they need to do this themselves. My goal is to take the lessons learned from this group and refine the process for the others that will follow if we are successful.
We are in the early stages of this process, but I am confident that we are putting in place structures that ensure meaningful improvements. Onward.
The concept of "Beginner's Mind" comes from Zen Buddhism. According to Shunryu Suzuki it describes the feeling of openness to all possibilities, the innocence of first inquiry, acceptance, and freeness from habit. It was with this approach that I was participated in a session on the introduction of Learning Sprints with Agile Schools and Dr. Simon Breakspear this past week.
Why the need for a beginner's mind? I had recently spent a week-long course on this practice and had launched the Learning Sprints model in my school. I was feeling confident in my understanding of the concept, but this also made me wary. What was I missing? What did I still need to learn? The beginner's mind approach made seeing things as they were and forgetting what I wished them to be more evident.
The beginner's mind approach is also a useful way of confronting many problems that we have as teachers. At times, the master teacher does not see all the possibilities in a solution and gets caught up in a single-minded approach. This leads to less innovation and similar results being reproduced. The beginner sees the possibilities of the ways to intervene. The beginner is open to new ways and makes a choice to start.
The first lesson that my beginner's mind received was the fact that Learning Sprints gives teachers the structure for effective collaboration. I have seen too many collaboration sessions where teaching professionals waste their most important resource, time, with conversations that do not ultimately lead to impact on learning. This usually happens innocently, they simply do not know how to structure a conversation to focus on what is important and what needs to be done. Learning sprints give a structure and keeps the conversation oriented on the intervention and the result. Let's not waste the precious time we have with our colleagues on unimportant banter any longer.
Lesson 2, learning sprints seek to create clinical practitioners. This does not mean that we are looking to create a bunch of doctors, but rather we are seeking to create professionals that use the scientific method to analyse data and use it to inform decisions. The Learning Sprints model gives the foundations for changing how teachers think and act in regards to their students. It teaches to analyse data, survey options that are based in research, make an informed choice of intervention, and collect data to verify impact. One would take for granted that their doctor follows this practice, but it is at times missing from the world of education.
The adaptability of Learning Sprints is another interesting observation that my beginner's mind made. Regardless of how research changes, what the school/divisional/state/provincial goals are, what the needs of the population you serve are, this approach gives you the structure to enact change. It is adaptable to the future needs of the student population and to the future information that we will get about learning. It also make change incremental and iterative, so that it does not feel overwhelming. Small changes, over time, lead to big changes.
The focus of the approach to implementation in Alberta (and perhaps other places) has been that the 3 levels of leadership of a school need to be involved and are active participants. The teacher leaders, the school administrators and the divisional/district leaders should all be present and implicated in the learning sprint. I had a personal example of the efficacy of this at our last meeting. In the course of a conversation between our team, a question came up about creating a report to give teachers data to target their interventions. Our divisional representative was able to give an answer right away and offer to work with our software developer to make the report widely available. In the course of 2 minutes, we were able to make important data easily available to all teachers in our school division because of the fact that we were all around the table.
The last point that I will touch on with my "openness to new ideas" is the possibility that this approach could lead to joy. The concept of craftwork, detailed in the book "The Craftman" by Richard Sennett, proposes that we can all feel a deep inner satisfaction when we perfect our work. That in process of making something better and producing something of quality, we may increase our joy. We need more of this kind of joy in education, as the stakes are high. Instead of making beautiful furniture or playing a beautiful piece of music, teachers are contributing to another human's life. We are creating learning that ultimately helps people and a communities. What a joy it is when we do that well.
A special thanks to Agile Schools and to the Alberta Teachers' Association Council for School Leaders for organizing an incredible learning opportunity.
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Here's to you and all of the effort that went into the success you're celebrating.
Take a few moments just to bask in the glow—you've earned it!
You're one of the people that makes this business great.
Great teamwork and great results—what a great reason to celebrate.
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Making progress toward a goal is satisfying. Reaching that goal is even better.
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