A new platform.

Today was my first faculty meeting. I never had to go to these in all my years as an adjunct. Oh, wait. I take that back. I did go to a few at MICA.

Anyway, I’ve read a little on the difference between working in industry vs academia. One of the marked differences is the meeting structure. In faculty meetings, professors like to endlessly pontificate and debate. In business meetings, people will do that to some extent, but then there’s usually a well-defined action items list as a result. Because inevitably, there’s a PM cracking the whip.

I definitely saw that today. Grant it, though, our faculty meetings are only once a month. So, you know, people have a lot to say when they don’t meet very often. There will also be smaller departmental meetings in between. I find myself doing the same thing I did while working in industry: I was always trying to find ways to bring academia to industry. Now I can totally see myself trying to find ways to bring industry to academia. Like action item lists and scrum!

I think a lot about how the focus of what I’m producing as an educator is so different. In imparting my passion, knowledge, and point-of-view, the product of my work now resides inside the mind of another human being. Trippy.

As opposed to interaction products that are experienced in the head, but exist outside of it. They’re just visitors, really. Kind of interesting when you think about it.

Anyway, my first class is Wednesday afternoon. I’m finishing the syllabus and plotting out the design jam exercises we’ll be doing as icebreakers (I learned about design jams at IxD ’10 in Savannah). Should be fun! I’ll try to take pictures….