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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="10418538" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="blackboard-collaborate">Blackboard Collaborate</keyword> offers <keyword id="178474" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="blackboard">Blackboard</keyword> instructors and moderators private, dedicated course rooms for breakout sessions, one-on-one meetings, and office hours. </li><li>Available as part of the standard or Ultra Blackboard experience, Blackboard Collaborate is located in your Course Tools and is accessible through a desktop or mobile device.</li></ul><p>Blackboard is an online learning tool that allows students and instructors to host or take online classes as part of a school, university, or corporate environment. The educational platform is highly customizable, allowing users to tailor their digital classroom experience to an institution's and learners' needs. </p><p>In Blackboard, students can view assignments, submit work, have discussions, and even meet for a video conference. Meanwhile, instructors can make announcements, post course materials, and grade assignments and classes. Blackboard's apps also help students stay connected on their phones, and other features include calendars, discussions, groups, and assessments. </p><p>Within Blackboard, several advanced features enhance or expand the interactive element of online learning. Blackboard Collaborate and Blackboard Collaborate Ultra are just one. The video-based conferencing tool within the Blackboard platform hosts private "rooms" for real-time educational collaboration. </p><p>Here's everything you should know about Blackboard Collaborate. </p><h2>What you need to know about Blackboard Collaborate</h2><p>Blackboard's video conferencing tool works with both the original and Ultra versions through different interfaces. Both allow users to meet in real-time, add files, and more. You'll need to install the Blackboard Collaborate utility before you launch video sessions but will be prompted to download it when you click on a video session link. </p><p>Blackboard Collaborate rooms are located in the "Tools" section of a course. In Blackboard Original, there is one video "room" associated with a given course if enabled. In Ultra, the instructor may create additional sessions for other uses, including breakout or group-study sessions that can operate regardless of whether the instructor is present. Instructors can also customize the rooms to allow private messaging, allow simultaneous speakers, share their desktop, or set recording options. </p><p>The dedicated "Course Room" lasts for the entirety of the course, and instructors and students can join at any time without scheduling or without the need for an instructor to hold bigger classwide sessions. Instructors have an additional "My Room" that can be used for office hours or other smaller meetings with students. </p><p>And much like Zoom, in Collaborate, instructors can create a unique session link. Instructors can use the link to direct students immediately from another course area (a folder, for example) to the Collaborate session.</p><h2>Blackboard Collaborate interactive features and mobile access</h2><p>Collaborate offers several features to help students and instructors get the most out of the "room" experience. Users can participate in polls, raise their hand (like the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-raise-hand-on-google-meet">Google Meet</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-raise-hand-in-zoom">Zoom</a> feature) to share a question or comment, and use the chat to message other students or the room moderator without disrupting the larger conversation. </p><p>Collaborate will test your audio and video before you join the session or room, but in the case where your audio is not up to par, you have the option to call in and join the sessions using your phone. Or, you could go completely mobile by joining a Collaborate session from your mobile browser. Android users should sign into their Blackboard account using Chrome, while iPhone users can use Safari to join live classes and meetings, view instructor-shared content, and use all the same whiteboard and communication tools as a desktop device.  </p><h2>Related coverage from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Reference</a>:</h2><ul><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-zoom-guide">What is Zoom? A comprehensive guide to the wildly popular video-chatting service for computers and smartphones</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-google-jamboard">'What is Google Jamboard?': How to use the 4K UHD touch display and cloud-based whiteboard's G-Suite app for virtual collaboration</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-dropbox">'What is Dropbox?': How to use the cloud-based file-storage service for collaboration</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-create-a-google-classroom">How to create a Google Classroom on a computer or mobile device</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bluejeans">'What is BlueJeans?': Here's what you need to know about using the video-conferencing service</a></h3></li></ul>

What is Blackboard Collaborate? How to use Blackboard's video-conferencing rooms

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="178474" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="blackboard">Blackboard</keyword> Learn is a highly customizable online learning application that allows users to take or host online courses.</li><li>Students and teachers can interact using assignments, video conferencing, discussion groups, tests, and more in Blackboard Learn and its upgraded version, Ultra.</li><li>Blackboard's mobile apps and accessibility tools allow students to participate remotely and flexibly in classes. </li></ul><p>Blackboard is a customizable online learning tool that can replace or supplement traditional face-to-face classes for a school or any other classroom structure. Many conventional classroom functions have equivalents in Blackboard Learn, allowing students and teachers to emulate just about every physical classroom experience element. </p><p>In a fully online format, the teacher might assign all materials to the students digitally, communicate outside of class using online tools, and have students discuss and collaborate online. But in a hybrid model, the class might meet in person only a few times a week and use Blackboard activities that students complete outside the course. Finally, in a web-enhanced model, the classes may be face-to-face, but instructors may post supporting materials like syllabus, assignments, or optional discussions online. </p><p>Here's what else you should know about Blackboard. </p><h2>Blackboard's features and tools</h2><p>Blackboard is host to many virtual and digital learning tools, but all revolve around its core component: courses. </p><p>Courses, which instructors can only start, are accessible through the "Home" section of a student's Blackboard account under "My Courses." Classes are supplemented by various tools, focusing on several critical areas of the classroom experience: content, interaction and discussion, and announcements and scheduling. </p><h3><strong>Courses &amp; Content</strong></h3><p>Instructors can post content, including files, text, images, audio, and video, in their courses. That content can then be organized using learning modules, folders, or lesson plans. To help students navigate their course content, instructors can post a syllabus with descriptions of the course materials, assignments, grading expectations, and more in a section of the course menu or elsewhere within a course. </p><p>Other content that you'll likely see includes surveys, tests, and assignments. Instructors can customize grading for and assign grades to submissions. Students can view assignment and class grades by navigating to the "My Grades" section in the dropdown menu by their name. Meanwhile, surveys and tests are highly customizable and may be multiple-choice, timed, or written. While tests are graded, surveys are not. Surveys may instead be used to poll students or assess their knowledge and are marked as complete or incomplete. </p><h3><strong>Announcements &amp; Calendars</strong></h3><p>Blackboard offers several ways for students and teachers to stay on track throughout their class. Instructors can post announcements on changes to a syllabus, due dates, exam schedules, and more. Notifications may appear on the "Home" page of a student's Blackboard account for their institution or within specific classes. Instructors and students can also keep track of important dates through the calendar tool, combining course, individual, and institutional schedules.</p><h3><strong>Interaction &amp; Discussion</strong></h3><p>Instructors can set up discussion boards within their classes, with both students and educators can start new discussion threads and reply to an original prompt. Students in a class can also send direct messages to one another by clicking "Messages" in their course menu.</p><p>Instructors may set up groups of students within their class to complete group projects, have discussions, or share work. In addition to sharing files and having group-specific conversations, this feature lets users create shared journals. These are a way for students to interact privately with their instructor. Instructors create journal topics within the journal topic page, and students respond with entries that can be graded. </p><p>There's also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blackboard-collaborate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a video-conferencing feature of the platform called Blackboard Collaborate</a>, which allows for virtual discussions in group sessions or one-on-one meetings.</p><h2>Additional Blackboard features</h2><p>Blackboard has some other features that help students and instructors stay connected, whether with <keyword id="10418537" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="blackboard-ultra">Blackboard Ultra</keyword>, the mobile apps, or the accessibility toolkit. Here's what you should know about them. </p><h3><strong>Ultra</strong></h3><p>Blackboard Ultra is a cloud-based service like Google Workspace (formerly GSuite) or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-dropbox">Dropbox</a>, rather than a downloaded or installed software. It's an updated version of the original Blackboard that institutions can access if they opt for SaaS ("Software As A Service") deployment. </p><p>Blackboard Ultra's updated user interface and workflow include a responsive design that works on any device. It also features an "activity stream" that allows students to see updates from all their classes together in an organized list rather than class-by-class. Ultra's calendar gathers due dates from all courses and offers a grades page that features all your performance together without navigating to each class. </p><p>If you're unsure if you have the Ultra or Original version of Blackboard, look at your browser window's left panel after log in. If your name is shown in the left-hand menu, you're using Ultra. If it's in the top right, you're using Original. </p><h3><strong>Mobile apps</strong></h3><p>Blackboard's apps, including Blackboard and Blackboard Instructor, are iOS 11+ and Android 5+ compatible mobile tools that work with both Original and Ultra interfaces. Once downloaded, the app will ask you to find your institution and log in with your Blackboard Learn login information. </p><h3><strong>Accessibility tools </strong></h3><p>To optimize accessibility on Blackboard, instructors can design content for students with visual, hearing, learning, and mobility-based disabilities in mind. </p><p>Blackboard Learn is compatible with screen readers, and pages are designed to follow a common structure to allow quick navigation. Others can enable high-contrast styles on the login page of Blackboard Learn to match their computer configuration. Students who use keyboard navigation will find commonly used web formatting, while those who rely on key commands to navigate through pages can access them in the Quick Links tool or through hitting Shift+Alt+L. </p><p>Instructors can caption all media types that they upload so that students can read information instead of listening. To reduce visual clutter and increase executive function, users can collapse menus or set up Blackboard Learn to send notifications and reminders. Instructors can also design tests with accommodations for extra time, varying visual displays, or more attempts. </p><p>The Blackboard App also offers built-in accessibility features, like VoiceOver navigation, zoom for enlarged visuals, color filters, navigation through Bluetooth switch hardware, AssistiveTouch in iOS, and Switch Access for external devices in Android. </p><h2>Related coverage from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Reference</a>:</h2><ul><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-blackboard-collaborate">What is Blackboard Collaborate? How to use Blackboard's video-conferencing rooms</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-google-jamboard">'What is Google Jamboard?': How to use the 4K UHD touch display and cloud-based whiteboard's G-Suite app for virtual collaboration</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bluejeans">'What is BlueJeans?': Here's what you need to know about using the video-conferencing service</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-create-a-google-classroom">How to create a Google Classroom on a computer or mobile device</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-join-google-classroom">How to join a Google Classroom meeting from a link or code on any device</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-submit-an-assignment-in-google-classroom">How to submit an assignment in Google Classroom, or retract a submission, on a computer or mobile device</a></h3></li></ul>

What is Blackboard? Everything you need to know about the online learning platform

<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Will Emerson / YouTube" title_caption="Emerson Walker" class="zoomin" href="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/51f7beeeeab8ea7071000012-960/will-emerson.png"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source">Will Emerson / YouTube</p><p class="caption">Emerson Walker</p></div></div>Emerson Walker is 14 years old and — if he gets his way — he's about to change the way schools all over America handle their schedules.</p>
<p>He has developed a calendar app, called mPlanner, that solves school's trickiest problem: Coordinating the differing schedules of classes, parents, sports teams, doctors and so on. As his <a href="http://mplanner.co/blog/the-kickstarter-campaignis-about-to-be-funded/">almost fully funded Kickstarter page describes it</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">School assignments are posted online, their school events calendar is on the school webpage, their sports calendar is on the fridge, their doctor appointments are on their parents’ phone, and their social events are on social media sites.</p>
<p>The mPlanner app syncs them altogether:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The mPlanner syncs with assignments from school portals (such as Schoology and Blackboard), and presents each assignment to them to "triage" into a study plan.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The app also benefits parents by providing them with a parent interface, allowing instant access to their child's schedule so they can be on the same page.</p>
<p>The idea is genius, because if you know anything about school calendaring web sites like Blackboard and Classes, you'll know they are balky, complicated and annoying to use — in addition to being stored on separate sites. (I can attest to this personally from my experience using three different class scheduling systems at Columbia and NYU.) If mPlanner "solves" this problem, it could easily become the Facebook of calendars. Remember, Facebook started off as a literal "face book" for college campuses.</p>
<p>Emerson, of Turpin High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his collaborator, Will Muller, a senior at Indian Hills High School, already won a Cincinnati Startup Weekend contest, getting themselves some free office space and advice. They've already got <a href="http://www.mplanner.co/">mockups of the app on their web site</a>. And there's an adorable/impressive pitch video on YouTube (below).</p>
<p>Emerson only needs $5,000 from Kickstarter to get his project done this summer, he says.</p>
<p>Lastly, <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rywalker/mplanner-0">don't worry (too much) about him spending it all at the mall</a>: "My dad, Ry Walker, Partner at Cincinnati venture studio Differential (http://differential.io), is formally running the project, and will manage the money," he writes.</p>
<p></p>

This 14-Year-Old Got Funding For His Simple-But-Brilliant Startup And Wants To Change School Forever

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="190609" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="asana">Asana</keyword> is a workplace <keyword id="13778" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Management">management</keyword> dashboard that helps streamline communication across companies and teams.</li><li>Asana is customizable, and allows users to break down projects into tasks and set clear goals for teams.</li><li>Asana also has integration with hundreds of other apps that businesses use, like Google Drive and Outlook.</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/asana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Asana</a> is a customizable workplace content management system (<keyword id="15615" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="cms">CMS</keyword>) which is designed to help a wide range of companies achieve their organizational needs. More plainly, it's an advanced organizational tool to help streamline projects.</p><p>Asana is made so that workplaces of any size can analyze their progress and address issues all in one place, eliminating the need for constant meetings, email updates, and memos.</p><h2>What to know about Asana</h2><p>Asana has a wide range of features available to help companies and the teams within them find a system to get things done as efficiently as possible. These features include:</p><h3>Project and task management</h3><p>Asana's main feature is its project and task management tools. You can create lists or boards to host certain projects as a whole - these will detail all the initiatives, meetings, and programs involved in said projects.</p><p>From there, you can break these projects into tasks and subtasks to make them more manageable, and list the steps to complete them. You can also: </p><ul><li>Give tasks to specific people so everyone knows who is working on what</li><li>Group tasks into sections or columns to keep them organized</li><li>Assign start dates and due dates, which can also include timed deadlines</li><li>Create reusable templates to make certain tasks easier to start</li><li>Add task dependencies to specify when some tasks need to be completed before others start</li><li>View your tasks in a timeline so everyone can see the project chronologically</li><li>Create rules to automate processes like assigning tasks and triaging</li><li>Add attachments from a number of integrated software</li></ul><h3>Communication tools</h3><p>Of course, one of the most important - and difficult - parts of teamwork is communication. Asana has tools to streamline this as well. </p><p>Your Inbox tracks all your messages and their associated tasks. Here you can attach tasks to messages and use project conversations to have ongoing discussions. You can also proof images and PDFs, and any comments can even be turned into tasks so the team knows what corrections need to be made.</p><div type="image" title="asana4" height="1390" width="2808" msid="82093632" hostid="261"></div><h3>Multiple ways to view work</h3><p>Because Asana is made to adapt to your workforce. As such, it offers several ways to view your projects and tasks:</p><ul><li><strong>My tasks:</strong> A view that gives you a personal to-do list</li><li><strong>List:</strong> View and group your tasks in a grid structure</li><li><strong>Board:</strong> Displays your upcoming tasks in a bulletin board style format</li><li><strong>Calendar: </strong>Shows a list of tasks based on deadlines</li><li><strong>Files: </strong>Groups together all the files uploaded to project</li><li><strong>Inbox: </strong>Groups together all your conversations</li></ul><div type="image" title="asana" height="1405" width="2756" msid="82093633" hostid="261"></div><p>There's also a Search view for those who don't want to painstakingly organize all their tasks.</p><h3>Management and reporting tools</h3><p>If you're in charge of an <keyword id="179834" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Organization">organization</keyword>, Asana's reporting tools make it easy to keep project updates organized and send update reminders when necessary. </p><p>You can use Asana to set "Goals" to keep everyone on the same page, and "Milestones" to reward and encourage hard work. </p><p>You can also craft status updates for projects and portfolios to send messages to your team quickly, and check your Dashboard to see the status of all ongoing projects and tasks at once, and identify problem areas if necessary.</p><p>Creating Teams lets you group people together to collaborate on projects. The Team page includes an Overview tab to track projects, a Messages tab for group conversations and announcements, and a shared Calendar tab. You can add teammates as followers on tasks not assigned to them, to keep them updated and alert them if there are problems they can help with. </p><div type="image" title="asana2" height="1209" width="2739" msid="82093634" hostid="261"></div><p>Administrators also have privacy controls - you can add permissions and other privacy controls to limit access to certain work, or even keep some teams that do sensitive work hidden. </p><h3>Easy app integration</h3><p>One of the things that makes Asana so easy to use is its app integration. There are a number of apps that work well with Asana, but the most notable are:</p><ul><li>Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, Office365, OneDrive, and Adobe Creative Cloud for file creation and sharing</li><li>Slack, Gmail, Outlook, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Power BI for communication</li><li>Harvest, a built-in time tracker tool</li></ul><h2>How to get Asana</h2><p>Asana is available in three pre-set, tiered plans: Free, Premium, and Business. You can sign up for any of these packages <a href="https://asana.com/pricing?&amp;utm_campaign=Brand--NAMER--EN--Low_Funnel--All-Device&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=pd_cpc_br&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw38-DBhDpARIsADJ3kjlVMk1mVVH4VaBtgwBtUzfufTf2chNMWwS7psGy5MgYAPCHQXPOrbQaAj7WEALw_wcB&amp;gclsrc=aw.dswcB&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Asana's website</a>.</p><h3><strong>Asana Basic</strong></h3><p>This free version includes the following features:</p><ul><li>Unlimited tasks, projects, messages, file storage, and entries in your activity log</li><li>List, Board, and Calendar Views</li><li>Project briefs and overviews</li><li>Mobile apps for both iOS and Android</li><li>100-plus app integrations, including time tracking</li></ul><h3><strong>Asana Premium</strong></h3><p>Premium plans are $13.49 per month, billed each month, plus $10.99 per month per user, billed annually.</p><p>Asana Premium includes all the features the free version does, plus:</p><ul><li>Timeline view and Dashboard reporting</li><li>Advanced search features</li><li>The ability to create custom fields</li><li>Unlimited free guests - guests are users who don't share the company's email domain.</li><li>Forms, Rules, and Milestones</li><li>Admin controls</li><li>The ability to create private teams and projects</li></ul><h3>Asana Business</h3><p>Asana Business is $30.49 per month, plus $24.99 per user per month annually.</p><p>Like Premium, it comes with all the features of the plans beneath it, plus the following:</p><ul><li>Portfolio and Goal reporting</li><li>Workload view - allows you to see how much of your team's resources are being used, and on which projects</li><li>The ability to build and customize rules</li><li>More customizable forms</li><li>The ability to request and give approvals on any project or task</li><li>Proofing for photos - allows you to leave commentary directly on pictures.</li><li>More advanced integrations with Salesforce, Adobe Creative Cloud, Tableau, and Power BI</li></ul><h3>Asana Enterprise</h3><p>Asana Enterprise is designed for businesses with high-security needs and support on call. There is no set price for this plan - Asana recommends that you <a href="https://asana.com/sales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contact its sales team directly</a> to discuss pricing that will work for your company.</p><p>You get all the features listed in the packages above, plus:</p><ul><li>Extra security features</li><li>Data export and deletion</li><li>Advanced user controls</li><li>Custom branding</li><li>Priority support from Asana staff</li></ul><a data-type="5e8235421378e353641a5b96">How to get Asana notifications in Slack for your tasks and projects</a><a data-type="5fb2d36484aa30005518580d">What is Microsoft Teams? Here's what you need to know about the workplace communication tool</a><a data-type="5fa19da51e1b35519d294257">What is OneDrive? Everything you need to know about Microsoft's cloud storage service</a><a data-type="5fce9de7e182322b370a60e4">What is Blackboard Collaborate? How to use Blackboard's video-conferencing rooms</a>

A guide to Asana, the workplace management tool that helps streamline communication across teams

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Shayanne Gal/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-dominating-apple-in-the-classroom-2017-6">Google for Education</a> tools have taken off "like grass on fire," industry analysts say.</li><li>The software is completely free and Chromebooks, which are laptops manufactured by other companies running the Google Chrome operating system, are deeply discounted for classrooms.</li><li>These tactics have worked: Google-powered devices made up almost 60% of computing devices purchased for US classrooms in 2017, up from 5% in 2012.</li><li>Eighty million teachers and students use the platform worldwide, and there are 30 million <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/chromebooks">Chromebooks</a> in classrooms.</li><li>Teachers have expressed suspicions about why the mega-corporation is giving away the valuable software.</li><li>"There is a bit of a mistrust to Google in some way from the teacher standpoint because it is such a large corporation offering everything for free," Danny Wagner at <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org">Common Sense Media</a> said. </li></ul><p>Michelle Alphe's French classes in Franklin High School, about 40 miles southwest of New York City, begin the same way most days: with a Chromebook.</p><p>"Before class, I'll post their assignments [on Google Classroom] and the students get right on the computers, log into Classroom, and can start working right away," Alphe told Business Insider.</p><p>Advanced classes might read an article in French, then record a video in which they discuss what's different between the US and the country they read about. They then post the video on Google Classroom, and their peers watch and comment on the video.</p><p>"At first I was resistant to it - I'm a technophobe," Alphe told Business Insider. "Now, I really like it. It's made my life a lot easier. I think it has made students' work easier too."</p><p>This scene is repeated in classrooms around the US, where <keyword id="6355445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="education">education</keyword> is increasingly starting to revolve around Google for Education apps and Google's Chromebook laptops. </p><p>Google says there are 80 million educators and students globally using <a href="https://edu.google.com/gsuite-editions/?modal_active=none">G Suite for Education</a>, which allows users to access Gmail, Google Cloud, Google Docs, and other productivity tools. There are 40 million global users of Google Classroom specifically.</p><p>Worldwide, there are 30 million Chromebooks in classrooms, the majority of which are in the US. Fifty-eight percent of the classroom laptops ordered in the US <a href="https://futuresource-consulting.com/Press-K-12-Education-Market-Growth-Forecast-in-2018-0318.html">last year</a> were Chromebooks. These laptops, which cost from $179 to $999 <a href="https://www.google.com/chromebook/find-yours/?utm_source=en-ha-na-sem&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_content=bkws&amp;utm_campaign=chromebook2018Q3&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlcaJ5Luz3gIVw8DICh2scQ86EAAYASAAEgJUrPD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds#">for typical customers</a>, are manufactured by brands like Lenovo, Acer, and HP. </p><p>Google is not alone in trying to making inroads on the hardware and software sides of the classroom. There are software tools like Canvas, where students can access documents and information for their classes, or Safari Montage, a repository for textbooks and other class materials.</p><p>The average cost for learning management software is $5 to $8 per student annually, according to Ben Davis, a senior educator analyst at the market-research firm Futuresource Consulting. For a district such as <a href="http://www.bcps.org/system/">Baltimore</a>, which has over 113,000 students, that could cost nearly $1 million a year. </p><p>But Google Classroom and G Suite for Education are totally free. Google has tens of millions of users for its education software, but it chooses not to make a cent off of them.</p><p>As for the laptops, they're deeply discounted. Institutional pricing for an iPad, once the standby education hardware nationwide, <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/03/27/apple-offers-new-ipad-to-schools-and-education-customers-at-discounted-299">is $299</a> while Microsoft devices <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/devices/default.aspx">start at $189</a>. Google said a single Chromebook starts at $149 per unit for classrooms.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Andy Kiersz/Business Insider; Google, Apple, and Windows education pricing</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Google has <a href="https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/fundamentals/preview">created teaching courses and certifications</a>, engages in educator outreach nationwide, and creates tools like a closed-captioning function for students giving presentations on Google Slides.</p><p>"You could argue that part of it is philanthropic," <a href="https://www.jonathanrochelle.com">Jonathan Rochelle</a>, a product management director for G Suite for Education, told Business Insider. "But for us, having educators and students experience our products is important."</p><p>He added: "Our motivation is to make sure people have an option to work better."</p><p>But Google for Education has raised suspicions for ed-tech analysts and educators.</p><p>"They are still selling their Google products to kids, who are being taught to trust them," Keith Chiappone, an eighth-grade English teacher at Conackamack Middle School in Piscataway Township, New Jersey. "Then, when they are of age where they can legally make decisions, that's going to be their default."</p><h2><strong>The first push for educational tech came from state legislatures, not Silicon Valley</strong></h2><p>Classrooms like Alphe's, where students have their own laptops, may seem over the top to those who managed to learn to read and write without computers or with occasional visits to the school computer lab.</p><p>But districts that furnish each student with a laptop aren't doing so by their own choice alone. Since the late 2000s, legislatures in states such as Florida, Virginia, and California <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED522907.pdf">began passing laws</a> to call for digital classrooms and textbooks.</p><p>"There's an increasing push to have our students become digitally literate and move into the workforce seamlessly through the use of digital tools," said Elita Driskill, the director of technology for <a href="https://www.aisd.net">Arlington Independent School District</a> in Arlington, Texas, which serves 61,000 students. "The state recognizes the need for students to be ready for the workplace."</p><p>Initiatives for "digital content" initially put undue pressure on district administrators, said Dwayne Alton, who is in charge of information technology for the <a href="https://www.leeschools.net">School District of Lee County</a> in Fort Myers, Florida, the 33rd-largest in the US with 93,000 students.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-technology-is-shaping-the-future-of-education-2017-12">Here's how technology is shaping the future of education</a></em></p><p>"The legislature thought, 'Hey, we're going to be super modern,'" Alton told Business Insider. "'We think that books are old-fashioned. Kids should be learning with technology and school districts should be required to transition from paper to digital content.'"</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/6782113386/in/photolist-bkj72q-ofQ9tP-nYCqfX-ohTfcg-bye1YP-9JW23R-oRe56Q-qGpN3Y-rmQbby-rmXCXB-rk5Yb2-a2B6vJ-bye1Sc-nGcgx8-bzVpft-Kdqe5y-Kdq73C-e9ZqfC-Kdqjdj-Kdq7iY-Kdqks3-KAFiDs-KdqkjY-Kdq7VE-qLSvE2-bn1xyL-oq7v6A-bmykR1-rDScp7-eXN55J-oTn5gb-a9JX2W-qKa14J-29CatRF-nhV4xn-jZDKpj-eRPE4Q-cMSJXw-eRPEoU-eRPEwy-hhcrDo-dB8wRp-eRCemz-eRCetB-bv47GK-em1D3u-fBQiXG-oQDcJS-e45L7f-bzyULm">Kevin Jarrett/Flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">Around 20 to 30% of US school districts have one laptop for every child, according to Futuresource Consulting.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>At first, digital content meant PDFs of textbooks. Now teachers can track students' progress through in-class activities in real time and assess where a student is excelling or needs help. It's allowed for individual learning beyond separating kids into slow and fast reading groups.</p><p>"We know that students move at different paces," Alton said. "We want to make sure we're not just teaching to the middle, but providing enrichment for the higher levels and remediation for the lower levels."</p><h2>Tech companies have taken advantage of the shift to digital classrooms</h2><p>That shift to digital has fueled fast growth in the US ed-tech market, which has been growing by 8.8% <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjWrIW9kKDeAhXwRd8KHRanAegQFjAAegQIABAC&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.austrade.gov.au%2FArticleDocuments%2F5085%2FEdtech-US-market-snapshot.pdf.aspx&amp;usg=AOvVaw1iGI0Qs5JrVCWYVZ08krFN">since 2014</a>. Ed tech is expected to hit $43 billion in value <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjWrIW9kKDeAhXwRd8KHRanAegQFjAAegQIABAC&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.austrade.gov.au%2FArticleDocuments%2F5085%2FEdtech-US-market-snapshot.pdf.aspx&amp;usg=AOvVaw1iGI0Qs5JrVCWYVZ08krFN">by 2019</a>, just under half of which is based in K-12.</p><p>"The market is right at the beginning of digital transformation with devices coming into student hands, and so lots of companies across the education ecosystem are investing in digital," Davis of Futuresource told Business Insider.</p><p>Education-only companies such as Blackboard, which was founded in 1997, and corporations like Microsoft and Apple had been <a href="http://wildej.pbworks.com/f/rpt08.pdf">long positioned</a> in the classroom, and they looked poised to benefit from this growth.</p><p>But then Google entered the fray, and in a big way.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-flipgrid-education-video-2018-6">Microsoft buys a classroom video startup with 20 million users as it pushes against Google</a></em></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-wagner-4b7099105/">Danny Wagner</a> was a middle-school science teacher in his native Kentucky for nine years before he moved to the Bay Area to become a tech lead at San Francisco Unified School District. He was a teacher as Google Classroom first made its big push into the ed-tech market in the early 2010s, when state legislatures were pushing for digital classrooms.</p><p>"Going paperless was a big deal, and Google Classroom was the first tool that solved that problem," Wagner, who is now an editor of ed-tech reviews at Common Sense Media, told Business Insider.</p><p>"Google Classroom took off like grass on fire," Gartner Research vice president Kelly Calhoun Williams, who focuses on K-12 education and was in public education for 25 years, added. "Just crazy growth."</p><p>Chromebooks and other Google devices made up 58% of all devices purchased for US classrooms in 2017, according to <a href="https://futuresource-consulting.com/Press-K-12-Education-Market-Growth-Forecast-in-2018-0318.html">Futuresource data</a>, up from 5% in 2012. Not every Chromebook-enabled school uses Google Classroom, and many classrooms without Chromebooks use Google Classroom or G Suite for Education. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Futuresource Consulting, Andy Kiersz/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In contrast, Apple's market share in mobile devices for education sank by 33 percentage points from 2012 to 2017, while Microsoft's decreased by 21 percentage points, according to Futuresource.</p><h2>Teacher-tested, administrator-approved</h2><p>Franklin High School has had G Suite for Education for only about four years, but Maggie Muir, who teaches Spanish at Franklin, has been using Google products in her classroom for a decade. </p><p>Muir is enthusiastic about Google Classroom's features. She can quickly see how her students are performing on certain tasks. Absent students can keep up with assignments and activities by simply checking the Google Classroom homepage. It's easier for clubs to organize and for teachers to share learning resources with each other, she said.</p><p>As for the Chromebook, Muir said she's happy her students, many of whom are low income, have access to the technology. All Franklin students have Chromebooks thanks to a one-to-one initiative, in which each student has his or her own Chromebook starting in middle school. Davis of Futuresource said between 20% and 30% of US classrooms have similar one-to-one programs. </p><p>Muir has used Angel, Blackboard, Canvas, and other education apps, but says Google is just better.</p><p>"I can edit a Google Doc on my phone," Muir went on. "I can connect with Google Classroom on my phone no matter where I am. There are a lot of options and accessibility. It makes it so easy. Everything is there."</p><p>According to Rochelle, the G Suite for Education product manager, Google created Google Classroom as a response to educators using Google Docs as a collaboration tool among other teachers and for their students.</p><p>Google Classroom doesn't address every classroom need. Muir still uses Genesis to record grades, attendance, and higher-level demographic and conduct information. Its simplicity is part of why it's won over so many teachers, Williams of Gartner Research said.</p><p>"It was hugely popular because it was just so darn simple," Williams said. "Anybody could pick it up and understand what it was for and use it."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/90580388@N05/29159314590/in/photolist-LqH7kh-nXjqh7-SV8XzF-ELvMyd-LAmEmY-RyJqVB-rumLXB-Hb2AB3-vXqQiq-Cd1ajh-H3UNZa-22xPU1S-RyJqFP-BhNAgm-FA6h8g-LP6jeY-KUZpQE-A27qPt-zj19uJ-KUZmjw-LK4mpx-Kdqfw1-yDK8c4-qzUQvY-LP6ggd-LK4nz8-yDK7YZ-LGCEFW-LqH7Vf-LK4o9z-tkn27N-JGZBKm-yDK8HK-tBD8zS-KVfo6M-KAFhP1-tBWEbv-rV8sQJ-M3DTPg-Jqdn4w-Kdqf3W-KVbkYD-KdqjN7-JH5wF2-M5v1gE-HD3XbG-PvBF6h-Ms6jEF-PvBFT9-JGZBem">BUF Simrishamn/Flickr</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Jennifer Guzio, a teacher at Parsons Elementary School in North Brunswick, New Jersey, said Google Classroom is incredibly easy to use, particularly because she already had a Gmail account. That familiarity with Google products is good for tech-averse educators, she said.</p><p>"I know a lot of teachers who are overwhelmed by the technology and feel a little lost," Guzio told Business Insider.</p><p>But one benefit overshadowed all the rest, Wagner of Education Reviews said. "It was free. You cannot [overstate] how important that was for Google Classroom's success."</p><p>Digitizing classrooms is expensive. Driskell said that Arlington purchased Chromebook carts, allowing one laptop for every student, because it was "an affordable option."</p><p>Alton said the Lee County School District is using more free content, such as Khan Academy, and that its spending on technology has increased over the years. It has 70,000 Chromebooks in the district.</p><h2>Google's motives are 'clear,' but teachers use it anyway</h2><p>Joanna Petrone, a middle-school English teacher in the Bay Area, uses Google Classroom every day, but finds the tool "a little creepy."</p><p>She said she feels that with Google's <a href="https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/certification">teacher-certification programs</a> and <a href="https://teachercenter.withgoogle.com/resources/general/details?key=ahpzfmd3ZWItZWR1LXRyYWluaW5nLWNlbnRlcnIcCxIPR2VuZXJhbFJlc291cmNlGICAgPiI8Z4KDA">suggested curriculum plans</a>, the company is overstepping certain legal boundaries. While including corporate messaging in schools is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/education/16naming.html">typically met with resistance</a>, Google for Education liberally includes its branding in <a href="https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en">digital citizenship courses</a> that several teachers told Business Insider they had their students take.</p><p>So through Classroom, Google can acclimatize millions of children to its products.</p><p>"It's pretty clear what motive Google has," Williams at Gartner Research said. "This is not a product they're selling; this is not a commercial product. It's getting lots of people very used to working in a Google environment."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/90580388@N05/29412610026/in/album-72157673395234815/">BUF Simrishamn/Flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">Nearly 60% of devices shipped to US classrooms in 2017 were Chromebooks, according to Futuresource Consulting.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Even teachers who feel squeamish about the product don't have an option but to use it. Chromebooks are the technology furnished in Petrone's district, while Chiappone of Piscataway said he was required to use Google Classroom in his previous district.</p><p>"It's not our choice what software we use," Chiappone said. "Every school district will purchase a license for specific software. We can't really go and say, 'I'm going to go use this other software,' because just about everything has a subscription fee."</p><p>Above all, teachers said they were already strapped for time and energy. There simply aren't enough hours in the day to ponder how their district-provided software might be affecting them and their students.</p><p>"There is a bit of a mistrust to Google in some way from the teacher standpoint because it is such a large corporation offering everything for free," Wagner said. "They know there's a manipulation at work, they are aware that there's a manipulation, but no one really knows to what end."</p><p>He added, "But while we ponder these overarching questions, teachers still have to get things done."</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Google stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/GOOG-Quote"> here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/so-much-co2-planting-trees-cant-save-us-2017-5">There's so much CO2 in the atmosphere that planting trees can no longer save us</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Teachers love Google's free education products, but worry they're being lured into a more sinister plan

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Twitter" title_caption="Kayvon Beykpour, co-founder of Periscope" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55140b11ecad047274fff1da-960/periscope%20founder.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></div><p></p></div></p><h3><strong>What are Periscope's key features?</strong></h3><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Some of Periscope's best features are hearts and notifications. Hearts can be sent from viewers to broadcasters as a show of appreciation for what's being streamed, like a virtual round of applause. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">And we're not just talking one heart. A 3-minute broadcast can yield hundreds of hearts from just a few viewers (Beykpour sent more than 40 hearts during one of my broadcasts). </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Push notifications are also well executed on Periscope. You'll receive one anytime someone you follow starts a livestream, or anytime someone you follow recommends a livestream so you can tune in.</span></p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div><br /></strong></p><h3><strong>How Periscope works:</strong></h3><p>When you open the app, you'll see three icons at the bottom: a TV, a camera, and a group of people. The group of people takes you to a screen where you can see other Periscopers and choose to follow them.</p><p>Here, you can see a bunch of Periscope beta testers, including TechCrunch Editor in Chief Alexia Tsotsis and Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>If you click on the camera icon, you'll be able to start a broadcast. Just type in what you're seeing to name the broadcast (for example, I made one titled: "Tour Business Insider, where scoops break and snacks are eaten.")</p><p>Then you can either hit the lock button and invite select friends to watch or share the link to your Twitter followers who can tune in on their desktops. You can also broadcast to everyone on Periscope. It's pretty nerve-wrecking!</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>That's pretty much it. There are a few extra bells and whistles, but the experience is easy to grasp. The hardest thing about Periscope is figuring out what to say and stream.</p><h2><strong>What's Twitter's plan for Periscope?</strong></h2><p>Twitter is letting Periscope continue to operate independently, with its own team, brand and headquarters. Both Periscope and Twitter want the same thing: to be the pulse of what's happening around the world in real time.</p><p>Belsky believes Periscope will be a "huge part" of Twitter's future.</p><p>"The concept of what I call 'live mobile immersion' will enable people to eye-witness news as it happens, see sporting events from the sidelines, see behind the scenes of anything official...its huge," he says.</p><p>Chris Sacca is a renowned tech investor whose early investment in Uber made him a billionaire. He isn't invested in Periscope, but he has been using the app in closed beta. He agrees with Belsky - the app is bound to shape Twitter's future.</p><p>"When I first saw Periscope, I loved how immediate and intimate it was," he tells Business Insider in an email. "There is no longer any distance between me and the people I am watching...Twitter owns real-time and there is nothing more real-time and engaging than live video. This is the future of Twitter."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o2OGM3czpWcydnvhjbkDBd6feXPuExiD" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

What it's like to have Twitter buy your startup before it's even launched for ~ $100 million: Meet Twitter's new prized possession, Periscope

<p id="docs-internal-guid-0-9fc479-773b-e971-a04c-a4b4d7d8b6b4" dir="ltr"><div class="image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source">Paul Kane/Getty Images</p></div></div></div>In 1966, a dyslexic 16-year-old boy dropped out of school. With the help of a friend, he founded a magazine for students and made money by selling advertisements to local businesses. With only a <a href="http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/04/05/5-bootstrap-ways-to-fund-your-startup/" target="_blank">little bit of money</a> to get started, he ran the operation out of the crypt inside a local church.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Four years later, he was looking for ways to grow his small magazine and started selling mail-order records to the students who bought the magazine. The records sold well enough that he built his first record store the next year. After two years of selling records, he decided to open his own record label and recording studio.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He rented the recording studio out to local artists, including one named Mike Oldfield. In that small recording studio, Oldfield created his hit song "Tubular Bells," which became the record label's first release. The song went on to sell more than five million copies.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Over the next decade, the young boy grew his record label by adding bands such as the Sex Pistols, Culture Club and the Rolling Stones. Along the way, he continued starting companies: an airline business, then trains, mobile phones, and on and on. Almost 50 years later, more than 400 companies were under his direction.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Today, that young boy who <a href="http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/07/31/why-we-wont-need-college-in-15-years/" target="_blank">dropped out of school</a> and kept starting things despite his inexperience and lack of knowledge is a billionaire.</strong> His name is Sir <keyword id="58954" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Richard-Branson">Richard Branson</keyword>.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">How I met Sir Richard Branson</h2>
<p dir="ltr">I walked into the conference room in Moscow, and Branson was sitting in a chair 10 feet away from me. There were 100 other people around us, but it felt like we were having a conversation in my living room. He was smiling and laughing. His answers seemed unrehearsed and genuine.</p>
<p dir="ltr">At one point, he told the story of how he started Virgin Airlines, a tale that seems to capture his entire approach to business and life. Here's the version he told us, as best I can remember it:</p>
<p dir="ltr">I was in my late 20s, so I had a business, but nobody knew who I was at the time. I was headed to the Virgin Islands and I had a very pretty girl waiting for me, so I was, um, determined to get there on time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">At the airport, my final flight to the Virgin Islands was cancelled because of maintenance or something. It was the last flight out that night. I thought, "this is ridiculous," so I went and chartered a private airplane to take me to the Virgin Islands, which I did not have the money to do.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Then, <strong>I picked up a small blackboard, wrote "Virgin Airlines: $29" on it, and went over to the group of people who had been on the flight that was cancelled</strong>. I sold tickets for the rest of the seats on the plane, used their money to pay for the chartered plane, and we all went to the Virgin Islands that night.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">The habits of successful people: What makes the difference?</h2>
<p dir="ltr">After speaking with our group, Branson sat on a panel with industry experts to discuss the future of business. As everyone around him was filling the air with business buzzwords and talking about complex ideas for mapping out our future, Branson was saying things like, "Screw it, just get on and do it." Which was closely followed by, "Why can't we mine asteroids?"</p>
<p dir="ltr">As I looked up at that panel, I realized the person who sounded the most simplistic was also the only one who was a billionaire. Which prompted me to wonder, "What's the difference between Branson and everyone else in the room?"</p>
<p dir="ltr">Here's what I think makes all the difference:</p>
<p dir="ltr">Branson doesn't merely say things like, "Screw it, just get on and do it." He actually lives his life that way. He drops out of school and starts a business. He signs the Sex Pistols to his record label when everyone else says they're too controversial. He charters a plane when he doesn't have the money.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>When everyone else balks or comes up with a good reason for why the time isn't right, Branson gets started.</strong> He figures out <a href="http://jamesclear.com/how-to-stop-procrastinating" target="_blank">how to stop procrastinating</a> and take the first step - even if it seems outlandish.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Start now</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Branson is an extreme example, but we could all learn something from his approach.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>If you want to summarize the habits of successful people into one phrase, it's this: successful people start before they feel ready.</strong> (<a href="http://clicktotweet.com/7i8_8" target="_blank">Click here</a> to Tweet this idea.)</p>
<p dir="ltr">If there was ever someone who embodied the idea of starting before they felt ready to do so, it's Branson. The very name of his business empire, Virgin, was chosen because when Branson and his partners started, they were "virgins" when it came to business.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Branson has started so many businesses, ventures, charities and expeditions that it's simply not possible for him to have felt prepared, qualified and ready to start all of them. In fact, it's unlikely he was qualified or prepared to start any of them. He had never flown a plane and didn't know anything about the engineering of planes, but he started an airline company anyway. He's a perfect example of why <a href="http://jamesclear.com/chosen-ones" target="_blank">the "chosen ones" choose themselves</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">If you're working on something important, then you'll never feel ready. A side effect of doing challenging work is that you're <a href="http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/10/02/the-true-secret-to-business-success/" target="_blank">pulled by excitement</a> and pushed by confusion at the same time.</p>
<p dir="ltr">You're bound to feel uncertain, unprepared and unqualified. But let me assure you of this: what you have right now is enough. You can plan, delay and revise all you want, but trust me, what you have now is enough to start.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It doesn't matter if you're trying to start a business, lose weight, write a book or achieve any number of goals. <strong>Who you are, what you have and what you know right now is good enough to get going.</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr">We all start in the same place: no money, no resources, no contacts, no experience. The difference is that some people - the winners - choose to start anyway.</p>
<p dir="ltr">No matter where you are in the world and regardless of what you're working on, I hope you'll start before you feel ready.</p>
<p><em>James Clear writes at <a href="http://jamesclear.com/" target="_blank">JamesClear.com</a>, where he uses behavior science to help you master your habits, improve your health and do better work. For useful ideas on improving your mental and physical performance, <a href="http://jamesclear.com/newsletter" target="_blank">join his free newsletter</a> or download his 45-page guide on </em><a href="http://jamesclear.com/habits" target="_blank">Transforming Your Habits</a><em>.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. <a href="http://blog.brazencareerist.com/sign-up-for-our-weekly-newsletter/" target="_blank">Sign up today!</a></em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Read more posts on <a href="http://blog.brazencareerist.com/">Brazen Life »</a></strong></p>

The Biggest Takeaway From Sir Richard Branson's Rags-to-Billionaire Success

<p></div><p></p></div></br></em>Richard Branson, one of the most exuberant and successful entrepreneurs of the last 50 years, stopped by our offices last week. As the conversation below suggests, one of his greatest strengths may be his ability to grasp all that's thrilling and inspiring to people, be they his customers, his employees or anyone he happens to meet. The following has been edited for clarity and length.</em></p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Henry Blodget</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">: Most management gurus preach the virtue of focus. They'll say you have to focus on one thing, learn how to do it great, crush everybody else. How does Virgin succeed doing dozens of things in dozens of industries?</span></p>
<p><strong>Richard Branson</strong>: It's interesting. When we started diversifying from student magazines to records, from records to airlines, there were big headlines saying, "Will Branson's balloon burst? He's stretching the brand too far." <strong>Fortunately, we ignored them. We built up what I would call a "Way of Life" brand, a brand that has overcome my frustrations in lots of different areas.</strong> I hated flying on other people's airlines, so I thought we could create an airline that we enjoyed flying on. I was frustrated by the way the banking system works, so let's create the friendly bank that I'd like to go to, and so on. And if we hadn't done that, 50 years later, we would not be in business today.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Because our original business was the record business. The record business has imploded, record shops have disappeared. So by diversifying, we've I think had the last laugh. </span></p>
<p><strong>HB:</strong> But each of these businesses is very hard, very competitive. Even if you have a macro idea for a great airline, how do you actually execute it while then also building a space tourism company, a cola company and the many other companies that you're doing?</p>
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<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">RB</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">: Let's take Virgin Atlantic as an example. I was trying to fly from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands, and I got bumped off an American Airlines flight. I was desperate to get there. I had a beautiful lady waiting. So I went out, I hired a plane, I was 28 years old. Came back with a blackboard, wrote on it: Virgin Airlines, 29 dollars, one way. And I filled it with all the people who'd been bumped. When I got there, somebody said, "Sharpen up the service a bit and you might be in the airline business."</span></p>
<p>I thought there was no point in going into the airline business unless we could be by far and away the best airline. We got one secondhand 747. We were competing with British Airways and about 18 other American carriers. And by creating something really special, we survived. In fact, every single one of the American carriers we were competing against disappeared, went bankrupt. And the reason for our survival was we just had magical stuff, we had magical service, and people enjoyed the experience with Virgin Atlantic.</p>
<p><strong>HB:</strong> And how do you keep the focus over the years, while you turn your attention to other things?</p>
<p><strong>RB</strong>: I learned very early on the art of delegation. The best bit of advice I think I can give to any manager of a company is <strong>find somebody better than yourself to do the day-to-day running. And then free yourself up to think about the bigger picture. </strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">By freeing myself up, I've been able to dream big and move Virgin forward into lots of different areas. And it's made for a fascinating life.</span></p>
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<pre><strong>WATCH: Branson On Staying Focused</strong></pre>
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<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>HB:</strong><span> </span></strong>Fascinating! So what would your advice be for us? We started Business Insider seven years ago. We were very nearby, three of us writing in the loading dock of another company. It's been very successful, 200 people now, but all these huge companies want to kill us. What's your best advice for us - and for me?</p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">RB</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">: (Laughs.) I'm not sure you need any advice. The feedback I get is that you're doing spectacularly well. When I arrived here, I saw five people and I thought, "God, how are they managing to achieve that with five people?" Then I came around the corner and there's 200 other people. You're offering a great service. People are tuning in. So continue to find great people, continue to do what you're doing. And do it better than your rivals. I know that's easier said than done, but you seem to be getting it bang on.</span></p>
<p><strong style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;">HB:</strong><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;"> You said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. In other words, it's much more important to have a great company culture than the perfect strategy. Why is that, first of all, and then second, how do you build a great culture?</span></p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left"><div class="image"></div><p></p></div><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">RB</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">: </span></strong></strong></strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Don't take yourself too seriously. </span>Realize that the people who are working with you, this is their life. You know, 80% of their time is spent at work. Make sure that they're proud of what they're doing,<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> that they're enjoying what they're doing. I know it's difficult to take 200 people out for a drink in the evening, but you know ...</span></p>
<p><strong>HB:</strong> We're bringing the drinks in!</p>
<p><strong>RB</strong>: Well, then occasionally maybe take them down to the pub, if you have a local pub. Make sure there's time for partying, time for celebration. You've got a lot to celebrate about; share that celebration <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">with your team. I'm sure you do, but you know, offer lots and lots of praise, bring out the best in people. Look for the best in people. People don't need to be told when they've done something wrong - they know it.</span></p>
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<pre><strong>WATCH: Branson On Inspiring Teams</strong></pre>
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<p>If you look for the best, they'll overcome their negative side and they don't want to let you down. But if people are jumping down people's throats all the time, in the end, they'll just shrivel up like a flower shrivels up that's not watered.</p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">HB:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> How important is luck in building a great business?</span></p>
<p><strong>RB:</strong> I think luck certainly plays a part in it, because there are lots of people out there who've worked enormously hard who haven't been successful. But you know the old saying, by working hard, by making the right moves, you can create your own luck, I think. But certainly luck plays a part. I've been lucky to have survived balloon trips, boating trips, you know, a lot of rather foolish things in my life, so I was definitely born under a lucky star.</p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">HB</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">: Your friend Elon Musk had an interesting thing to say recently. "I like Richard but," I think his exact quote was, "technology is not your whack." He makes technology; you use technology to create better experiences. What do you think about that?</span></p>
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<pre><strong>WATCH: Branson On Elon Musk</strong></pre>
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<p><strong>RB: </strong>Well, I hope we're about to prove him wrong in that. I mean, I would not be able to change a sparking plug and I would not be able to fly a spaceship or build a rocket <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">or whatever. But what I am good at doing is finding brilliant people and surrounding myself with brilliant people. And you know, before Christmas, we'll start to go into space. Earylish next year, I'll be going to space with my kid Sam. I would love to have my daughter, Holly, with me, but she's pregnant. And then we're going to start a whole new era of sending people to space.</span></p>
<p>We're building our own spaceships shaped as airplanes. That means that one day we'll be able to transport people across the earth in spaceships. We're going to be able to put thousands of small satellites into space. So at the moment Elon and I are in different areas, but there will come a time, I'm sure, where we'll overlap. He's done something extraordinary - I think our team has done something extraordinary, as well.</p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong><em><em><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></em></em></strong>HB:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> And are you scared to do that? Especially with your son?</span></p>
<p><strong>RB:</strong> Oh, look, I'm not going to take Sam to space until we're 100% sure that we've got it right. And that's why the program has taken three years longer than we'd hoped. But we believe we're there now. The rocket is performing beautifully. We have lots more test flights before we go. We'll actually put the spaceship into space before the end of this year, where there'll be a number of flights into space before I take him. But, I'm not going to put him up there or our customers up there until we really feel we've got it absolutely right.</p>
<p><strong>HB:</strong> You mentioned the possibility of flying folks to different parts of the earth through space. Is that the ultimate goal here - it's not tourism, it's to build a trans-world transportation system?</p>
<p><strong>RB: </strong>It's both. There are millions of people out there who would love to become astronauts, who'd love to go to space - they'd love to look back at this wonderful world from space. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">That will be the engine that will enable us then to develop spaceships to transport people around the world at tremendous speeds in an environmentally friendly </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">way. </span></p>
<p><strong>HB</strong>: Everyone looks at your life, my goodness, it's just one heroic success after another amazing accomplishment. Tell us about a time that you failed, and how did that make you feel?</p>
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<pre><strong>WATCH: Branson On His Biggest Mistake</strong></pre>
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<p><strong>RB</strong>: (Laughs.) I think our most notable failure was thinking that we could knock Coca-Cola into the number two position. For about a year, we thought we were going to pull it off. We launched Virgin Cola. We were outselling Coke and Pepsi in the UK. We thought we'll bring it to America, we arrive with a Sherman <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">tank. We went to Times Square. This was before 9/11. We'd rigged up the Coca-Cola sign in Times Square with what looked like explosives, lots of smoke and everything. And we fired the Sherman tank at it. Anyway, it was a good laugh. We rolled the tank over tons of coke cans; Coca-Cola was splashing everywhere. We were on a high. Anyway, Coke had bigger tanks. And our cola was not exceptionally better, and therefore we didn't have that edge to deal with their counterattack. And suddenly Virgin Cola was disappearing from all the shelves, as retailers became very rich from Coke coming in, lavishing them with deals and resources.</span></p>
<p>So, the moral of the story is, if you do something, make sure it's a hell of a lot better than your competitor, and when BA tried that trick with us, Virgin Atlantic survived. And it cost BA a lot of money. So, you know, quality in the end wins out, or should win out.</p>
<p><strong>HB:</strong><span> So how did you feel when you realized Virgin Cola was dead, or was going to be?</span></p>
<p><strong>RB:</strong> By then I had moved on to other projects. I think in life the key thing is just to fight really hard to make sure something survives. If it looks like you've done everything you can to avoid failure, just move forward, move on and learn from it. And that's what we did then.</p>
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<p><strong>HB:</strong> Do you have any moments of self-recrimination or doubts or suddenly, "I thought that I was invincible and now I've been laid low," or any moments where you have to pick yourself up, or is it just sort of "next thing"?</p>
<p><strong>RB:</strong> No, honestly. People do not mind people who try things and fail. If you're a good entrepreneur, you're not going to succeed in every single thing you try. You've got to try to succeed at more things than fail, but the public doesn't mind people who go out and take on the big companies. And if <span>they fail in one, then move on in another one, in the end, you don't lose their support and the brand doesn't get damaged. I supposed I'm quite good at - you know, we have so many things happening - moving on and being positive. </span></p>
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<p><strong>HB:</strong> You recently stopped eating beef because cattle raising is very tough on the planet. Yet, you run an airline, which is one of the roughest things, as I understand it, for the environment. How do you balance that, and what do you think individuals should do? Pretty much everything we do is bad. How should we each change; how should businesses change?</p>
<p><strong>RB:</strong> Yes, I was criticized by an environmentalist last week for expanding my airline at the same time I'm trying to address climate issues. The truth is that even the most avid environmentalist flies in airplanes to get to conferences to talk about saving the world. What is important is that we can try to balance our books and more. We're working with a company called LanzaTech that's based in New Zealand, and they've come up with a way of turning the waste product that goes out the chimneys of steel plants and aluminum plants into jet aviation fuels.</p>
<p>So rubbish that would otherwise be up in the sky goes through a process and comes out as jet aviation fuel, and Virgin Atlantic will be the first customer of LanzaTech. We're working with other companies that are trying to create algae-based and isobutanol-based fuels for planes. That, to me, is the way to deal with this problem. Not to just have every plane grounded, because I don't think it's realistic.</p>
<p><strong>HB:</strong> You seem to be very excited these days about little satellites. W<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">hat's the promise there?</span></p>
<p><strong>RB: </strong>An array of little satellites around the world can make sure that the two and a half billion people who don't have mobile phone access or Wi-Fi access or internet access will be able to get it.</p>

<p>And Virgin Galactic is unique in dealing with that, because little satellites will start falling out of the sky in five years' time. So you've got 15,000 little satellites around the world, you're going to get a call on a Tuesday and say five of the satellites have fallen out. Normally you'd have to wait a year for a big rocket to go up and disperse those satellites back to that place. With Virgin Galactic, we can just take off with two hours' notice. Drop off those little satellites, send them into orbit, they'll go to their respective places and replace them. So, there's tremendous potential, I think, for Virgin Galactic to transform that sector.</p>
<p><strong>HB:</strong> In addition to creating so many companies and non-profits, you have this amazing life of adventure. I think a lot of people who are running companies or in business feel like the answer is to work 18 hours a day, your competitor is trying to kill you, you need every minute that you can put into that. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">How do you do all this amazing stuff and still have time to fly across the Pacific, do all these other things that you do?</span></p>
<p><strong>RB</strong>: By delegation. By knowing that if my balloon goes down tomorrow, I have a fantastic team of people who will keep Virgin on the road. I think the adventure side of me has helped give Virgin an adventurous brand feeling and put Virgin on the map on a global basis, which has really helped us be able to take Virgin into new areas.</p>
<p>It's been great fun as well, and some people would say very foolish, because there were certainly some risky minutes in those adventures. But I'm a great believer that saying yes is a lot more fun than saying no. </p>
<p><strong>HB</strong>: In addition to being the global ambassador for your brand, what is the primary work that you do? You conceive the idea, hire the best people, and then you step back? <span><br /></span></p>

<p><strong>RB</strong>: Yes. I'll dive in when there's problems. I'll help put Virgin on the map on a global basis. I'll help conceive new areas for Virgin to move into. And work pretty hard on all those areas. And then there's the other side, which is important - you know, I'm 64 - that is to have fun, keep fit. So I'll kite surf, I'll play tennis, and I'll swim, I'll find enjoyable ways of keeping fit. And that doesn't just apply to 64-year-olds - that should apply to 18-year-olds, 20-year-olds. </p>
<p>It's really important to find an hour or two to a day to make sure that you keep healthy, keep fit. It's very easy just to forget that aspect. And if you're feeling really good and fit, I think you can get two or three extra hours a day of hard work in as well.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
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<pre><strong>WATCH: The Full Business Insider Interview With Richard Branson</strong></pre>
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