Robert Pearl Starks

Robert Pearl Starks

Location: phoenix, arizona

About me

As Vice President of Product Development, I lead cross-functional teams of designers, developers, QA testers and product stakeholders to develop, launch, and improve products customers need and love. 

Previously, I've worked in a variety of leadership roles in education / learning & professional development. Through my experience, I've become accustomed to working across departmental silos and with various stakeholders (executives, end-users, faculty, staff, students / learners, alumni, parents, regulatory agencies, partners and employers) to facilitate collaboration and advance common goals. In my previous roles, I've advocated for student needs and driven organizational change that helped educators do their best work, students thrive in their careers, and employers connect with quality talent.

Despite different contexts, a common theme in my career journey has been to do work that contributes to a mission which improves people's lives. It's also always been important for me to work with an organization whose values align with my own. I'm a listener, empathizer, customer advocate, servant leader, and lifelong learner. I'm never satisfied with status quo, I constantly strive for "better," and I'm driven by genuine curiosity to solve complex problems.

“Work to become; not to acquire.” -Elbert Hubbard

Interests

social media, career development, training, higher education, web 2.0/3.0, career services, leadership, marketing

Skills

social media, marketing, training, consulting, management, strategic planning

Activity

EdTech Magazine interviewed CIOs who discuss tackling the cloud for use in Higher Education.

Highlights include: 

  • In higher education, clouds still raise concerns about risk.
  • A move to the cloud makes sense if there’s a chance to drive down costs and drive up functionality
  • Participants include Case Western Reserve University's Lev Gonick, Indiana University's Dennis Cromwell, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Thomas Hoover and Wake Forest University's Nancy Crouch

Higher Education institutions are seeing lower enrollments and students are seeing rising costs for their education.  Some institutions are building branch campuses around the world to expand the offering of their educational programs in response to the current challenges they face with lower enrollments.  While this sounds like an enormous opportunity to capture a global market of students eager to study at American Higher Education institutions, there are also challenges to going global.  A diverse panel of experts discuss the opportunities and challenges of expanding American Education abroad.  

Watch this Panel Discussion 

The Rise of Phoenix: For Profit Universities Shake Up the Academy is a radio documentary from American RadioWorks Documentary

For-profit colleges have deep roots in American history, but until recently they were a tiny part of the higher education landscape. Now they are big players. More than one in 10 college students attends a for-profit. The rapid rise of these career-oriented schools has provoked heated debate, opening up new conversations about the costs, quality and purpose of higher education. In this documentary, correspondent Emily Hanford examines the history and influence of the University of Phoenix, one of the nation's largest… >>>

@JMonroe :Hello Howard.  Can you elaborate on what you mean by your question?  

Great Podcast that highlights why employers are not happy with how prepared recent college graduates are for the job market.  

Social media is reorganizing the world as we know it.  It is changing the meaning of friend, building powerful virtual communities and even altering how we present ourselves to others.  This two part podcast discusses the impact social media is having on society and looks at new ways companies are seeking out, appealing to, and keeping their customers.  The positives and negatives of connectedness is discussed in these podcasts.

How Social Media is Shaping Us Part 1: 

 

How Social Media is Shaping Us Part 2:

Technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace.  In today’s world, using technology is just as fundamental as reading, writing and arithmetic; thus, technology integration in the classroom is as much about engaging students as it is about reinforcing much needed work skills.  What are some of the benefits of using technology in the classroom?

 

1.  Promote Collaborative Learning – Connective technologies enable massive-scale collaboration despite physical separation.  Social networking outlets allow learners to reach outside their circle of friends and communicate and collaborate with learners with different viewpoints, social constraints, and varied socio-economic levels.  Using social networks… >>>

Thank you for sharing your presentation Alfred Van Cleave! I have embedded it here for convenience to others who wish to review the presentation and to discuss it here in the community.

Jodi, You are on the right track. Strategically using social media is going to help expand your capabilities just as other technological innovations in the past have expanded our capabilities and have provided new tools to aid us in accomplishing our goals. Expanded networks and deeper relationships position you well to better assist students and can position students well to better compete in the market place. Because you have the right attitude, I have no doubt you will successfully implement multiple strategies that involve social media along with all other resources available to you. Robert Starks Jr.
Discussion Comment
Andrea, In what ways have you addressed the concerns of those who are afraid of social media because they are private people? Robert Starks Jr.

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