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

King Alexander, President of California State University and advisor to the President on educaiton affordability discusses the rising costs of higher education, an issue affecting all types of institutions.  This discussion demonstrates the relationships between costs, technology, salaries, market conditions, and other interdependent variables.  

Watch The Rising Costs Facing Higher Education on PBS. See more from SoCaL Insider with Rick Reiff.

This infographic describes the "fuss" over a strategy called the "Flipped Classroom"

I thought this was a nicely done video about the experiences and challenges of students and faculty with disabilities in higher educaiton.

 

 

Social media is all the buzz these days but equally fascinating as the explosion in technology we are witnessing is the explosion of innovation.  In the book, Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, author Clay Shirky says, “We are living through the largest increase in expressive capability in human history.”  Whereas this means there is an abundance of worthless content being created, there is also an explosion of creative ideas and social media is allowing those ideas to spread faster than ever.  Business ideas are no exception as we have seen many technology start-ups, each… >>>

Discussion Comment
Kelley, You have got it! "Build lasting relationships," and "represent our school as a school that cares about each student and their success." These statements are core to what social media is about. Your examples of tactics are wonderful - "congratulating them on a job, new baby, and any other life changing events" - you are getting personal and showing genuine, authentic care. That's the way you build lasting relationships. Can you share some of the benefits of the strong relationships you are forming and why these goals were established? Robert Starks Jr.
Discussion Comment
ruth, What ways are you intervening to combat these challenges? Can you share some of your most effective strategies with us? Robert Starks Jr.

Kelley, I noticed you said you are unsure of whether or not Twitter will work. I would challenge you not to think of what works in terms of what tools are used but rather what strategies are used. Imagine someone saying, I'm not sure if telephones would work at a vocational school - the question isn't whether a tool will work, it's for what do you want to use the tool and how will it be used to accomplish that purpose? It may or may not make sense to use for your particular needs, goals, or population but that's why… >>>

@LeWando,

I just responded to your forum posts in the course.  I am excited that you will be using what you learned in the classroom with your students.  I think it will benefit them greatly.  You can find me here in The Lounge if you need support as you start to implement things in your classroom.  Good luck!

LeWando, Great response! If you want students to learn more about their online brand, you can have them go beyond conducting a Google search on themselves. You may surprise them and ask them to calculate their online personal brand score. After they look at you perplexed, introduce them to these tools (After you familiarize yourself of course) 1. Online ID Calculator - http://www.onlineidcalculator.com/index.php 2. My Web Career - http://www.mywebcareer.com/ For a comprehensive list of Online Tools for Jobsearch and Professional Development, you may want to bookmark this page: http://careertipster.com/resources/improve-your-job-search-with-these-online-resources/ Robert Starks Jr.

LeWando, Heather and Dan are great to follow about professional development. Specifically, Heather focuses on Gen Y professionals and Dan is an expert in personal branding. Jay and Brian are social media experts. Make sure you construct your PLN in a concentrated area. They all have blogs which are great reads and of course, you can follow them on Twitter. If you do, I suggest considering two separate lists so that your social media experts are on one list and your professional development experts are on another. I highly recommend Brian Solis' books - he is one of my favorite… >>>

End of Content

End of Content