Ditch the PowerPoint

From NPR:

About six months ago, a group of physicists in the U.S. working on the Large Hadron Collider addressed a problem they’ve been having for a while: Whenever they had meetings, everyone stuck to the prepared slides, and couldn’t really answer questions that weren’t immediately relevant to what was on the screen.

The point of the forum is to start discussions, so the physicists banned PowerPoint — from then on, they could only use a board and a marker.

“The use of the PowerPoint slides was acting as a straitjacket to discussion,” says Andrew Askew, an assistant professor of physics at Florida State University and one of the organizers of the forum at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois.

Could you ditch PowerPoint?

Would you?

Why we like music at work

Whether you’re listening to the driving beat of a Daft Punk song or the opening chords of a mellow Jack Johnson track, both have an effect on your brain that is not seen in any other animal.

When you listen to music, a part of your brain called the nucleus accumbens activates. This triggers the release of the ‘pleasure chemical’ dopamine, that lives in a group of neurons in your brain called the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA).

This pathway in the brain is called the Reward System and Dopamine is strongly associated with it.

Dopamine is the same chemical that gets released when you eat your favorite food or when you get a new follower on Twitter, causing you to want more, more, more.

via What Music Does to Your Brain While You Work.

Why Independent Schools Should Invest in Video Marketing

According to a 2012 survey by Noel-Levitz, 45 percent of college-bound juniors and seniors think videos are one of the best ways to learn about a campus location and community. Independent schools should also focus on videos as a means to market to prospective students.

Read More Why Independent Schools Should Invest in Video Marketing.

How to Be A Healthy Vegan

Plant-based and vegan diets are becoming recognized as healthier, more sustainable, and equally or more! delicious alternatives to the Standard American Diet. However, veganism doesn’t always equal a healthy lifestyle. Some people get by eating processed plant-based foods, but the healthiest vegans practice habits that really make them thrive.

Read more: How to Be A Healthy Vegan | Vegetarian Times.