The Forge: Episode 26 with Dave Gray and Troy Stein

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The Forge, as a show concept, has been about trying and experimenting, even if it was minor changes and adjustments. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t… but we always hope to try new things. This month is no exception, the good news is that regardless of the changes, we’re working to bring you great information that helps you to become a better communicator, screencaster, and visual thinker.

Here’s today’s show:

Don’t have time for the entire show: Watch this 1 minute 37 second overview: http://youtu.be/NKcC5Yz3IYQ

Two great segments are on their way to you. First is with Dave Gray (@davegray). Dave is one of the founders of VizThink, a co-author of the book GameStorming, a book focused on breaking down barriers, communicating better, and generating new ideas, insights, and strategies. And he’s also the co-author of The Connected Company, about how companies can change the way they work to be more connected with workers, customers and partners.

In our interview with Dave, we talk about his ideas for a visual alphabet, why it doesn’t matter that you can’t draw, how he makes his videos, and more. You can check out his visual alphabet video here:

We also chat with Troy Stein (@troystein), Product Manager for an experimental education Ask3 Screenshotapp for Apple iPad, called Ask3. For our educator friends out there, ever hear the phrase, “Ask three before you ask me?” as a way to get students to ask their peers before asking the teacher. Troy shows how the Ask3 team has taken that concept (and more) into app form to help teachers and students communicate. But beyond that, you’ll get to see how it can help students answer their classmates questions as well.

Do you have an idea for an interview? A product review? Want us to answer a specific question about a TechSmith product? We want to hear from you! Help us make the Forge the best and most useful it can be! Email us at theforge [at] techsmith.com or leave a note in the comment below.

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About Matt Pierce

Matt Pierce is the Customer Engagement Manager (Training, Technical Writing and Technical Support) at TechSmith. You can follow him at @piercemr He's many things to many people: husband, dad to 4, scout leader, instructional designer, lover of board games, and oh, so much more. His current favorite spot on earth is the area surrounding St. John's Newfoundland. His secret talent is interpreting board game instructions.
  • http://www.facebook.com/jill.p.viers Jill Parman Viers

    The visual alphabet video was cool. I’m always thinking I should be able to do some kind of drawing and graphics on my own, so it was nice to see that I could do it without being a great artist. I used SnagIt to capture the alphabet so I could see it again later!

    • piercemr

      HI Jill, glad you like it. I think the alphabet is interesting because it lays the foundation for the ability to create bigger ideas (i.e. letters are the foundation for words). Once you’ve gotten some good practice in with the alphabet, you might also want to check out Dan Roam’s interview on the Forge, if you haven’t seen it already (http://blogs.techsmith.com/the-forge/talking-visual-communication-with-dan-roam-episode-25-of-the-forge/). He talks about a ‘grammatical structure’ for visuals, so not only the drawing, but how to use shapes and symbols, really basic drawing to help clarify meaning.

      Thanks for using Snagit, too. Hopefully that screenshot works as a good visual cue.

  • Fred G.

    Nice to see new developments for the Mac but after all the years of PC users I feel that they also need to upgrade more things and come out with new apps for the PC Users. Seems like things are shifting to the Mac and that leaves us PC Users out of the ball game as some of us cannot just chock out that kind of money for a Mac or other Device. Just my opinion here and suggestion for TechSmith which is don’t forget your valuable PC Users and leave them behind. Thanks and keep up the great work.

    • piercemr

      Fred, I can definitely understand your sentiment. It seems like there a lot of iOS and Apple target products. I think Troy explains that for Ask3 they wanted to go where they knew they could experiment easily. In terms of tablets, I don’t know that Android is in the same place as the iPad (yet).

      In terms of other software, like Camtasia Studio, I know the team is plugging away on
      ‘what’s next.’ Camtasia Studio 8 really was a big jump forward, and a lot has gone into making it so much stronger of a product. We have not forgotten or left behind PC Users. We do however keep experimenting, trying, and at times failing – all for the purpose of learning how to help make better software for you and other great customers (past, present, and future).