As this semester is coming to an end, I want to talk about some of my takeaways from this class and what made this course unique. From the weekly class discussions to the guest speakers, I knew I was gaining knowledge I could apply to my professional career in each class section- something I couldn’t say about the majority of my other classes. Firstly, I want to talk about what I think made this class stand out the most from my other courses: the guest speakers.
Guest Speakers
It was truly a pleasure being able to learn from the guest speakers that Dr. Kane was able to bring in. The guest speakers provided many different perspectives on digital innovation and worked in a variety of industries, which helped the class gain a better understanding of how companies around the world view and incorporate technological advances. Also, the guest speakers gave our class valuable career advice as we prepare for the professional world. For example, the speakers gave suggestions to students looking to start their own tech company or trying to level up to become a C-suite executive.
My favorite guest speaker was Dennis Crowley, our first class speaker. Dennis caught my attention because of his entrepreneurial background and his thoughtful responses to questions from the class. Fortunately, I was able to ask Dennis during the presentation how he deals with investors and consumers who don’t believe in his product. He told the class that he had 32 investors say ‘no’ before receiving one ‘yes.’ Dennis also talked about how you must believe in your product before anyone else. Then, as your product develops, everyone will begin to believe in it due to “herd mentality.” My biggest takeaway from Dennis is that you create your own luck by being persistent and continuing to promote your company.
Getting to Know Everyone
I really enjoyed getting to know and interacting with everyone in the class through Twitter, blog posts, small groups, and class discussions. There were so many creative posts throughout the semester that it would be difficult for me to select one or two to talk about. At the beginning of this course, I did not think I would enjoy writing the class blogs. However, when I found an interesting topic to write about, it felt like I couldn’t write enough in my posts. Twitter was constantly filled with entertaining and educational content. I think our class tweets improved as we progressed through the semester from being solely about ChatGPT and AI to creative ways that companies are using digital innovation. Also, our class started discussing topics on Twitter in the comments. Under one of my Tweets concerning a Swiss company creating a hydrogen-powered passenger jet, Mary Ziegler, Connor Stephan, William Thomas and I discussed the potential of this plane to become an option for everyday public travel. Connor compared this concept to the fraudulent company Nikola with their hydrogen-powered semi trucks and warned that this aircraft company could be a similar scam. Regarding the small groups, our conversations allowed me to better grasp the concepts in the assigned videos/articles and talk more in-depth about class topics.
Lastly, I want to say thank you to Dr. Kane. This class provided me with a new outlook on digital innovation and its importance in the coming years. I thought this class was very well-structured with all of its elements, and he constantly asked us for our feedback. To be honest, when I signed up for this course, I did not know if I would be able to be engaged and participate for the full three hours. Fast forward to today, this class never had a dull moment and ended up being one of my favorite college courses. Overall, I am very glad I decided to take this class during my final semester!
In the words of Dr. Kane, don’t forget to like and subscribe👍
Thank you all for an amazing class,
Spencer Myers
Haha, awesome application to the Twitter post concerning the hydrogen-powered, aircraft company! I remember researching the topic as well as seeing how dangerous hydrogen is if it is not handled properly. Great discussion and it was nice to meet you!
I agree with you, Spencer. The Twitter feed was a fun way to look at DIgital Innovation and occasionally moved into some funny, AI-related memes. I can’t forget MIrage and his twitter rampage of pictures from Cali-and-Titos! Lol. Great getting to know you, Spencer!
Great comments. I have been told that a helpful side benefit of this class is your ability to get to know the other students better, which I consider to be a plus. You never know where this network may benefit you in the future. I’ve enjoyed having you in the class!
Cannot agree with you more. The way that we all have been able to connect with each other is extremely unique to any university classroom I’ve been in before. I am glad this is the way I get to wrap up my college career, just wish it was the norm.
Great to get to know you Spencer! I certainly agree that it was awesome when we’d get a thread going in the Twitter. More encouragement of that for future classes Dr. Kane! I know I’ll still be active on our Twitter thread….
Hi Spencer, it is amazing the reach Dennis had for all of us. He was so well spoken and relatable despite being a successful entrepreneur. Dennis does not have to be kind or give us a second of his time, but he was one of the kindest people I have heard speak. It was great to be in his (virtual) presence and he clearly left a mark on all of us. I bet he doesn’t even know it. Amazing post and it was fun getting to know you! Good luck in the future.
Hey Spencer! I thought your final post was great and totally agree with you that Dennis was one of the best speakers we got to meet. I loved his energy and his outlook of business and life. I’m glad I got to hear from such wonderful speakers and can’t wait for the journey ahead.
Hey Spencer! I also wrote about some great Dennis Crowley takeaways in my blog. He really brought the best advice and energy for our first speaker. It was also so interesting reading about the different ways AI is being implemented into different industries in the world and how it can be in the future. I also agree that getting to know everyone in the class and have such educated discussions about innovation. It made me really grateful that I chose MIS to be my major.
Hi Spencer! I also thought that writing blog posts ended up being one of my favorite parts of this class, and it was great to explore new topics that we wouldn’t have thought about before. This class was amazing and I’m so glad I got to meet everyone in it. Great post!
Hey Spencer, I remember Dennis Crowley’s interview as probably one of my favorites as well. The way that he was so casual in talking about how hard it was for him to get traction going in the beginning of his business really stood out to me as well. He was definitely a great first speaker for the class.
I agree! Dennis Crowley is so motivational and I enjoyed hearing him speak to the class. He definitely made me realize that not every idea is acceptable by everyone at first. Good work and persistence will pay off. Great summary of the class! I hope you have a good summer!
Hey Spencer, I enjoyed reading your post and totally agree that Dennis was one of favorite guest speakers as well. With him being one of our first speakers, it made me realize that not everyone that is successful has to be speak in a formal manner. It was for sure eye opening and kept me relating each speaker back to Dennis.
Hey spencer this is a really good signing-off post. Feel as if a lot of the things you talked about are synonymous experiences for all of us that took this class.