WHAT are they?

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Lab Exercises, Re-imagined 

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The Max Labs provide an innovative hands-on enhancement to the classic “Intro to Systems” course, using good story-telling to engage iGen students.

 

The exercises are cast as blog postings by a girl named Max, a student who stumbles her way into a Silicon Valley startup, applying Salesforce platform technologies she’s learning in class.  

 

In her postings, Max relates the challenges she runs into and the solutions she figures out, and she gives step-by-step instructions so her “subscribers” can follow along.

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Max-imize your teaching

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Instructors love how the Max Labs can “concretize” course concepts in a fun & engaging way.

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Students with no tech background amaze themselves by creating their own mobile & web-based apps and database with triggers for automated workflows, etc.

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“Great job keeping me engaged. Fun!”

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“I like the backstories for each lab. Makes it more human & less of just instructions.”

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WHAT do students do?

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Students learn by doing these real tasks in just six 75-minute “episodes”

• create a database & manually add data

• build/configure/demo a mobile app (!)

• import external data w/record-matching

• create/configure data views, reports/stats

• analyze options using data visualization

• create a dashboard w/dynamic gauge

• build/implement data verification rules

• identify/correct data redundancy issues thru 3rd normal form modeling

• practice GUI schema manipulation

• implement data-merge email templates

• configure CRM for lead development

• create/provision new enterprise users

• collaborate using SF’s social channel app

• automate/implement a workflow process with business rules

• build a database-connected webform to collect leads & trigger workflows 

• create/issue a raw POST request to send data into a new record via API over HTTP

 

WHY the Max Labs?

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• No platform (Salesforce) knowledge/exp needed for students or instructors: built-in self-grading, self-support allows focus on conceptual learning

• Innovative “storified” approach engages iGen students w/humor & good story-telling (AIS Best Conf Paper on IS Education, 2016)

• Concretizes core concepts: Database, Process Automation, Enterprise, User Experience, Analytics, Mobile, CRM, Social Business, Cloud...

• Non-tech students build apps with no coding on Salesforce’s leading enterprise platform (Forbes - #1 Most Innovative)

• Students work in the cloud anywhere using any browser/computer anytime

• Six exercise/episodes: each fits into one class (75 min) or assign as homework

• Great for both F2F and online courses

• Easy to administer: self-contained PDFs include everything—students manage their own logins/passwords

• Smart grader app gives students instant feedback & explains fixes for any snags

• Almost free: students pay just $19.99 thru PayPal. All online. No bookstore hassle. 

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Schools Using Max Labs!

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• Temple University, York University, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, University of Arkansas, University of Hawaii, Lakehead University, UC-Colorado Springs and others since 2016