Finally, I created class blogs using classpress.com. It was an excellent learning experience. Our students are so…. knowledgeable because they have used FaceBook and MySpace, I don’t have to tell them much. However, I did find that I had to make rules for classroom use and visiting video sites, etc. I created a contract that the students had to sign. It went over very well.
Archive for Uncategorized
Back with more
It’s been a while since I’ve had time to post to my blog. I’ve taken a graduate networking class since my last post. It was perhaps one of the most useful classes that I’ve taken so far. I did a long report on the advantages and disadvantages of Bluetooth. One of my friends recently bought a new Acura with Bluetooth capabilities. She said, she was going to have to go buy a Bluetooth cell phone. Hee, hee!! Goes to show how little the average citizen knows about Bluetooth. Bluetooth is simply a short range wireless network. It was a satisfying experience to be able to educate my friend as I know that she’s a person who uses e-mail sparingly and uses the Internet to make hotel and travel arrangements. The problem with being older is that, unless you use a computer for employment or are a person who is naturally inquisitive about the latest and greatest technologies, you can’t possibly keep up with the ever changing technology. It makes me so glad that I’m in graduate school and never seem to stop learning.
I’m now taking a statistics course. But it has a new twist. It’s geared toward the everyday use of statistics in standardized testing. I took a statistics course in another graduate program that was all mathematics. We never used it to actually interpret test scores, which is what we use statistics for in education. If you haven’t explored using EXCEL with statistics, DO! It’s great!!
I’ll add more later, after I’ve struggled through the statistics course. Learning is not always fun, but having learned it fun. That’s why I’ll never look at students as our customers using the business model of education. Customer satisfaction is NOT guaranteed in education.
Considering “The Rise of Crowdsourcing” by Jeff Howe
In reading “The Rise of Crowdsourcing,” I’m struck by the power of the Internet to abliterate someone’s career in the case of photographer, Mark Harmel. We are living in a fast changing world where jobs are being outsourced. Are we creating as many jobs as we’re eliminating? It is clear that our economy is a global economy as many of the jobs are being outsourced to individuals in other countries. By using technology, a company doesn’t even have to rent a building or create an office space. They can outsource the job to someone working at home on a computer in India or China.
Photography, video, and audio materials that used to demand an expert to create them for a high price can now be easily obtained from amateurs. While it’s a great source for individuals to share, it’s a nightmare for those who have had their career’s turned upside down.
The author doesn’t try to answer the question of right or wrong in the case of crowdsourcing. It is just food for thought and contemplation. How will social networking affect future career choices? It is abundantly clear that we as educators must prepare our students for the ever changing technological market place for which their future jobs will depend.
