21apples

The Myth of "Keeping Up"

Posted by arvind s grover Tue, 23 May 2006 00:00:23 GMT

Creating Passionate Users did a wonderful post called, The Myth of Keeping Up, where they discussed the traps that we set for ourself by thinking we can “keep up.” We have a ton of stuff coming at us every day. E-mail, magazines, phone calls, web sites and more. Most of us pile these things up because we intend to review them. Somehow, we forget the lessons of “stuff” passed, where we never got to them. How frequently do you go through your magazines, emails, etc and just trash the old stuff? You have to, but you know that you will never get to them. Instead of letting these things build, feeling guilty about them, then tossing them anyway, you have to take a more proactive approach. You must prevent yourself from getting into the pile-up situations.

1) Read The Myth of Keeping Up and
2) read David Allen’s Getting Things Done, and get yourself organized. This book changed my life. The cover is totally tacky, but read this book

image from Creating Compassionate Users blog

Technorati Tags: Creating Passionate Users, David Allen, e-mail, Getting Things Done, GTD, junk, organization, stuff

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Free Phone Calls To USA and Canada, And That Is Just The Start

Posted by arvind s grover Tue, 16 May 2006 00:21:42 GMT

I am constantly amazed by Internet innovators. There are new killer applications coming out every day.

One great app that I have blogged about before is Skype. Alex Ragone and I use Skype to produce our Internet radio show on 21st century education (podcast feed, or listen live). We conference call each other (totally free) using the Skype software, and Alex’s computer streams it live on the Internet and records it for podcasting purposes. You can then listen live and chat with us and other listeners. All of this is done using the free Internet! (free as in speech, not free as in beer)

Today I got an e-mail from the good people at Skype telling me that now I can call anyone in the U.S. or Canada for free. All I need is my computer with my free Skype software. Unreal. They used to make you pay for that, now they are giving that for free as well. Not to mention you can call anyone in the world who has Skype for free. They are also working on free videoconferencing.

If you like what you read, make sure to help fight to keep the Internet as it it. The internet service providers are trying to legislate their way into ending free choice on the internet.

Technorati Tags: 21st century, Alex Ragone, education, free, Learning Blog, live, podcast, podcasting, freedom, radio, resources, software, students, teachers, teaching, Verizon

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Join Me for Live Webcast on Friday

Posted by arvind s grover Thu, 11 May 2006 02:45:19 GMT

Alex Ragone (Learning Blog) and I have jumped into the world of live audio webcasting. Don’t know what that is? Think of it as a radio show on the web, where you can listen, and also join the conversation by entering a chatroom. You can talk with other listeners, and talk to us directly. It is a really cool experience, and I hope you join us. We will be doing regular shows on education in the 21st century.

This week’s show is all about blogging. We will talk about how we got into blogging, and we will also give you practical ways to get your own blog going. We will discuss the impact of blogging on classrooms as well. You can tune in at Webcast Academy, Channel 1 on Friday (May 12) at 1:00pm eastern standard time. Once you start listening, join the chat session as well.

Not sure if you are interested? Listen to our first show podcast here. note: the file is kind of large, 17 megs. Hope to “meet” you on Friday.

Technorati Tags: Alex Ragone, blog, blogging, chat, ipod, Learning Blog, live, podcast, podcasting, 21st century, radio, Webcast Academy

Posted in future, resources, software, teaching | no comments | no trackbacks

Getting Spammed, Had to Limit Comments

Posted by arvind s grover Mon, 08 May 2006 03:25:35 GMT

My blog is getting splog (blog spam). It started off at about 1 every few days, nothing I couldn’t stay on top of. Now all of a sudden it is 10 a day, on different articles. What a pain. Annoying, unscrupulous website managers using my blog to promote their site. Selling strange stuff like chaise lounge chairs and cheap, illegal pharmaceuticals. So, until I can put some brakes on their splogging, I turned off comments on posts older than 15 days.

No doubt there is some software to put in place, so if any of you know your way around Typo (my blog software) anti-splog systems, let me know.

Technorati Tags: splog, software, spam, Typo

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Our Students Must Solve Problems

Posted by arvind s grover Thu, 04 May 2006 02:12:00 GMT

Computerworld magazine did a stellar interview of six professors asking them about the future of computer science programs and jobs. It is clear that more computer science jobs are being created in the U.S. than are being outsourced. The entire oursourcing fear mongering is unfounded, and is actually deterring talented students under false pretenses.

Why is this important? I think Professor Kenneth Birman from Cornell summed it up perfectly:

The importance of CS has never been greater. We’re discovering ways to build just about everything out of small, simple mechanisms glued together with software, so no matter what you do, CS tends to be inside. And the scope of this new CS is amazing: We’re at the center of the action in biology, nanotechnology, particle physics. If society is ever going to slash medical costs, CS will play the key role. I see CS as a sort of universal science. We’re beginning to pervade everything.

Some of the best points mentioned are about algorithms. We have huge speed of processing, that is great for menial tasks. But as we are living in a increasingly-complex world, there is a need for bigger and better algorithms. It is the real future of computer science and knowledge-based business. We need to be training our students to be problems solvers, not fact-repeaters. I advocate for computer science starting lower school and going all the way through college. The effect of technology on the world has been dramatic and it continues.

If your school does not have a computer science program, you must ask yourself why not? If your school does have a computer science program, you must ask yourself is it the right one? The professors in the article do a great job of explaining their vision for the upcoming computer science world, don’t miss it.

Technorati Tags: college, computer science, computer science, Computerworld, curriculum, education, future, Kenneth Birman, problem based learning, schools, university