Teaching is About the Students

I thought you might be interested in seeing the following video clip. Aside from the remarkable performance of an obviously gifted young orator, it's a great reminder about the importance of the teaching profession.

Socialnomics

Here is another interesting video that talks about the explosive growth of social media. The message is more for businesses, but I think it has applicability for those of us in higher education as well. I'm seeing a rising level of consciousness on this topic in higher ed, but I don't think we've really caught on yet how much the world has changed around us. Enjoy.

I Think I'm an Edupunk

Just ran across a new term - "edupunk" in an article in Fast Company magazine. The article is entitled Who Needs Harvard and it discusses how the new open source model of technology is being applied to education. The article raises some great issues about the relevance of the traditional higher education model in a new world of distributed knowledge.

While Googling edupunk I ran across this video which I think does a really nice job illustrating the challenge we face in higher education. Not so much a challenge as a complete and total shift in how knowledge is acquired and disseminated. It's changing everything about the way education should work - but are we ready for it?

We Choose The Moon

If you haven't already seen it, you should check out We Choose the Moon - it's a recreation of the Apollo 11 lunar mission. It uses a wide range of media (web, streaming audio/video, twitter) and is broadcasting behind the scenes footage in real time exactly 40 years after it happened.

It's a great example of how modern technology can shed new light on a historic event. I can remember my Mom forcing me when I was 8 years old to watch the live broadcast of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. She told me that one day I would be telling my kids and grandkids that I saw it happen live. I don't remember what I wanted to do rather than watch it, but at the time it didn't seem like such a significant event. Thanks Mom!

West LA College Tech Fair

Yesterday I spoke at the West LA College Tech Fair. They bring in a series of speakers throughout the semester to update faculty on the use of technology. I already did my iPod Generation speech for them at their leadership retreat in November so they asked me to come up with something different. I titled my presentation "Technology is Supposed to Make Our Lives Easier - So Why Doesn't It?".

I think there are two main reasons - one is unrealistic expectations and the other is poor technology design. Technology can help us do some things really well, but it's not the ultimate silver bullet that will solve all problems. Those of us who design technological solutions need to remember that - and need to remember to put the user at the center of the solution.

In the second half I talked about the Getting Things Done (GTD) personal productivity process and demonstrated some cool (and free) web-based tools they could use to stay productive and reduce their stress at work.

I enjoyed the time at West LA, but the timing was unfortunate. Their president preceded my presentation with a discussion about their massive budget cuts - including the cancellation of the entire summer schedule. There were a lot of students in the audience concerned about their ability to maintain their full-time status, which has a big impact for many of them on their financial aid and veteran's benefits. For me it put a very human face on the budget situation and I'm grateful they still extended a warm welcome during a difficult time.

CACCRAO Conference

On Tuesday I spoke at the CACCRAO conference in San Diego and did two presentations. One was on MAP and Getting Things Done (GTD) and the second was my iPod Generation speech. I enjoyed the time with the group, and if you are reading this due to my numerous and shameful blog plugs, you can find the links in the right column of this page. Enjoy.

(And for everyone else, it stands for California Association of Community College Registrars and Admissions Officers).

iPod Gen at So Cal CEO Conference

Today I gave my iPod Generation speech at the Southern California CEO Conference. It was quite an honor to be asked and I really enjoyed my time with so many chancellors and presidents. I was impressed with how tech savvy a group it was, and I noticed a large number of iPhones in the audience. Who knew CEOs were so hip?

If you are reading this because you were at the conference, welcome to my blog. The iPod Generation links are in the right column. Enjoy!