Avatar Movie and Star Wars Movie--Following Inspiration

A few days ago a ninth-grade student in English class was watching the Star Wars movie for the first time.  The Avatar movie was just released last Friday.  James Cameron, director of the Avatar movie, said that the Star Wars movie, written and directed by George Lucas,  movie was an inspiration for the development of Avatar.

Were I a full-time English teacher this year, I would probably assign an extra-credit project to view both Star Wars and Avatar and to track evidence of Star Wars inspiration in the Avatar movie. 

WiFi--iPod Touch, iPad, More

The first release of Apple's iPad is the WiFi version that makes it act much like the iPod Touch--though with a 9.5 inch (25 cm) screen.

I have been using the iPod Touch and its WiFi capabilities since July, 2009.  I really appreciate the apps and its functionality.  I can use it for eMail, for surfing using Google and Safari, and for a variety of other apps, audiobooks, movies, photos, voice memos, etc.

GPS is one of the weakest applications on the iPod Touch.  I understand its functionality is much better on the iPhone.  When I provide the addresses, the iPod Touch uses Google Maps and provides me directions to get to a variety of addresses.

My GPS for the car (a TomTom) is not working properly and it's great to have the back-up via the iPod Touch.  One of the problems of the WiFi iPod Touch (and, potentially, for the current WiFi iPad) is that many of its apps work only when connected to the Internet via a WiFi network.  While there are many WiFi networks available, there is not yet universal access.

Global Positioning System--Finding Our Way, Finding Each Other

Global Positioning System (GPS)--consists of a network of satellites linked together to pinpoint locations on the planet.  GPS Navigation Devices--produced by Magellan, Garmin, TomTom, Nextar, and others with applications for the iPhone--allow almost everyone to take advantage of the GPS to navigate from place to place using maps.  Multiple users can even find each other using two GPS navigation units.  Many of these (like the iPhone) are hand-held devices and, while they may be used in vehicles, they can also be used by pedestrians.

The Astrolabe  and the Mariner's astrolabe allowed ancient astronomers and navigators to determine positioning using triangulation.  The GPS of today brings this process to pinpoint accuracy.

Christopher Columbus--Consulting and the Emerging Technology-Economy of the New World

Columbus Day, 2009--October 12, 2009--Christopher Columbus was a consultant for his times--and, perhaps, a model for today.  A short history--from my memory, so it is in part a fable--In that time (1490's), Italy had a "lock" on the overland trade routes to Asia--silks, spices, exotic goods of all sorts funnelled through Venice, Italy.  Many of the neighboring countries were frequently at war with each other and had lots of expenses and no money to pay for them, having taxed their inhabitants enormously.   Christopher Columbus, from Genoa, Italy, was working as a map maker in Portugal where navigators of sailing vessels were trained.  Christopher Columbus became convinced that he could find a "short cut" to the "Indies" (the name for the islands where exotic spices such as pepper came from).  (Remember, in those days before referigeration, spices could cover the taste of bad meat--a real problem for the dining table.)  He needed a sponsor and, after much sacrifice, got the Queen of Spain to sponsor his expedition.  In dreaming-up his short cut he (along with most other explorers of his time) didn't know about an entire continent that lay in his way before he could sail around the world to Asia and "the Indies." 

To make a long story short, Christopher Columbus didn't know where he was going, got someone to pay his way in advance, didn't know where he was when he arrived--or where he had been, though he could find his way home.  Instead of pepper, he brought chilies.  Instead of the Indies, he found the West Indies.  Instead of a short-cut to riches, he found (and claimed) some islands and, eventually, an entire continent on behalf of Spain.

He lived in a time of emerging economies--everyone needed new sources of money and finding a new continent became lucritive for all of the European countries around Spain--except for Italy.  The technology was also up and coming--newer magnetic compasses, newer ideas for sailing.  Finding countries who didn't have the kind of armament and weaponry that the Europeans commanded in the late 1400's.

Today we are in an emerging economy, exploring new technologies, looking for sponsors, and we have consultants who can provide advice--though we may not know where we are going or where we've been when we get there.  It sounds asthough Christopher Columbus may be a good role model for consultants of our times as well.

Creating Roadblocks to Sucess with Processes and Technology

Research has indicated that people becoming adults in the 21st century will change careers at least 12 times and jobs even more frequently.  In today's job markets, many organizations, Internet job boards, and headhunters rely on Internet-based search engines to scan resumes, sort through information, and prescreen job candidates from thousands of applicants.  Many of these organizations are creating roadblocks to success by the way they require job seekers to enter data into the systems they use for prescreening candidates. 

The University of Chicago's job profile process is looking for the last four jobs held--regardless of whether or not those jobs relate to the job posting they are trying to fill.  Many of the larger firms require a chronological resume and, potentially, a list of all previous employers to fill job openings using the technology adopted by the organization.

These same electronic screening software programs are not designed to make sense of functional resumes.  The University of Chicago and other organizations will have a hard time filling open positions when they trust the information generated by their own data collection systems.  These organizations place an over-reliance on outdated data collection and sorting systems that do not provide relevant information to decision-makers trying to fill these open positions.  Frequently positions remain open for months.

Using Technology to Influence--A Matter of Timing

Hollywood movies and movie stars had a positive influence on military recruiting efforts at the beginning of World War II.  They were also involved in supporting the troops in the wars and "police actions" following World War II. 

With the advent of the Internet, YouTube and TeacherTube, among other sites, are hosts for a series of video shorts promoting all kinds of things.

Today, Techsmith.com has three great products that I use--SnagIt, Camtasia, and Jing.  I am learning to use these products to produce my own promotional videos. 

I am now looking at using this technology to introduce new ideas to potential clients and to others so that they can quickly capture the vision of what I am trying to tell them.  I'm still learning how to be effective.  Examples such as Jimmy Stewart's promotional video can give me a good example of what a great video looks like--even with technology from 1942.

Accessing Technology--iPhones, iPod Touch, Notebooks, Netbooks, and Accessories

The iPhone and iPod Touch have changed access to technology in profound ways.  The applications (apps) created for the iPhone and iPod Touch provide access to a wide variety of applications that are also linked to Notebook and Netbook computers.

These applications can vary from a variety of games to mobile business applications including a variety of social networking applications.  The iPod Touch works with WiFi networks and the iPhone is currently on AT&T's wireless platform.

Families Keeping Up with the Speed of Technology

Today my 83-year-old cousin and his wife visited my 94-year-old mother in her retirement complex outside of Chicago.  Mom lives in a gated community and my cousin had not been in this area for more than seven years.  We spoke cell-phone to cell-phone to "guide them in" to the parking lot and up the stairs to Mom's apartment.  

They brought with them a scrapbook of my cousin-in-law's artwork spanning a 30-year career.  During our time together we spoke of an unpublished children's book that my cousin-in-law wrote and illustrated.  I am a registered electronic publisher even though I'm not presently publishing books.  They told me that they still have an electronic version of the book that we can probably bring up-to-date with technology, then submit for electronic publishing.  It would be great to give the public access to a book that has been waiting for publication for more than 20 years.

When they left to drive to their home several hours away, they left an important piece of paper that had been in the scrapbook.  Within 30 minutes of their leaving--long before they will have realized that the piece of paper had been left behind--I had scanned the paper and sent it off to them via e-mail, including links to several of the things we had talked about during the visit.

They'll get the e-mail when they get home, have the links to follow-up on our conversation, and can print a new copy of the important paper before they miss a beat.

The good news is that my 83-year-old cousin is active on e-mail and is staying up with all the technology.  That certainly makes communication at the speed of technology much more achievable.

Facebook is the social networking site used by many of my family members.  It's another way for us to keep in touch.

Surfing Waves of Change

Moving from "paradigm paralysis" to "paradigm shift" is not easy.  Rather than resisting change (paradigm paralysis), it is more fun to embrace change (the paradigm shift).  Surfing conveys the image of embracing powerful currents and learning to move with them.

The economy in the USA is undergoing a variety of transformations.  People looking for work need to stay abreast of the technology being used to manage employment.  When someone completes an online application for work, it is good to recheck it a few weeks later to see if the software has changed.  Updates may mean the difference between being hired and being passed over for that employment.

Beyond the relatively simple challenge of using software to complete applications, the jobs themselves are changing.  More changes are on the way.  Research on education has indicated that many students in K-12 schools are reading below grade-level and that the trend is both continuing and growing.  Since 1995, millions of dollars have been invested and thousands of interventions have been implemented to change these outcomes and the outcomes are still with us. (For more information visit http://joelmonty.wikispaces.com/research.)

Jobs themselves are changing and many of the people who are unemployed are becoming underemployed because funds are not available--and jobs are not available at the moment--comparable to the jobs they have left.

Surfing is a skill that needs to be learned.  Surfing waves of change requires a variety of skills to understand the changes taking place and to take charge of what we can control in order to surf these powerful waves.

How do we communicate value in a way that invites trust and openness?

The media is communicating that "our economy is coming back."  At the same time there is still double-digit unemployment.  The percent of growth of consumer buying (especially in the "back to school" season) was very low and was still growth.

As we invite others to collaborate and share value, we are challenged in choosing the most effective ways to build trust and openness with these people.  This can be even more challenging for business leaders in that many do not want anyone else to be aware that they could use some outside help.  (Actually, we all can--at least to gain more perspective and wisdom on the issues we are dealing with.)

Digital portfolios may be one way to build a bridge to communication.  Two of these digital portfolios are available at the website the title is connected to.  Even so, people need to go beyond the digital portfolios to begin to find the value that may be present in working with the professional offering the portfolios. 

This is a topic for discussion.  Blogs also serve as ways to get people more engaged with us and can lead to an increase of both openness and trust. 

Let's see what's next.

Keeping Current with Communication Technology--Challenging

My friend converted a Microsoft PowerPoint Show from his 2007 Microsoft Office software to a You Tube video using TechSmith's "Camtasia Studio" software.  He had voice over and the You Tube video looks great.

I've been working all day to get a narrated presentation converted from Adobe Presenter or Microsoft PowerPoint to be copied and played effectively using Camtasia or Apple's QuickTime and Microsoft MovieMaker.

After more than a half-day of working at it, I have nothing more than partially completed draft projects.  The challenge at the moment is the audio.  (I have recorded it a few times and want to use what I already have in place rather than recording it again.)

I'll master this soon--and the practice has given me great ideas for the kinds of digital movies I want to create for clients and students.  TechSmith's trial software is full-featured during the 30-day trial period.  That should give me time to understand its value before I invest in the full package.

I had feedback from TechSmith--creators of Camtasia--with a "work around" for the sound.  (Just use a cable with two 3.5mm male connectors between the headphones and the microphone jack, then adjust the playback on the computer and the "mic" on Camtasia to make sure the signal is "mostly green.")

I tried it and have three videos up and running.  I've put two up on YouTube and on TeacherTube (for those who cannot access YouTube from school.)  Go to my web page at http://www.joelmonty.net/profile/profile.htm for links to all of these.

Keeping Current with Technology Changes--Challenges to Communication

Creating web sites to share information becomes a challenge when the software used to post the information changes without notice.  For example, I used Adobe Presenter to share a presentation on my website in May and the software has changed (improved).  The old presentation no longer worked and I needed to recreate it and to post a revised copy on the website--done today (http://www.joelmonty.net/information_links/information_links.htm).

We need to keep revisiting what we have created to make sure that it is still accessible, especially as people are using a variety of web browsers.  As I begin to build more and more presentations, webinars, podcasts, and teleconferences, I will be using all sorts of new technology to make these accessible to as many people as possible.

It is always a challenge to keep things current and active, both in terms of content and in terms of the technology used to access the content.  Books were recorded and became audiobooks.  Audiobooks have been digitized and become eAudiobooks available for download.  Along the way the players and the software keep changing--much more rapidly that the transition of home-based audio from vinyl record to  cassette tape and CD to digital fines available on MP3 players, iPods, computers, etc.

Another dimension is to keep the content interesting with interesting graphics.  "Black and white" are boring.  Oops, I'll have to change the format of this blog pretty soon.

iPods and MP3 players for Education

This post came as part of a LinkedIn dialog in the "Faculty Room" group. Go to the link to view the group and all of the dialogs.

"iPods as Reading Tools" by Linda Bomar, L. (2006, May-June). iPods as reading tools. Principal, NAESP.org, pp. 52-53

Don't Turn 'Em Off, Tune 'Em In! (2007, September). NEA Today, 26(1), 17. Retrieved July 28, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1360186081).

I work with technology with both adults and school children. A literacy coach worked with the school district I was in last year and actually got the students to use text messages to improve their writing skills--and to get them totally hooked into his class.

Students love to explore the technology and, at various ages, many love to find porn or anything off-task--true in school and at work. Let's look at a "begin with the end in mind" perspective. If students don't learn to use technology appropriately in school, what do you think they'll do on the job after they finish school?

In the schools I worked in most recently, we did not have enough computers for all students. I had a variety of tasks for students to do on computers (see http://drm-ms-resources.wikispaces.com/). The school had firewalls and monitoring programs so that, for the most part, students had access to what they needed to work on.

While iPods and MP3 players were not used in school, I had students who read at a 3rd grade level able to quote the lyrics of some favorite songs. At the end of the year I was working with eAudiobooks--downloadable books that they could have on their iPods or MP3 players next to their music. The next task is to get them to listen to the books.

Technology is a part of our lives--whether or not we actually own the technology. MP3 players are becoming more and more widespread at lower and lower cost. When we can use the technology as a learning tool, it becomes much more powerful--and even becomes perceived by students as more relevant to their lives.

We do need to educate students and parents about how to be "safe" using technology. (See my "Learning Passport" wiki site--a link on the site I referred to earlier.)

Some observers report that our students have dwindling attendion spans. Our key as educators is to create engaging activities that students want to focus their attention on--and then make the engagement something they value and want to continue. Technology can help--if educators take the time to find out how to use it as a support tool rather than a distraction.