Video on your cell phone or Ipod

Forget about V-Blogs, IM's or even txt messages. We now have another way to stay in touch if that is what you call it. This is worse than when SONY came out with the walkman. There were plenty on accidents because people didn't hear the horns blowing or people talking to them. Then came the txt message, people can do without it whether they are on a date or having dinner.

Saturday night I went to an honoree dinner and the daughter of the honoree couldn't put the phone down. She didn't even hear her name mentioned by the parents in the acceptance speech.

Now with the video on the cell phone or Ipod, who knows who will get killed because they are more interested in watching the video than doing what they are supposed to do. I foresee many accidents and finally deaths because of this technology.

Year ago they showed the future of computing with people walking down the street wearing specialized glasses that act as screen for their computer. Thank G-d that never materialized

Live a day without your cell phone, PDA, computer, or walkman, you might see the sun, feel the drizzle or even learn to talk to somebody.

You will really enjoy the experience.

Allan

WebCt and Blackboard

Another one bites the dust. How will this affect the open-source LMS/CMS out there.
How will this affect the BlackBoard users that have integrated other VOIP systems. Will BlackBoard still support those systems or force those clients to swithc to WebCt?

Who is buying who? And will this be a better solution? In the long run I believe that online learning will be better off. Not saying that the BlackBoard/WebCt merger will eliminate all the competition. It will only enhance the Open Source products such as Moodle to continue to grow and will eventually give BlacBoard/WebCt a run to the money.

Small pieces loosely joined

Analyzing the difference between tightly joined and loosely joined pieces while teaching a class. I find that even with a strict and defined direction governed by lesson plans, I find that I am always deviating from the rigidness of that plan.

I find that students govern where we go during the class. More often than not someone will ask a question about the subject at hand and inorder to answer that question I must wander into territory that I have not planned for.

Even if the content of the class is set and handed out before class, we do find ourselves in that wonderful world not planned for. Usually by the end of class we have completed the topic of the day and all those loose pieces are now joined tightly and we are ready for the next class.