• Google Buzz may put children at risk, parents fear

    23Feb
    Categories: culture, safety Comments: 0

    Google Buzz may put children at risk, parents fear

    Kids might not know they’re sharing private details with the public.

    via latimes.com

    Wow, the folks in this article really don’t get it. It may as well be called, “Google Buzz may put children at risk, parents fearmonger.

    Kids are at risk for seeing inappropriate things when they are online; that is why we have to teach them about boundaries, and not put them into situations which they’re not prepared for. Giving a 9 year old a free e-mail account (which the company only allows for kids 13 years and older) and then being shocked when the product changes over time (hello, you didn’t pay for anything and you accepted their terms) is simply ill-advised parenting.

    Teaching kids about being online means letting them be online in ways they can handle. 9 year olds with unfettered e-mail access is questionable at best. Some 9 year olds may be able to handle that, and some certainly can not. As a parent, set your kids up for success – if you want to teach them about e-mail, have them e-mail from your account. This way, messages come back to you and you can relay them to your child. Don’t go straight to gMail, would you give your kid a car as soon as they wanted one? Start them off with a tricycle in the carpeted basement and you’ll see them progress much more successfully.

    Posted via web from arvind’s posterous

  • Summing up the evolution of technology

    23Feb
    Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 1
    Cringely’s Law states that short-term adoption of new technologies never occurs as quickly as we expect, but their long-term impact is far greater than we realize.

    via technologyreview.com

    I came across this quotation while reading this month’s MIT Technology Review and loved it immediately. I didn’t know anything about Robert X. Cringley but knew that I liked his thinking. This is what disruptive innovation is about. People make things, some say, “why would anyone do that/want that?” (think Twitter, Facebook, computers, BlackBerry’s, etc), and then sure enough, everyone wants that. Now this doesn’t happen to every innovation, and it is certainly difficult to predict which ones will catch on, but it’s simply important to know how the phenomenon works.

    This is essential for schools and teachers who might want to think that, “this will never have a place in schools,” but be careful about using words like never. Innovation works in strange and twisted ways.

    Posted via web from arvind’s posterous

  • Behind The New York Times Magazine’s Redesign

    22Feb
    Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 0
    via spd.org

    Wow, this is a must-read for anyone into design, font, layout, printing, newspapers, etc. The New York Times has done an amazing job with its magazine redesign, and this article gives you some insights into how they did it – beautiful work.

    Posted via web from arvind’s posterous

  • Need to relax? Try slow photography

    22Feb
    Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 0
    via content.photojojo.com

    Just reading this article on slow photography made me relax. In the day and age of digital photography, we burn through exposures with huge memory cards and cameras than can shoot dozens of shots per second. Instead of going that route, try slowing down, doing a long exposure, waiting for time to pass, and other tricks. The Photojojo article is a great guide.

    I love slow photography. Here are a few of my personal favorite successes:
    Fox Chapel by night
    IMG_9685.JPG

    Posted via web from arvind’s posterous

  • We’re piloting ZenDesk for our school’s trouble ticketing system

    17Feb
    Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 3

    We have been looking for a simple, yet effective trouble ticketing system for our school. We want it to be simple from the user end, and powerful (albeit simple) from the administrator end. We've decided to being a pilot of ZenDesk, a web-based helpdesk solution.

    We like the solution because the user can e-mail in their ticket and receive e-mail updates automatically. It allows allows our technician to manage a lot of hidden, backend data like tracking numbers, serial numbers, statues, etc. It also gives him powerful search capabilities along with reporting, something we've been lacking for a while. Now we will be able to see trends by grade level, hardware type, serial numbers, etc. Looking forward to having a more global system in place.

    By the way, they offer 40% discounts for educational institutions. Are you using a helpdesk solution that you love? If so, let me know where to find it…

    Posted via email from arvind’s posterous

« Previous Page

Blogroll:

Meta:

Recent Posts