http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/08/04/wife-fsu-professor-killed-london-stabbing/88068446/
When I heard that a woman had been killed in the stabbing attack in London, I didn't realize that it was an American woman (not that I would've felt any less compassion). But, to find out that it's the wife of an FSU professor somehow really makes it hit home. I didn't have the pleasure of knowing her or her husband, but regardless... FSU Family is still FSU Family. My daughter is actually planning on studying at the London Centre over Spring Break next year and to hear that this attack happened very close to the Centre just as the term was coming to a close is...well, unnerving. The police are saying that they now don't believe that the teen responsible for the attacks had been radicalized but it doesn't make it any less tragic. My heart breaks for her husband and family and friends and I'm sure that Saturday's commencement will be tinged with sadness as the community mourns her loss. They are in my thoughts, my heart and my prayers tonight.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Now you see it...
Now you don't...
This is an interesting take by Instagram (in trying, I presume, to keep up with that young whipper snapper Snapchat) by creating a feature that will allow content to disappear after 24 hours. To be fair, I don't generally look at much on social media after 24 hours anyway. But, it begs an interesting question: Why? This just seems like it could go terribly wrong, but that could be the paranoid mom in me. I haven't heard a huge number of horror stories when it comes to Snapchat's ability to disappear you in 24 hours. But, I'm sure they're out there. What, my blog friends, is the point of making content disappear after 24 hours? I ask in all sincerity and with no venom, I promise. I'm genuinely curious. Is it to keep data usage low? Is it to free up space on your phone or mobile device? Is it to commit nefarious deeds and then erase your having done them (although couldn't someone just take a picture of the Snapchat and save it?). I really am curious why Instagram has decided to jump onto the disappearing bandwagon. Thoughts?
This is an interesting take by Instagram (in trying, I presume, to keep up with that young whipper snapper Snapchat) by creating a feature that will allow content to disappear after 24 hours. To be fair, I don't generally look at much on social media after 24 hours anyway. But, it begs an interesting question: Why? This just seems like it could go terribly wrong, but that could be the paranoid mom in me. I haven't heard a huge number of horror stories when it comes to Snapchat's ability to disappear you in 24 hours. But, I'm sure they're out there. What, my blog friends, is the point of making content disappear after 24 hours? I ask in all sincerity and with no venom, I promise. I'm genuinely curious. Is it to keep data usage low? Is it to free up space on your phone or mobile device? Is it to commit nefarious deeds and then erase your having done them (although couldn't someone just take a picture of the Snapchat and save it?). I really am curious why Instagram has decided to jump onto the disappearing bandwagon. Thoughts?
Sunday, July 31, 2016
What? No social media???
So, I was at a Rays/Yankees game last night and I noticed that most of the Rays players, when announced, instead of just picture and personal theme song showing up on the jumbotron (what's up with that, by the way - when did they become boxers entering the ring???), they had pictures from their social media pages and their twitter profile on the jumbotron. Pretty cool way to personalize them, I thought. But, one player showed up at the plate ready to bat and just his picture and stats were on the board. I heard, very distinctly behind me, a guy yell "What? No social media??" I'm not sure if he actively tweets to/about the players (the "fan"), but he seemed to think that this player felt "above" putting his social media availability out there for the public. My daughter quietly said to me, "Maybe he's 'unplugged'". And, she's right. Maybe he is. It isn't a requirement for him to be social media connected, even though his teammates are. But, look at the negative reaction he got when he chose NOT to. Interesting. We're sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place, aren't we? We're encouraged to be connected, but at the same time, when we've had enough and need to step back, someone seems to take it personally. I've even been asked (in an almost accusing manner) why I didn't "like" something someone posted. Well, I did like it. But, I didn't click "like". Shame on me? Well, no not really. Sometimes, I just scroll through and don't respond. Doesn't mean I don't like you. So maybe this ball player likes his fans, he just chooses not to be terribly social. But, I have to admit, I felt bad for the guy when he got heckled for not having a Twitter feed!
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Produsage Project Takeaways
It's funny how when you're tasked to create something, you learn something else in the process, isn't it?
When I first started working on my Produsage project, I had something very different in mind. I won't bore you with the details, but it wasn't what I ultimately created. But, as I was putting together classroom materials for a cohort that's starting on Monday and then as I was walking around the Builders Conference, it occurred to me that there was a real need for people to better understand what they're getting into when they enter the construction field. One of the sessions we attended was on changes to the OSHA codes and standards and attendees were shocked by the incredible leap in the cost of OSHA fines (from $7,000 per incident to $12,000 per incident/per day!). What that told me was that not enough attention is being paid to what's dangerous, why and how to prevent it.
So, I changed my tactic. I thought, "Well, I always learn something new and tend to retain the information when I have to create and produce something, so why not carry that into my own produsage project?" And, voila! So, I think I actually will incorporate this assignment into our classes. I can't do it with our prison classes (they don't have any access to the internet or any technology at all), but I can do it with our "civilian classes". And, I hope, it will increase their confidence level in the computer lab, as well.
I'll keep you posted!
When I first started working on my Produsage project, I had something very different in mind. I won't bore you with the details, but it wasn't what I ultimately created. But, as I was putting together classroom materials for a cohort that's starting on Monday and then as I was walking around the Builders Conference, it occurred to me that there was a real need for people to better understand what they're getting into when they enter the construction field. One of the sessions we attended was on changes to the OSHA codes and standards and attendees were shocked by the incredible leap in the cost of OSHA fines (from $7,000 per incident to $12,000 per incident/per day!). What that told me was that not enough attention is being paid to what's dangerous, why and how to prevent it.
So, I changed my tactic. I thought, "Well, I always learn something new and tend to retain the information when I have to create and produce something, so why not carry that into my own produsage project?" And, voila! So, I think I actually will incorporate this assignment into our classes. I can't do it with our prison classes (they don't have any access to the internet or any technology at all), but I can do it with our "civilian classes". And, I hope, it will increase their confidence level in the computer lab, as well.
I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, July 28, 2016
What I learned at the conference...
Well, this has been an interesting week. For the first half of the week, I was at a consortium meeting (I work under a Department of Labor grant that consists of a four college consortium). The meeting was 2 days. TWO DAYS! It...was...exhausting. Ok, enough of that. Then, we moved on to the Southeastern Builders Conference at the Gaylord Palms. First of all, the Gaylord Palms is...OMG. This place is beautiful. However, it's amazing how quickly you become desensitized to it! After about 6 hours, I was ready to stop looking at it all. It's sort of like looking at the sun. It's pretty awesome, but after awhile, you're pretty sure you've done permanent damage to your retinas and you should stop. But, that's not really the crux of this blog post. So, here's what I learned at the conference:
1. People behave in the strangest ways when they're away from home/work;
2. Most people just really, really want to connect to other human beings and they'll talk about just about anything....and, I do mean anything;
3. Social media is everywhere!!!!!
There were entire booths dedicated just to creating/deepening a builder's/contractors/business' social media presence. I heard the term "social media" so often, I lost count. In fact, one session that I attended on quality control in construction and building specifically pointed out that if you don't have a smart phone and you aren't connecting with your laborers and colleagues with it, then they just really don't even know how to talk to you (I'm paraphrasing it, but you get the drift). So, while I didn't really intend to pay extra special attention to the social media aspect of the convention, there you have it. It was impossible to NOT notice it. It also got me to thinking more about my produsage project, which I decided (at the last minute) to change (cuz I'm living on the edge ;).
Oh, and I picked up some sweet swag. Like bags and bags of swag. If you've got to be at a conference for 3 days, you might as get some swag out of it, right? :))
1. People behave in the strangest ways when they're away from home/work;
2. Most people just really, really want to connect to other human beings and they'll talk about just about anything....and, I do mean anything;
3. Social media is everywhere!!!!!
There were entire booths dedicated just to creating/deepening a builder's/contractors/business' social media presence. I heard the term "social media" so often, I lost count. In fact, one session that I attended on quality control in construction and building specifically pointed out that if you don't have a smart phone and you aren't connecting with your laborers and colleagues with it, then they just really don't even know how to talk to you (I'm paraphrasing it, but you get the drift). So, while I didn't really intend to pay extra special attention to the social media aspect of the convention, there you have it. It was impossible to NOT notice it. It also got me to thinking more about my produsage project, which I decided (at the last minute) to change (cuz I'm living on the edge ;).
Oh, and I picked up some sweet swag. Like bags and bags of swag. If you've got to be at a conference for 3 days, you might as get some swag out of it, right? :))
Monday, July 25, 2016
So, I'm headed to a consortium meeting (I'm actually leaving in about
an hour and a half) and then I'll be at the Southeast Builders
Conference (weird, right?). My program developed training curriculum
that culminates in a number of construction and general manufacturing
certifications, so it behooves us to keep our fingers on the pulse of
the industry's needs. Anyhoo, I got an email from the conference asking
me to download their app so that I could check in virtually. Well,
that's not all it did! Check this out:
They've built the app to look like a social media site! Pretty cool, eh? I can scroll through the sessions and sign up for them right from the app! They're showing tweets and retweets:
And, lo and behold! Look at this cool session! (And, you know I signed up for it!!!) Social Media is EVERYWHERE!
They've built the app to look like a social media site! Pretty cool, eh? I can scroll through the sessions and sign up for them right from the app! They're showing tweets and retweets:
And, lo and behold! Look at this cool session! (And, you know I signed up for it!!!) Social Media is EVERYWHERE!
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Internet for the whole world!
http://www.theverge.com/a/mark-zuckerberg-future-of-facebook/aquila-drone-internet
Regardless of how we may, as individuals, feel about drones (I have to admit, they do creep me out a bit), this is an amazing leap forward toward providing internet to the entire world. Imagine a world where every child (or grown adult, for that matter) had access to education, no matter where they were. They wouldn't have to walk miles and miles through sometimes dangerous areas. They wouldn't have to choose a meal over a lesson. And, neither would their parents. Access to the world's information could be at the tips of their fingers. Mark Zuckerberg was on hand in Yuma, AZ to witness Aquila's flight and this might be the dawning of the real worldwide web (actually, worldwide!). Zuckerberg points out that the benefits are not just relegated to education. Health benefits will come with worldwide access to the internet, as well. Medical professionals can be trained and work with access to nearly limitless information anywhere in the world.
Regardless of how we might feel about this new tippy toe into the world of limitless access to the internet (and a virtual dissolution of borders), I can only imagine the utter joy of those who have worked on this project as they watched Aquila take off. And, who knows? Maybe I won't feel so creeped out the next time I see a Google Earth drone buzz by overhead. :)
Regardless of how we may, as individuals, feel about drones (I have to admit, they do creep me out a bit), this is an amazing leap forward toward providing internet to the entire world. Imagine a world where every child (or grown adult, for that matter) had access to education, no matter where they were. They wouldn't have to walk miles and miles through sometimes dangerous areas. They wouldn't have to choose a meal over a lesson. And, neither would their parents. Access to the world's information could be at the tips of their fingers. Mark Zuckerberg was on hand in Yuma, AZ to witness Aquila's flight and this might be the dawning of the real worldwide web (actually, worldwide!). Zuckerberg points out that the benefits are not just relegated to education. Health benefits will come with worldwide access to the internet, as well. Medical professionals can be trained and work with access to nearly limitless information anywhere in the world.
Regardless of how we might feel about this new tippy toe into the world of limitless access to the internet (and a virtual dissolution of borders), I can only imagine the utter joy of those who have worked on this project as they watched Aquila take off. And, who knows? Maybe I won't feel so creeped out the next time I see a Google Earth drone buzz by overhead. :)
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