In what ways has approaches to learning to use technology changed in the past 5 years? What are the ways it remains the same?In what ways has approaches to learning to use technology changed in the past 5 years? What are the ways it remains the same?

In what ways has approaches to learning to use technology changed in the past 5 years?  What are the ways it remains the same?

Approaches to learning in general has changed drastically in the last five years.  Wide acceptance of the internet and digital books has changed the landscape of education.  Computers are now more mobile than ever with laptops, tablets, e-readers, and cell phones.   It used to be that if you wanted to learn how to do something you needed to go to Borders and find the book that told you all about it.  Recently Borders has filed bankruptcy and has gone out of business.  They failed to adapt to the change in how people take in information.  

Physical book sales are down and e-book sales are up.  Book sales overall are down though.  This tells me that people are increasingly using blogs, web pages, videos and other community-driven medias for learning  rather than purchasing a book.  The speed in which technology changes is too fast for current publishing techniques.  Once a piece of technology is created or significantly someone decides that people would buy a book on that topic.  The book then needs to be written, reviewed, published... etc.  By the time this whole process is complete there are already hundreds of posts on the internet addressing the same topic.  The information in the book is dated and will not be updated again until the technology has changed enough to support a new revision of the book.   The idea of books just doesn't work well for technologies that change daily.  


Sites like youtube.com have become a gold mine of information for technology professionals looking for cutting edge information and I think this trend will only increase.  We will see more sites like like this as businesses figure out how to make money by offering free or low cost articles and videos as opposed to whole books.

What are our responsibilities as merchants of change?

What are our responsibilities as merchants of change?

As someone who frequently promotes change on the digital front, I know that we have to be very careful about how we present these changes.  Getting the right people on board with the change from the beginning can make or break the initiative.  We need to be sure that the change we're pushing is well thought out and will not create an overall increase in the amount of work people will need to complete.  If it will create an increase in work it is crucial that the benefits of the change are able to outweigh the increase in work that it creates.  

Very good documentation is another important deliverable that needs to be included.  Documentation of the benefits, detriments, changes in processes and how it will affect people.  Documentation goes along with a larger topic that needs to be carefully thought out.  Communication of the upcoming changes.  People don't like to be told at the last minute that something is happening.  Allowing people to know how things will be changing is not always possible,  but should be done if it is possible.  

If you will be asking individuals for input on the changes taking place then you will need to take the feedback that you receive into account.  This is a big issue with many changes that take place.  When management asks for input and then disregards it people are very offended.  If the input that is given is not able to be implemented then people will need to know why.

How did your specific experiences inform you in your practice of securely using technology for communication?

How did your specific experiences inform you in your practice of securely using technology for communication?

I've always been interested in network security (and physical security for that matter).  When I was younger and first learned how easy it is to pick a lock with a couple of playing cards it opened my eyes to how much we rely on terrible security.  Since then I've been to network security conferences, and seen hundreds of hacks done live and in videos on the web. Knowing that nothing is secure is both scary and comforting at the same time.  It's comforting because I know where the existing or potential vulnerabilities lie.  It's scary because I know that I will never be able to mitigate against all of them.

One of the most interesting demonstrations that I've seen was a simple hack on a website that allowed the hacker to change the amount deducted from his credit card when paying for things.  The amount was changed to a negative value so he was sent the product as well as a credit on his credit card.  Before this demonstration I had purchased things on "mom and pop" websites before that I knew were designed poorly.  After that demo I realized just how poor the security is putting not only the site, but their customers at risk.  I will never buy from such an obviously low quality site again.

generational influences on communication tech

What are some of the generational influences and implications for embracing technology that is used for communication?

When developing new technologies we usually mimic what we already have modifying it slightly.  The reason for this is twofold.  One reason is because most people have a hard time thinking that far outside of the box.   The second reason for this is to keep the learning curve lower.  If people are able to use most features of a product without having to open a manual they are much more likely to continue using that product.   An example of this: The QWERTY keyboard layout has been used for ages, when in fact, there are many other keyboard layouts available that are much more efficient.  

Naming conventions for things in communication technology are largely based on older methods of communication.  In your email system you almost definitely have an inbox, outbox, trash and folders.  There is nothing special about these labels; heck folders don't even exist on a computer.  Files only exist as pointers referencing memory locations filled with zeros and ones.  Interfaces could have been designed any way imaginable.  They don't have to live within what is physically possible, but designers decided to use a "desktop" where you can place your "documents".  

Implications of social technology

Consider yourselves as users of technology:  What do you think are the implications of using technology for the purpose of communicating our 'social selves'?

We have to be aware of how our physical lives will be affected when living our digital lives.  As I see it, there are two categories of ways that we are affected.  The one that most people think about is the way others will use the information that is shared about us online.  The second category that we probably should think about it how our digital lives affect the way that we live our physical lives.  Both of these categories contain thousands of individual examples of how we are affected everyday by things that didn't even exist in our parents' generation.   For better or for worse and like it or not, all of these things affect the way that we mold technology for our use and how technology molds us and the way we live.


When we think about implications of using technology for social purposes the first thing that we think about is how others can use information about us in a negative way.  I hear about these things every day.  Just in the last year I have heard about:

• A girl was fired for complaining about her job on Facebook.  
• A thief robbed a man's house because he was posting geo-tagged pictures of his vacation on Flickr.
• A women's passwords and subsequently her identity were stolen because she posted too specific of information on social networking sites.
• Children have been taken advantage of for being too open online.  
• Pandora radio was using it's mobile application to upload listeners' personal information to their servers and sell it.

 These are just a handful of news stories that I can recall.  There are probably hundreds of similar events that happen every year.  This can seem very scary.  Honestly, it scares me.  I love using new technologies and application that can make my life easier or more fun, and I hate having to think about how people can use these things against me.  Some days I feel like I would be better off if I threw my cell phone in a lake and moved to a cabin with no electricity.  Obviously this is extreme (and a little unibomber-ish).  
Right now it is hard to tell if a technology will be successfully developed that will present a solution to this or if we will have to continue to handle this ourselves.  Schools are starting to address these issues with courses or modules dedicated to internet safety.  This is an excellent start in spreading awareness of these issues and methods of mitigating against them.  


The ways that digital social communications have affected our physical lives is a phenomenon that some think about daily and others not at all.  These technologies have affected not only the way that we act, but also who we are.  It may have been a fictional television character that said "What we are never changes.  Who we are never stops changing.", but it rings true here.  People will be people.  There will always be young relationships ending, wealth being stolen, employees being fired.  Technology may be the newest vehicle, but that road has always existed.  The way that we carry out these tasks and many others changes all of the time though.  Businesspeople are flying less and meeting virtually more.  Collaboration between companies in distant countries is growing.  Relatives that live far away speak more frequently (and for less money).  The connection with reality weakens though.  It is much easier to break up with someone over Skype than it is in person. Stealing credit card numbers from people is much easier to deal with than taking cash out of a mothers purse while she bends over to tend to her child.  People interact differently when they do not have to look the other person in their eyes.  


Social technology has benefits and detriments.  It can be a rude awakening to those new to it.  In the end the benefits outweigh the detriments.  As technology progresses the benefits will continue to grow and the detriments will shrink.  The decision will not be whether to use social sites, it will be which site to use.  Facebook will find competition and we will see social sites evolve even faster.  Social sites will become more attractive, but people will never discontinue the practice of traveling long distances to visit each other.  That is not a bad thing.  People need to interact directly.  Technology will never replace this.  The same dangers exist in the physical world and the digital world.  There are no new dangers, just new ways for the bad guys to take advantage of the good guys.  It all balances out in the end though.  If you do not want to use social sites because you think you will spend to much time on the computer, or you think you will not update your site often enough, that is just fine.  Do not make that decision because you are worried about negative implications though. 

Effective Communication

The group that I collaborate on projects with at work has been working together on similar projects for about four years now. Because of this, our communication between one another is nearly seamless. When we begin a new project it is pretty well understood who will be tackling which tasks based on our strengths and weaknesses. We don't really even need to debate that anymore. Also, each of us knows what type of behaviors to expect from the other group members.

In one of our last projects we had completed about one forth of it when a member of the team realized that the way some of the other members were handling their end was not going to work. I've found that you have to be very careful when (supportively) criticizing someone else's part of a project. This person was able to do so in such a way as to not upset the others and the overall project was still completed ahead of schedule.

Most of the time the environment that we work in is a positive one. We're usually able to obtain any informational resources that are required for the project quite easily. If we're still not able to complete part of the project on our own we are able to call in outside help and delegate to them.

Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors

I recently attended Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors at Edgewood College. This was the third time that I have seen this particular play. The first two times were at the APT (American Players Theater) in Spring Green. The first time that I saw this play I was much younger. It was hard for me to understand what they were saying. The entire time I had to pay very close attention. It felt more like work than entertainment.
The second time that I saw this play was just last summer. My brother-in-law has a friend who is an aspiring actor. He was performing, so we decided to make the short trip and check it out. Since I already knew the story and knew what was going to happen, it was much easier to focus on the dialogue. I was able to catch a lot of things that I had missed the first time.
Now, let me back up. I said that I have now seen this play three times, so most of you are probably thinking that I'm kind of a "theater person". In fact, that is probably the very last way that I would ever describe myself. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the play and I have seen it three times, but it is also the only play that I have ever seen. So, when I heard that we were going to see it again I wasn't exactly jumping for joy. I even thought about asking if I could be excused from seeing this play since I had just attended it last summer. I decided to give it a chance though, especially since this one was supposed to be set in the North Woods of Wisconsin.
When we filed in to the theater and saw the set, I was glad that I decided to go. It looked like they really had fun with the play. Definitely a drastic change from the first two sets that I had seen, the cheese-heads, snowmobile suits and canoe gave it a silly modern touch that provided some entertainment for even those that didn't understand what they were saying most of the time. Although I think I still prefer the classic version, I would still give this one 7 cheese-heads out of ten.