Is Google Trying to Rule the World?

Google will be the most powerful company in the world in the very near future.  I have no basis for this opinion other than a few articles I have read and my own experiences with the website, but think about it.   Google is purchasing more companies in an effort to move into every technological avenue possible just so they are part of the next big thing.

Paul Allen, another Blogger, came up with seven reasons why Google will rule the world.  His two main ideas are that Google’s top decision makers are unmatched.  Their owners and developers jump at the chance at investing, purchasing, or creating new ways to get their advertisements out there for everyone to see.  However, the most important reason Allen gave why Google will succeed is the way they run their own company.  They allow their own workers to dedicate 20% of their work week to pet projects on company time.  The owners feel that their own workers ideas and inventions will lead them to greater success.

This is an ingenious idea as most workers only focus on their day to day duties, then come home and freelance their ideas to other companies.  Google feels why compete against their own when they have great minds working for them already.  A truly innovative philosophy that more companies should incorporate into their own business models. 

If you haven’t noticed Google is everywhere and is only growing.  I would not be surprised if one day there is a class taught in high school and college on how to use Google to its fullest extent, because we are just scratvching the surface with its capabilities.  The future is going to be very kind to Google.

United Streaming Rocks!

For those who don’t know I am huge United Streaming junkie.  United Streaming is a website that was created by Discovery Channel and basically hosts thousands of videos, lessons, pictures, and more across all subjects.  My county has a district license so I can log on from school and home which makes it very convenient to search when I want.

I teach math and use the videos almost daily.  Some would probably say I am overusing it, however, I find that my students like to hear an explanation of certain concepts from a different voice or person.  I am able to hook my computer to my TV and the students can view the video as if watching a DVD.  The way the site is set up you can choose multiple videos on a topic, save just a segment of the video, and place it in a folder of your own creation.   As you are searching, videos are sorted by content and grade level.  This way you know you are not showing a video that only high school students would understand to first graders. 

I have found lesson plans on the site as well that match my state content standards and demonstrate how to integrate the videos into a lesson.  My county has even gone one more step by bookmarking specific videos that go along with my curriculum.  So basically you can’t go wrong with this website.  You barely have to work at searching for the right video a lot of it is done for you.  As we know time is crucial and United Streaming makes things very convenient. 

Google vs. Facebook

Evidently Facebook is being deemed ”King of the Social Networks” and  Google is not happy about it.  Who would have thought a small company from California would be able to threaten the Google gods and all their advertising hoopla? 

According to Wikipedia, for those who don’t know, Facebook is a social networking website that allows people to communicate with their friends and exchange information.  The creator was a Harvard student named Mark Zuckerburg who launched the site in 2004.  The intention of the site was to create a webspace that college students could use to network and socialize in a private setting on the web. 

As of October 2007, the website had the largest number of registered users among college-focused sites with over 42 million active members worldwide and expects to pass 60 million users by the end of the year (also from non-collegiate networks).

Because of this tremendous popularity that Facebook has garnered, Google has answered with its OpenSocial strategy of networking.  This method of networking creates a common social platform where users can communicate in a public manner where as Facebook uses a private setting. 

Take your pick which you prefer, but anytime you can raise the eyebrows of Google you must be doing something right.  Google feels threatened because Facebook is tapping into an area of advertising that Google has yet to dominate and that is the social networking arena.  Facebook has entrenched itself with the 18 – 30 year olds who are quickly entering the work force and are “professional” net users.  Google cannot miss out on this opportunity but since Facebook is a private atmosphere Google’s open searches are not allowed into the Facebook domain. 

It will be interesting to see how Google continues to rebut the efforts of Facebook, because as we know Google is God.

Mac vs PC: A Few Thoughts

One of the questions I have had is how schools choose between the Macintosh or IBM compatible PC computers.  When I first started using computers on a regular basis my college used the Mac’s as they were very user friendly.  However, now that I have returned to graduate school all the computers are Windows based PCs.  So why the change?

I would assume the main reason has to be money for any school or university.  Which company, Apple or IBM, can give them the best deal?  But let’s look at some specifics as to why some schools choose one over the other. 

• There are many websites that I have come across that seem to support both arguments.  I have seen that Macs are more easily fixable when there is a problem, however, on the flip-side I have read MAC parts are hard to locate. 
• Another issue on the education front is that it is believed that most schools purchase PCs because the business world uses them more often.  However, it is proven that Mac’s can very easily run similar applications that PCs do.
• Originally it was thought that PCs were much cheaper, however, over the past several years Mac’s are becoming very comparable in price.
• Macs are seen to be a more stable system with better security.  Mac created the OS X operating system and since its creation the computers run without much of a problem.  Unlike the PC version Mac’s programs run independently from each other eliminating the whole computer having to shut down when one application goes awry.
• Computer games and software work better on the PCs as Macs have issues with the software compatibility and efficiency.

All This Technology, What Do We Do With It?

I am a 5th grade teacher in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  This is my second year at the school and we have just gone through a “technology modification” in which the whole school was wired with a local intranet system and each classroom was given three personal computers to use at the teachers leisure.  Not to mention tons of programs and resources that most technology literate teachers would jump at, however, barely any of it is being used.

I was lucky enough to come from a school where we had this “tech mod” situation occur and be familiar with a lot of the programs already, however most of my colleagues are not and have never used any of it.  I know some teachers who don’t even turn their computers on every day.  This is crazy!!!  The county I work for has spent millions of dollars investing in the latest technology to be used in the classroom and it is not happening, but I don’t really blame the teachers.  OK, maybe I do a little, but it is like giving a computer science major the keys to NASA.  He or she has so much they don’t know what to do with all of it?

Teachers are asked to do so much in a given day and things have to be prioritized, unfortunately technology seems to fall way down on the list.  There are two major problems I see with the technology we have and how we are asked to deal with it.  The first is time, and the second is knowledge. 

Time, as they say, is of the essence, and a teachers time is very valuable.  Teachers barely have enough time to use the restroom more or less sit down and self-teach themselves a new computer program that they then have to try to find time to fit into their curriculum.  However, unless you are properly trained, time is what you need to give and make technology a priority.  But how?  You should at least try to give thirty minutes a week to include some form of technology into your instruction.  It doesn’t have to be anything sophisticated, just allow the students to turn the computer on and explore.  Let the students do the work for you.  Have them choose a program and write a description about it, as they would a story summary.  What is the purpose of the site?  What are its capabilities? What contents would be best suited?  And so on.  This will get your students interested and give them experience on a computer that they may not receive at home.

The second problem I see with the technology comes from the teacher’s knowledge.  Teachers instruct about and with what they are comfortable and that comes from their own experiences.  The last thing teachers want to do is sound foolish while teaching, therefore they avoid content matter that they are unsure of.  Trainings are given at the school but they are very few and far between and can’t be relied on to make a teacher feel confident about implementing something they just skimmed over in a few short hours, if that.  Again it is now up to the teachers to take the initiative to learn something that they have zero confidence in and no time to do it.

Unfortunately, the only way I see technology becoming more apart of the classroom is by forcing teachers to take technology classes in order to be re-certified to receive their state certificate.  Technology applications are part of everyday life and some jobs now require applicants to have some technological skill.  This training is falling more and more on the teachers to provide and we need to be prepared to give it.  States already require teachers to take so many credits of reading every so many years so they are up on the latest trends in that area.  Why shouldn’t teachers also be mandated to take a basic technology applications course?  Technology literacy is becoming necessary for all students to be successful in society, so again we as teachers need to be literate as well.