Write a two page personal essay on how computers have been used in your education in some personally relevant way.
Being a Computer Science major this is a very easy question to answer. I have been in school for long enough to know that without computers in my education things would be very unorganized for me. I use my computer, phone or tablet to record and access everything. With these devices I can keep track of important dates, perform research and collaborate with my professors and other students.
I've always thought of myself as an organized person throughout my education. I've always tried to make a conscious effort to keep a calendar and an assignment tracker for each of my classes. Some semesters are better than others, and I always seem to have better grades when I keep them up to date. Google Calendar is the ultimate tool for keeping track of important dates. I've also started to track due assignments in my calendar events as well. That way, during class, I can pull up next weeks class on my calendar and in the description write down what is due. This makes it so much easier to remember what is due on that date.
Assignment trackers are also helpful because you can track more specific information about your assignments, and attach them to a class. One that I like to use for iOS is called iStudiez Pro. It allows me to track my school schedule along with assignment and exam due dates. It is customizable and even has alerts. Since it's on my phone and tablet I am sure to not forget about assignments and their due dates. With my calendar and assignments things are much more organized and I can get an idea of how to plan my study schedule effectively.
Research is another thing that I do a lot on my computer for school. Even with my Calculus class! I find myself searching YouTube for videos to remind me how to solve equations. Videos have transformed how we use the Internet, especially in education. A video can help you learn so much quicker than, say, reading an explanation of something. Wikipedia continues to grow by the second and contain the largest amount of information in one place. As students we have to be weary of it's content due to the "open-edit" model that it uses. Without the help of Google and all of the great resources out there we would still be in encyclopedia's searching for out-of-date information. That's a lot to think about.
Without my computer I'm not sure how I would create my papers that I have to turn in for my English class. With keyboard input we have all become dependent on it and hardly write anymore. Now we have tablets with smaller keyboards, or on-screen ones, that allow us to take notes in crowded meetings without having to worry about a pen or pencil. I know that education would be different without the ability to type out papers, but the thought of having to write everything by hand is a little much to take in.
Collaboration over the Internet has also played a big role in my education that, without computers, would be impossible. With email and things like Google Docs collaboration on group projects would be ever-so difficult to accomplish. E-mails to teachers can be sent and received much quicker than a letter or even a phone call. The convenience of it is impossible to compare. Without it all communication would need to be done using other means that would make all things more difficult and frustrating.
As I sat and wrote this I can't help but wonder how it was possible to get an education without computers. Education has evolved with computers, and will continue to do so. Sometimes I wish it would evolve quicker, but each move takes time. Over time our dependence on computers will increase, until a lot of education will be online. Certain subjects may move a little slower, but I do think that eventually a lot of it will be done via webcams and mobile devices. I think it's clear that I couldn't do a whole lot in my education without it. The impact it has made will stick with me in the future as I continue to develop my career in the computer science field.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Module 7: Comparative Advantage, Self-directed consumers and Americanization
It's obvious that geographically we live differently in the U.S. than outside countries. Our terrain is different, for example, but many other things economically are different as well. Starting a different is completely different in many different countries because a different type of system was setup, mostly from scratch that could operate completely different. In economics it acts the same way, some countries will have a better way to produce something at a lower cost, that other countries just won't be able to compete with. While it may seem unfair, it's exactly what a comparative advantage means, which is "the ability of a person or a country to produce a particular good or service at a lower marginal and opportunity cost" (Wikipedia, Comparative Advantage).
This advantage that has developed over time will continue to change as we continue to find new and better ways of doing things. Computers have changed are lives in ways that we never knew they would, and as a result it has changed the way we trade and do business. Some countries will always be able to provide a better good, or service, better than another. China is well known for a lot of things, one of which is their factory workers and their discipline. Apple Inc. has recently been exposed for the work conditions that have been placed for the hard-worked employees. This has directed some negative publicity to Apple, and has even caused them to be investigated. What will come of this will be likely just Apple increasing investing in better factory conditions as well as more rules/laws for the factory managers. This advantage that China has is due to their focus on discipline and hard work, which are both great reputations to have in a culture.
Self-directed consumers are what lead businesses on the path to business-improvement. I am, and always will be, a self-directed consumer. A self-directed consumer, in Friedman's terms, are ones that are not afraid to speak up to a business about their products or services. In a flat world, keeping unhappy consumers is becoming a challenging feat. With the advancement of Twitter and Facebook people can openly confess their love, or hate, for a business and have it spread like wildfire. With Twitter especially, this has became a central pace for people to publicly draw negative attention to a business. The wonderful thing is that businesses are starting to respond publicly as well, to try and turn the negativity into a positive experience for the consumer. I have definitely become more vocal about how I feel about the products and services of a business, and have received free pizza on occasion because of a slow, or incorrect, delivery that was made.
Does globalization mean Americanization? Fortunately as I have spoken with visitors to the U.S. I have noticed quite the opposite. While many people love America, many feel like they still love the culture that they were born into and America can stay in America. It's obvious that American culture is spreading but I don't see the cultures becoming a part of that spreading. I think that other cultures see American culture and actually become even stronger in their own culture. This is a good thing. I don't feel like this will benefit the future leaders of the world. Cultural differences are what set us apart and make us such a strong mass of people across the globe. We were all born with different skills, and different resources that allow us to be resourceful in our own ways. I'm excited for the future of the globe!
This advantage that has developed over time will continue to change as we continue to find new and better ways of doing things. Computers have changed are lives in ways that we never knew they would, and as a result it has changed the way we trade and do business. Some countries will always be able to provide a better good, or service, better than another. China is well known for a lot of things, one of which is their factory workers and their discipline. Apple Inc. has recently been exposed for the work conditions that have been placed for the hard-worked employees. This has directed some negative publicity to Apple, and has even caused them to be investigated. What will come of this will be likely just Apple increasing investing in better factory conditions as well as more rules/laws for the factory managers. This advantage that China has is due to their focus on discipline and hard work, which are both great reputations to have in a culture.
Self-directed consumers are what lead businesses on the path to business-improvement. I am, and always will be, a self-directed consumer. A self-directed consumer, in Friedman's terms, are ones that are not afraid to speak up to a business about their products or services. In a flat world, keeping unhappy consumers is becoming a challenging feat. With the advancement of Twitter and Facebook people can openly confess their love, or hate, for a business and have it spread like wildfire. With Twitter especially, this has became a central pace for people to publicly draw negative attention to a business. The wonderful thing is that businesses are starting to respond publicly as well, to try and turn the negativity into a positive experience for the consumer. I have definitely become more vocal about how I feel about the products and services of a business, and have received free pizza on occasion because of a slow, or incorrect, delivery that was made.
Does globalization mean Americanization? Fortunately as I have spoken with visitors to the U.S. I have noticed quite the opposite. While many people love America, many feel like they still love the culture that they were born into and America can stay in America. It's obvious that American culture is spreading but I don't see the cultures becoming a part of that spreading. I think that other cultures see American culture and actually become even stronger in their own culture. This is a good thing. I don't feel like this will benefit the future leaders of the world. Cultural differences are what set us apart and make us such a strong mass of people across the globe. We were all born with different skills, and different resources that allow us to be resourceful in our own ways. I'm excited for the future of the globe!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Module 6: Free trade, middlers and CQ + PQ > IQ!
Free trade is where the act of trading any type of goods or services between countries for 'free.' This opens up many doors for different countries to make some good money on the goods that they offer without getting hit too hard with taxes, or what's called, trade barriers. This levels out the playing field for different countries wanting to sell theirs good or services and to be competitive in the markets. Free trade in the United States is vital to our economy. We need to be able to freely import/export goods to keep cash flow coming through. I also think that it creates more competition, which means that there will be others that come in the future to try and make what you made better. Any competition like that will results in better products, and better pricing. Great for any country!
New middlers, Friedman also calls "The Great Synthesizers", are the energy behind companies. These individuals keep things moving in companies. They must be hard workers, and heavy thinkers. This is required so that new ideas get generated on a regular basis. The ability to actually take an idea and execute it is also a character trait for the "new middlers." If we were looking at a basketball team the new middler would be the point guard. Always making things happen, and when things don't happen they change it up. They make something out of nothing!
Curiosity + Passion > IQ! I agree with this whole-heartedly. I have known many people in my career and the ones that really stick out are the ones with passion, and a little bit of risk behind them. They're ready for a challenge, but also eager to try something new. Curiosity can spark new ideas that can be game-changing. Curiosity is the initiation and the passion is the driver behind this new force. That's not to say that IQ isn't import, but it's clear that the others outweigh in importance is most business situations.
New middlers, Friedman also calls "The Great Synthesizers", are the energy behind companies. These individuals keep things moving in companies. They must be hard workers, and heavy thinkers. This is required so that new ideas get generated on a regular basis. The ability to actually take an idea and execute it is also a character trait for the "new middlers." If we were looking at a basketball team the new middler would be the point guard. Always making things happen, and when things don't happen they change it up. They make something out of nothing!
Curiosity + Passion > IQ! I agree with this whole-heartedly. I have known many people in my career and the ones that really stick out are the ones with passion, and a little bit of risk behind them. They're ready for a challenge, but also eager to try something new. Curiosity can spark new ideas that can be game-changing. Curiosity is the initiation and the passion is the driver behind this new force. That's not to say that IQ isn't import, but it's clear that the others outweigh in importance is most business situations.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Module 5: Triple Convergence, India/na and Intellectual Property
I have really enjoyed listening to this book as an audiobook over the last several weeks. Every listen has sent me into a long internal discussion in my head of how great it is. These flatteners have been present in my life for most of my life, but never really thought about them as such. I will be recommending it to several other technical people that I have been friends with over the years. It adds a new perspective into our busy lives.
Friedman begins his discussion about how these flatteners have come together to really start carrying us forward. As I mentioned above, if you think about it, our lives are really becoming very oriented around the Internet and the Personal Computer. In general, they are usually the first thing we do when we wake up, and the last thing we do when we go to bed. This is just more evidence to the fact that these flatteners are real, and they are going to continue to make this world even flatter. This is where Friedman begins his discussion about the Triple Convergence.
The first of the triple convergence is about how the PC is taking over tasks that we, as humans, used to have to do. Simple things like shopping is not nearly human-free. No phone conversation with anyone, just click-click, order. Other things like checking-in to your flight from your mobile phone are also good examples of this. No human intervention means less need for personnel, and more money in businesses pockets.
The second one is the way that these flatteners have changed how we do business. The power we hold inside a computer allows us to perform tasks much faster, which means efficiency. New ways of doing things are being created every day with the creative minds around the world. This brings us to the last of the three convergences which is the ability that others, overseas, have had to be able to connect and collaborate due to the flattening of the world. These three convergences wrap up these flatteners and make them all work together to improve our bottom-line.
In the story about Indiana and India, it sounds like a complete train wreck altogether. Any opportunities to invest money locally (especially with government funds) should be done in all cases. If ever possible the tax money should be invested in the citizens. Since money could have been saved, it makes sense how it happens. The people of Indiana were exploited and the state officials were the exploiters. These types of mistakes definitely hurt, but lessons will be learned and not made again. I'm sure stories like this will becoming more common, hopefully the bottom-line will be about creating jobs in American to invest in our future.
Intellectual Property is a topic that is very sensitive in the world today. The digitization of every things that we do is proving to make that intellectual property a lot harder to protect. The government is trying to step in and take control of it recently with SOPA and PIPA laws, but the Internet nationwide stood up and put a temporary stop to it. As IP becomes harder to control, Hollywood needs to become smarter about delivering their content. It's tough, because people will always pirate movies, but easier delivery of the content and lowering costs could turn out to be the problem solver. They'll be making less money, yes, but at least they'll make something off of all of the movies that are being distributed online.
My bet is that the government will eventually gain more control of what we can/can't see online, but the geniuses of the country will find ways around it. I'm sure more control will be awarded to them eventually, but hopefully the details of what is controlled will be better defined before the law gets passed, otherwise a book about the "rounding-out" of the world will be next. :)
Friedman begins his discussion about how these flatteners have come together to really start carrying us forward. As I mentioned above, if you think about it, our lives are really becoming very oriented around the Internet and the Personal Computer. In general, they are usually the first thing we do when we wake up, and the last thing we do when we go to bed. This is just more evidence to the fact that these flatteners are real, and they are going to continue to make this world even flatter. This is where Friedman begins his discussion about the Triple Convergence.
The first of the triple convergence is about how the PC is taking over tasks that we, as humans, used to have to do. Simple things like shopping is not nearly human-free. No phone conversation with anyone, just click-click, order. Other things like checking-in to your flight from your mobile phone are also good examples of this. No human intervention means less need for personnel, and more money in businesses pockets.
The second one is the way that these flatteners have changed how we do business. The power we hold inside a computer allows us to perform tasks much faster, which means efficiency. New ways of doing things are being created every day with the creative minds around the world. This brings us to the last of the three convergences which is the ability that others, overseas, have had to be able to connect and collaborate due to the flattening of the world. These three convergences wrap up these flatteners and make them all work together to improve our bottom-line.
In the story about Indiana and India, it sounds like a complete train wreck altogether. Any opportunities to invest money locally (especially with government funds) should be done in all cases. If ever possible the tax money should be invested in the citizens. Since money could have been saved, it makes sense how it happens. The people of Indiana were exploited and the state officials were the exploiters. These types of mistakes definitely hurt, but lessons will be learned and not made again. I'm sure stories like this will becoming more common, hopefully the bottom-line will be about creating jobs in American to invest in our future.
Intellectual Property is a topic that is very sensitive in the world today. The digitization of every things that we do is proving to make that intellectual property a lot harder to protect. The government is trying to step in and take control of it recently with SOPA and PIPA laws, but the Internet nationwide stood up and put a temporary stop to it. As IP becomes harder to control, Hollywood needs to become smarter about delivering their content. It's tough, because people will always pirate movies, but easier delivery of the content and lowering costs could turn out to be the problem solver. They'll be making less money, yes, but at least they'll make something off of all of the movies that are being distributed online.
My bet is that the government will eventually gain more control of what we can/can't see online, but the geniuses of the country will find ways around it. I'm sure more control will be awarded to them eventually, but hopefully the details of what is controlled will be better defined before the law gets passed, otherwise a book about the "rounding-out" of the world will be next. :)
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