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Showing posts from September, 2011

From Thought To Action at the Speed of Dial Up

So here I am, I'm supposed to have a great idea for a qualifying project and written up and ready to go. Now the problem isn't in coming up with an idea, it's in coming up with an idea that is a) Useful b) Practical c) Doable in a timely manner e) Will be approved by three branches of the US Military There are so many things I would like to do and create. Technology, especially Web 2.0 and Open Source tools. can address so many communication, knowledge management and functional problems within an institution, and yet, the knee-jerk reaction by many IT departments is a simple No. Too many security issues, not enough control. IT people aren't the only ones to shy away from these tools, especially social media. The fear from many in leadership positions is that people will behave badly. Well guess what, they will. They will behave badly even if you don't have a social media site and a netiquette guide, but by having one you can have some control. Often the best way
It's been quite a while since I've posted. I've started several times in response to what feels like an avalanche of negativity against education. There has always been those who claim that those with a higher education are "elite" and somehow no longer true Americans. But the war on education has taken on new fervor, as YouTube now has a rash of videos and there are numerous articles on the scam that is higher education (see Questions About Higher Education’s Value Go Viral on YouTube ). As the cost of education continues to rise and jobs continue to disappear the value of a degree does seem to be questionable. Yet there are jobs, such as in engineering, that employers just can't fill because job seekers don't have the skills. Perhaps what is needed is less of a dialogue that contains school is bad and worthless, but more of a rework on how we train people for their careers. It may be worth taking a look at the "antiquated" apprenticeship model,