Aug

6

Google Docs in education

Filed Under Design, Education, Globalization, Google, Network, OpenSource, Technology, Web2.0 | Leave a Comment

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Big thanks to my most excellent colleague John Pederson at WiscNet about this video.  Take a moment and listen to the testimonials all you administrative bean counters and computer directors. BTW: How many of you are facing budget cuts this year?

Remember Google makes this solution to schools  F O R  F R E E.

Tags: Google, education, network, teaching, globalization, trends

Jun

16

Milwaukee to Madison 06/18/08

Filed Under Education, Google, Milwaukee, Smartphone | Leave a Comment

 

This morning’s commute was much better than DOT’s suggested Milwaukee > Beloit > Madison. That route tacks an extra 105 miles one way. I cannot believe they are suggesting this route all the way down to Beloit!  This route was much better:

mil2mad

Here is the link to the Google Maps page. Lets hope flooding decreases over the next couple of days. Take this route and you will see flooded roads and houses under water in low areas with plenty of farm land underwater too.Tags: Milwaukee, Madison, I-94, commute, flooding

May

30

My latest read - Competing on Analytics

Filed Under Design, Education, Globalization, Google, Milwaukee, Network, Reading, Technology | Leave a Comment

How can you compete today in a globalized, highly competitive world regardless of market? One very smart solution: Analytics. From Google and Amazon to the Red Sox and the Patriots, organizations (yes sports teams included) are succeeding by competing on analytics with proven results. Just ask the Yankees…

Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning from The Harvard Business School Press is simply a must read for your organization. New data analysis tools and the internet have changed the rules for competition. This book is not about Google’s Analytics tool but rather focuses on business intelligence, analysis and data reporting that has changed the competitive landscape.

It would be a mistake to think your organization is immune to the lessons shared in this book. I was even surprised how poorly my former employers rate in this book.

Some feel colleges need not apply business intelligence to admissions, continuing education, communication and strategic planning. This book proves that notion dead on arrival.

The shift in data gathering tools and enhanced analysis proves this a key tool for any organization moving forward in a tough economy and market with a shrinking pool of customers. Your probably losing prospects to your competition as a result of analytics and business intelligence conveyed in smart communication.

Michael McIntyre taught me lessons regarding You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know (YDKWYDK) and how it deeply impacts organizations. The single key to winning with analytics is the total support by the CEO — from the top down — and this is where most organizations simply fail.

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May

15

FTC Update coming

Filed Under Design, Education, Globalization, Google, Interactive, Internet2, Milwaukee, Network, OpenSource, Rich media, Technology, Web2.0, WiscNet | Leave a Comment

wiscnet logoAs WiscNet’s Future Technologies Conference wrapped up late yesterday followed by a staff outing in Madison. Will be posting a lot of content regarding our keynote speakers and Internet2 over the next couple of days and grabbing my flickr feed for FTC 2008.
Here is the link for FTC 2007.

May

9

Jumping into the cloud

Filed Under Design, Education, Globalization, Google, Interactive, Internet2, Milwaukee, Network, OpenSource, Rich media, Streaming, Technology, Web2.0 | 1 Comment

internet cloudThe huge success of web apps have made me think about the continued use for Microsoft’s Office suite. Back in the day Office was the only game in town but today Google’s Apps lead the Web2.0 surge in online apps that provide great functionality and work group solutions for free. When Robert Scoble announced:

I’ve been watching my usage. In two months I’ve only used Outlook out of the entire Office Suite. Everything else? Moved onto online services.”
- 09:06 AM April 30, 2008 from web

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Apr

30

National Broadband Policy

Filed Under Design, Education, Globalization, Google, Internet2, Milwaukee, Network, TED, Technology | 2 Comments

At last week’s Internet2 Spring Meeting Telepoly Consultant John Windhausen presented research support the adoption of a National Broadband Policy to deliver 100 Megabits to every home and business by 2012.

I2 spring meetingWould you like to fully understand the impact of this policy? May I suggest starting with Tom Friedman’s bestseller The World Is Flat 3.0?

Make sure you read Version 3.0 — Friedman’s update measures how quickly the world has adopted Globalization with networking technologies woven into the fabric of global business, government and education sprinkled around some of the most far reaching locations worldwide.

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Apr

29

Google coming to Madison

Filed Under Design, Education, Globalization, Google, Network, Technology | 1 Comment

google logoIts finally official: Google has announced its setting up a hardware and software engineering center in Madison.  Update here.

Apr

23

The net is running out of IP addresses

Filed Under Design, Education, Globalization, Google, Internet2, Milwaukee, Network, Technology, WiscNet | Leave a Comment

At this morning’s Internet2 Spring member meeting John Curran, Chairman of The American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN) actually stated THIS WILL OCCUR within three years if the internet stays at IPv4. Time to plan your migration to IPv6.

I2 spring meetingBut will this upgrade be the next great Y2K project? Probably. And consider all those IPv4 consumer gadgets that are connecting to the internet today… Yikes! But fear not: Many companies are already moving to IPv6 .Google is already set. And while Apple’s OS X Leopard is already IPv6 capable, oh how Windows XP is not….and I’m not upgrading to Vista based on IPv6 alone.

This session was moderated by Internet2 CEO Doug Van Houwling who is speaking in Madison at WiscNet’s Future Technologies Conference May 13th & 14 at Monona Terrace.

Another strong presentation was John Windhausen’s “National Broadband Policy” presentation. The goal: an 8 billion dollar investment to provide 100MB broadband service to every school, home and business by 2012.

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Apr

21

SlideRocket Beta

Filed Under Design, Education, Globalization, Google, HighRes, Interactive, Media Players, Network, OpenSource, Rich media, Technology, Web2.0 | Leave a Comment

I have been beta testing SlideRocket, a new online presentation tool. It has a very Keynote like approach to creating presentations, or should I say is also at the exact opposite end of the PowerPoint scale of slideware. Thanks be to God for Edward Tufte.

SlideRocket Beta

The beta period looks to be stable for the short term, but SlideRocket will give Google’s online slideware tool a bit of a hard look, but I just do not believe it will be enough to move the masses to SlideRocket.

SlideRocket is a Adobe AIR application supporting Flickr photos and the ability to directly import Google Spreadsheets. The beta tag sticks because I was not able to get accurate results on my Flickr search on three attempts. It also borrow’s from Adobe the deep grey design UI of the program. Read more

Mar

5

Open Source in Education

Filed Under Design, Education, Globalization, Google, Interactive, Internet2, Milwaukee, Network, OLPC, OpenSource, Technology, Web2.0 | 3 Comments

Yesterday ComputerWorldUK posted Open source in schools could save the taxpayer billions about the growing impact of Open Source solutions for schools. The growing movement of free resources for education including software and opencourseware solutions continue to thrive. This movement is leading a revolution in education.

google apps

Google Apps for Education permits any school to tap free, industrial strength resources including: Gmail, GoogleTalk, Calendar, Docs, Sites & Start Page. This solution is standards based while integration is seemless.

Schools continue to face dwindling budgets, staff reductions and program cuts. Lets face facts, globalization also forces schools to implement technology refresh programs, turning over computer labs every 3 or 4 years via equipment leasing. The continued use of commercial software (inlight of Google’s offering to the education community) is a sign of simple fiscal mismanagement.
Looking for a success story to actually justify free software for schools? Click Here for the large number educational organizations (K-12 & Higher Education) that have already migrated to Google Apps for Education.

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