Why not distance learning at community colleges?

Posted by on May 30, 2008 in New media | 8 comments

I saw this article in USA Today – community colleges, many of which are commuter schools, are cutting classes, typically on Fridays, to help students save money on gas.

Here’s the question I have: why wouldn’t professors start assigning distance learning opportunities in class? Let’s say you’re taking a course on biology, an intro course. Instead of having a Friday class, instead of canceling a Friday class, the professor assigns MIT Professor Dr. Graham Walker’s Introduction to Biology lecture from iTunesU as the guest lecture of the week. Students would still be responsible for the contents of the lecture and its contents would be fair game for exams.

Now, I know what some folks will say – community college students aren’t necessarily the most affluent students around, nor are they all likely to have high speed Internet access. Instead of a textbook, or in addition to a textbook, include the $149 iPod nano, and have a few computers in the classroom with the content pre-loaded. Students without a home computer and broadband can sync their iPods in class or after class for the distance learning day.

With gasoline at $4/gallon and so much good, free content online, the case for distance learning to substitute for lecture-style classes grows stronger by the day.

Brain Buster

Posted by on May 30, 2008 in Technology | 8 comments

Hat tip to Guy Kawasaki for this one.

Watch this video from Cisco.

Brain buster.

This reminds me of the first time I used talk on a Digital VAX, back in 1993. Talk was a UNIX-based synchronous chat client, and a fairly ugly one at that. I remember talking to folks I met on other UNIX systems at Harvard, Drew, and schools all over the world via this black and green terminal.

The Cisco 3D teleconference is the same for me. This technology is just taking its first baby steps, and what it will look like in just 15 years is as unfathomable as where the Internet is today from my freshman year in college – when talk was insanely cool.

How will college change when you can virtually attend anywhere?

How will medicine change when a world class surgeon can remotely guide you as if he were standing next to you?

How will politics change when you can’t shoot at someone at the podium?

How will business change when you don’t need to get on a plane?

How will family change when Grandma and Grandpa can visit without leaving home?

Moments like this make me very happy.

Spot the terrorist!

Posted by on May 29, 2008 in Politics, Rant | 14 comments

After reading this Boston Globe article about Dunkin Donuts pulling an ad because conservatives thought her scarf looked like a keffiyah, I thought I’d make a quick game for you to play. Like this? Please Digg it.

Go Nuts

How did you do?

Come on, Dunkin Donuts. What the hell is wrong with you? I can’t tell which is worse – bowing to the lunatic ravings of American conservative extremists or thinking that the rest of America is so stupid that we can’t tell Rachael apart from Yasir.

Double shot of coffee today

Posted by on May 29, 2008 in PodCamp | 0 comments

Check out the best marketing podcast ever made in a doughnut shop, Marketing Over Coffee. Today’s a double shot as we try out the Flip Cam.

Review: Flip Ultra 2GB

Posted by on May 27, 2008 in Video | 8 comments

Flip UltraI bought a Flip Ultra today. Lots of positives and negatives about this little camera, and limitations that need to be understood to get the best performance out of it.

Positives

  • AA batteries
  • 2 GB internal memory for 60 minutes of record time
  • Firmware updates
  • Light
  • Portable
  • Stupid simple

Negatives

  • Not going to sub for a high quality camcorder any time soon
  • Very susceptible to shake without tripod
  • No options for expandability
  • Fixed-length lens (yes, there’s a digital zoom, which is a joke)

Now, I own a lot of gear. When I need to upgrade to quality video, I break out my MiniDV camera because nothing Flash-based captures video with the same quality as tape that I’ve found yet.

When I want a balance of portability and optics, I’ll use my Sanyo Xacti.

When I want to record a lot of video at conferences, this is the camera I’m going to use.

There is one and only one reason I bought a Flip Ultra:

The Flip Ultra uses AA batteries.

When I’m at conferences, rarely do sessions last more than 60 minutes, so the Flip’s built in memory limitation isn’t a big deal.

What is a big deal is that this little camera takes AA batteries. Rare is it when I don’t have a pile of 12 or so with me at any given time. Between sessions, I can dump the memory to my MacBook Pro and swap out batteries.

If I use the MiniDV camera, I have to change tapes and use the AC adapter, which is a huge stumbling hazard for everyone around me.

If I use the Xacti, I have to carry the AC charger with me and recharge the battery (and its two spares) throughout the day, which is a pain in the butt.

If I use the Flip, I just swap out AAs and recharge everything in the hotel room overnight.

The Flip is a single-use camera for me – I bought it specifically for use at conferences. I’m not going to film the next major motion picture with it, and I wholly acknowledge that it isn’t intended for that use at all. It will allow me, however, to capture lots of “good enough” video at conferences I go to, with a minimum of hassle when it comes to power and memory.