Crowdsourcing…

Studying for my Information Systems exam I found this really interesting video about crowdsourcing. Check it out…

Get Connected with Twitter!

Us Now

I recently had the opportunity to check out the premier of a documentary film called “Us Now.” The film features Canada’s own Don Tapscott, author of one of my favourites: “Wikinomics”, as well as JP Rangaswami and Clay Shirky. The main idea of the film describes Social Networking and discusses how websites like facebook, flickr and youtube allow us to “reorganize almost any aspect of our own lives.” The film goes as far as discussing a new type of goverment where ‘the people’ are much more actively involved in the process via the internet. Imagine a goverment run the way wikipedia operates… open source government? Really?

Check out the trailer:

Did you know?

Here is an eye-opening video that was originally created by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Bronman. For more information check out

http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/

Enjoy!

Going Viral with Wario!

A friend of mine sent me a link to a pretty impressive viral video. This particular clip has been on youtube since September 19th and has just reached 3 million hits. The video is promoting a new video game that has come out for Nintendo Wii called Wario Land: Shake It.

Click here to view: http://www.youtube.com/experiencewii

Oh, try and pay attention!

What every student needs to hear.

 

Hate him or love him, Bill Gates says it like it is. Here are 11 things that you will not learn in school.

Rule 1: Life is not fair – get used to it!

 

Rule 2 : The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

 

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

 

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

 

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

 

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault; so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

 

Rule 7 :  Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

 

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

 

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time..

 

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

 

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

I realize this list has been cycling around for a while but I figured it was worth writing about. Do me a favour. Take a minute and think about what it would have been like growing up in the 50’s and 60’s (in 1950 minimum wage was increased to $0.75/hr). It’s a completely different world! I know that my parents had it much worse then I do (or at least it seems that way). Direct comparison: walking up hill both ways knee deep in snow vs. taking the bus or driving your parents car. And a majority of us want to provide our children with the same opportunities that our parents have given us. Does this mean that education is going to parallel these trends continuing to make things easier for young people?

  

In my generation (The Net Generation) there are a huge number of people that have been spoon feed for so many years (if you are 24 and your parents still do your laundry and make your lunches you are spoon fed). Yes, it’s out there and it’s horrible! And no I am not at all jealous. Not to mention the exact same thing happens in the classroom. Why can’t I be taught about a world that I am living in?

 

I understand that experiences count for something but I have been educated for a world that no longer exists. It was expensive, time consuming and not very stimulating. Sure, I got out of the classroom and created a few opportunities for myself but why does all of my learning have to happen outside the classroom? I want to teach a few courses:

 

1) Common Sense 101

2) Real World Living

 

Why is education the way it is? (I know… stupid question) Seriously though, why has education not changed in the last 50 years? Why does everything in school have to be fair? Why do our bosses have to be tougher then our teachers or coaches? I spent 4 years in University and to be perfectly honest what I learned was not worth the price of admission. I was pushed harder on the court in high school then I was in the lecture halls of university. Why? So I could learn to push myself… maybe. As far as I’m concerned, university was the exact same as high school with the similar (20% new) material condensed in to a shorter term. Why?

 

Getting back to the topic at hand, my generation asks me if I think these 11 points are harsh. I think they are real world. However, depending on how you were raised they may seem harsh. The net generation needs to be exposed to this much earlier then we were. Bill Gates introduced these rules to a grade 11 class and I think it’s a perfect age to do so.

Do Schools Today Kill Creativity?

I could not agree more with Sir Ken Robinson. I spent 4 years at University so I could “learn how to learn.” I think the take home message for me was that about 75% of my learning happened outside the classroom. Interesing…

So now I have a degree and like a majority of my peers I feel like I am going to have to go back to school (and take something I’m more interested in). I do not feel prepared for the real world and just don’t know where I want to begin. I have so many ideas but feel way too young for anyone to trust them. Also, it seems as though a degree means nothing in today’s society. For example, in a recent job interview lasting for 90 minutes I was asked a total of two questions about my degree. They all want life experience. They all want creativity. They all want innovation. Why couldn’t I sign up for those courses?

Don’t get me wrong. I had a great time at school and would not be half the person I am today if I neglected to pursue a post secondary education. However, it’s all about how you sell yourself. Like in the movie 21 when Jim Sturgess is applying to medical school and he asks his professor if he has been wowed. It’s about confidence, creativity and being different.

The Net Generation

Hi, my name is Geoff and I am apart of the Net Generation. I was born between 1977 and 1996 and demographers call me the baby-boom echo. My generation is bigger then the baby boom and I will dominate the twenty-first century.

I am the first generation to grow up in the digital age and I am a force for collaboration. I am growing up ‘bathed in bits.’ Unlike my parents who spent about twenty-four hours a week in front of Andy Griffith, Bob Denver, Caroll O’Conner, and Alan Alda, I am growing up in a much more interactive world. I spend time searching, reading, scrutinizing, authenticating, collaborating, and organizing. One thing’s for sure, I can not image a life where people don’t have the tools to constantly think critically, exchange views, challenge, authenticate, verify, or debunk.

I am apart of a generation that scrutinizes. I am more skeptical of authority and often oppose censorship by governments and by parents however I do highly value individual rights. I am confident about my abilities. I am worried that my old-school-type-with-two- fingers-manager will not listen to my ideas about making the company better. I am excited about my future in this exponentially changing workforce and can’t wait to get started. I am always looking for something better and I don’t want to have the same job for 30 years. I want to collaborate, innovate and change.

From Don Tapscott’s best selling novel Wikinomics.