The Horizon Report 2007 Edition

The New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE have come together to identify the influencing technologies which will impact education. This fourth edition in the annual series is The 2007 Horizon Report.

NMC has identified mobile phones and virtual worlds as the top emerging technologies in higher education. Mobile phone are already greatly used for communication, information and entertainment. However, the vision is that mobile phones will be used for GPS navigation, security on school campuses as well as learning tools.

Rave Wireless Inc., is the leading provider of campus-specific mobile applications and was specifically singled out in the 2007 Horizon Report.

Virtual Worlds such as SecondLife offer the possibilities to explore virtual environments and role-play in challenging yet safe situations. Virtual worlds can be used to create effective learning environments.

Sears and IBM have recently teamed up to launch a virtual 3D store in SecondLife with real life brand name products. The show room is called Sears Virtual home and it is located on SecondLifes's island. Customers can experience products in SecondLife similarly to real life.

Every year the Horizon report discusses the latest trends and challenges likely to impact education. Now is the time to get interactive with Rave phones and SecondLife, for who knows what is in the horizon.

For more information on Rave phones and the SecondLife Virtual World, see the links below:
http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/rave-phone/
http://secondlife.com/

youtube.com

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XvuZY3DWtIY

This video clip was helpful because it listed twelve basic tips for interviewing.
1. Remember to dress for success. This is your chance to make a first impression.
2. Always keep good eye contact.
3. Ensure you have a firm handshake.
4. This is your only opportunity to sell yourself.
5. Listen to the interviewer. Understand the questions the interviewer is asking.
6. Be concise with your answers.
7. Beware of your body language. Sit up straight.
8. Prepare questions to ask the interviewer in advance.
9. Remember to smile during your interview.
10. It is extremely important to be on time or early for your interview.
11. Do some research about the company prior to your interview.
12. Know your resume and be able to discuss your qualifications.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=EUE3ltqWvwA

This video clip was so funny. Although the actors showed how not to act in an interview, they also discussed some good tips on how to interview.
Try to add a personal touch to your interview. This can be accomplished by discussing your resume using examples. Do not read your resume word for word.
It is important to be able to discuss times you worked in a team environment and provide specific examples.
Expect out of the ordinary questions from the interviewer. Sometimes interviewers will ask a brain teasers to see your response. Do not let these questions stress you. Do your best to provide an answer even though there may not be a correct answer.
Always end your interview on a high note. Continue smiling and showing your enthusiasm throughout the entire interview process.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pyiXbrc22bQ

This video clip was about proper greeting etiquette.
It discussed the importance of a firm handshake. Your handshake should be web to web. It is important to introduce yourself using both your first and last name. Introducing yourself with only your first name or a nickname is unprofessional. The interviewer, should get up from behind their desk to come and shake hands with the interviewee.

Job Interview Questions

1. How long have you been working in IT Quality Assurance testing? How long have you been working in the Insurance Industry?

2. What types of projects have you worked on?

3. What was your role in these projects?

4. How do you handle defect tracking and retesting of those defects?

5. What types of testing have you performed? Can you provide an example of negative testing?

6. Describe a time you had to deal with a difficult customer or a time you had a conflict with a co worker. What was the situation and how did you resolve it?

7. Tell me about a project that you worked on that you enjoyed or was your favorite. Why was it your favorite project? How was it implemented into Production?

8. Why do you feel you would be a good fit for this position?

9. Tell me about some of the personal and/or professional goals you have set for yourself. How will you go about achieving them?

10. What is your learning style? What expectations do you have for training if you were offered this position?

Copyrighting

Know Your Rights: Keeping Up With Copyright In The Digital Age
Audio, video and print today are more easily accessed than years ago making copyright misuse greater as well. In 1998 the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was put into place to help prevent unauthorized copying.

Even though organizations have licenses for electronic content, employees aren't always clear on what acceptable usage is. Therefore, it is important to properly train employees and track their digital media usage to assist in protecting the content. More than 56 billion documents are passed over the Internet each year and a proactive approach to copyright infringement is critical.

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Nancy Davis Kho. EContent. Wilton: Sep 2007. Vol. 30, Iss. 7; p. 26 (6 pages)



Copyright piracy grows with new technology
Copyright is simply the right to copy something such as books, magazines, poems etc. Since once an author has written something, they are the rightful owner and the work cannot be copied without their permission. The copyright law is a way of preserving ones artistic work.

Today with the emerge of the digital age, musicians and filmmakers are also very vulnerable to copyrighting. Today's technology itself makes digital theft so easy such as through file sharing.

Google, a California search-engine company scans whole libraries of books and puts them online in a free searchable database. Google argues that their "searches" are legitimate however, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) believes it to be copyright infringement. While Google is a great, free research tool, what incentive do authors have to create literary works for free?

<http://0-proquest.umi.com.wave.lccc.edu/pqdweb?index=7&did=1320464181&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1191073965&clientId=18115>

Chuck Leddy. The Writer. Boston: Sep 2007. Vol. 120, Iss. 9; pg. 8, 2 pgs



Copyright Bullfight
Copyrighting not only pertains to books and the Internet as a Texas A&M University graduate recently found out. He was required to make slight graphic changes to the t-shirts and stuffed animals he was selling as to not resemble the University's trademark.

The young man was sued back December for copyright infringement. To settle the lawsuit, he was required to pay $25,000 to the University of Texas and had to paint nostrils and a white forehead blaze on the longhorn on his t-shirts and stuffed animals in order to change their look. The young man commented that he was happy because he can keep producing and selling his merchandise.

Louis T. Pirkey, the lawyer for the University of Texas, says the settlement protects the university's logo and is a fight for the University's the famous logo.

<http://0-proquest.umi.com.wave.lccc.edu/pqdweb?sid=2&RQT=511&TS=1191079061&clientId=18115&firstIndex=50>

KATHERINE MANGAN. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Washington:
Jul 13, 2007. Vol. 53, Iss. 45; p. A.5

Tagging

Tagging is labeling important data on the Internet. There is so much information on the "Net" when researching data and tagging is a great way of keeping track of the information you want to use and share. Simply create an account with a site such as flickr.com Label or tag information that is important to your research with key words. When using the search bar and entering keywords, this specific information will be retrieved. This information is not only personally helpful but also part of a huge social dimension. Tags created allow sites such as flicckr to better organize their information with the keywords individuals have created.

Below are the three links to more information on tagging.


http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_39/b3952408.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7445653/site/newsweek/

http://www.news.com/Tagging-gives-Web-a-human-meaning/2009-1025_3-5944502.html

Bad Communication

Bad communication in personal relationships can destroy the relationship as I've found out just recently. I never really thought about how it affected business and corporations until I read about the Challenger disaster. I worked for a large insurance company for the past 15 years and recently began working on "projects" through Project Managers. Now that I look back, I can think of instances where important information was not always communicated properly or with enough emphasis. The Business (the Insurance Company) particularly the VP would decided upon a project. The project would be discussed with who the VP thought were the critical players. Those players, specifically, the IT team would forward information offshore, to India, to have the technical specifications and business requirements typed up. Sometimes, the coding would also be handled offshore. Upon completion, the project would be given to me to test. Since I wasn't always a key player and excluded from the kickoff meeting, I often had to play catch up and try to figure out what the project was all about, what changes were made to the system and why. Through my analysis and from 15 years of Insurance knowledge, I was often able to identify aspects of the project that were not considered and sometimes critical. If only I had been involved from the beginning, unnecessary time and money could have been saved. In my new positon, I recently experienced inappropriate politeness when critical information was needed for a project I was working on with my supervisor. The coder (who actually works for us, not vice versa) refused the provide the information because he takes offense if his work his questioned. My supervisor didn't push the subject and brushed it off as to not rock the boat. I was disappointed that this was the avenue she chose especially since the information needed could greatly impact the project. As for the Challenger, it seems to me that there were so many people who had doubts about the flight and just sat back. What would the seven passengers had done had they had known of the dangers? Would they have got onboard anyway?

NetGeneration

I considered my self pretty "up on technology" until I read Oblingers Net Generation. I consider myself kinda a computer geek. I'm a Quality Assurance Software Analyst in an IT department for an Insurance Company in Allentown. I thought I was the "Net Generation" since I'm fascinated by new technologies. However, recently when I upgraded by cell phone I found there's many features on it I don't know how to use and I haven't even entered all my contacts yet...a month and 1/2 later. I'm really not even interested in learning the features on the new phone. As I read through Oblingers article, I found that I'm not in the Net Generation, I'm actually a Nontraditional Learner. I attend LCCC part time, work full-time and started college at age 35. I'm a single parent with a dependent child. I completely fit into that category with the exception that I do have a high school diploma.
I believe my son who is now 7 already takes technology for granted. We only have a cell phone in our home...no need for a house phone. He's been "playing" on the computer since he's age 2 1/2 where he began to use it in daycare. I was shocked one morning when I say him entering the letter "c" at the little carrot < in order to get his game to run on the old machine. Game boy goes everywhere with him and when he comes home from school, he wants to play Playstation on our digital HGTV. He's asking for the Wii for Christmas this year. I sure hope the price comes down til then. He doesn't know that he's using technology since it's all he's ever known. Yet my parents who are in their 50's now, have no idea how to logon a computer. My mother is afraid of the "mouse."

Jayne Dietz