EDUCAUSE recently published their five most popular videos of 2017. One that caught my eye was Students of the Future. This is great summary of where higher ed technology trends are taking us. The video emphasizes the following “hot topics.” Slow Death of Traditional Degrees While the “sheepskin” in higher ed will still be around…
Low Code to No Code
For several years, I’ve been hearing about low-code platforms. These are usually web-based tools such as QuickBase, Appian, and others that focus mainly on the professional developer market and promise to speed up the development process. The disruption created by this model of Software Defined Everything (SDX) has become increasingly evident. But up to now,…
First Freedom
A recent article reported that most college students believe that offensive speech is not protected by the Constitution. Of those surveyed, 44% answered that offensive speech is not protected while 39% answered correctly that the Constitution protects offensive speech. I guess the other 17% didn’t know, which is almost as bad. 62% agreed that campus groups…
Social Media Effects
I’ve often wondered about the effects of social media use. My roles as a technology manager, professor, observer of human behavior, and parent put the topic of social media squarely in my sights. I recently read an excellent article from the BBC on the effects of social media use, and while it was not scholarly,…
French Agreement
Well, the netherworld must be cold today, because I found something on which I agree with the French. This article about banning supermarkets from throwing away food is a wonderful idea and a great use of legislation to help combat hunger, not only in our country, but worldwide. According to the article, France, which receives…
Vote for the Fun for All Park in College Station
Want to do something nice for the community where it costs you nothing and takes only a few seconds? The College Station Noon Lions Club is supporting the Fun for All Play Ground in Central Park in College Station (http://funforallplaygroundbcs.com/). The Fun for All park is playground specially designed for people of all abilities to…
The Politics of Contraception
Here we go again! As usual, The Times is overplaying the point. “In the lawsuit, filed by the state of Pennsylvania, the judge said the rule would cause irreparable harm because tens of thousands of women would lose contraceptive coverage.” Within the context of this article, “losing contraceptive coverage” doesn’t mean women wouldn’t have access…
Republicans may have ‘awoken a sleeping giant’ by repealing net neutrality
Well, they did it! The FCC will now allow Internet service providers to provide differential service based upon content. The reason this is bad is because service should be neutral in relation to content. Think of our First Amendment free-speech rights. Places of public accommodation are not allowed to discriminate against any type of speech on…
Appalachian Trail, 2017
I’m sitting in the public library of Hot Springs, NC, writing this blog entry and contemplating the magnitude of what we all just did. Not because it was a feat of athletic ability, or extreme endurance, or any such example of human exceptionalism. No, rather it was, as it always is, a magnum of human…