Chromebooks for Education
Filed under: Blog Entries, Education, Technology, Think Global
Whenever technology can be used effectively in the classroom, I’m all for it. Information moves faster than it ever has and we live in a time where travel to a foreign land or historical landmark is only a click away. Enter the Google Chromebook.
Chromebooks are lightweight, mobile laptops built for the web that give students, teachers, and administrators a simple solution for fast and easy-to-manage computing. The applications on the Chromebook are all web-based which makes it easier for IT administrators to manage what the students can access. Teachers and schools can set up Google Apps for Education accounts that would allow them to manage their classroom and store documents online.
According to the video, the students see it as a new way of learning and it gives them a chance to learn beyond what the traditional textbook has to offer. I believe there is a per student monthly cost for the Chromebooks, but the best way to learn more is to attend the webinar today and on August 3rd for more information.
Introduction to Chromebooks for Education
- Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 11:00AM PT/2:00PM ET – Register
- Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 11:00AM PT /2:00PM ET – Register
What do you think? How beneficial do you think this would be to students and teachers?
Thoughts On Google+
Filed under: Blog Entries, Society & Culture, Technology, Think Global
For those who don’t know, I’m a Google junkie. I use just about every Google service from Gmail to Google Voice on a daily basis, so I’m in “the cloud” in a major way. When the news about Google+ started coming out, my quest began to get one of the coveted invites (thanks @LiberateMag). While on the hunt for an invite I read posts from @Baratunde, @ScottBourne and other bloggers I follow, but I thought why not throw my two cents in the jar.
First off, I have to say I love the “Meet the Fockers” circle concept in Google+. The basic premise is that you can create and place people in “circles”, based on their relationship to you. For instance, I created circles for family, friends, blogger, photographers and tech. I find people who I want to follow and place them in a circle, so whenever they post something to G+ I see it. People can be placed in multiple circles and only you know which circle they’re in.
If they add you to their circle in return, they will be able to see whatever you post. I like this concept because it forces me to organize the people I add into groups giving me the option to decide who sees what. It’s not perfect, but G+ is still in beta and the current user base is really proactive in speaking out about changes they’d like to see.
The hangout is pretty interesting because it allows you to open a video chat session with up to nine people from your circles at the same time. If no one is online, you can invite other people to join. I haven’t tried hangouts out yet, but I may give it a try. I heard they can be pretty fun. I can definitely like to see some location based hangouts in the future.
Sparks is just a running feed of articles on the Internet that relate to a specific topic you choose. I have a tech spark and to be honest I rarely use it. I created a photography spark today, so maybe I’ll get more use out of it in the future. You can share sparks of interest to you with your circles.
The mobile app for G+ is pretty sweet. It gives you the option to instant upload photos and videos directly to a private folder in your account to be shared or kept for safe keeping. This my not be a feature everyone may want, but it’s pefect for me because it gives me a way of getting that stuff off my phone. Most of the time it’s something that I want to share anyway with friends and family. The mobile app also allows you to view your stream, use hangouts (in chat only) and posts photos/video from your phone.
Finally, one of the best things about G+ is that Tom from Myspace has an account! He’s really posting some interesting stuff and it’s good to see ol’ Tom in action again. To be honest, I’ve come across a lot of interesting people. As more people get access and start using G+, it’ll be interesting to see how well it’s adopted.
Is G+ a Facebook killer? Not right now. But it does have its place in the online social ecosystem. As Facebook and Google battle it out, this is bound to be an interesting summer in social networking. Stay tuned.
For a very good overview of how to use Google+ check out this post from the Social Media Examiner. If you want an invite or would like to add me to a circle, here’s my profile. Don’t worry, I’ll be nice.
As always, I want to know what you think of the service. Let me know in the comment area.
Teach Your Child to Hack @ DEFCON Kids
Filed under: Blog Entries, Education, Society & Culture, Technology, Think Global
DEFCON, one of the largest gathering of hackers in the world will be having its first Annual DEFCON Kids, August 6-7, 2011 at the Rio in Las Vegas. There will be classes for kids ages 8 to 16 where they will cover topics like social engineering, how to open Master locks, Google Hack, code in scratch and communicate in code.
For the kids who are interested in learning how to hack, I think it’s a great idea (with the exception of the lock picking) to teach them in a closed environment where they can be monitored and encouraged to use their skill for good. Most people don’t consider cyber terrorism to be a big deal, but if you think how much we’ve come to rely on the Internet as a society, you’d realize the importance of this kind of conference.
Who knows, our next Internet security entrepreneur, CIO or cyber security specialist might be discovered. If done right, this can be a good thing. It’ll give these kids the opportunity to meet people with similar interests and teach them how to prevent others from falling victim to the not so nice hackers.
For more information visit www.defconkids.org.
Texas TV TakeBack Bill Signed
Last week Gov. Rick Perry signed a new law requiring television manufacturers to take back and recycle unused television sets in an effort to keep toxic materials out of our landfills and water.
Why is this a big deal you might ask? One, because pollutants in the water is just nasty. And two, because I feel it’s important to take care of the environment and do what we can to keep it safe for generations to come. The small things matter and when they make it easy for us to recycle any type of item, we should take full advantage of it.
I grew up in a neighborhood where we had to work to recycle stuff. Crushing cans and loading the car with paper and plastic bottles was a family affair for us. We would take it up to the community recycling bin and make multiple trips during the day if we couldn’t pack all of it in on the first trip. Now, all I have to do is throw my recyclables in a bin and put it on the corner during our recycle day.
While the bill has been signed by the governor, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality still has to design rules to implement and enforce the law. Until then check out the articles below to learn who current offers recycling programs for electronics in Texas.
What Texas’ new television recycling law means for consumers
Change
Filed under: Black Blogger Postings, Blog Entries, Business, Community, Education, Entertainment & Sports, Family, General, Health, Laughable, Legal, Life, Monday Motivation, Music Reviews, My Thoughts, My Utterz, MyBlogLog, Obama, Our Rights, Personal Finance, Photo Phinish, Podcasts, Podcasts - Tha Brothas, Politics, Relationships, Society & Culture, Technology, Think Global, Twitter
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on theotalks.net and I’ve had it on my task list to do this for a while. I’ve been debating it for some time, but I really think it’s time to start fresh. I’ve mentioned in other posts that blogging is hard work. If you’re not dedicated to the cause, you can easily suffer burnout. I’ve seen it before from some of my favorite sites and if you look at the last date I posted, you’ll see it here.
But despite the lack of posts, I still get a decent amount of hits and readers are still leaving comments on some of my older posts. I’m not the most prolific writer and I don’t consider myself to be well-versed in a lot of the stuff I blog about. But there’s something about this blogging thing that keeps sucking me back into it. I’ve grown to love the black blogger community and it has allowed me to meet some amazing people. There are a lot of people out there with some strong opinions about society and the world as they see it. Those are the people who I like to showcase and support.
I’m making some changes to the blog and what I blog about. I love the current theme and focus of theotalks, but I want to remove the restraints and give myself the opportunity to be all over the place. The new theme of the site is “Random thoughts about everything and nothing”. While it may be a little vague, that’s how I want to run the site from now on. My current theme of focusing on the black community is great, but there are so many other great bloggers out there consistently doing it. It takes time to put those posts together and right now, I’m at a different place in life.
So from here on out, expect the unexpected. As I feel moved, I’ll post about whatever is on my heart at the moment. I’ll also be showcasing some of my favorite bloggers and will work to get some of the guest writers back (you know who you are) to help a brotha out.
I haven’t decided if I’m going to start the podcast back up, but I might try my hand at video blogging. Only time will tell. Thanks to everyone who supports and reads this blog. It definitely keeps me motivated to stay at it.
God Bless.
Theo
Once Again It’s On!
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Family, Health, My Thoughts, Obama, Politics, Society & Culture, Technology, Think Global
Earlier this morning President Obama began filing papers to seek re-election for President in 2012. The first thought in my mind was “here we go again”. I was surprised the first time he sought election and shocked when he beat out the Clintons for the Democratic nominee. But watching him over the past couple of years has shown me Obama can handle the critics and is willing to complete the tasks he promises to those who elect him.
Sure we don’t have our American utopia critics felt he promised in 2008, but let’s remember the downward spiral our country was going in before he was elected. Money was being thrown all over the place to fund the Iraq war, the housing sector was trash and companies who were too big to fail were in the corporate welfare line waiting for their share of the taxpayers’ money. It wasn’t pretty and I til this day can’t understand why he wanted to run for office in the first place. But he won and the country has never been the same since.
Our previous president told us that holding the office of Commander in Chief is hard work and I agree. I couldn’t imagine having to be responsible for making decisions that affect millions of people, but I feel President Obama has done what he feels is best for America and deserves a second term. I feel confident that despite all the political bickering, he thoughtfully considers every decision and moves after he’s heard all the options. Yes, not every decision is effective. But what president, CEO or executive can make the claim that all of the decisions they’ve made have worked? In the end, he’s the one held responsible. So let’s give him four more years to see if the laws he’s implemented work.
March 2nd – Fund Texas’ Future Day
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Community, Education, Family, Society & Culture, Technology, Think Global
I received this email from the local PTA in our district. As everyone might know, Texas is having some budget issues and education is one of the areas needing to make some major cuts. It’s funny how our politicians claim to care about the future of our kids and then force the school system to get rid of teachers and cut funding.
I’m sure we’d definitely see some results if this were a debate on raising taxes. Our priorities are so messed up. Please spread the word about March 2nd. We can’t let them get away with this and it’s going to take a unified effort to let them know we won’t stand for it. Don’t let them put Texas’ future on the back burner.
Read below for more information.
——————————————————————————————————————-
Dear Board, APs, CPs and Past Presidents,
In response to the numerous phone calls and emails regarding our position on funding education, Texas PTA is sponsoring a grassroots one-day event on March 2. The email below is scheduled to go out to our membership tomorrow and again next week, describing this email event and how the grassroots members can get involved by contacting their representative. Please use this email to help get the word out about this event or to answer any questions that may come your way. And, as always, please do not hesitate to contact Texas PTA with any questions.
Thank you!
March 2 – Fund Texas’ Future Day!
Dear Public Education Advocates,
Forward this email to everyone in your community who cares about Texas students!
It’s the biggest crisis in Texas history. Nearly five million Texas students need our help. Texas PTA is proclaiming Wednesday, March 2, as “Fund Texas’ Future Day.” It’s imperative we make sure our “house is in order” – the Texas House of Representatives in Austin, that is. Please light up cyberspace by emailing your state representative on Wednesday, March 2.
Find Your Representative
Use this website to find your representative:
http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us
Once you’ve identified your state representative, use this format for his/her email address:
First name (dot) last name (@) house (dot) state (dot) tx (dot) us
Then utilize the points below that will most influence your state representative.
Please personalize your message, but here are some important points to include in your email to your state representative:
- Texas PTA’s legislative position is that funding public education is a priority.
- Regardless of what your campaign promises might have been, there are nearly five million reasons for you to look at all sources of funding to protect public education.
- Cutting funding to public education is not acceptable.
- The Rainy Day Fund and all revenue sources should be considered to fund Texas’s future.
- Texas children are our future.
- Texas businesses cannot thrive without an educated workforce. The economic viability of our state is directly related to the education of our children.
March 2 is the day for PTA to take over cyberspace and let our voices be heard to protect our future – Texas students!
In addition, beginning March 2, Texas PTA encourages all schools to include the message, “Fund Texas’ Future” on their marquees.?
Old School Jet, Ebony and Black Enterprise on Google Books
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Community, Education, Entertainment & Sports, Family, General, Politics, Relationships, Society & Culture, Technology, Think Global
When Google announced the release of Google Books, I rushed over and was pleased to see that they’d scanned in some of my favorite magazines. The best part was that I could view them all online for free.
In my searches I was able to find issues for Jet Magazine (1950-2005), Ebony Magazine (1950-2000) and Black Enterprise (1970-2000). While they don’t include the most current issues, it’s great that I can see what was going on before I was I born. If Google keeps this up, I can’t imagine the kind of information my kids will have access to.
This will give those in my generation and forward the ability to research our past and learn more than we’ve ever had about entertainment, politics and society, than we’ve ever had. The odds of me getting my hands on a volume 1 Jet Magazine is one to impossible. But thanks to Google, I have access to it.
We are in the Information Age and I hope everyone is ready to get on board. In 2011, I plan on increasing the number of black history books I read and I’m going to use Google Books to do this. There are a lot of good free books out there for us to read. I as I finish them I’ll blog about them here on the site.
Here’s to a New Year in books.
Today is World AIDS Day 2010
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Family, Health, Life, Obama, Society & Culture, Think Global
Despite the recent lack of content on the site, I didn’t want to let this day pass without showing my support for World AIDS Day. I’ve participated in the past and I’ve tried to provide at least one link of interest to help others see the impact AIDS has on communities all over the world.
While medicine and vaccines have improved over the years, there are prevention measures that you take to reduce the risk of contracting it. On the aids.gov website they even have an AIDS 101 page that you can visit to learn the basics of HIV/AIDS. The information is out there, but it’s up to us get get it to the masses. We have to be knowledgeable about this information because it affects us all.
I thought I’d leave you with a quick video from President Obama and some additional links to visit and share with others.
AIDS.GOV INFORMATION
Website: www.AIDS.gov
Blog: blog.AIDS.gov
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AIDSgov
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AIDSgov
Flickr: www.flickr.com/groups/facingaids2010
MySpace: www.myspace.com/AIDSgov
If you would like to locate your local HIV testing site you can text your ZIP code to “KNOWIT” (566948) or use the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Service Provider Locator to find maps, walking, driving, and biking directions.
President Obama’s Weekly Address – 07/03/10
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Community, Obama, Society & Culture, Technology, Think Global
As part of the explosion of Recovery Act projects this summer and as a move towards a clean energy future, the President announces nearly $2 billion in conditional commitments to key solar companies. Learn more from the White House fact sheet.
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