The modern classroom

Guest post by Susan Schumaker

Computer Based Training is increasing in popularity in the work place and in the classroom. The Information Age has made many changes to the way people are approaching education. As a college student, there are many classes I took that included taking labs in the computer lab at school. In the workplace, several of the places that I have worked focused their training sessions in an office full of computers.

Many professions now require the passing of state certification exams, and the preparation courses for these exams are available over the Internet. The exams themselves are done on computers in modern, secure testing facilities. The Information Age has truly transformed the way that business and education are done in the United States.

In Maine, the public education system gives the students their own personal laptop computers to take home with them, and to continue using the same laptop through out their high school years. This kind of forward-thinking is something that I think every state should get involved in. The world is shrinking, and becoming more competitive every day. We need to give our students every competitive edge we can.

Having to move

Thanks for the article from Rubin Osborne

Having to move wasn’t something that was in the cards for me but I’m really glad we did. It’s been a great way to force our family to come back together and at this age where the kids are both about to be teenagers it’s nice having something we can all go through together. I sure wish I had more of a hobby but sometimes I get online on the Satellite Star Internet in South Dakota during the day and talk to my sisters and stuff…my husband’s new job is working out well though and he really likes it which is good since it’s the whole reason we moved out here in the first place! It’s nice being able to find time to spend as a family and I know my kids will adjust just fine after a few more months so I’m just going to keep plugging ahead towards a new life for all of us here in South Dakota where we’re living!

Freecycle

I think Freecycle is great, but it has its limitations. We get (and give) some great stuff for free, but there are times when it can be aggravating. For example, when you are trying to negotiate a pickup or dropoff, the other party involved doesn’t seem to want to exchange telephone numbers, they simply state that they are leaving something by the curb for you to pick up at a certain time. But sometimes that certain time is simply impossible to meet, and when you send them an email about it to try to let them know (and renegotiate) they don’t always respond. So it can get quite frustrating!  And if you are trying to give something away and the person doesn’t show up to get it, and doesn’t call you to let you know that they aren’t coming (or got lost) or to renegotiate a different time, that is very frustrating as well!

Maybe they ought to develop a rating/ranking system like e-bay, where feedback is given.  I think that would make it a lot easier to use!

So very convenient

Every now and then I run into somebody who still spends hours on end writing checks out to pay their bills. Ever since my own bank offered Electronic Payments service (they call it Bill-pay) I signed up and have been delighted ever since! I don’t have to spend any time writing out the checks, so it saves me time. I don’t have to buy the blank checks, and I don’t have to buy stamps, so I save money. The Bill-pay is absolutely free, so it saves me time and money; how can you go wrong?

When I run into those people who say that they still do their bill paying by hand, I ask them why they don’t use their bank’s Bill-pay service. Sometimes they say that they don’t have a computer, or Internet service. Those folks tend to be senior citizens, so I can understand that. But the people that are my age or younger, when they say that they don’t own a computer, I really have to wonder why. I don’t get the impression that they are hard up for money. I wonder if they are afraid of computers!

The world is shrinking

One of the things that I really like about the Internet is how much smaller the world seems to be getting. For example, when my Aunt Susie moved to a different part of the country forty years ago she really had very little information about where she was moving to. She wrote to local chamber of commerce’s for help and information and they did send her materials but it was still a very difficult endeavour.

With the Internet at our fingertips in today’s world all of that information is available at the push of a button. For example if I wanted to live in Calgary for a year or two I could easily find a listing of houses for rent in Calgary, information about schools, restaurants, and local businesses in just a few moments time using my own computer and the Internet.