Simply put, babies help us to see the big picture in life: they bring us pure happiness and remind us of what's important. Thomas Balmés' BABIES captures the joy that they bring to our lives across the globe. As a newbie aunty since September, I can't wait to see this!

(The trailer also features one of my favorite artists, Sufjan Stevens).

Tribute to Geoffrey Canada

Promise Academy

Geoffrey Canada (through mostly private funding), has made possible excellent education for children in low-income neighborhoods who wouldn't normally receive it. It all takes place in Harlem's asylum "The Children Zone." In almost two years, Canada has dismantled the misconception that a child's culture, parents' lack of education, gang affiliation, etc. affects a child's education. We mustn't make these kinds of excuses in the face of our nation's failing public education system; instead, we need to embrace the innovation of people like Geoffrey Canada and Davis Guggenheim (who brings awareness to the problems in the system through his documentary film Waiting for Superman).

The Future of Education

Wired Campus
Bill Gates Annual Letter

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made a few grants to push for online learning (this must be my calling!). Finally a potential answer to ending our nation's ineffective public education system! Now students can access quality lectures from some of the best professors in the world. Sites like academicearth.org will revolutionize the way students and teachers interact. Students will be motivated to enter an online course that caters to their needs and provides the individual feedback that they need from their teachers. Online learning is the solution to effective education.

The Other Road Ahead

In 1998 Paul Graham and Robert Morris sold their start-up company Viaweb that made software for building online stores for $48 million. They renamed it Yahoo! Store. In 2001, Paul Graham wrote an article on the future of software, "The Other Road Ahead." He writes, “[we] should be able to get at [our] data from any computer...or client.” Fast forward 9 years to today, users are able to get data from their email. We can also access personal photos/videos that we've chosen to post on Facebook or YouTube. However, how convenient would it be if we had access to our Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, personal photos (that we choose not to post on Facebook), and music on the Web, without having to lug around our laptops? For instance, I don’t want to have to email myself Word documents or upload them onto a flash drive in order to access them on a separate computer. Why can’t I access them via my own personal Web-based software or “Finder” (for Mac users)? If this becomes a reality, the disappointment and agony my friends have had to go through when their computers crash will be avoided. “I lost everything!” they’ll say. And not-so-calmly react, “My f***ing computer crashed! I lost my photos from Europe, all my music and 3/4 of my dissertation! S**t, mother f***er, damnit, f**********k!!!!”, etc. To avoid this kind of frustration, our Word documents, PowerPoints, etc. should be stored on the Web. As a teacher, I have to bring into school my laptop that carries my data, including class worksheets, PowerPoint presentations composed of lessons of Spanish verb conjugations, and downloaded YouTube videos (YouTube is blocked at the school’s network). Then I have to send myself whatever I need from my laptop via email, and download the data onto the classroom’s computer so that it can be projected onto the whiteboard for my students to see. This process needs to be simplified. Period.

Clase de español!

Jeff Cole's Talk

Last night we had our first APOC Intro class in Santa Monica at the "Center for the Digital Future." How catchy is that title? --makes me feel as though we're part of some major movement (which might be their point). Jeff Cole came in to speak with us and gave us an overview of Web 2.0 and some of the changes we're going to see in the future Web 3.0. Since Broadband has taken over, three major things have been happening: 1. schedules are disappearing. We know longer wait 24 hrs for the hard copy edition of the WSJ on our doorstep. Why should we when we can access the updated information we need in 30 seconds on our computer or mobile device. 2. There are too many choices in the world. Take cable: they’re screaming help! Consumers don’t want to pay the extra $25-$30 for channels they don't even watch. Instead, we want to be able to directly purchase the 8-15 channels we watch. I don't care about Hannah Montana and the Disney Channel--I just want my Food Network, please! 3. Platforms are shifting. The perception is: going digital is not a polluter. Let's not waste paper and buy books, get a Kindle instead.

So what do we do with all these changes? Jeff discusses some ways we're going to get it back together. Since Broadband has changed everything, we're going to see consolidation and an increase in brand importance. Instead of having multiple newspapers, they'll eventually consolidate down to 5 or 6, representing the world's "global voices." In college, we'll no longer have to take general education/prerequisite intro classes with random professors that will have no connection with your academic career. We'll be able to take Intro classes from the BEST professors around the world rated by other students and professors. (By the way, whatever happened to studentsenatecourseguide.com to rate professors at 'SC?--I had to guess which professor to choose my last semester!). We’ll then go to the university campus to take our specialty classes in our specific concentration.

Now with all these social networks, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and blog sites, Brand becomes important. Social media networks can kill a brand in less than a day. They can also get the word out there really, really...really fast. I was listening to NPR the other morning and Academy Award Campaigners were being interviewed for their work marketing their movies. One of the campaigners explained the importance of digital media, and sites like Twitter to get people talking about a movie--and this has become marketing.

Jeff's talk last night about all that’s happened in a decade and what's going to happen in half a decade gets my mind turning. The digital world is changing so fast and requires one to stay connected constantly in order to keep up with it. But I wonder if we're humanly capable to carry on at this increasing pace?