My World in just a few pictures.. :)

Cybercrime "tool kits"

I found a video that I found utterly intriguing and frightening at the same time. Expert cyber-criminals are 'selling' their expertise online! For a certain amount of money, if you want a computer virus, you can now buy one. Here's my advice to you: BE NICE TO EVERYONE!

Google: googol?

It is obvious that the giant search engine Google, was bestowed its name based on "googol" meaning 1 followed by 100 zeros. Living up to its expectation and more, Google produces more than 100 search answers for almost any keyword typed in. What most people aren't aware of however, is that Google is much more than a simple search engine.

Google has five basic sections:
1. Search
2. Enterprise
3. Mobile
4. Applications
5. Ads

Search, is what most of us are aware of. However, Ads and Applications are growing in awareness as well. Ads allows people to advertise on their websites in order to earn money, and also allows companies to list themselves on Google. I could, if I wanted to, advertise on this blog! That way, I could earn a little extra pocket money! :)

Applications are endless, ranging from Google Earth to Google scholar to gMail. Almost everyone has a gmail account now, and many websites require that you do in order for you to become a member; www.blogspot.com is one such website.


In short, Google is like the mastermind of the Internet. I can imagine it controlling or buying over the entire Internet one day, and making it more of a success than it already is.

Touch & Go: Oooh la la!

"Microsoft Surface is a forthcoming Multi-touch product from Microsoft which is developed as a software and hardware combination technology that allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical objects."

In simple terms, Microsoft's Surface is a computer in the form of a coffee-table, as shown in the video. It's a whole new generation of computers, in my opinion. In a way, it's like the iPhone, with you being able to touch and pull a picture, re-size it etc. But it's much more, much bigger.

The Surface has been optimized to respond to 52 touches at a time. "In addition to recognizing finger movements, Microsoft Surface can also identify physical objects. Microsoft says that when a diner sets down a wine glass, for example, the table can automatically offer additional wine choices tailored to the dinner being eaten."

The release date is said to be sometime this spring, and will primarily be distributed to restaurants, hotels, retail, entertainment venues, and the military. The price is estimated to be USD 5,000-10,000, but Microsoft has predicted the price to fall enough within years for it to become affordable for daily consumers.

e-Learning 2.0: The Evolution After The Revolution

Stephen Downes, a member of the National Research Council of Canada, wrote in eLearn Magazine "e-learning is evolving with the World Wide Web as a whole and it's changing to a degree significant enough to warrant a new name: E-learning 2.0."

When a concept and process such as e-Learning is created, I always wonder to myself whether the creator him/herself imagined the magnitude of it. Sometimes I think yes, and sometimes the answer is a resounding no. In the case of e-Learning, I'm still wondering.

I can literally feel e-Learning pervading all forms of education, taking over even where not really needed. e-Learning will soon no longer just be an option, it will be a way of life.

e-Learning 2.0, a term coined by Stephen Downes in his above mentioned article, refers to the constantly evolving e-Learning process, and to the process as we know it today. The impact of this was felt by all, when instructors found that they could assign homework online, could collect reports online, could even have the Internet check each paper for plagiarism! Students created blogs and wikis to discuss their work and to keep in touch with each other. "Pen pals" were now online, no one sent letters, it took too long.

e-Learning has officially entered the formal education system. I have experienced it myself, and still am, as I am enrolled in an online course: Nutrition. All my assignments are submitted online through a digital drop-box. If I have a question, I can post it on the discussion board or forum. If there's anything personal, I can email my instructor, who lives in Buffalo, NY.

"In the world of learning, what this means is having learning available no matter what you are doing. e-learning is "a deep integration with enterprise applications assembled from Web Services into composite applications" with "task and work support fused into the aggregated business processes that make up the real-time workflow" and supported by "contextual collaboration with people and systems" and "design and modification achieved by modeling and simulation."

Road-map to e-Learning

I chanced upon this video on e-learning on youtube. Hope you enjoy it!

E-Learning: An Educational Revolution

e-Learning is a term used to refer to computer enhanced learning, and is a tool that is growing rapidly. Schools and universities are using e-learning to expand their reach, so that soon enough, we will no longer have to leave the house to get a Harvard education.

Technologies that can be used during the process of e-learning include blogs (such as this one!), classroom response systems, discussion boards, web-based teaching materials, text chat, virtual classrooms, and so on.

To view it in the broad sense, I can most definitely see this concept's benefits:

• Convenience and portability: we no longer have to work around class schedules, but can have class schedules work around us!
• Cost and selection: pick and choose whatever you want, from art to archeology!
• Flexibility: choose instructor-led or self-study courses, as well as the tools that are most suited for YOU.
• Higher retention: when you study something you love, of course you'll remember it better and work harder for it!
• Global opportunities: can you imagine learning about the gladiators who fought in the Colosseum and being able to take a virtual tour through it? Through e-learning, we can be a part of history, and a part of the future.

e-Learning can be established through various forms:

• Purely online
• Blended learning: combination of online and face-to-face learning
• Instructor-led group
• Self-study
• Self-study with subject matter expert
• Web-based
• Computer based (CD-ROM)
• Video/Audio tape

In conclusion, e-Learning is a form of education that is enriching, fun and valuable. After all, "good teaching is good teaching, no matter how it's done."