Verizon / Samsung Preview Party

That’s So Cool

People tell me all the time how cool it is that I get to review new tech for Verizon. I tell them it’s cool and fun, but remind them that I have to return it all, and I’m left wanting the newest item. That part isn’t so fun.  I recently experienced another perk of being a tech reviewer for Verizon: The Private Preview party.

I was given a date and was allowed to invite a few tech savvy friends for this event. I wasn’t sure what to expect, just that it was going to be a rep from Samsung Mobile USA, the Verizon Wireless store employees and us.

The Event

VWZ Party1

We arrived and were greeted by the store personnel, who locked the doors behind us, preventing party crashers. There were donuts, water, and orange Juice provided, and after introductions, we were allowed to wander and explore the store. We asked questions – tough questions. Tried on, played with and drooled over the latest products on the market. Andrew Epperson and I, along with the Samsung rep, theorized about new products expected to launch.  I made a wish list of all the gadgets I wanted.

 

More Than Phones

VWZ Party5

There were more than just phones. We played extensively with the Galaxy Gear (WANT SO BAD) and the Galaxy Note 10.1. We inquired about the staff picks on bluetooth sound systems and headsets. We were given an education on the hotspots, home wireless and the Samsung AllShare Cast.<– If you haven’t seen that, you should go check it out.

 

 

 

Swag

VWZ Party4

As we left, we were given some cool Samsung mobile swag.  The best part is, I get to do it again! Not sure when, but near or just after another big product launch, I will see what I can do to secure another date.

 

It Could Be You

My party guests this time included: Missy Bentley, Andrew Epperson, Cathy Finch, and David Sobotka. Would you want to be included in the next one? Comment below: Leave your name, current carrier, current phone model and product line you would be interested in previewing (Samsung, Motorola, LG….) VWZ Party3

General Business Training Part 2

Diving into the first topic of discussion from the book

General Business Training: Chapter 10 Mail

 

In the introduction to this series,  I was unable to date this book. Based on the postage rate of three cents, I am going to place this book somewhere between 1917 and 1952, the date ranges when US postage was three cents.

 The first few sections address the various types of mail classes, insurance, COD, and special delivery / handling. But section 3, Addressing Envelopes and Packages, caught my eye.  We live in a digital age. Many of us remember our mothers forcing us to handwrite thank you letters to family and friends for various occasions. I suspect that many parents are not carrying on with this tradition. Personally, I know the number of thank you cards I received has dwindled.

I did however, receive this thank you card in the mail, written and addressed by hand.

Some people still get it.

 

So, for those of you afraid of snail mail, like your granny is afraid of the computer, here is what the book says:

 

The Address:

“The name of the person to whom the letter is sent, the street address, the city, and the state should be written or typed on separate lines as in figure 72. The ordinary address on a letter should have at least four lines. If the name of a company or business is given in addition to the name of the individual, the address may have five or more lines. “

 

The Return Address:

The address of the sender should be placed in the upper left -hand corner so that the post office can return the letter to him if the one to whom it is addresses cannot be located. This addres is usually printed on the stationary used by the business, but if it’s not printed, it should be written. “

 

Now you try it. Think about a person or business that has made you grateful this week. Pick up a pen and some paper, and write them a thank you note! You don’t need special paper, or expensive stationary. Trust me. They will just be grateful for the time you took to write it.

When did you last get a thank you note? How did it make you feel?

General Business Training Part 1

I love old books. When I was given this one it really intrigued me. The date page is gone so it is obviously quite dated. But I wondered as I thumbed through it , how many of those skills are still needed and not taught ? How has business changed since this was written? And what insights can we learn from the past that we could apply to business today?

Summer Book Review

So just for fun this summer, I’d like to do a mini review of this book in the form of a series focusing on how things have changed, how they stay the same, and some things, perhaps, that we may have forgotten, that maybe we shouldn’t have. So let’s get started.

This book was designed to be a textbook and looks as though quite a few students have had their hands on it before me. In the preface it states:

“General Business Training in its first edition pioneered in emphasizing the general non-technical values in junior business education. These values are now commonly recognized as being of greatest importance. The recognition of their worth has been accelerated in recent years through observations of teachers and businessmen, and as a result of several surveys which have been made by those interested in business education.”

Values lost

It seems to me that some of these values have been lost, not that they’re any less important. They are simply not taught, and not understood.

I’ve been involved in several areas of teaching and training. And recently was asked to participate in designing a training program to teach soft skills to new hires. It seems to me there is a gap between expectations of knowledge and what’s being generally taught as important.

Hope you join me over the next few days as we learn together from the past.

People Skills

Today’s blog is a guest post from my son who turns eight today. He had a writing prompt in school asking him to write about a valuable lesson he has learned.

I was reading it again, and while, yes it is the miss spelled, run on sentence, hard to read scribbles of child, it is a valuable lesson for us all:

BE NICE

Take a moment read his philosophy and find a way to apply it today.

 

Learning to get along was a valuable lesson because later in life you might need people skills. Like if you’re having a fight and it gets intense, some people skills  are be nice to others, obey your parents, respect your elders, and those are only a small amount. So, BE NICE!

 

 

Go on…. Go be nice and use good people skills!  

 

Follow Last Launch on Twitter

 

Last shuttle launch of STS135 planned for 11:26am EDT today.

 

Follow it in REAL TIME by going to twitter. No need to sign up, just go to www.twitter.com and type  #STS135 (Or just Click that link)

 

You will see tweets from NASA, Mews media, Space geeks and from the selected twitter users from the l tweetup STS-135.  (More about that tweetup here.)

 

If you love space, get it real time from many angles. Usually tons of great pics, vids, and conversations from the tweetup people that you just don’t get with traditional media coverage.

 

If you are on Twitter follow a few NASA handles:

@NASA

@NASAKennedy

@NASAGoddard

 

McGary’s Walk for Food Justice

 

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This summer my son, Xavier, is attending summer school. This isn’t the summer school I remember.

This program is taking place at McGary Middle School in Evansville, IN and is a service-learning project.

To say Xavier was unhappy about attending summer school would be a gross understatement.

He’s completed two weeks of “summer school.” He’s helped start a community garden, helped to build a greenhouse, used real world data from the Tri-State Food Bank to explore mathematical concepts, and researched childhood hunger.

He’s excited about completing these projects and about school, and I couldn’t be happier about this transition of attitude about his education.

His class has initiated a fund raising campaign running between June 25th and June 30th, accepting donations of food and money to go to the Tri-State Food Bank.

 

How you can help

  • If you know Xavier or a student participating in “McGary’s Walk for Food Justice,” pledge a donation.
  • Please post this to your facebook page, your twitter, re-blog it, e-mail it to your groups…. Spread the word however you can!
  • Take a food donation to one of 3 locations:

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Evansville:

Ameristamp Sign-A-Rama

1300 North Royal Avenue

 

Wireless Zone

724 North Burkhardt

 

Newburgh

Wireless Zone

8300 Bell Oaks Drive, Bell Oaks Plaza

 

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At both Wireless Zone locations:

$10 off with a donation

Or

50% off Cellairis case with donation

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On behalf of Xavier, all the students and teachers at McGary, and the hungry in the tri-state,
THANK YOU!

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Social Media in the Classroom

In an article by the New York Times

this week, they discuss one of the biggest challenges I see every time I enter a classroom. I’m not a professor. I teach people of all ages to use social media to do whatever they’re doing in life better: In the classroom, to learn. Outside the classroom, to get a job, and to become the best in their industry or field.  Every time I walk into a classroom however, I get the same frustrating tag at the end of an introduction, “It’s time to learn, turn off your phones and laptops.” I usually tell them to turn them back on.

In this article, they discuss the use of “backchannels” – or conversations driven by technology (twitter, and other chatting platforms) where students are free to ask and answer questions of the teacher and their peers without having to be embarrassed by speaking out loud in front of the whole class.  One student stated:

“When you type something down, it’s a lot easier to say what I feel.”

Isn’t that what you strive for, a way to encourage classroom participation?

 

Sugato Chakravarty, who lectures about personal finance at Purdue University,said before the backchannel tools:

“I could never get people to speak up.”  “Everybody’s intimidated.” “It’s clear to me,” he added, “that absent this kind of social media interaction, there are things students think about that normally they’d never say.”

What are your students thinking, but not saying?


The students who’ve been allowed to express themselves in a way that’s comfortable to them, digitally, have shared with us how they feel. In their own words:

“Everybody is heard in our class,” ~Leah Postman, 17.

“It’s made me see my peers as more intelligent, seeing their thought process and begin to understand them on a deeper level.”  ~Janae Smith, 17

That would do it for me, but I’m not a professor. Yes, there are fears and risks to deal with. But what else is holding you back? What can we do to convince you to overcome these fears and give your students an opportunity to be heard?

Again the students say it best:

 

“We tend to have the attitude that someone else will do it. But what happens when everyone thinks the same as you?”

“It only takes one individual to change,” another typed.

“If you want something to change you have to be willing to be that voice.”

“It really shows the impact one change can make,” a third student wrote.

“I agree with Katie!” someone added. “This class has given us a voice!”

Please post your comments. Tell me what we (the Social Media Club Education Advisory Board) can do to help you overcome your fear, answer questions, offer support…. So that you can give a voice to one student more who might just be the voice that can make a difference in your class room, to a peer, or to make a major change in the world?

Join us as we discuss this topic on the regular weekly twitter chat:  #smcedu  Mon 12:30pm

 

Not sure how to participate in a twitter chat? Here is a simple guide on how to participate in a twitter chat .