Christian Thompson

For those of you who are waiting with bated breath to my follow up to my previous blog post on the University of the People , wait no longer! 

"David Braben, a very well-known game developer who runs the UK development studio Frontier Developments, argues that education since we entered the 2000s has turned towards ICT which teaches useful skills such as writing documents in a word processor, how to create presentations, and basic computer use skills.

A few months ago I submitted a vounteer form to The University of the People. It goes without saying that I don't want anyone, especially my family and the FBI, to think that I've gone and decided to work for some communist organization.  So, allow me to clarify.

The University of the People is a truly progressive educational institution.  Their website states that:

Northern Japan was recently hit by the fifth most powerful earthquake in history.  As I live in Tokyo, I was in no immediate danger.  However as the aftershocks continue and two nuclear power plants are threatening to meltdown, things in Tokyo are starting to resemble the first scenes of a disaster movie.

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE my Kindle.  I've always had a strong love of reading, but have always been limited by the lack of availability of English language books in Tokyo.  Not that there aren't English books available here, but at the pace I read, I really need a free public library to satisfy my need and still have enough cash leftover to maintain my wife in the luxurious lifestyle to which she has grown accustomed.

Let me just state for the record that I LOVE my Kindle, and not in a flowers and candy kind of way.  I love my Kindle like John H. Hinkley Jr. loved Jodie Foster.  I feel lost and bereft without it.  There's only one small problem, and it's not that the Kindle is too big a star to pay attention to the likes of me.

The problem is that in far too many cases, the eBooks are too expensive.  Here is an example of what eBook prices should look like.

Came across this today - thought it was pretty funny...and illuminating!  The PC vs. Mac debate is still going strong despite the fact that a large percentage of what people actually do with their computers involves web browsing and office productivity apps.  

I think Jeff Utecht said it best - "Don’t ask me if I’m a Mac or PC guy. Ask me what my connection speed is!" Click here to read more about what Jeff has to say about this topic.

I called to help a Mac-user today; as I walked into his room he started complaining about the "spinning beach ball of death".  Pretending not to know what he was talking about, I asked what he meant.  He said, "You know, like the spinning hourglass in Windows."  I told him that I understood and acted astonished that Macs would have any such mundane problems.

Of course, I told him it never happens with Linux. :)

I'm a simple guy - I've got two passions: Technology and Education.  I'm fortunate to have a job where I can combine my twin passions - Education Technologies Integrator.

I hope you find this blog and this site to be a useful resource when integrating technology into the classroom.