Tag: google

Have you ever tried to Google yourself?

On By Margie.MercIn Book Review, Education, Social Media, Web Resources13 Comments

duckduckgo.comThis is my deal – there is so much to learn, so much to know, so much to share that when I find some tidbit, I just want to write about it so you can benefit from my words. One may call me a teacher, a trainer, an educator and yes –  I am all of the above because I just assume you want to learn too.

When was the last time you searched your name on the internet or ‘Googled’ yourself? I suggest you go to google.com and enter your name and see what comes up. Now try it in yahoo.com and duckduckgo.com. You might find unique links or information from each site.

Is the information that comes up accurate? If not, can you track down the website and get it changed? As you move towards anything in this connected world, you can bet your name will be searched. Want to buy a house, sell a house, rent an office, get a job, buy an appliance, or anything else –  if so, you can bet your name will be checked online.

Potential employers might find you on LinkedIn and learn all about your past jobs, read your recommendations and possibly even contact past colleagues. And they won’t stop at LinkedIn, they will certainly look for you on Facebook. Here they will see the other side of you – the family, funny, wacky side. Or they will see the stupid, drunken and sullen side of you that writes with a sarcastic tone or other such negative image.

Did you sign up for Classmates, Meetup, Youtube, Google Photos, Calorie-Count, Flickr, Pintrest, or other social/gaming networking sites?  If so, your name will probably show up in quite a few search results. Do you have a blog, website, or have you posted articles or photos? Let’s hope they are clean, informative and inspiring to someone who is looking to hire you, date you, enroll you or any other possible scenarios.

We are connected – like it or not. We are ‘out there’ for the good people to find us knowing that bad people will find us too. Take a moment and go to duckduckgo.com and see what you can find on your name. Maybe nothing at all. Maybe lots. Maybe it’s all ok.

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Cyberspace Classrooms: A New Reality

On By Margie.MercIn Education, Web Resources1 Comment

Book readers, podcasts, webcams, cell phone texting platforms, chat rooms, webinars, videos, and open source software will be old school techniques when my grandson is in college in 2030.

Land based classrooms will not be an option. They will be as obsolete as the rotary telephone I grew up with that tethered me to a wall. The cyberspace classroom is being created now. Each new innovation erases an existing fixture in the educational realm.

Cell phones are allowing students the ability to attend webinars, seminars and to download podcasts allowing students to learn in ways that don’t involve paper, books or people.

Courses can be created and students can be grouped according to their interests. Students will have more freedom to pick and choose from a wide range of universities since location will no longer be an issue.

Success will come to students as they set goals that suit their personalities and fill their class load with courses that speak to them.

In an online learning environment, there will be no need for dormitories, buildings, librarians, janitors, parking attendants, football players, cafeterias or bookstores. Some colleges may decide to keep their science and medical departments but the others can go online.

The cyber-classroom will have everything a student needs to be successful. In addition to advisor and counseling forums, a student will be able to have chats with faculty, work groups with students and even create new environments as a way to share information.

Diversity will become a way of life as students from across the world attend class in cyberspace bringing their world view, culture, religion, history and attitude to the table.

The educational model we have today doesn’t work. It costs too much and doesn’t deliver the necessary tools for the graduate.

The Global Web of 195 countries may not even need tools. By the time my grandson is in college, the whiteboard may be replaced by a virtual circuit board giving him access to all existing information.  Put a ring on his finger …and he’s in the Louve looking at original art or he’s back in time watching the pyramids being created or he’s sitting next to John Steinbeck as he writes a novel.

He will tell his children, “There was a time when students had to go to a classroom to learn…”