Obama and Technology

During the campaign, I was bombarded by emails from David Plouffe, Michelle Obama, and even Barack himself, asking me to volunteer, contribute, tell me friends, etc., almost on a daily basis. Some argue that their use of technology and social media to build an army of volunteers and raise funds is what ultimately won the election

Now that they have taken office, the new administration is confronting the realities of legacy systems.

Here's what they found.

And, here's how it rates.

It will be interesting to see how their use of techonology evolves.

Merlin's Desktop Viewer

Merlin’s First Desktop Tour from Merlin Mann on Vimeo.

Lots of cool ideas here. I've started playing around with Skitch, which seems more flexible for screen captures than Jing. And, you can post images to Flickr and other websites easily!

Walking the Earth

How to be an Effective Learner

Ten tips from Psychology Today about how to improve learning skills.

Online Social Networking for Educators

NEA summarizes how educators can use social networking tools for career development, with links to tools and resources.

Community Colleges' Value

Here's an article from the SF Chronicle that underscores community colleges as both a bargain and an opportunity.

How To Succeed in ACCT (By trying hard!)

Here's a note-worthy piece from David Albrecht, on How to Ace Your Accounting Classes. Lots of tried-and-true advice, but worth the bookmark.

On a separate note, do you wonder why all the signs look like they do? The film Helvetica, broadcast on the local PBS station last night, explores graphic design, visual imagery and how it affects us. Thought-provoking, in light of the sameness of much of our online learning materials!

Sydney Awards

Here's David Brooks' collection of favorite long-form essays from the previous year, including Michael Lewis," The End," about the financial collapse, and "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower," a remarkable piece about today's college students, instructors, and expectations.