Hola Readers,
Did I tell you that I'm super excited for this job? So excited that I volunteered ( w/o pay ) to attend the Faculty and Staff Spring Conference last week. It was enlightening that I started wondering why professors would blow their brains out ( physically, intellectually, etc as a friend bluntly stated ). The experience overall was mind-blowing, and I learned about: the budget ( none ... same expenses but w/o last year's stimulus ), new projects ( new residence hall, etc. ), fundraising, and technology.
The push for technology seemed urgent and apocalyptic. It was introduced by a faculty sharing a story of the Red Balloon Project. He and other staff attended a conference last summer, where they solved the problem of finding 10 red ballons randomly placed all over the U.S. The solution: communicating with people using social networks.
Their findings concluded that current technology would save the University ( which is operating in the 11th century educational models/paradigm ), replace 19th century technology ( blackboard etc. ), and connect with 21st century students ( who are wired to the online world constantly ).
I know how helpful technology can be. When the videos mentioned that a super computer would be built in 2049, the first thing that came to mind is the Terminator movies. When they gave statistics about students "reading" more web pages than books, and writing millions of emails and text messages, I started doubting the information. How do the statisticians differentiate between reading and skimming? Can brief emails and 150 charater tweets pass off for well-crafted essays and literature?
During the reception I mulled over these questions and the meaning of life as I munched on Swedish meatballs, eavesdropped on the latest University gossip, and networked with faculty and staff.
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