The Mannequins Are Watching You

Just read this PC World article that kind of creeped me out.  Check it out

We all know that companies are bombarding you with ads by tracking your online browsing habits.  They have taken it to a new level.  So now mannequins are being made that have a camera in one of it's eyes.  The camera will import it's data into facial recognition software that can tell the age, race, and gender of people that walk by.  The mannequin is called EyeSee and it's made by Almax SpA, an Italian company.  The data can be used to direct displays and promotions towards specific demographics that visit that area.  Weird, huh.

This type of usage is nothing new though.  Apparently, Facebook, Google, and Apple have been using it for years.  It makes it easier to tag people in photos.  

A little more interesting information from this article...The FBI is currently rolling out its billion dollar system that provides a nationwide database of mug shots, iris scans, DNA samples, voice recordings, palm prints, and other biometrics collection from over 100 million Americans.  Its intent is to identify and catch criminals.

Technology is steadily making privacy a thing of the past.  

Until next time...

Can I Master the Mainframe?

Master the Mainframe is a contest that that IBM hosts every year for college and university students.  This is the 8th year of the annual contest and it's my first time participating.  You really don't have to have any mainframe experience to participate.  The design the contest for students who have no or very little experience with mainframe.

I guess some of you may be asking "What the heck is a mainframe?"  Well to answer that question, mainframe computers are really powerful computers used mostly by corporate and government organizations  for batch processing (process huge amounts of data with little human interaction), for critical applications, and for transaction processing(online shopping, ATM transactions).

Here's a picture to give you an idea.  Cool, huh?



Anyway, the contest involves following instructions to perform different actions such as running jobs, editing code, and creating data sets.  The instructions get even less descriptive as you go on and it requires you to remember things that you've done on previous tasks.  I've learned that it's really important to take your time and stay focused on the task at hand.

In order to access the z/OS mainframe, I had to download a 3270 terminal emulator.  An emulator looks like this.  This is the z/OS welcome screen for the contest.

It looks like the old DOS green screens huh?...

So far the contest has been interesting.  I'm still working on Part 2.  There are 3 parts to the contest.  

So now I know you're asking why am I participating in this contest.  Well, partly it's because it's part of a course.  Secondly, I am interested in learning about the Mainframe.  Some people say it's going away, but a lot of professionals disagree.  I currently use it on my job, but just to run jobs that have been set up.  This gives me an opportunity to see the behind the scene aspect of it.  

Oh yeah, and lets not forget the PRIZES!!!  They include: 

• ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity tablet computers
• Master the Mainframe swag, including hoodies, messenger bags and more
• Trips to the mainframe lab in Poughkeepsie, NY
• Custom Master the Mainframe T-shirts

So far, I've secured myself a T-shirt.  Oh well, I'll also have the experience.

Until next time...

Wikipedia Experience

In this Training Systems course (the cause of this blog), I'm working with a team member on editing a Wikipedia page.  The article that we chose to edit was Skype.  There was a very small section on the educational uses of Skype, so we decided we would focus our efforts on improving that area.  

First, we had to come up with about 20 sources that we could use to improve our chosen topic.  This didn't take very long.  Thankfully, my partner did most of that part.  

Second, we had to write up a report on our selected topic using the sources that we found.  This ended up being a 2 page report on Skype in general and its educational uses.  I did this part because I had a day where there was a large unexpected break between classes.  We make great partners!  LOL

Third, we had to post proposed changes to the Talk page of our chosen topic.  I posted that today.  This wasn't very hard considering the report was already written and we knew which area we wanted to edit.  The only thing I couldn't figure out was how to reference our sources on the Talk page.  There were so many different ways to do it.  I chose to just list the sources since it was only on the Talk page.  My partner and I can figure out how to do it later.  It will be interesting to see if we get any comments on our suggestions.  I think it will add more content and information to that area of the Skype article.  

I noticed when we first began this project that the release date and version number of every update was listed on the page.  The contributors on the Talk page discussed this and it was removed.  Apparently, it's a constant problem because after they remove it, someone always adds it back.  I personally don't see the point of it.  It takes up too much room on the page and who really cares about that information anyway.  

Well, I'll let you folks know if we get any feedback on our section on the Talk page.  Feel free to check out the Skype page.  Skype

Until next time...

The Future of E-Learning

So, my class has been instructed to discuss the future of E-Learning in our blogs based on a discussion prompt from an E-Learning professional.  Check out the article and comments here:  Click here

The question asked was "What do you think will be here in 5 years and has a good pedagogical basis?"  This is considering e-Learning in higher education.

I think that Learning Management Systems will still be here in 5 years, but they will incorporate many other options for users.  The use of Virtual Learning Environment will be embedded into LMS.  Time management will continue to become increasingly important; therefore, the use of VLE will provide students with the flexibility needed to get the most of their courses and maintain the requirements of other responsibilities within  a time frame that is best suited for them.  It will also provide the possibilities of having class anywhere.

E-Learning will take on a more social community of learning aspect.  Linking LMS with social networking sites is a very strong possibility.  Just about every student has a Facebook page, Twitter account, or both. Imagine the possibilities of being able to access fellow students or even professors easily through whatever LMS the university is using.  This will provide much faster responses to questions or comments that students/professors may want to make instead of using email.

One other aspect that will be of great importance in E-Learning is insuring it's compatibility with all types of mobile devices; especially the numerous tablets that have come on the market.

Well, those are my thoughts on the subject of E-Learning in the next 5 years.  Feel free to leave comments with your thoughts.