Is Free Community College the Answer?

I believe so... Read this article and you may or may not agree with me...

Jeff SelingoInfluencer
Author, COLLEGE (UN)BOUND | Columnist | Speaker

Is Free Community College the answer to Shortage of Middle Skill Workers?

8 Things you should not do every day...

I know, it may be almost simplistic; and yes it is! But, as I mentioned to my coachee last Friday, if you stop learning you stop living; end of story. And learning demands practice; so, once we forget to apply and let the good habits slip through the cracks between our daily to do's and routines, we need something as simple as this list (BTW, I am a fan of lists; although not of any list), to get us back on track. Read, learn and carry on!  http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/8-things-you-should-not-do-every-day.html?goback=.gde_60439_member_233861910

Venezuela, mi patria querida

Otra noche de mal dormir, peor que las de costumbre, pues no hay nada mejor para el mal dormir que recibir malas noticias a media noche… Mientras me enrollaba y desenrollaba en la cama, nublada en pensamientos poco productivos, miraba el reloj cada hora y así entre dormitar y despertar llegué a Amy Winehouse… Recordé como falleció y su canción firma “Rehab - They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, ‘No, no, no’”; y los paralelos con Venezuela… ya me quitaron del todo el sueño.

No me propongo hablar de si fraude o no, me limito a mencionar que ante una diferencia como la presente, no entiendo como es una tendencia irreversible sin terminar de contar o contar los votos del exterior. No soy matemático, pero definitivamente es necesario el reconteo o conteo total y apoyar  a quien ha dado el todo por el todo para llevar a Venezuela a su propia rehabilitación. Lo que no alcanzo terminar de entender es que haya aún mitad del país negado a ver que su adicción gubernamental está matándolo.  Lo tenía y lo tengo claro,  victoria masiva o pequeña, todos los venezolanos, con Capriles al frente, íbamos a ver a tener que ver a  una Venezuela retorciéndose entre las garras de una rehabilitación; profundamente herida y resistiendo al doloroso cambio por delante, como la de un drogadicto enfrentado a su rehabilitación.  Pero, conforme al CNE, lo que nos espera es ver, a nuestro súper dotado país, seguir perdiéndose más y más hasta morir bajo las garras de su perdición, como sucedió con la artísticamente superdotada Amy Winehouse.

Como todo quien ha visto o experimentado de cerca el tormento de un drogadicto, el ir una y otra vez por el objeto de su adicción, es la esperanza de revivir esa 1era experiencia  de euforia que sintieron aquella vez 1era, pero que por más que reintentan, consumen, y les dan más y más votos, no alcanzan a repetir. Yo estoy  convencida de que cuando las ideas de Chávez se gestaron, a quienes votaron por él deben de haberles parecido una fantasía tipo Disney, la misma que vimos y por lo que fuimos escépticos quienes no votamos por él; la mayor diferencia siendo el estado de desespero puro en que estaba un sector demasiado grande del país, dispuesto a comprar el remedio que fuera en la esquina, con tal de aminorar su mal.

Hoy el desespero es de quienes entendiendo el daño, los familiares y seres queridos de Venezuela, explicamos, recomendamos, e intentamos, particularmente con nuestro voto, de que el país escoja la rehabilitación por convicción propia; pero, ¿y si no quiere? ¿Y si la adicción es demasiado grande y poderosa para hacer ver el problema? ¡Señores, contando y recontando votos, así gane la rehabilitación, es la mitad del organismo del enfermo que clama por seguir con su droga!

Estamos en la etapa más oscura de ésta adicción. Vamos en términos de ella a realizar  una verdadera intervención… Con inteligencia, y capacidad de entender a este enfermo, contemos votos y encontremos al ganador. Ojalá sea Capriles, pues confío que con él habrá la requerida rehabilitación. Si es así, solo pido que una vez en ella, no salgamos a encontrarle las 5 patas al gato en todo; rehabilitación es rehabilitación, y tiene que doler, si no, no es rehabilitación de verdad. “Hay un camino”, pero si ese no es el que el país ha decidido tomar, “They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, ‘No, no, no’”, habremos también de enfrentar la cruda realidad que eso nos traiga.

Why Consultative Selling Doesn't Work | Inc.com

Why Consultative Selling Doesn't Work | Inc.com This is quite insightful article; can't wait to read one where diferentiating a coach's role from a consultant is written. Or another where being a coach and boss is somewhat of an oxymoron... Easy, easy does it, I guess; everything in due time!

Survey: School web filtering can impede learning

Many survey respondents
said web filtering can curb
learning’s social potential.

For years, working at private schools and high schools this has been a heated debate: to filter or not to filter; but mostly to filter, and I was at the wrong end of the debate! Obviously, there are many dangers out there and there's also the matter of the reputation of each of the schools. There are many good and reliable choices in the market that filter the nasty, and that I believe is enough. Blocking all entries and only allowing one by one is totally inefficient and a mind-boggling task. Also, I truly believe that the only way to teach and learn digital citizenship is by working at it. If everything is blocked, on which criteria will we find learning indicators? Wish the following article and more like this one had been available when I was at the no-filter end of the debate.
Read More...

Whenever we connect to others we can change what happens...

Hi everyone, been a while. Sorry about that. Family health issues got in the way. Learned a lot though, maybe I'll write later down the line about that.
Meantime I'd like to share this article, originally I believe in Brasiian portuguese, and translated to a very rough Spanish. Hope some can read it and learn many interesting things going on in cybercommunication, city forums and the likes. The world's social and political panorama is in constant change, can it really be harnessed? Take a read:
http://blogs.20minutos.es/codigo-abierto/2012/10/30/siempre-que-podemos-conectarnos-a-otros-podemos-cambiar-cosas
gd readings...

Are Kids really all that techno smart... Maybe not ...

Reading an eSchool news article by this title,  read more @ http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/08/13/are-kids-all-that-techno-smart-maybe-not/6/, I remembered an instance with my own teenage daughter related to her use of her smartphone. She had been struggling with forgetting assignments or assignment details and I suggested why not use the calendar features on the smartphone... She stared back at me like I had no idea what she was going through, so I helpfully added how to make it work for her, alarms and all. Not only had she not considered the possibility as to where, what or when this feature could be applied. And, as expected from a teenage daughter with her mom, she proceeded to ignore me. I must say that this is no Tech dummy here, she uses phone apps, works around tech glitches and or obstacles and gets what she really wants from technology with her smartphone, tablet and laptop. However, each device is purposely used as a tool the way she was introduced to it; and looking beyond that has been a bit more of a challenge than expected... A phone is meant to communicate with, that is, apps included to enhance, improve,  and even further the communication objective. Photos, with the smartphone, is a feature to be used to further communicate; so the photo, as an objective itself, is not given much consideration. The idea of taking pictures with the phone to retain information, for example, was an advantage that was only considered (and broadly used thereon) quite a while after owning and using it for the purpose of communication. Being resourceful with the available technology is not something that comes natural to this techno savvy generation. Exploiting all the possibilities is something that maybe the older generation can somehow pass on to this one. As to my daughter, she still thinks it is something of the older generation to use the calendar and it's reminders to organize her life... But, I am definitely making waves, the other day she used her drawing tablet to cover for the wireless mouse that had run out of batteries... There is hope!