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[U116]Use Technology In The Classroom

by Gennew3, Gen

According to a study conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America, 74 percent of Americans utilize the Internet for communicating via e-mails and passing along photos. And, while only one in six have created a family Web site, nearly 40 percent of us are interested in the possibility.

?As the demographic profile of those with access to the Internet slowly begins to reflect the overall American demographics, we anticipated seeing more family communication occurring via technology,? said Sharon Snawerdt, public relations coordinator for Modern Woodmen of America. ?More than three in five Americans use e-mail to get in touch with family, with more than two in five reporting frequent use.?

In addition, family Web sites, instant messaging and digital cameras, including digital camcorders and Web cams, are quickly taking their place along with the telephone and postal service as popular methods for communicating from afar.

Web sites -- an exciting answer to sharing news

For the Kiechle family of Valbonne, France, the family Web site plays an important role in maintaining connections with family and friends in the United States.

?When we first moved here [France], all our relatives, friends, and acquaintances went into mild shock, wondering what in the world we were doing,? comments Daniel Kiechle, who created his family Web site in 1995, five years after his job transplanted him, his wife and two sons from Huntington, Long Island. ?The responses have been great. Grandma even learned how to use a Mac and subscribed to EarthLink when she found out that this enabled her to receive photos of her grandchildren the day they were taken!?

Getting started

once you've made up your mind to take advantage of today's technology to stay in closer touch with family, there is a large list of possible equipment which you will need or want to consider.

Computer - Your computer should have at least a 56K modem, although for video and Web cams a DSL line or faster is preferred, a serial port, a parallel port, a USB port, and a Firewire/IEEE-1394 (your computer expert will understand this requirement).

Digital camera - A digital camera records and stores photographic images in digital (electronic) form that can be fed to a computer later on.

Digital camcorder - A digital camcorder records and stores video images in digital (electronic) format that can be fed to a computer later on.

Compatible flash memory cards, for the digital camera or camcorder - A small ?disk? used to store data such as text, pictures, audio, and video, for use on small, portable or remote computing devices.

Floppy disk adapter - An adapter is a physical device that allows the disk to communicate with another hardware or electronic device.

Web cam - A device that takes digital (camcorder) images and transmits the images to a Web page, which hosts images or even live video.

Scanner - A scanner captures images (somewhat like a photocopier) from photographic prints, posters, magazine pages, and similar sources for use on a computer.

Printer - Most inkjet printers produce good enough quality for personal use.

Snapshot Software - The snapshot software (which sometimes comes with your digital camera or camcorder) usually uses your Internet connection to upload a single snapshot captured from the camera set up on your computer.

Keeping families connected

Whatever method you choose, whether the technological wonders of a family Web site, instant messaging, voice/video Internet chatting, or the traditional communication choices of phone and mail, the end result should be to surround yourself with the presence of your family no matter how many miles lie between you.

?We don't want people to think that the Internet can replace in-person interaction,? Weinberg concludes. ?But we all know that sometimes being together isn't possible. We think the Internet is at its best when it enables people to remain connected and make those face-to-face meetings better, richer and more wonderful.?

For more information about this equipment and how to get started, visit

Take a closer look at how modern technology can bring you together. Watching Grandma Blow a kiss to her granddaughter over a Web cam may not be the same as breaking bread at their table, but it will create a special memory and bond -- even if it is electronic.

Courtesy of ARA Content

Providingcareer advice for many parents is a frustrating and challenging task. Manyparents with kids requiring career advice today have been part of the boomergeneration. They've tended to stick to one role throughout their career and areable to give great advice around this area. This focus and experience in onearea does become a potential problem though when trying to advise their kids.OK, most of us have some friends we can call on when necessary, but that optionis still limited.

Of course,the other problem is that often our kids won't listen to us talking about ourcareer experiences just because we're the parents! I know of a lot of parentswho are ideally placed to give advice, but find themselves talking to a brickwall (or rather to no ? one at all).

One moretwist in the tale is those of us who have kids who want to do what we've donein our careers, because that's what they know and they haven't taken the timeor put in the effort to explore other options. When I hear that a teenager want to be in advertising because theirparent is, that's a red flag for me!

So, what todo? I'm going to suggest the idea of creating a global parent community ofcareer advice. Think of the power we can harness if thousands of parents wereto individually document their work experiences, identify the good and bad oftheir career, talk about the specific skills required for success, make videosabout their week ? the challenges they faced and the decisions they had to makeand so on.

Usingtechnology creatively will make what seems like a difficult challenge mucheasier to overcome. We've got to make it easier for parents to be able to sharetheir experiences in the knowledge that the community of career advice willbenefit everyone. An individual parent's involvement might not help their ownkid, but it will help someone else's in other part of the country and viceversa. This is definitely an idea in which synergy is created ? individualknowledge is harnessed and creates a whole that is infinitely more useful thanthe parts.

Pie in thesky? No ways. I've recently opened a new website to facilitate thisinteraction. www.mytalentplace.co.uk is designed to help solve this problem andcreate the community. Check it out and let me know what you think. Oh, and while you're there, why don't youregister and contribute something?

Article Source : Importance Of Personal Ethics

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Gennew3 has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family, Holidays and Family. Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips and hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, techniques, and insights pertaining to connected, do please browse for more information at our websites.. Gennew3's top article generates over 18100 views. Bookmark Gennew3 to your Favourites.

Grant has sinced written about articles on various topics from The Internet, Personal Desktop. Dr. G is founder of MyTalentPlace and an advocate of real, on demand career advice. He can be contacted at grant.crow@mytalentplace.co.uk. Grant's top article generates over 2400 views. Bookmark Grant to your Favourites.