Carrie Schmelkin : Gossip from the Hallways
Carrie Schmelkin
Web Editor, TMC

January 2012

You are browsing the archive for January 2012.

Looking for the Next Steve Jobs at ITEXPO's Startup Camp: Is it You?

January 31, 2012

Have you and your college roommate created the coolest new social networking company? Are you convinced that you could quickly become the next Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin (but hopefully without that whole lawsuit thing)? Or are you currently spending hours in the tech lab creating the best new gadget that will make the iPad look mundane?

Whatever your innovation is, we at TMC want to know about it.

Facebook Timeline: Forced to Relive Our Past?

January 26, 2012

Most bullied kids can attest to the fact that it is harrowing enough to go through the experience the first time, so they certainly would not want to have to relive that pain. In fact, even kids who graduate high school and go on to enjoy popularity and self-esteem at college (or college grads who move on to the real world and finally feel accepted), would probably still pass on the chance to take a stroll down memory lane – which is perhaps plagued by memories of ridicule and ostracism.

Well, in a matter of days, whether we like it or not, we will all be forced to take that stroll. And although for some of us that walk will evoke happy memories and quite a few laughs, for others it will dredge up pain we worked for years to bury.

Cyberbullying: Finding the Right Person to Deliver the Message

January 24, 2012

“It’s not always about the message; it’s about the messenger.”

We all know that sometimes even the most important messages go unheard if they are not delivered from the “right person.” After all, how many times do we hear about an alcoholic dad who can’t stop drinking until he hears from his five-year-old son, not wife, that his behavior is scaring his little boy? Or how about the anorexic girl whose parents beg her to see what she really looks like in the mirror but it doesn’t resonate until that girl’s lifelong ballet teacher pulls her aside one day?

So, when it comes to bullying, are kids more apt to listen to their peers who are telling them to stop or their parents and teachers?

So I Like iBooks 2 But I Can't Afford an iPad. What Now?

January 19, 2012

When I think back on high school, some of my fondest memories include being able to take electives like Creative Writing and Introduction to Psychology, enjoying “Senior Beach Day” (which marked the start of second semester), attending basketball games decked out in school colors and, of course, making lifelong friendships. One memory I would rather forget – the back pains associated with four years of carrying around up to five textbooks a day (which was only exacerbated in college).

Fortunately for current students out there, Apple has your back (literally) as the tablet empire today unveiled iBooks 2, a platform that “reinvents the textbook.”

“The textbook is not always the ideal learning tool," Philip Schiller, Apple's vice president of marketing, explained to audience members at New York City’s Guggenheim Museum in New York City this morning.

Industry Awaits Apple's Big Education Announcement Thursday

January 17, 2012

The Big Apple may be the city that never sleeps, but Apple is certainly the company that never snoozes either.  Therefore, perhaps it is fitting that Apple has sent out an invitation stating, “Join us for an education announcement in the Big Apple,” which will take place at 10 a.m. EST Thursday, Jan. 19, at New York City’s Guggenheim Museum.

From iPhones to iPads to iTouches, to anything i-related, Apple has certainly never been one to take a nap when it comes to technology innovations.

Are Kids Bored in School Tech Classes?

January 12, 2012

For all of you out there who were (or are) bored to tears in middle school went you were forced to laboriously calibrate the amount of words per minute that you could type during computer class, I’ve got news for you – the UK government is picking up on this disinterest.

This week, the UK's Education Secretary Michael Gove announced his plans to overhaul the way technology is taught in schools because, simply put, children are “bored out of their minds.”

“Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word and Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11-year-olds able to write simple 2D computer animations," Gove said.

“By 16, they could have an understanding of formal logic previously covered only in university courses and be writing their own apps for smartphones,” he added.

To All Males: Better Make Room for Females in the Tech World

January 10, 2012

It’s a common picture that spans all states and countries: the lone girl in an AP physics class or advanced engineering BS program at a university who is desperately trying to prove herself among a sea of male students.

Or, for those of us that have graduated to the real world: the one girl in a large tech company that is desperately trying to prove that she deserves to be the next CTO of the company. (After all, how many women CTOs do you know?)

Sadly, whether we want to admit it or not, these pictures have become more and more common despite women out-enrolling men when it comes to college and the fact that women outperform men when it comes to becoming gainfully employed.

The Fight Against Cyberbullying: A Step in the Right Direction

January 5, 2012

When a student at Oswego High School in Illinois posted an online message about his teacher outside of school hours and from a private computer that stated, “I’m so angry I could kill,” school officials knew they had a problem on their hands. The problem was, they had a kid who refused to take the post down until his parents got involved and there was little administrators could do as the message was posted outside of the hallways.

Fast forward six years and it appears Illinois might now have the solution to such instances. Just days into 2012, it appears that the quest to counter cyberbullying has leaped forward at full throttle, as a law in Illinois took effect this Sunday that allows administrators to discipline students who make threats online.

BYOD, Steve Jobs Classes... What Can we Expect in 2012 in Schools?

January 3, 2012

I know what you are thinking: between all the holiday shopping, eating, revelry and milliseconds spent considering that you should make a New Year’s Resolution, why on Earth would you have had the time to think about what the tech space might look like in 2012? Well lucky for you, TMCnet has had your back these past few weeks and continues to have it moving forward as we have been outlining what you can expect in all your favorite tech sectors in the future. Whether it’s VoIP, SIP, FoIP or any of those other silly acronyms, we’ve got you covered.

But for me, nothing is more fun than surmising what is in store for the education realm when it comes to technology and, in that vein, here is the inside scoop on the gossip in the hallways about how technology will affect schools in 2012.