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Comment Re:Summit Learning Sounds Good (Score 2) 140

I’m curious if you have children of your own if school age? I agree that being able to learn on your own is a valuable skill. I also agree that need for instant gratification can be a big problem with -ahem- kids these days. However, being able to learn for oneself generally assumes a grasp of the basics. The basics can be learned without outside help, but this is horribly inefficient. I have definitely seen a tendency in some of my own kid’s teachers to learn too heavily on computer-based education. I think this is sometimes because it’s assumed to be “cutting edge” and sometimes (as some of their teachers have confessed) because it is easier. Less prep, less fuss. But not necessarily better. I am not against computer/based education in general, but SOOOO much these days is done without any kind of research to prove effectiveness. It is often assumed it is better because it’s newer. My problem with this stuff is that we as a culture are not patient and methodical in our education research so instead we end up experimenting on a generation of kids. It’s rushed in because Chromebooks are shined and cool, but teachers aren’t taught how to guide kids to use them best. I think too much screen time is probably not great on its own. But my bigger issue is that the curriculum is far from well thought out and studied.

Submission + - It's Time To Start Taking Stolen Phones Seriously (itworld.com)

itwbennett writes: 'Find My iPhone' is neat, but it's time for smartphone makers and carriers to stop pretending their anti-theft measures are anything more than minimum viable products, says blogger Kevin Purdy. He's not the first to point this out: As reported in Slashdot, 'NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said overall crime in New York City was up 3.3% in 2012 due to iPhone, iPad and other Apple device thefts.' And now San Francisco and New York attorneys general are calling a 'Smartphone Summit' where representatives from Apple, Google, Samsung, and Microsoft are due to meet and discuss the implementation of a industry-wide 'kill switch' system.

Submission + - Will IT Departments Even Exist in 5 Years? (computerworld.com)

Lucas123 writes: As consumerization of IT and self-service trends becomes part and parcel of everyone's work in the enterprise, the corporate data center may be left behind and IT departments may be broken up and technologists given over to business units as consultants and integrators. "The business itself will be the IT department. [Technologists] will simply be the enabler," said Brandon Porco, chief technologist & solutions architect at Northrop Grumman. Porco was part of a four-person panel of technologists who participated at a town hall-style meeting at the CITE Conference and Expo in San Francisco this week. The panel was united on the topic of the future of IT shops. Others said they are not sure how to address a growing generation gap between young and veteran workers, each of whom are comfortable with different technologies. Nathan McBride, vice president of IT & chief cloud architect at AMAG Pharmaceuticals, said he's often forced to deal with older IT workers coming on board who expect his company to support traditional email like Outlook when it uses Google Apps.

Submission + - Microsoft, FBI takedown Citadel botnet (paritynews.com) 1

hypnosec writes: Microsoft has successfully taken down Citadel botnet in collaboration with the FBI which was known to control millions of PCs across the globe and was allegedly involved in and responsible for bank fraud in tune of more than $500 million. Citadel was known to have over 1,400 instances across the globe with most of the instances located in the US, Europe, India, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. The botnet a malware by the same name and this malware once on a system was used to install key-logging tools on target systems, which were then used to steal online banking credentials.

Submission + - The Age of Plenty (ieee.org)

kgeiger writes: The June 2013 IEEE Spectrum has a special survey section about the forthcoming age of plenty. Advancements in computerized crop management and logistics, biotechnologies, aquaponics, and remote sensing will increase the food supply through efficient production and distribution. Improved dietary management and AI-planned recipes make better, tastier, and healthier diets. And the future of chi-chi cuisine? 3-D printed, of course.

Submission + - http://www.agimag.co.uk/rising-wages-hit-china-investors/ (agimag.co.uk)

An anonymous reader writes: Over the past seven years salaries for many in China have almost doubled. On top of this, companies are now mandated to pay into Chinese workers’ pensions and health insurance plans. Workers are increasingly aware of their rights, and aren’t afraid to take their services elsewhere if the price if right.

Chinese factory workers now switch jobs whenever they can get a higher salary

Mr Chu, chief executive of the Fair Friend Enterprise Group, labels the pace of change as ‘scary,’ saying, “Demand for workers is also very high. With more jobs to choose from, Chinese factory workers now switch jobs whenever they can get a higher salary. That makes it difficult for us to find workers with enough experience. So the cost of manufacturing in China is higher now, sometimes higher than Taiwan.”

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