Special Blog Post #1

WolframAlpha

WolframAlpha is a great resource that I was not familiar with. Upon completing the search for the populations of India - 1.21 billion, China - 1.35 billion, and the United States - 309 million, there is a vast difference. The growth charts shown in the search results signify that India doubled in population since 1970. Based on the comparison data India will surpass China in total population over the next 10-15 years. Of course with a larger pool of people to pull from there would undoubtedly be more intelligent people as compared to the United States. However, this leads me into the searches I made using WolframAlpha.

I decided to compare the literacy rates of the three countries. In the results of my search I found that the literacy rate percentage of people 15 years of age and older in the United States is at 99%. China comes in a close second with 93.98% and India falling back considerably at 62.75%. With that being said, India's pool just got a little bit smaller. With those figures that brings India down to 759 million that can read which is still more than double the total population of the United States. Let's throw in a "What If" scenario. What if India and the United States had the same population, and considering the literacy rate that would put India at 194 million literate people. So for people to assume that the statistics show that Indian people are more intelligent, is a misunderstanding. This led me to my next search.

I submitted a search to compare the GDP per capita income of the three countries. The United States led with $46,000 per person, China at $3,920, and India at $1,080 per person. This would be the main reason that India falls so far in literacy rate. A lack of resources and finance for education does not provide an ideal learning environment for a vast majority of the population of India. However, considering the low per capita of China, I was surprised to see the literacy rate not affected as much. This could very well be the reason that China has more English speakers than the total population of the United States.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

This screenshot shows a two minute time frame, which is the average length of a television commercial break. So while you are grabbing a snack, taking a bathroom break, or channel surfing, about 4.5 million likes or comments were made on Facebook.

I read an article in the current issue of NEA Today magazine, that highlighted social media usage in the classroom. As we have been learning in EDM310 so far, technology is the future of education. This article profiled a couple of teachers that make use of many of the social resources that are listed on Gary Hayes social media count and several of the resources that we use in EDM310.

Inevitably as future education degree holders we will have to have the knowledge to use these tools or we will not qualify for jobs upon graduation. Many future educators will also become coaches in high school sports, which in the near future will be embracing the use of technology in the locker room. An article, by The Examiner, explains how NFL teams are using digital playbooks and video on ipads rather than traditional means. The progression of technology will not slow down anytime soon, if ever. As I said in a former blog post, embracing change is imperative as future educators.