How Khan Academy Is Going Global

Khan Academy is on the leading edge of breaking the traditional models of education.  You've probably heard about it.  TechCrunch had an interesting article on how they are incorporating international transcribing of subtitles.  

http://www.khanacademy.org/images/khan-logo-vertical-transparent.png

This is interesting from several perspectives:

1. Universities are going to be to expected to make subtitles available for required course videos used in online education.  While tools exist for automatic subtitling and Google's YouTube can do this, it will be interesting to see how this affects distance education.
2. The spread of language translations might be an interesting indicator for technology diffusion.  Why is Estonian the language that videos are most frequently translated into?  
3. Helping with this translation process could be a great way for international students to have some unique resume material while working to make a difference in the lives of younger students from developing countries.  

 

Skating to Where the Puck Was in 1987

I find John Gruber's blogging format interesting and often agree with his quick takes but recently he attacked new laptops coming out with VGA ports.  His comment that the VGA port is adding bulk and thickness to support a 15 year old out-dated technology.

Skating to Where the Puck Was in 1987
DARING FIREBALL | JUNE 6, 2012
Three brand new PC laptops. The Dell Inspiron R, the Sony Vaio T13112FXS (that name just rolls right off your tongue, no?), and the Toshiba Protege Z9... Read more

He is getting heavily criticized for overlooking the education market and many others.  When I got a new laptop last year, one of my key requirements was for a VGA port.  I understand that a digital connection HDMI, DVI, or DisplayPort is a better technology but there isn't a single room on campus that I have presented in has a digital connection to a projector.  I've presented in dozens of different rooms across campus with projectors and every one of them relies on VGA only.  Sure, I could carry an adapter but as a genuine, absent-minded professor, I will lose them and then then be stuck sometime unable to connect for class.

I bought a laptop last September with a VGA port, I would do it again in a heartbeat no matter how much I want a lighter, thinner laptop.

On a related note, quite a few years ago, I had a laptop that Dell replaced under warranty after trying to fix three times.  They were going to replace it with an equivalent refurbished laptop.  This was pretty good service and I tried to be patient.  After two weeks, I called and heard that they had been searching but couldn't find a single laptop with a 3.5" floppy drive.  It had also been a need for me since students would bring presentations in on floppy but technology quickly eliminated the need for it.  (Between flash drives and wi-fi, there was no need for the floppy drive.)  Every term is a new batch of students so there was no problem with installed legacy technology.

Classroom technology setups are not refreshed as quickly as students.  There are still classrooms with genuine chalkboards!  Sure, in the home and in high tech companies, VGA is dead.  The funding crisis in education will slow he upgrade cycle so VGA will live on for a long time.  Remember, the momentum of installed but obsolete technology can be hard to overcome.  Just look at the QWERTY keyboard layout.

Also, if you are connecting at a variety of places such as research conferences, client sites, etc., you should be prepared to present using VGA.  I'm still amazed at the number of people with new laptops using HDMI or DisplayPort ports but don't come with the VGA connector.

Sure, Mac laptops continue to sell well without VGA ports but that is a big part of why I didn't get one.

Blind Tennis

As someone who  has spent decades playing tennis but always finding a way to have a losing USTA record, this story from the New York Times describes what seems to me to be impossible - blind tennis.  There are adaptations to the game including court size, the ball contains ball bearings to make noise, and multiple bounces allowed but this is still incredibly impressive.

Of course I want to make an obligatory reference to technology and innovation management.  Harvey Mudd College has a project to develop a better ball that will emit sound continuously.

Also, it would be interesting to consider the spread of a "game" such as this from a technology diffusion perspective as well as barriers to technology adoption.  It is hard to think of a technology that faces higher barriers than helping blind people.

Of course the idea of "blind" tennis also makes me think of the very impressive wheelchair tennis players which I have had the good fortune to occasionally see live.