Digital distractions and learning

Nowadays, attend any conference or event, and you will note that several people have their laptops open in front of them, as if it were acceptable to stare into a screen, while a speaker presents on stage.

People busy fiddling with their mobile phones at any business meeting you attend seems to have become acceptable too!

This resembles a cultural shift in social behaviour, and frankly it seems appears that our attention is divided, while the people seeking our attention are being offended.

As a culture, the human race are now at a crossroads, and new rules emerging from universities in the United States and Europe demonstrate a realization that there’s a problem. Professors are now demanding that their students turn off their devices and put away the laptops.

In fact, some universities have decided to turn off the internet access in classrooms!

As it it turns out, the PC as an educational tool has now become a distraction. Different people will have different levels of discipline and attention. You simply can’t count on the majority of students to stick to academic uses of their computers and smartphones in a classroom.

A professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, knew her students weren't all paying attention in class. She carried out a quick study, simply by comparing the grades of students who used laptops in class with those of the students who didn't. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education in the United States, she informed the students after their first exam that they scored 11 percent lower than their counterparts without laptops.

It is absolutely understandable that teachers now have no tolerance for students surfing the Web or playing games in class. And maybe a ban should be extended to business meetings, training workshops and seminars. As for conferences, well, maybe they can be an exception if they’re all day affairs.

But schools, universities and training centers should go back to being places of focused learning.

Honestly, if you had a PC in front of you in a lecture, wouldn’t you be distracted by all the MSN chat, Gmail, Skype, TweetDeck alerts? Of course you would. Will you learn anything if you don’t pay attention? You probably won’t. Turn every digital device off, and turn on your brain. It’s the only device you’ll really need!

zanasser@gmail.com

Jordan ranks 44th in global ICT readiness report

The Global Information Technology Report for 2009/2010 by the World Economic Forum is now available. It is based on a Networked Readiness Index (NRI), and it’s worth reading to see how prepared countries around the world are to use ICT effectively.
Apart from all the analysis, covering business, regulatory and infrastructure environment for ICT, the most interesting part is the ranking of countries in terms of ICT readiness, which sums up the report.

And, it is my pleasure to inform you that several Arab countries enjoy a respectable ranking.

The UAE, in particular, comes in at number 23, just before Ireland at 24 which is considered a very advanced technology economy!

And, to be honest, it is also a pleasure to see at least one Arab country ranking ahead of Israel, which came in at number 28.

So, what about Jordan? For all our good work in ICT over the past decade, Jordan makes it into the top fifty, coming in at number 44.

Not too bad in a list ranking 133 countries- which means we’re in the top third- but only reasonably impressive within a regional context as Bahrain and Qatar come in at 29 and 30 respectively, and Saudi Arabia coming in at 38 completes the group of four Arab countries ahead of us in the report.

The top three Arab countries get a special mention by a senior economist and co-editor of the report, who says "UAE, Bahrain and Qatar's superior capacity to leverage ICT as an enabler of sustainable, long-term economic growth in the Middle East region is a direct result of the focus placed by governments on knowledge-based economies with particular emphasis on education, innovation, as well as ICT access and diffusion."

We’re doing that in Jordan too, but maybe the extent of investment and the size of our economy relative to those Gulf countries puts us at a disadvantage.
As far as ‘ICT readiness’ is concerned, we’ve made strides in empowering the key stakeholder groups to use and benefit from ICT, and we will be climbing up the list.

For now, the most ‘networked’ Arab country is the UAE, and the least networked are Kuwait at number 76 and Syria at 105. So, Jordan sits in the leading group of Arab countries, but must and probably will do better in the near future.


zanasser@gmail.com

Access the full report here:

Hundreds of Millions worth of free publicity: iPad hysteria!

Hysteria is the only suitable word to describe the iPad launch, on Saturday 3 April, preceded by heightened speculation since it’s ‘unveiling’ by Steve Jobs on January 27, which in turn came after years of speculation and teasing by Apple.

It’s a masterpiece of a product and a masterstroke of marketing, which encourages analysts and industry experts to believe that maybe someone will finally crack the tablet market, following several attempts from Microsoft, HP and others.
As was the case with iPod, Apple was not necessarily the first to introduce such a device, but it was the best to understand the ‘comprehensive, high utility, software-hardware integration’ approach needed. With iPod, Apple re-introduced the digital music player category, and controls more than three quarters of that market since.

The iPhone then followed, broke the stronghold of Nokia, Motorola and other established players and did what they could not do: introduce a whole new pocket computing platform, that also happens to be a phone; thanks to popularity of iTunes and the App Store.

So, the next natural step was to build a ‘bigger computer’ that utilized this now massively popular platform, and that’s what the iPad is. Or is it actually more?

News organizations and websites are all clamoring to evaluate the iPad’s features, with ‘exclusive reviews’, and the results are ranging from ‘pleased’ to ‘raving ecstasy’.

Engadget, the world’s top blog for gadgets and a definitive resource, has already declared that it’s a legendary device saying the iPad is “more than a product, it's a statement, an idea, and potentially a prime mover in the world of consumer electronics, but what was little more than rumor and speculation for nearly ten years is now very much a reality.”

Newsweek’s cover provides its verdict too saying: “What’s so great about the iPad...... everything!” We shall find out if that is indeed true.

As of yet, no launch date for the Middle East has been set, but hysteria is building up here too. A study by YouGov showed that 58% of respondents in the Middle East were likely to buy the iPad, which was more than the percentages reported in the UK and the USA.

Either YouGov have a strange sampling methodology, or we’re just Apple iPad crazy in the Middle East.

Soon, we’ll all be able to decide for ourselves!

zanasser@gmail.com

iPad arrives in Apple US stores amid huge demand

Apple’s new iPad became available in all 221 US Apple retail stores and most Best Buy stores on Saturday, April 3. Starting at just $499, iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.

“iPad connects users with their apps and content in a far more intimate and fun way than ever before,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait for users to get their hands and fingers on it this weekend.”

Apple retail stores will offer a free Personal Setup service to every customer who buys an iPad at the store, helping them customize their new iPad by setting up their email, loading their favorite apps from the App Store, and more. Also beginning Saturday, Apple retail stores will host special iPad workshops to help customers learn more about it.

iPad is available in Wi-Fi models on for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store.