This is an eye-opening infographic. From Knewton.com…
One-third of today’s college students require remediation. Of those students, half will never receive a college degree. Clearly, something isn’t working. This infographic lays out the state of college readiness in the U.S., and explains why being prepared for college matters now more than ever.
via The Unprepared Nation Infographic #collegereadiness #highered #edu11.
Excellent article by James Bruce regarding programming languages of the day.
From MakeUseOf.com…
When starting on the path of programming, it’s important you invest your time wisely in choosing to learn something that will both benefit you in the immediate future with visible results on your platform of choice, as well as getting you set up for any future languages. Your choice will depend upon a number of factors, so let’s take a look at their characteristics, ease of learning, and likelihood of earning you a living. I’ll also show you some code to display “hello world”, the first application many people write when learning a new language.
via Which Programming Language Should You Learn For Software Development?.
I’m always eager to test the new distributions. Here comes Fedora 16 and here is a preview from Carla Schroder at Linux.com.
From Linux.com…
Fedora Linux is always pushing the bleeding edge, and has evolved into a versatile, flexible distro with something for everyone, for little old ladies with netbooks to students to powerhouse enterprises. Fedora 16, Verne, is due to be released November 8, 2011, so let’s take a sneak peek at what’s inside.
By James Bruce at MakeUseOf.com…
Having created quite a few blogs, I’d like to think that I have a good system down for those essential first steps, and I hope it can be of use to you too. By following these you’ll get a good head start in the world of blogging and hopefully an influx of traffic to give you the motivation to carry on. If you’ve already started, think of this as a checklist as I’m sure there’s a few you haven’t done yet.
via 10 Essential First Steps When Starting A WordPress Blog.
I have the July 2011 MacBook Air. It is the fastest machine I have ever used…by a long shot. But the 256GB drive is small for my wants (not needs), and lately I find myself regularly deleting content I would prefer to have available. When the price is right, I’ll upgrade to a larger SSD and this article from Arstechnica is my first reference on the how-to.
From Arstechnica.com…
Apple launched updated MacBook Air models in October of 2010, featuring new, compact, and (originally) proprietary form-factor solid state drives (SSDs). The SSDs have so far only been available to OEMs directly from Toshiba, despite the fact that the SSD is the only user-replaceable part in the MacBook Air. It took a few months, but long-time Mac upgrade source Other World Computing stepped up to offer three upgrade options based on fast Sandforce controllers.
via How-to: replace your MacBook Air SSD with OWC’s Aura Pro Express.
I have upgraded all of my devices to iOS5 but a few things are not working and they have not been a priority for me to worry about. Maybe this will help.
From Bakari Chavanu at MakeUseOf.com…
No doubt the most welcomed feature of the latest iOS 5 update for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad is Apple rolling out iCloud and wireless Wi-Fi connectivity for its smart mobile devices and Macs. Many of us have experienced the pain of connecting our iOS device using USB to iTunes just to update a playlist or backup some related app files. It was almost like calling someone on a wired phone.
As an adjunct faculty member this article at InsideHigherEd reminds me of the importance of setting and communicating high expectations to my students, From InsideHigherEd…
Over the past 20 years, if not more, colleges and universities, states and private foundations have invested considerable resources in the development and implementation of a range of programs to increase college completion. Though several of these have achieved some degree of success, most have not made a significant impact on college completion rates.
via Essay: Focus student success efforts on what happens in the classroom | Inside Higher Ed.
And this goes hand in hand with my post of a few minutes ago. From NetworkWorld.com…
The battle between Microsoft and Google for office cloud dominance reminds me of the clash of the Titans. Microsoft and its classic on-premises business model is like Gaia, the earth goddess, and Google with its disruptive lightening bolt, is like Zeus, a sky god and a next generation kind of god.