Beneficial technology today

Throughout my childhood and subsequent years I have seen how technology has changed the world in and out of the classroom. It has been fascinating to witness these changes through the years. From cellular phones to concept ideas such as cars, architecture, and medical technology. What is most applicable now is classroom innovations.

Powerpoint is one of the best ways to communicate ideas effectively, especially in the business world. Almost all of my classes have included a powerpoint presentation during the semester. There are many ways to present ideas and I believe that powerpoint is the most effective. You can include other programs with a powerpoint presentation such as Microsoft Word, or Excel or any of the other Microsoft created programs. Googledocs is another effective business tool and can be used to go "paperless."

The only problem with advancing technology so quickly is our reliance, as a society, on it. I think that a problem will occur if we rely 100% on new technology all of the time. Overall though, I see technology as a benefit as long as it is controlled.

2 tips that would apply to effectively presenting in a classroom situation

When presenting anything in any situation I think that originality is very important. Everyone expects the expected which usually translates into something mudain instead of something spontaneous. It is fun, in my opinion, to be creative and think of new ideas/ways to present a topic. When I am being presented to, I look for something that jumped out at me and something that caught me off guard.

The second thing that is effective in any presentation is creating something along the way in accordance to the way your audience is responding. This does not mean that a presentation shouldn't be planned out and executed accordingly but if what you have planned and presented isn't getting a positive response from the audience then nothing is going to resonate after the presentation is over. It makes sense to me to play off of what your audience gives you. If they are not responding at all then something impromptu would be appropriate.

Blog for April 7

I am responding to Thomas Kano's blog discussion entitled, "collaboration technologies." In this blog Thomas talks about the different technologies such as, googledocs, linkedin, facebook, twitter and other social networking sites. He mentions how easy it is now days to coordinate things such as a group project or meetings with other student's, coworkers, or employees. He mentions that students are able to be more effective and efficient when sharing documents because they save time and you can just save them over the internet in cyberspace. They can be viewed, evaluated or even printed without even using email. Using resources like googledocs can be very helpful and useful for projects that school demands.

Job Hunting...who you know, or what you know?

When looking for a job, it is a natural feeling to use information you already have and use people you already know. When I have been searching for a job the first thing I think of is who I know in that particular industry. Overall, I think that it is a combination of both but in today's world of mistrust and miscommunication it is more important to rely on referrals and it ends up coming down to who you know. Of course, it is important to know a few things and be an expert or professional on a certain level but I think that if you "network" yourself and create good relations with certain people, you can go a long way in a particular industry. There are many factors that come into play when looking for a job but knowing a certain person and having a good history can pay off.

Proper attire for an interview

Seeing as this is a business class, I am going to make the assumption that this interview is going to be business/career related. It really does depend on what "type" of job one is interviewing for. So, assuming this is for a business pertaining to a career one should dress like they would for the job they are interviewing for. Most careers today require "business" dress. A shirt, tie and slacks would be appropriate. If the job being applied for requires you to wear a suit then you should wear a suit to the interview. Personally, I have never applied for a job that I plan to be my career, so my interview attire has been nice slacks and a good-looking button up shirt with the majority of it being white. It would be appropriate to dress more on the conservative side for most interviews but sometimes I have worn a striped dress shirt with some color, mostly blue. The reason for professional dress is because what you are going to do is probably going to be a professional job. Dress for success!

Letter Writing is archaic and should not be taught

I personally think that there are reasons for letter writing to be taught and why it shouldn't be taught anymore. I think that there are fundamentals in the business world that should never be forgotten such as writing a formal letter within a company to explain an opinion or belief about something important. Even though a business should evolve as technology evolves, fundamentals should be kept because they lead to success and teach employees how to communicate in an effective, hard-working way. I also find it effective to communicate thoughts, feelings and honesty in such a way that is presentable and professional and I think that writing a letter explains a personal stance that way.

On the contrary, as I already stated, technology evolves so should a business in order to experience success. It is important to utilize technology because not only does it make certain things easier but it also gives employees and businesses ways to be creative and appealing to an extent. The world has gotten to the point where we have almost forgotten about the fundamentals that make a business successful and as we continue on the path to the "cyber world" we will see a decrease in the overall success in an industry.

Overall, there is a fine balance between fundamentals such as formal letter writing and using technology to fulfill our business needs as consumers or employees. That balance needs to receive the attention it deserves or else there is going to be failure in one way or another.

Reason for blogs in the business world

I think one of the main reasons blogs can/are used quite often in the business world is their potential efficiency. They have the potential to save money, create effective conversation without verbal communication, and they are a great way for advertising to people within the company or even outside. I also think blogs are great for businesses because they prove that technology can be a gateway to success in the business world. I think a lot of companies rely on the fundamental forms of communication when the way of the world both in the business sector and in the social sector are evolving more and more into using computers to communicate in a "paperless" way.