About Me

Education, the knowledge society, the global market all connected through technology and cross-cultural communication skills are I am all about. I hope through this blog to both guide others and travel myself across disciplines, borders, theories, languages, and cultures in order to create connections to knowledge around the world. I teach at the University level in the areas of Business, Language, Communication, and Technology.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Gadgets you can't live without

In the January 2 US edition of the Financial Times, there was an article on "The gadgets I never leave home without...". I saved the article to read through at a later time.

This weekend, however, I was caught on the interstate going to pick up my son. Fortunately I had left a bit early, but I had forgotten my cell phone. Later I found out that there was a shoot out about 1/2 a mile from where I sat stuck in traffic. The highway was closed and evacuated, and I was able to pick up my son. Had I had my cell phone however, I could have found out if the alternate routes I could take home were backed up or not. I also could have used a mobile device that allowed me to access the internet to see if I could find out information on what the problem was on the internet (I thought it was a traffic accident, and was in fact moving up closer to the area where the person was shooting).

Trends for busy professionals

Interestingly enough, these are the same gadgets listed by most of those interviewed for the FT article. Most had some sort of cell phone, usually with internet access. Other interesting gadgets needed were memory sticks/flash drives, devices to recharge batteries (when are they going to invent a solar powered recharger?), and satellite phone (to be used regardless of location).

I feel that mobile technology will become increasingly important for trainers, as cell phones have podcasting features, access to the internet, mini keyboards, and camera features. Already, many of my colleagues who teach on line courses have students accessing those courses through their blackberries and iphones.

So what gadgets can you never leave home without? What gadgets could you never teach without?

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