If i disappear for a few days I am probably working my way through this incredible collection
So, my last blog entry was about how the idea of 'the weight of the Internet' was a bit mind numbing. If you haven't read that and watched the video, do it now.
Today, I looked at something I heard about a few months ago but admittedly never really explored. It is a collection of more than 2,600 online videos by a guy names Sal Khan; his web site is called KhanAcademy.org. He started doing this for a few family members, and evenutally started sharing them with anyone wanting to see them online, all for free. Many of the videos are done directly by Sal Khan, while others are from third-party sources.
Some advanced local school teachers here in the Bahamas are already using these videos to help their students get introduced to new concepts and subjects, or help lagging students pick up the pace.
But, no matter where you are in life -- student, adult, retired -- I encourage you to start exploring this collection. Even the listing itself is overwhelming, but take the time to scroll through and hit a few that seem interesting to you.
Every once in a while I come across an idea or a concept or a theory that makes my brain ache just a little. It's like that idea is pushing on the inside of my brain trying to stretch it out just a little more than it was meant to be. Weird, I know. But if you think that's weird, then watch this and tell me if your brain doesn't hurt just a little afterwards.
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The broken window fallacy is shockingly commonplace in our Bahamas
On numerous occasions I have heard people say how their irresponsible behaviour is excused because they are "giving people work to do".
For example: littering. See, if you throw your fast food bag out of your car window when you're done with it, someone will have to pick it up. That person has more work to do, therefore their job is more secure and you are 'helping them out' by creating more work activity and therefore, they can get paid.
Forgetting a few things that anyone with half a brain would know (such as, the unsightly mess, the attraction of disease vectors like rats, and the basic concept of personal responsibility), the 'broken window fallacy', as it is known (not to be confused with the crimonology-related 'broken windows theory'), is essentially flawed.
Here's a short video that helps explain why:
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What it takes to be a good -- or great -- journalist
Dedicated to those journalists in the Bahamas that work every day to be great.
~ejr~
It was June 1998. Jill Geisler was about to do the one of the most difficult things in her journalism career; say good-bye to her newsroom. Jill had worked at Milwaukee’s WITI-TV for 25 years. She had been news director since 1978. She had hired most of the people in her shop. Now she was leaving them to join The Poynter Institute. In saying good-bye to them, she wanted to leave them with a reminder of the values she tried to teach and the newsroom culture they shared. Her staff had often teased her about her concept of “teaching moments,” her term for mini-lessons in the newsroom or important points brought forward in news stories. Before her last day, she wrote a personal note to each of 100 employees. She also wrote and enclosed her tribute to them titled, “The Good Ones.”
They come to this craft for all the right reasons.
For the learn-something turn-around-teach-something dance done daily under deadline.
For the chance to do some good.
For the chance to use the voice…the clear strong voice that television provides us…and to speak up for the voiceless.
The good ones work wonders with words. They protect their power by keeping them simple and honest.
They “matchmake” words to pictures and sound, and celebrate the marriage. They are honored to be called “storytellers.”
