I have attended the University of Montana in Missoula for the past four-and-a-half years, and the growing trend of technology is continuing to impact the way we live and learn as students. I have personally seen and felt the effects of these changes as they have impacted my collegiate career.
Laptops vs. Handwriting Notes
One decision we face as college students that has a large impact on our academic performance is determining which method of note taking to use: typing on a laptop or handwritten. According to research, those who take notes by hand have better long-term comprehension, and this is the method of note taking I personally prefer. Students who write out their notes by hand have a stronger conceptual understanding and are more successful in applying and integrating the material than those who use their laptops. Students who use their laptops tend to have high verbatim note content, which is associated with lower retention of the lecture material. Students who use laptops can take notes fairly fast, mindlessly, and with little analysis. This fails to promote an understanding or application of the information given.
Online Classes vs. Physical Classes
As college undergrads, we have the option of either taking class at specific time, day, in a specific room, with a professor, or online at anytime, anywhere, and with no instructor. Online schooling has become more popular with the technological resources that are now available. Times are changing everyday, and technology is growing at a rapid pace. As a student, I find learning from a classroom, with a teacher, on the whiteboard to be much more effective. Being able to ask questions, engage in activity, and apply the frameworks is a lot more valuable than any answer Google can offer. There is something to be said about collaboration with others and the benefits group work offers. Talking through the difficult scenarios with others and then being able to explain it to someone else is how we as individuals truly retain knowledge. These benefits are lost by taking a class online. Most people take for granted the power of hands-on learning.
Textbooks vs. Ebooks
With technology growing, as a student I now have the ability to purchase a physical textbook or an online version in a PDF. This issue can be very opinion based. Students now days will more then likely choose the online version, because it is less expensive and more convenient. For me, I like to have the physical copy in hand. I usually end up writing all over it with pen, pencil, and highlighter.
Many will ask what does this have to do with technology? I think that it is important to remember that life is always changing and—whether we are students, have a career, or stay at home—we must adapt to the changes of society. What I don’t think, though, is that we have to completely change our ways. Some things will always be more efficient like computers or technology, but they are not always as effective. As humans, it is in our nature to feel the desire to want to interact with one another and complete our tasks by hand, which is why, using new forms of technology may not come as naturally to me.
(photo credit: danielfoster437 via photopin cc)
Pay per Laugh | TeatreNeu from edududu on Vimeo.
Barcelona’s Teatreneu comedy club doesn’t charge a cover fee. Instead, you’re charged per laugh.
The move is an effort to combat falling attendance numbers, due in part to Spanish government taxes on theatre tickets. In order to make money, though, the venue outfitted every seat with iPad that ran facial recognition software. It recorded every time a person laughed at a cost of €0.30 (about US$0.38). The max amount an attendee could pay was set at €24 (US$30).
How well did it work? Watch the video above to find out.
IAVM is actively monitoring the impact of recent Ebola incidents. At the direction of Chair Kim Bedier, CFE—and through collaboration with the Academy for Venue Safety & Security (AVSS) and our Industry Affairs Council (IAC)—a task force has been formed to work on relevant communications to the IAVM community. We would like to encourage members to join the current discussion in VenueNet, and to look for more information in the very near future.
The Industry Affairs Council was formed by IAVM to provide insight, recommend answers on positions, and proactively pursue industry representation of legislative issues and positions of advocacy.
Serving on the IAC Ebola task force:
Ryan Thorpe, director of facility operations, McCormick Place/SMG, vice chair of the IAVM Industry Affairs Council
Fred Peterson, director of facilities operations, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, chair of the IAVM Industry Affairs Council
Russell Read, CFE, vice president of operations, AT&T Performing Arts Center, ETCP representative on the IAVM Industry Affairs Council
Paul Turner, CFE, CSSP, director of event operations & security, AT&T Stadium, chair of the IAVM stadiums sector, member of the AVSS Faculty
Bill Powell, vice president of event marketing and sales, FELD Entertainment
Jeff Davis, general manager, College Park Center – UT Arlington
Mark Herrera, director of education, IAVM
(photo credit: hukuzatuna via photopin cc)
Erin Rowland, the sustainability coordinator with the Oregon Convention Center (OCC), prepared a sustainability report for VenueConnect 2014 and recently shared the results with IAVM headquarters.
Some of the interesting findings include that for each day of the event the average attendee consumed only
— 12 gallons of water
— 58 kWh of electricity
— Less than .15 therm of natural gas
— Less than one pound of garbage
— 1.5 pounds of recyclable and compostable material
“VenueConnect is the first conference that OCC has measured the water, waste, and energy statistics,” Rowland said. “Normally, we just measure the waste diversion rate. Waste diversion rates for other conferences/event have varied between 60 percent to 85 percent. Conferences/events with diversion rate above 75 percent usually have a very focused and detailed plan striving to host a ‘zero waste show.’”
Reaching a 67 percent diversion rate for the event, Rowland said, is a great starting point for IAVM.
“This achievement shows that the IAVM conference planning staff and OCC partnered to ensure that most of the material generated during the show could be recycled (sign), composted (food service ware), and was re-usable (durable service ware),” she said. “It also shows that attendees did a good job correctly sorting their waste in our recycling bins.”
Rowland said that the OCC has converted all plumbing fixtures to low-flow fixtures, upgraded more than 70 percent of its lighting fixtures, and during VenueConnect the major heating system was shut off, allowing attendee usage of water and electricity to be very minimal.
Several suggestions were offered in the report for ongoing event success, such as sustainability focused experiences. However, one suggestion came out on top.
“Moving forward, I think engaging conference exhibitors/planners to develop ‘zero waste’ exhibits and to not leave material at convention centers would increase the understanding among the exhibitors/planners about the environmental impact they bring to events,” Rowland said. “It would also have a big impact on the event’s diversion rate.”
Hugh Jackman was on Good Morning America yesterday talking about his new Broadway play, The River. One of the interesting parts of the interview was about how his team and producer are making sure pricing allows anyone that wants to see the show will not have to worry about scalpers. I thought it was very clever, and I wanted to share it with you. Check out the video.