Technology As A Journey, Not a Destination

I am known to those who know me as someone who doesn’t particularly care for DRM, or as DefectiveByDesign calls it, Digital Restrictions Management.  I’m not sure how the R stands for “Rights” because it seems more restrictions that rights.  I suppose I have the right to play it in the narrow confines that I am given, and as such, I should be thankful and not complaining.

I am reminded, once again, why I love the Mac and it becomes obvious why the iTunes store is such a success.  Here’s how it goes if I decide I want to purchase (or rent) media on my iPod:  I go to iTunes, purchase (or rent) it, plug in my iPod, wait, and then watch.  No finding files, usually no required software update, it just works, the vast majority of the time.  Same goes for Audible, both when I had a PC and on past Mac purchases.

But I digress.  What started my adventure tonight is that I recently discovered  that my local library offers audio books through a service called Overdrive.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about it, so I decided to give it a shot. I browsed through several selections and was so glad to see they were all compatible with iPods.  I selected a title that I wanted to hear, created my account, signed in and downloaded the software.  I attempted to download the audio book and was presented with an error that this particular title could not be played on my Mac.

No worries, I just want to transfer it to my iPod anyway.  Nope, there’s no way to do this.  Ok, well there’s an App, I can just download it there, right?.  Oh no, only mp3 formatted audio books, nothing that contains WMA DRM can be used on the iPod.  Well, that makes sense since WMA is a Microsoft format.  Ok, well it said I could play it on my Droid, which I think will play WMA, so I found the app and downloaded it there.  Nope, can’t download from the app there either.

Feeling a little annoyed, but determined to not let this thing beat me, I fired up my virtual Windows machine.  I downloaded the program, installed it and attempted to download my audio book.  Nope, no dice, I have to upgrade to Windows Media Player 11.  I went through that process, fired up the program again and was informed I had to upgrade Windows Media Player security plugin from with within the overdrive console.  Ok, so I did that, clicked through the dire ActiveX warning that this could be a potentially malicious piece of software and let it complete.

Now my book has finally downloaded, I’m ready to click that “transfer” button that’s taunting me.  Oops, I have to plug in the iPod.  I figured I didn’t have to sync it, I could just copy whatever file to it. Well, of course that won’t work because my iPod is formatted for Mac, and iTunes told me I had to format it for Windows.  As much fun as that sounds to completely lose all of my music for this one book, I opted to try an old iPod that doesn’t get much use.  It worked ok and the audio book has now been transferred to my iPod.  In theory, I should be able to listen to this book now.

Thankfully, I shouldn’t have to go through that process every time.  I should now be able to just download the audio file into Windows and sync it up.  So that, at least, is the silver lining.

I did notice, however, that there’s an option to burn this book to a CD.  Since I don’t have any CD-R media available, this was not an option.  However,  I see a potential flaw in their iron-clad DRM scheme here, which most anyone should be able to see if you think about it.

Maybe I should just renew my Audible account instead.

I have been thinking a lot about deleting my Facebook page and just using a special blog to update my friend and family on my life. The more I think about it, though, the more I realize that it doesn’t make much sense. At this point deleting my Facebook profile would be nothing more than a symbolic gesture because of my personal rule for posting online. It’s simple, but effective.

Never post anything online that I would be umcomfortable reading in the local paper.

That’s it. So even if Facebook decided to open my profile to the world, my privacy would not be compromised. I don’t do any of the Apps, I block every single one that shows up in my news feed hat friends use. My pictures are ones that anyone could see. I would prefer it only be friends but if the worst happened it would not be devastating to my privacy.

I see some of the things that people post on their pages – Facebook, Twitter or blogs – and I just can’t believe that they would make some of this information public. And yes, even though you can “control” the privacy settings, there is always the chance something will go wrong. After all, it is a resource connected to the internet.

If you absolutely must comment on something, or post something online as a means of stress management, it is crazy easy to invent an alter ego for those sorts of activities. Just keep the two separate in all regards and there you go. Would it be easy to connect the two I you were a private investigator? Probably. Just keep that in mind as you go along.

For all of these social networking sites, just assume that whatever you post could someday become public information and think before you hit that submit button.

This whole game of Mac vs. PC is really a game that takes a lot of energy, but yields no results.  I, myself, have been sucked into this game and really it has served nothing but waste time.  Both sides think theirs is better and, really, there’s no changing minds.  It’s one of those divisions that people become emotionally invested in for some reason.

In my position, I find that I must remove myself from that and try to find the right tool for the job.  There’s no sense buying shovels if you need rakes.  Sure, you can do some raking functions with a shovel, but wouldn’t it make more sense to buy a rake if you need to rake?  But what I see in this paradigm is people arguing why rakes are better than shovels and vice versa.

If you step back and look at your task, either you need a rake or a shovel.  I know, my analogies are odd, but I think it’s relevant.  If we’re editing spreadsheets and word processing, give me a PC with a huge monitor any day.  If I’m creating something other than an Office document, give me a Mac any day.  It all depends on the task at hand.

So as I investigate technology for our school district, I find that these tired old Mac vs. PC debates start up. What I attempt to do in every aspect of my job is to find the right tool for the job.  I ask questions, I see what works and try to avoid what doesn’t.  Networking in today’s world is excellent.  Lots of people blog about what works and what doesn’t.  It’s just a matter of seeking out that information and using it.  There really is no sense in repeating the same mistakes someone else has already made.

I think what bothers people more than anything is change.  Change is both difficult and wonderful.  What is becoming more and more apparent is that in the years ahead, it’s not going to matter one bit what camp you live in.  Whether it be Mac, PC, Linux, or whatever else, it’s all just a different way of getting to the same place.  Google doesn’t care what I use to search, nor does most of the web for that matter.

I just get frustrated arguing over whether we should buy shovels just because everyone else rakes with a shovel.

This is a new term that I only recently learned. However, it makes complete sense when I see some of the technology that is implemented in schools I have researched.

As part of my job, I am doing tons of research on technology for a 1:1 computer project in our school district. The conventional wisdom is that you go and buy a bunch of computers and give them to kids and they use them to learn. The reality, however, is that a lot more must go into it than just passing out computers.

For instance, if a school district puts a notebook computer in the hands of every child, and they use that piece of technology to take notes in class and write reports, it might seem like the project is complete and you can move on to the next thing. But what have you accomplished? My opinion is that you have spent $1,000 on something you could do for a couple of dollars worth of pencils and paper.

To elaborate on that, the technology should be a tool to create and discover. It should become a part of the education, where you learn how to use the tool appropriately and it should be relevant. It is not the universal fix, nor is it something that is a waste.

For example, researching a paper and typing a report is a start. Creating a network on a social networking site or using a discussion board is better. Collaborating with people from all variety of age and backgrounds is a real world experience. Learning to research and reason is a skill that will enable someone to succeed at anything.

The analysis supports that these programs can be wildly successful. It also show that they can be an enormous waste of money and time. It is important to understand that sometimes making these programs work involves doing something different. Sometimes that means people and processes must change. This, to me, represents the biggest obstacle in the process of implementing a program like this. Like most things, it comes down to people. I heard a saying recently, “money and technology are great, but people are better.”

I guess the point I am making is that whatever technology we implement must have a purpose beyond just being what everyone is doing. It is okay to do what everyone is doing, but we have to be doing it the right way and making a real difference in education. This will require people more than technology.

I am a tech person by nature, but I also realize that just using a computer is not the answer and a magical solution. It is much more than that and I am fortunate to have educators that understand this. It’s a big project that some have done right and many have done wrong.

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