There’s little doubt that things are unlikely return to exactly as they were before the pandemic. And it made me wonder about the general state of education technology (AKA “edtech”). As it turns out, the path ahead may an interesting mix with some potholes.
The OPLIN 4cast Posts
OPLIN 4Cast #696: Beating Up on Zoom
Posted in 4cast
Like most of you, I’m on one video-conferencing platform or another several times a day, and more often than not, it’s Zoom. I kind of…
You don’t need me to tell you that technology has been mission critical as we all self-isolate during the pandemic. I’ve little doubt that most…
The CDC director says very aggressive contact tracing will be required to scale back the current measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. Even as…
Thanks to the pandemic, and the fact that it is now free, video conferencing app Zoom is pretty much everywhere. Even my mother-in-law, who is in her 80s, has learned how to use it from her phone for church meetups (and this is someone who can’t even search Google). If you have somehow managed not to use this platform yet, it’s probably just a matter of time.
In response to the pandemic’s shuttering of schools and libraries, the Open Library has become more open, turning the collection into the National Emergency Library. It’s a great boon for readers and learners, but is it legal?
OPLIN 4Cast #691: Unprecedented spike in residential internet demand
Posted in 4cast, Braoadband, Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube
Over the course of two weeks, Ohio library internet traffic dropped from daily peaks over 8 Gigabits per second down to brief spikes that barely…
But, with the advent of COVID-19 and the need for social distancing and self-isolation, many people are just now becoming acquainted with working from home. As expected, some aspects can be more challenging than others.
Now, in 2020, not having a mobile-friendly website is practically unthinkable, especially since more than half of site visitors are looking at the web via their cell phones. But Google is taking things to their inevitably conclusion: its webcrawlers are now indexing by mobile-first.
The 4Cast should be about trends and currents in technology that are relevant to public library services. COVID-19, the current coronavirus strain dominating the headlines and our social media feeds, is not a technology story, but it’s practically all the tech journalists are talking about.