missing the snail mail

Snail mail" is a term used to refer to mail that is sent in the traditional way — through the postal service — rather than by email, fax, or other electronic means of communication. It is given this name because it can be very slow, as is a snail. Postal mail generally takes two or three days to go from origin to destination, if not many more, whereas email can be sent instantly.

With email, a message is sent directly from a user's mail program to another person's email address. Though many email messages simply contain words, they may also include photos or other digital files, such as songs, or links to websites. Since most people in Western society now use email on a regular basis, snail mail has gone out of fashion for simple letters, though it is still necessary for sending packages or legal documents that require signatures.

Though the postal service seems to have gone out of style for many uses today, it has a long history all over the world. The first postal systems in the world originated in Persia and China, and date back to possibly as early as 1700 BC. These early mail systems relied on messengers who rode horses from town to town, and most mail was delivered to government officials or royals.

Snail mail is a slang term for the regular postal service with the implication that it is a lot slower than email . Tracking the world has come up with a potential solution to the problem of letters that go missing in action. Logger is a quarter-inch-thick device that fits into a standard number 10 business envelope and allows the Postal Service to track its progress throughout the system alongside Google Earth. Here's how it works. Letter Logger consists of a powerful microprocessor developed by Texas Instruments, and a low-power consumption uBlox ANTARIS 4 GPS module, and is powered by a slim 1100mAh battery. It can be deployed in two different ways. Users can choose to receive reports every two, five or ten minutes (which would, I think, drive you nuts). Letter Logger is in Constant mode, or they can go for Tilt mode, which notifies you only when the envelope is tilted. Constant mode gives you 20 hours' battery life, while Tilt mode will keep tabs for two weeks.

            In the past 3-4 weeks I’ve noticed strange. The contracts from the shared public folder no longer have email addresses or snail-mail addresses on the Blackberry. When I go back to outlook I see the address are still in the contacts.

On Virtual Socialization

An online message board is a forum where people can discuss thoughts or ideas on various topics. Online message centers allow users to choose which thread, or board of discussion, users would like to read or contribute to. A user will start a discussion by making a post on a thread. Other users who choose to respond can follow the discussion by adding their own post to that thread. Message boards are not conversation based because user responses do not have to take place right away. Whenever the user revisits the message board, he/she can make a response. Unlike a conversation, message boards do not have an instantaneous response and require that users actively go to the site to check for responses.

Social networking services are the most prominent type of virtual community. They are either a website or software platform that focuses on creating and maintaining relationships. Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace are all virtual communities. With these sites, one often creates a profile or account, and adds friends or follow friends. This allows people to connect and look for support using the social networking service as a gathering place. These websites often allow for people to keep up to date with their friends and acquaintances’ activities without making much of an effort. On Facebook, for example, one can upload photos and videos, chat, make friends, reconnect with old ones, and join groups or causes. All of these functions encourage people to form a community, large or small, on the Internet.

Anyone can register to participate in an online message board. A message board is unique because people can choose to participate and be a part of the virtual community, even if they choose not to contribute their thoughts and ideas. Registered users can simply view the various threads or contribute if they choose to. Message boards can also accommodate an almost infinite number of users, while the number of users who can be accommodated by a single chat room is limited at least in practice.

Internet users' urges to talk to and reach out to strangers online opposes real-life encounters where people are hesitant and often unwilling to step in to help strangers. Studies have shown that people are more likely to intervene if they are the only one in the situation. With Internet message boards, a user sitting at his or her computer is the only one present in their online experience, which might have to do with why they are more willing to reach out. Another possible reason for this is that people can withdraw from a situation much easier online. They can simply click exit or log off, whereas they would have to find a physical exit and deal with the repercussions of trying to leave a situation in real life. The lack of status that is presented with an online identity also might encourage people because if you choose to keep it private, there is no label of gender, age, ethnicity or lifestyle associated with yourself.

Virtual groups, that communicate and coordinate their activities using information technology, continue to become prevalent as an organizational form. Research in this area, however, is still in its infancy. Specifically, extant research provides little insight into how new members are socialized into virtual groups using electronic communication. This paper examines the influence of member tenure on individual communication patterns in virtual groups. A content analysis of e-mail communication among members of the group during a 3-month period showed that in virtual groups, newcomers primarily exhibit an information seeking mode in their communication and established members exhibit an information providing mode. Interestingly, and contrary to expectations, newcomers did actively engage in discussions regarding cognitive information, perhaps helped by the comfort provided by a lean and faceless electronic communication medium. However, the limited anonymity provided by the electronic media did not translate into newcomers seeking normative and regulative information in explicit ways, implying a need for organizational mechanisms aimed at virtual member socialization.

A virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. One of the most pervasive types of virtual community operate under social networking services consisting of various online communities.

Virtual communities all encourage interaction, sometimes focusing around a particular interest or just to communicate. Some virtual communities do both. Community members are allowed to interact over a shared passion through various means: message boards, chat rooms, social networking sites, or virtual worlds. 

EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Educational technology sometimes termed EdTech, is the study and ethical practice of facilitating e-learning, which is the learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources. The term educational technology is often associated with, and encompasses, instructional  and learning theory. Educational technology includes, but is not limited to, software, hardware, as well as Internet applications, such as wikis and blogs, and activities. 

Technology of education is most simply and comfortably defined as an array of tools that might prove helpful in advancing student learning and may be measured in how and why individuals behave. Educational Technology relies on a broad definition of the word "technology". Technology can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines or hardware, but it can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. Some modern tools include but are not limited to overhead projectors, laptop computers, and calculators. Newer tools such as "smartphones" and games (both online and offline) are beginning to draw serious attention for their learning potential. Media Psychology is the field of study that applies theories in human behavior to educational technology.

Consider the Handbook of Human Performance Technology. The word technology for the sister fields of Educational and Human Performance technology means "applied science." In other words, any valid and reliable process or procedure that is derived from basic research using the "scientific method" is considered a "technology." Educational or Human Performance Technology may be based purely on algorithmic or heuristic processes, but neither necessarily implies physical technology. The word technology comes from the Greek "techne" which means craft or art. Another word, "technique," with the same origin, also may be used when considering the field Educational Technology. So Educational Technology may be extended to include the techniques of the educator.

According to some, an Educational Technologist is someone who transforms basic educational and psychological research into an evidence-based applied science (or a technology) of learning or instruction. Educational Technologists typically have a graduate degree (Master's, Doctorate, Ph.D., or D.Phil.) in a field related to educational psychology, educational media, experimental psychology, cognitive psychology or, more purely, in the fields of Educational, Instructional or Human Performance Technology or Instructional System Design. But few of those listed below as theorists would ever use the term "educational technologist" as a term to describe themselves, preferring terms such as "educator.

Apple has become one of the most popular gadget brands in the world- not only in sales, but in theft. With iPhones, iPads and iPads stolen so often, police officer have the teamed up with Apple Inc. To combat these crimes directly. Withe the use of a device International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMSEI), it;s possible for Apple to track the whereabouts of a device and then share that information with the police. Were looking for ways to find individuals who have stolen Apple products and and return the product to their original owners.