All tagged 140conf

Don't Stop Until You Scratch the Sun

Don Martelli

elizabethstreet-book.jpg

I'm currently reading the book Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano. I'm only a few chapters in, but the the book, which is based on true events. On Amazon.com, the book is described as, "both a fascinating immigrant story and an intimate portrait of how a first-generation American--and the author’s own great-grandmother--outwits one of the most brutal crime organizations of the early 20th century."

Without giving away too many details, there's a part in the book where an Italian immigrant is amazed at the tall structures "the American's" have built, referring to the sky scrapers of the early 1900s. The character's cousin tells him, "They [Americans] won't stop until they scratch the sun."

I thought that was a great line and could mean a lot of different things.

#140conf: Real-time Education

Don Martelli
Education, , Video

empty-classroom.jpg

One panel from the #140conf that I was very interested in was the one on how the real-time web can impact education.

In true 140 fashion, the panel was too short for a subject that I am very passionate and know a lot about (considering I've spent nearly seven years of my life working in education and another three or so representing education-focused clients).

You see, the education space is always behind the eight ball. It is always in need -- need of tools, technology, good teachers, content, students, active parents, etc. For such an important part of all of our lives, education (for the most part IMHO), doesn't get the attention it deserves in terms of the issues -- from the political end of things, technology issues, parental involvement, etc.

Education simple gets the shaft in my book.