Marc Prensky, in the article, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, proposes that educators should bend over backwards and revamp the educational system with methods like educational video games to fully accommodate students who only speak and understand the so-called digital language as a result of growing up in the digital age. As a person who grew up around the beginning of the digital age, I disagree. Technology must not replace natural human development in the real world.

Obviously, digital technology can do things for you so you don’t need to do it yourself. This is great for saving the time of talented, hard-working people. However, it’s a big problem for the younger people who never learned to function without it in the first place. In this case, technology practically creates what I think is a learning disability, not a different language. Then technology presents an opportunity, or a trap, for people now and in the future to never become someone who will do something with their life. I see that as a big problem.

The new language of the digital age is attractive to the lowest common denominator because it requires such minimal effort. When so much is done for you, what reason do you have to develop abilities such as the use of correct spelling and grammar when spellchecker will fix everything for you? This attitude of  “Why bother learning?” becomes all encompassing. These digital native kids often fail to appreciate the value of their own hard work. So as adults, they’ll likely be very unreliable. The digital immigrants of earlier generations work hard to assimilate into the new culture of technology, but the digital natives are cutting themselves off from the knowledge and skills of the past. The sad reality is, the majority seldom use technology to improve their selves intellectually as the older generations would hope.

Almost all I see from my peers is hours spent on social network narcissism and viewing humor sites; nothing cool like researching the legends of the careers they’re interested in, finding interesting art, learning about ancient civilizations, looking up the latest scientific discoveries, reading inspirational business blogs, or reading news from other countries. The kids are missing out because they generally don’t learn to think and search that way. These kids coddled by technology throughout their development will not become the geniuses of older generations with the brilliance to design and create the websites, movies, music, computers, and video game platforms that they love and want. The digital immigrants/bibliographic natives, with their imaginations and work ethics from the pre-digital days plus their use of progressive technology to supplement their causes are the winners.

Discovery Conference Centre uses caring and innovative human minds along with technology to help you optimize the efforts of yourself and your business.

Posted by Laura Gros

The theory of entropy says that everything falls into chaos unless constant energy is put into preserving the order. It was originally meant for natural sciences, but I see it all over the place in business and in personal relationships. We always have to keep trying. I believe that there are infinite ways for people to keep on improving their selves and the world for the rest of their lives. Development is life long. Any greatness humanity has achieved has happened through adaptation.

I have an idea of what we humans can do next for the sake of our civilization through the work we do for it: Remove our emotional human pride from the equation for a better end product. Get over yourself, control your impulses, and be rational. Efficiently producing something beneficial for the people is most important. Not your ego. This is what really makes the greater businesses thrive and compete well. Think about it.

Everyone makes mistakes. Forgive yourself, fix it, try not to do it again, and move on. This is the way to grow. Let the appropriate people know when you’ve made a mistake so it can be fixed if you can’t fix it on your own. Any person who uses their brain would respect you for such efficient action. Wise people ask for constructive criticism. It is better for some collaboration of ideas to be in anything you do. A person never needing any help isn’t something that happens in real life. It suggests that you have integrity if you’re open to the possibility that you could be wrong. When nobody asks for help or will admit that they were wrong or made a mistake, the project is going to come out terribly. No consumer will want what your group has done no matter how much you pay to advertise.

Sometimes your coworkers will in fact have better ideas than you in some situations. That’s reality, and more power to you if you can recognize good work from people around you. If the best you can do is not better than someone else’s idea in a cooperative situation at work, it is more respectable and sensible to let them take the prize for setting up the better solution for the greater objective. Let them inspire you to improve your skills and hone your creativity. It doesn’t help to put down others in your mind and refuse to acknowledge that maybe you just aren’t doing a good enough job. Don’t point fingers. You aren’t a petty high school kid. You’ll never get better if you don’t take responsibility for how you’ve been doing what you choose to do. You don’t become something really special without thousands of hours of progressive experience. Keep thinking hard about the ultimate goals, and the little goals and upgrades you can make to get there.

Discovery Conference Centre is here to serve you and the people you serve. Beautiful, well-equipped meeting rooms with teleconferencing technology offer all you need for successful business meetings, job interviews, arbitrations, depositions, and other operations that help you make this planet a great place to live.

Posted by Laura Gros

As a principal of the Discovery Conference Centre, a business that rents meeting rooms to businesspeople, and Kramm Court Reporting and Legal Video, I am surprised by how often I receive emails, read blog posts and articles, written by business professionals, and the writings have basic spelling mistakes.   Legal staff, paralegals and legal secretaries, will send me emails with the incorrect usage of “too” and “to” and “it’s” and “its” and “you’re” and “your.” 

When I point out these types of mistakes, as a courtesy, in my mind, I receive either no response or a reply, “Thanks, but I was writing the email really fast and wasn’t paying attention to spelling.”

I suggest that people must know the following and never make a mistake with basic words, even when writing a quick email or posting their blog:
 

1. too versus to:  If you can insert “as well as” instead  of  “too,” it is too. 

2. its versus it’s:  If you can insert “it is” it is always it’s (no exceptions).
  
3. you versus you’re:   If you can insert “you are,” it is always you’re.

4. their versus there:  If it is possessive, it is always their.

These eight words are important and are used all of the time in writings.  If I see the words misspelled or used incorrectly, I wonder about the person and:  (a) their ability to learn; (b) if they care about their reputation, work product; (c) if they got out of high school.

I truly want what is best for everyone, and I believe being conscious about what you write and the grammar is incredibly important – particularly in this era of emails and online posts.

@rosaliekramm (Twitter)

I attended my Great Uncle Paul’s funeral a couple months ago. It was clear to see that the man was loved by many. About 300 people showed up. Uncle Paul had indeed given them great things to say about him and what he did with his life, how he spent the time he had. They made sure to honor his wishes of having a square dance at the reception, because of the loyalty Paul inspired in them. He was a successful man, accomplished a lot for himself, but that’s not all he did. He was known for making every person he came into contact with happier than they were before. It made me think about whether I was on all the right tracks at this point. Right then I decided to put more effort into brightening anybody’s day. A life is made of individual days and weeks, and if I don’t start paying attention to how I distribute my time now, who knows when I’ll start. I want to make sure that my life isn’t full of nothing but work towards my own success. As busy as I may have to be, it is important to keep the percentages in check for the other deserving things in life.

When events are rushing by as you fulfill your obligations, it’s healthy to stop for a second and check to make sure you aren’t losing track of what you want the story of your life to be all about. Will you be glad you took a break to recharge or will you regret later that you weren’t working harder right now? Will you realize you didn’t show quite enough gratitude to those who have helped you? Are you making the right sacrifices? Will you be happy with just the knowledge that you’ve accomplished things, or would you prefer that many people appreciate you and know what you’ve done? When you make a decision, think about the person you really want to become.

I think you’re never too young to look far ahead at what you’d like to have accomplished when your time on earth is up. Time sneaks by quickly when you aren’t looking, and every little choice can end up affecting you drastically later down the line. When making a decision, I now look to the end. I try to foresee what my hindsights might look like. I apply this even in the shorter terms, to small choices. I consider if what I do will be worth it even if things end badly. I imagine whether I’ll regret or be happy with every choice I make, small or broad, once a relationship is over. This includes family relationships, friendly ones, and business ones. Did I give enough of my time to those who deserved it?

All in all, it’s never a bad decision to choose Discovery Conference Centre for your meetings and depositions.

Posted by Laura Gros

All over America, more and more cases of boring conversation are popping up. But fear not; this epidemic can be remedied. We don’t have to resort to gossip or talking about what was on TV the other night, or speak in the same old slang and popular movie quotes. The simple solution is for everyone to read more books. Reading keeps intellectualism and imagination alive. It makes your vocabulary sparkle. Sadly, vast majorities of young people I know see learning and reading as chores, and avoid it like the plague. Others (like me) just don’t have much time. The fact is, things worth knowing may require a bit more time and attention to understand. If you can just get into the habit of making time to read, you’ll soon find that it’s time well spent.

There’s a whole world out there waiting to be explored. Books save you time by providing you with realizations, experiences, creations, and research done by someone else on their own time. You have the thoughts and ideas of great people at your fingertips to use to your advantage. You’re always welcome to take it all in and build on it yourself. There are books for any subject imaginable, serving a wide range of functions. Many things that are really interesting existed in the past but don’t exist any more, and books may be the only way to find out about them in detail.

If you read, you can be the highlight of conversations. People will think you’re smart because you are, and you’ll be able to find and attract more interesting people. You’ll make a great impression as one of those people who knows what they’re talking about. Books are a good way to have the mind you want to have. You control what you put in there. Reading also improves your vocabulary, and the more words you know, the easier it is to express yourself. You’ll grow more creative as you picture things for yourself in your head. You’ll also exercise your concentration abilities.

As you find and read more books, you’ll be more likely to find yourself really enjoying learning, and always growing as a person. You can do worthwhile things if you’re more aware of the world’s possibilities, and discover your new talents by trying things you didn’t know existed before. You’ll gain unusual perspective by getting a feel of what was important to generations of the past. Through reading, you can make great things happen in real life.

As reading can do great things for your personal growth, Discovery Conference Centre can be trusted with your career growth. It’s a place dedicated to satisfying all needs in your job interviews, business meetings, legal meetings, etc., with its professional and beautiful meeting rooms and current teleconferencing technology.

Posted by Laura Gros

Discovery Conference Centre is not only the better choice for videoconferencing, but is also built with aesthetics in mind. Each conference room combines efficiency with beauty.

Being able to see beauty is what makes artists become better artists. Eventually it develops into an extra way of thinking to add to the toolbox. Thinking and using the senses creatively can be done by anybody, even those who can only draw stick figures. Borrowing methods from the minds of artists can bring meaning and entertainment to any given moment of your day, even the dullest.

I’m always searching for inspiration for new designs, color schemes, shapes, patterns, and forms. At any place I grace with my presence, I examine the textures of every object, and the patterns on the surfaces. I imagine what they could become if changed, multiplied, combined with other things, turned into a jacket, etc. I look at the color combinations and contrasts of bright and shadowed shapes. I always seem to find compositions that would make brilliant photographs if only I had my camera with me.

Natural habitats that remain intact and undisturbed by human destruction are wild playgrounds for my eyes. Random growth makes for delightfully unpredictable organic shapes. Long car rides are never boring. Not only is there scenery, but there are cars and billboards that an immense amount of hidden thought and design went into.

Urban areas have aesthetic value.  Architecture and building décor can give a city a soul. Humans have done some incredible things with geometry and engineering. Old buildings are especially amazing to me. They’re preserved pieces of other eras that existed before I did. Even in a horribly plain setting, I take it as a challenge to try to come up with things that could be placed all over to make a more exciting environment. Try it next time you end up at the DMV. The possibilities are endless.

Pay just a little more attention to your senses, and life will be filled with extra joy, for free! In the worst of times, you can find comfort as long as you’re able to and love to use your eyes and ears. Thinking about how to make everything look better and how to emphasize things that are already beautiful is good practice for dealing with all functions of your life in positive ways.

Discovery Conference Centre provides beautiful meeting rooms that serve the needs of all parties for many functions, from depositions to arbitrations to seminars.

Posted by Laura Gros