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Byron Farrow

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Brief description

Science Teacher

Town

Suzhou Industrial Park

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Who am I?

I'm a science teacher and technology enthusiast, living and working at an International School in Suzhou, China.

Company / Institution

Suzhou Singapore International School

Blog :: Byron Farrow
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Byron Farrow

Hosting

We've decided to try an external hosting service for our Elgg and Moodle services.  Netspot, of Australia, seems to be a good service provider, but I'm open to siggestions!

Keywords: Elgg, hosting, Moodle, Netspot, webhosting

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Byron Farrow

WeeWorld

Just discovered the rather fun WeeWorld.com, throughly recommended making your profile pics.

Keywords: Fun, Pictures, Social Networking, WeeWorld

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Byron Farrow

I'm on a quest.  I'm a teacher and Head of Grade at an International School in China and I'm trying to research a school system that will aid our teaching and help develop our school community.  Over the next two years we are moving to the expectation that every student will have a laptop that they will be bringing and using everyday in school.  MY ideal would be that the student logs on to a system that is basically a social network site.  They have a profile that they can update with their interests and events.  They have a blog whose access can be restricted to certain sections of the school community.  They have their timetable, click on each lesson takes them to a page for that class that includes forums, file-shares, assignments, notices, etc.  Uploading pictures, downloading newletters, arranging extra-curricular activity can all be done from this interface.

 I have used Moodle in the past, but found that its reliance on courses, rather than the user, can be restrictive (and the interface is generally not very friendly), but now I'm thinking of something like Elgg or Mahara combined with Moodle, but I'm still looking ...

 Comments or opinions welcome!

Keywords: China, Elgg, eSchool, High School, Mahara, Moodle, Social Networking

Posted by Byron Farrow | 0 comment(s)

Wikinomics

Out-Sorcery: How is Outsourcing Faring in a Recession?

Media outlets are rolling in clichés about the current economic nastiness (”The U.S. Sneezes, The World Catches Cold”). Warren Buffett couldn’t help himself with his “toxic Kool-Aid” references and a most recent Charlie Rose interview likening the U.S. economy to a “patient lying on the floor”.

The shockwave is moving quickly: venture capital stalwarts Sequoia Capital have been instructing their portfolio companies to prepare for a “doomsday scenario”. Cutting fat, eliminating redundancy, and finding the cheapest darn way to do business is now the imperative of all those wide-eyed, once-well-funded start-ups.

My dad once gave me good advice which I didn’t take. “Son, doctors, dentists, lawyers and teachers are recession-proof. Work smart.” For the most part, it holds true (it seems some lawyers are having a hard time). But it seems like you don’t need to be bricks-and-mortar or an M.D. to stay “recession-resistant”. Like magic, outsourcing marketplaces have been going like gangbusters despite economic woes.

The more people who take pages from Sequoia’s warning to slim down to essential personnel and services find that outsourcing fits the bill nicely. It’s like having talent attached to a spigot—you can match the resource-flow to your cash-flow (and work-flow) on-demand. A Reuters article boasts that Elance (a popular outsourcing marketplace) has increased billings by 65% this year—driven by the need for smaller firms to have a flexible, highly-trained workforce.

If this downturn finds you sitting on the couch, reluctantly watching daytime TV, outsourcing marketplaces could be just ticket to get you off The Young and The Restless and back to the ranks of the gainfully employed.