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How the ACT and SAT exams are built to fail students

Mar16
by on March 16, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Podium


A growing number of universities in the US are abandoning the use of standardized tests as a key factor in the admissions process. Last month, Creighton University announced that it won’t require hopeful applicants to submit ACT or SAT test results beginning in 2020, joining the likes of Arizona State University, DePaul University, Drake University, University of Arizona, and University of Chicago, among others. Why are these respected institutions ditching these test scores, which have been a core tenet of assessing college readiness for nearly 60 years? The answer is simple: they aren’t an accurate way to assess students’ knowledge…

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Think about privacy the next time you ask Alexa the weather

Mar16
by on March 16, 2019 at 1:30 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Opinion, Podium


As long as voice assistants are on the rise, data privacy should be too. The market is now saturated with voice assistants from Siri and Google Assistant to Facebook Portal and Amazon Alexa. In January, Amazon announced that more than 100 million Alexa enabled devices have been sold globally. And, Google boasted that more than 1 billion devices, including Android phones, have the Google Assistant built-in. Whether it’s your alarm clock, bluetooth speaker, or even microwave, voice assistants can be found in practically every room of a home or office. But more and more people are starting to think twice…

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Here’s how to be the master of your digital domain

Mar16
by on March 16, 2019 at 10:27 am
Posted In: Around the Web, life hacks, Lifestyle, syndication


A few months ago I was offered (and have since accepted) a full time offer to work at Facebook in San Francisco and in that time I have been reflecting on my own usage of social media and the amount of value it has added to my life. A common trend I’ve been seeing is the urgency to delete all your social media immediately or even go completely off-the-grid to avoid the unimaginable long-term implications of having your attention and personal data potentially manipulated and abused. I don’t think that we can thrive in today’s world without utilizing the platforms that allow us such a dense…

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Tech gimmicks won’t save retailers from poor strategy

Mar16
by on March 16, 2019 at 7:30 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Opinion, Podium


In twenty years, when I glide through a furniture store on a hoverboard that actually hovers, as  the built-in virtual assistant recommends I lease their velvet three piece suite using my annual furniture subscription, it won’t be the fact that they’ve hired in a famous DJ for my auditory enjoyment that gets me to purchase.And it won’t even be the champagne that comes raining down from the rooftop in 15 minute intervals. It’ll be the fact that the hoverboard assistant has remembered how much I admired those lovely velvet sofas three years before, but worried my kids would damage them.…

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