Week 1 - Social Media

Electronic technology has become an inevitable aspect in our daily lives. We use computers, combined with the internet, to do just about everything from paying bills to shopping to laughing at unfortunate pictures of famous celebrities. Recently, smartphones have managed to reach the hands of our instant-access-dependent generation, making easy-access even easier. So why hasn't this groundbreaking technology made a significant impact on our school life? Sure we can Google just about anything, email professors about projects, and upload papers so we kill less trees, but what about organization? Why is everything we do for classes so hi-tech, but the syllabus we receive at the beginning of each class still paper printed? Why not take advantage of all of this "instantaneous technology" we have to improve how students and faculties organize school work? I personally found it difficult to keep track of six different syllabi every semester and remember what assignment I have to complete each day. I thought of writing the assignments in a planner, but at times I would lose the planner, forget to read it, or forget to write it. Blackboard was helpful, but only so much since it did not allow me to see all my assignments for every class in one, easy, view.

My entrepreneurship idea is to integrate and intertwine the existing social media outlets we have with smartphone applications to help students, and professors, keep in touch with each other and, most importantly, keep track of the assignments due throughout a semester. Much simplified, my idea is an electronic syllabus. Professors upload assignments and instructions through the app, and students can access them from their smartphones. Like Blackboard, this new app allows constant and instant connection between professors and students, but in addition, this app will send notifications to students (similar to "push notifications" on Apple iPhones) so they can keep track of the assignments they must complete for the next day, and check them off as they complete them.

This week in class, social media and its growing importance in our society was mentioned, discussed, and explained. The whole point of social media and social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter (two major social networks with huge influence) is to keep people in touch constantly and instantly. Thus, it is no question that my app should also be integrated with said networks. With people checking Facebook and Twitter at least once everyday, they are possibly the fastest ways to get in touch with someone aside from a cellphone. My app will be integrated within these networks to further ensure students are kept notified of the assignments due. With our generation glued to the internet and phones,  paper syllabi just can't keep up. With my app, as long as a student has a phone or internet, there will be no longer be any reason for a student to claim, "I didn't know we had an assignment."