Tag Archives: Judith Bitterli

The Changing Landscape of BYOD

“Bring your own device” has become increasingly common in the workplace as employees use their own tablets and phones for work-related activities, and their own laptops from home or the local Starbucks. Increasingly the lines are blurred with regards to privacy and questions of data ownership.

A recently passed California law has perhaps shown the way that the future holds. Little commented on when passed in August, this law has real-world implications and may have many ramifications with regard to privacy, security and data. (See ruling here)

In Colin Cochran v. Schwan’s Home Service, Inc., the California Court of Appeals in August reversed a Superior Court in Los Angeles County and ruled that “when employees must use their personal cell phones for work-related calls, Labor Code section 2802 requires the employer to reimburse them.”

The Order points out the purpose of the California Statute is “to prevent employers from passing their operating expenses on to their employees.” Specifically, it notes the following:

Pursuant to section 2802, subdivision (a), “an employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, or of his or her obedience to the directions of the employer.”

The key question in the case was this:

Does an employer always have to reimburse an employee for the reasonable expense of the mandatory use of a personal cell phone, or is the reimbursement obligation limited to the situation in which the employee incurred an extra expense that he or she would not have otherwise incurred absent the job?

The Court’s answer was “that reimbursement is always required. Otherwise, the employer would receive a windfall because it would be passing its operating expenses onto the employee.” The Court ruled as follows:

Thus, to be in compliance with section 2802, the employer must pay some reasonable percentage of the employee’s cell phone bill. Because of the differences in cell phone plans and [work]-related scenarios, the calculation of reimbursement must be left to the trial court and parties in each particular case.

Time of course will tell how the expenses of purchase, maintenance and usage of employee-owned tablets, laptops, and home computers used for business are impacted by courts that follow the ruling in this case.

The court’s opinion is limited to reimbursement under California law. It doesn’t specifically mention privacy. I’d hate to speculate on any legal matter, but one can naturally wonder that if an employer must now pay for certain usage of devices, then is that employer entitled to all the information on that device?

To put it plainly, if the employer is paying for your tablet, does the employer get to look at all your emails and contact information? Who owns the data and intellectual copyright?

These questions no doubt will be settled as more cases come to court. But we’ve seen that when it comes to technology, legal precedent often lags behind technology.

In the meantime, it’s essential for businesses to have clear agreements, notices and policies, including a BYOD policy. See AVG’s eBook on BYOD for a good overview on the benefits, issues, risks and how to better protect your company’s data in the BYOD world.

Why There’s Room for RealPad

In my last blog, I discussed the current disconnect —or lag—with some seniors, especially older ones, when it comes to smartphone adoption.

As research by Pew and others has suggested, the reasons many older people have lagged in adoption of smartphones seems rooted in the footprint of the device, i.e. size of the user interface and thus ease of reading, viewing and manipulation. This is evident in the rapid adoption of larger devices like tablets and e-readers – by this demographic.

In recognition of the stumbling blocks for some seniors, earlier this month AARP launched its new RealPad tablet. The $189 device, produced in partnership with Intel, includes larger text and icons. But it also smartly packages all-hour tech support and video tutorials – tools designed expressly for seniors. And it comes preloaded with an AARP app, eBook reader, email (Gmail), photo sharing, video chat, games, tools and other features like a retirement and health calculators. Additional apps will be available on Google Play.

It’s basically a tablet—about the size of an iPad mini—that runs Google Android 4.4 with a custom app launcher featuring large icons. AARP says the tablet is designed for anyone who is apprehensive about using tablets and embracing technology and going digital.

AARP specifically targets 70-million 50+-age group, who haven’t adopted tablet technology. But I think the sweet spot for this product really isn’t most Boomers, but older seniors – the generation born before 1946. As we’ve discussed before, many Boomers are plenty tech savvy – and I also would be remiss if I didn’t mention that some seniors I’ve come across are plenty tech savvy…but not all.

OK, so why should you consider it for or recommend it to the seniors in your life? I like the design concept and larger icons and readability, but more than that, I like the addition of its one-click RealQuick Fix troubleshooting feature and 24/7-tech support. (Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX also offers 24/7 support).

In terms of security, AARP has also made a smart move: It allows, among other free downloads, “Protecting Yourself Online for Dummies.” As it says, “Don’t let news about Internet risks deter you from taking full advantage of its benefits.”

My previous post had some of our own safety suggestions for seniors. I’m not clear on AARP’s entire security offering. We at AVG offer strong security apps on the Android platform, check out our Google Play page.

Is the RealPad the right choice for everyone over the age of 50? Probably not. But it was designed with an older adult in mind who needs a little extra care – and I applaud that.

I agree with AARP, there’s just too much value in the digital world for seniors to be shut off. Tablets and larger format smartphones can really enrich their lives. In addition to providing grandparents with a digital photo album of their grandkids and a social platform to stay connected with family and friends, it’s a ready-made platform and market for important things like health monitoring and management apps. RealPad is a great step in the right direction to address that need.

We should all be interested in addressing the needs of this market. After all, we are all likely to be seniors someday.

Seniors are going mobile

More than three quarters (77%) of Americans aged 65 and older are now using cellphones. While they lag the general population (91%+), it is a significant increase over two years ago, according to recently released studies conducted by the Pew Research Center. But a much smaller group (only 18%) of this demographic has made the leap to a smartphone. The older the person, the research suggests, the less likely they have been to make the move to a smartphone.

In support of the findings, many of the seniors that I know tend to own older model cellphones that are either a) turned off, or b) not carried at all or used only under special circumstances (for travel and at insistence of family on special occasions), and c) are not used for more than actual phone calls.

But this is changing fast.

Seniors are showing a larger appetite for and are finding more value in larger format devices like tablets and e-readers. The Pew survey found 27% of seniors now own a tablet, e-reader or both (and that’s more than the public average).

Smartphone adoption should continue among seniors as new devices like the new Samsung Galaxy, Amazon Fire and Apple iPhone 6 continue to get larger and become easier to read and manipulate. In fact, the researchers at Deloitte predict that people 55+ (that would include Boomers through seniors) will experience the fastest growth in smartphone adoption in 2014, with 45-50% predicted to own a smartphone by the end of 2014.

Financial considerations for many seniors (especially those on fixed incomes) and confusion about carrier plans have no doubt led to a lag in smartphone adoption. But needing assistance to learn how to use the new devices and associated apps is one of the largest concerns by seniors (77%) in adopting smartphone technology, according to Pew.

This should be a concern to us in the technology industry. Shouldn’t we be making technology that is inherently simple to adopt? Shouldn’t we be designing apps for that –and, more specifically, with seniors in mind?

AARP thinks so. The organization just introduced a new tablet the RealPad aimed at this market. (I’ll cover this in more detail in my next column.)

During the recent national AARP event in San Diego, where AVG participated, we were concerned to learn that about one-third of the seniors we spoke to admitted that they use no security software on their smartphone or tablet devices. That suggests there is a lot of work to be done to help educate this audience on how to stay safe online.

Security of data is a primary issue when dealing with a smartphone or any smart connected devices – whether it involves sharing photos on social media, emailing or banking. Once online, Pew and others have found that the senior demographic is rapidly embracing social media (46%). In the brief survey of those who stopped by our booth on technology usage (we’ll share more details on this later), email was the most popular online application for the group, followed by banking.

Here are some simple tips for smartphone users to make data safer – applicable to everyone:

  • Screen lock the phone. Setting your smartphone to require a PIN code or password for access after an inactive period is a relatively easy way to keep your data safe.
  • Apply operating system updates. Often when our device prompts us to install an update, many of us simply ignore it. We shouldn’t. Many updates carry security-related improvements so update whenever you can.
  • Think twice before connecting your smartphone to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, because just as with a PC, this kind of shared, unsecured connection can leave activity and data vulnerable to eavesdropping and theft.
  • Beware of text message spam. Just like a web page or an email, text messages can be used for mischief. Especially if your device doesn’t have security software, links hidden in text messages can lead to malicious sites, unwanted apps and sometimes even expensive phone bills.
  • Which brings us back to security software! Use it! Malware writers see the vast mobile market as a great opportunity to make some quick profit. In a world where your smartphones probably carries more of your sensitive personal information that your home PC, it’s a good idea to use some basic protection.

I am very excited that more seniors are embracing smartphones and tablets. They are great tools to keep connected with family and friends, be active and engaged. Now, we in the tech industry must catch up with them and provide the tools to make it more useful and enjoyable!

Seniors are going mobile

More than three quarters (77%) of Americans aged 65 and older are now using cellphones. While they lag the general population (91%+), it is a significant increase over two years ago, according to recently released studies conducted by the Pew Research Center.  But a much smaller group (only 18%) of this demographic has made the leap to a smartphone. The older the person, the research suggests, the less likely they have been to make the move to a smartphone.

In support of the findings, many of the seniors that I know tend to own older model cellphones that are either a) turned off, or b) not carried at all or used only under special circumstances (for travel and at insistence of family on special occasions), and c) are not used for more than actual phone calls.

But this is changing fast.

Seniors are showing a larger appetite for and are finding more value in larger format devices like tablets and e-readers. The Pew survey found 27% of seniors now own a tablet, e-reader or both (and that’s more than the public average).

Smartphone adoption should continue among seniors as new devices like the new Samsung Galaxy, Amazon Fire and Apple iPhone 6 continue to get larger and become easier to read and manipulate. In fact, the researchers at Deloitte predict that people 55+  (that would include Boomers through seniors) will experience the fastest growth in smartphone adoption in 2014, with 45-50% predicted to own a smartphone by the end of 2014.

Financial considerations for many seniors (especially those on fixed incomes) and confusion about career plans have no doubt led to a lag in smartphone adoption. But needing assistance to learn how to use the new devices and associated apps is one of the largest concerns by seniors (77%) in adopting smartphone technology, according to Pew.

This should be a concern to us in the technology industry. Shouldn’t we be making technology that is inherently simple to adopt? Shouldn’t we be designing apps for that –and, more specifically, with seniors in mind?

AARP thinks so. The organization just introduced a new tablet the RealPad aimed at this market. (I’ll cover this in more detail in my next column.)

During the recent national AARP event in San Diego, where AVG participated, we were concerned to learn that about one-third of the seniors we spoke to admitted that they use no security software on their smartphone or tablet devices. That suggests there is a lot of work to be done to help educate this audience on how to stay safe online.

Security of data is a primary issue when dealing with a smartphone or any smart connected devices – whether it involves sharing photos on social media, emailing or banking. Once online, Pew and others have found that the senior demographic is rapidly embracing social media (46%). In the brief survey of those who stopped by our booth on technology usage (we’ll share more details on this later), email was the most popular online application for the group, followed by banking.

Here are some simple tips for smartphone users to make data safer – applicable to everyone:

  • Screen lock the phone. Setting your smartphone to require a PIN code or password for access after an inactive period is a relatively easy way to keep your data safe.
  • Apply operating system updates. Often when our device prompts us to install an update, many of us simply ignore it. We shouldn’t. Many updates carry security-related improvements so update whenever you can.
  • Think twice before connecting your smartphone to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, because just as with a PC, this kind of shared, unsecured connection can leave activity and data vulnerable to eavesdropping and theft.
  • Beware of text message spam. Just like a web page or an email, text messages can be used for mischief. Especially if your device doesn’t have security software, links hidden in text messages can lead to malicious sites, unwanted apps and sometimes even expensive phone bills.
  • Which brings us back to security software!  Use it! Malware writers see the vast mobile market as a great opportunity to make some quick profit. In a world where your smartphones probably carries more of your sensitive personal information that your home PC, it’s a good idea to use some basic protection.

I am very excited that more seniors are embracing smartphones and tablets.  They are great tools to keep connected with family and friends, be active and engaged.  Now, we in the tech industry must catch up with them and provide the tools to make it more useful and enjoyable!

Who Dares Wins in The Pitch, UK

On Thursday 18th September more than 40 intrepid small business entrepreneurs  – including one  17 year-old – from around the UK assembled in Manchester for the Northern semi-final of The Pitch 2014, the small business competition that this year has AVG as its lead sponsor.   As with the first semi-final in London the event took the form of a Boot Camp during which the competition’s main sponsors provided a series of mentoring workshops designed to help the contestants hone their pitches as they bid to land a coveted place in the Live Final taking place in Bristol on 23rd October.

The AVG workshop – appropriately held in a room called ‘dare’ – centred on overcoming sales objections.  Adapted from the classic objection-rebuttal cycle training that AVG provides to IT partners our workshop was based on the premise that entrepreneurs are great at dreaming up ideas for new products and services but are less confident when it comes to dealing with negative responses to their sales proposition.

Led by Mike Byrne, the workshop taught one or two simple techniques for overcoming common sales objections. People were then split into pairs for a role-playing exercise where they had the chance to practice what they’d learnt.  This format seemed to work very well, never failing to break the ice and fully engage the participants.  This was reflected in the numerous pieces of positive feedback that we received – a good example being this tweet from RecruitPacks.

Then it was time for the main event.  Everyone was given just 90 seconds to step up in front of a room full of judges and rivals, pitch their business idea and make the case why they should be selected to go through to the live final. There was a hugely diverse range of start-ups to choose from.

As lead sponsor and one of the judges AVG has the very difficult task choosing between such a high calibre of entries. Of course, AVG is always interested in eye-catching new ideas – especially in tech -Very occasionally, we take more than a passing interest as the recent acquisition of mobile monetization start-up Location Labs demonstrates.  If you would like to read more on this why not check out Mike Foreman’s recent interview with BusinessZone, published this week, where he talks more about what companies like AVG look for when weighing up prospective acquisitions and what entrepreneurs can expect.

The Boot Camp had a whole spectrum of businesses: everything from e-book stores and games for teaching numeracy; radon detectives and crime scene cleaners ; Twitter-driven advertising concepts and nano technology; and many more besides.  However in one thing Manchester was united. They all shared the same courage and determination. A willingness to push themselves well beyond their personal comfort zones in pursuit of making their business dreams come true.

For some the experience was plainly quite traumatic.  But in conquering their nerves they won the sympathy and support of the whole room.  A place in the live final awaits 30 of the top semi-finalists and a chance to present their pitch to a live audience, a panel of judges that will include Judy Bitterli, as well as investors and supporters.

One final word on Manchester to end on.  There cannot be many other business contests where people who are technically in fierce competition do so much bonding with their peers and provide so much emotional support for each other.  As Dan Martin editor of BusinessZone put it, “There was a lot of love in the room!”

Apple Pay and The New World of Mobile Digital Credit Cards

Amid the extravaganza of the Apple Watch and iPhone product launch this week, Apple also unveiled Apple Pay – a new mobile digital payment system, which is being touted by some as death for the “plastic” credit card.

By registering your MasterCard, Visa, and American Express cards to your Apple Pay wallet through iTunes, you will be able to use your Apple devices (the newly announced iPhone 6 and forthcoming iWatch) to make easy and secure mobile payments to merchants.

The payment system uses a one-time transaction-specific dynamic security code –meaning your actual credit card number never gets transferred to the merchant and reduces the chance of fraud. You can hear immediate analysis from our Tony Anscombe on Bloomberg TV here.

Lots of information around implementation remains to be seen. However, the Apple pay system does boast early support by major credit card companies and banks.

Apple is using short-range radio waves technology known as NFC (near-field communication), in both its smartwatch and the new iPhones in support of the application. NFC has been a feature in many other smartphones (including by Google) but has failed to take hold to date. Market researcher Gartner estimated NFC was used for just 2% of total mobile payments last year, though expected to nearly double to $8.2 billion this year. Up until now, analysts say banks couldn’t see a business case for NFC instead of simply issuing their own smart cards.

Smart cards aka EMV cards (an acronym for Europay MasterCard and Visa) are revamped credit cards with microchips that store your data on the card. This approach also limits the retailer from holding your data; data resides on your card and the embedded microprocessor chip encrypts transaction data differently for each purchase.

The catch with the chip cards, until now, is that most retailers don’t have the technology for them yet…But that is also expected to change quickly. Walmart is already there.  Major retailers like Target and Home Depot have announced plans to roll out the EMV payment systems. I just received replacement Amex card with the EMV technology.

(BTW, in other related news, Home Depot revealed this week that its payment systems had been hacked, possibly compromising customer data over its 2,000+ outlets in the U.S and Canada. This is potentially a bigger data breach than the one that unfortunately befell Target last December.)

There is also added incentive for EMV adoption: in October 2015, new standards will go into effect, changing how liability falls between credit-card issuers and retailers. While EMV compliance won’t be mandatory, liability for fraud will fall on the party that hasn’t upgraded their systems. You can read more about EMV and the upcoming so-called “liability shift” here.

In the meantime, what can you as a consumer do to keep your credit data safe?

Here are a few recommendations:

  • Report lost cards or discrepancies immediately.
  • Review your account often.
  • Keep your receipts, and match them against your credit card statement.
  • Shred your statements.

 

And what if you are a business owner? You should familiarize yourself with EMV, and the upcoming standards, and if possible, look to upgrading to a credit-card machine that is EMV capable.  (You can also take AVG’s data security Health Check to make sure you are on top of your responsibilities in the case of any data compromises.)

We in the industry are working to evolve data security and make it better.  In the meantime, as a consumer, an owner or an operator, stay alert and protect yourself.

One thing is for certain, we are on the verge of a whole new era of credit card security risks.

 

****

On a separate note: Congratulations to Megan Smith on her appointment as the US  CTO. Bravo!

Entrepreneurs set high standard at The Pitch, UK

Thursday September 4th , 50 budding small businesses and entrepreneurs from around the UK gathered in London to attend Southern leg of The Pitch boot-camp.

The UK’s largest small businesses competition has reached the midway stage and contestants gathered to receive further mentoring and training from industry experts, including AVG at the 15 Hatfields events venue in London.

Click here for our full gallery

The boot camp was broken down into four separate sessions:

Marketing:

This session was led by Jeffrey Ferrazzo from Constant Contact and focussed on some of the most effective strategies that emerging businesses can use to maximise their limited marketing budget. As you might expect, there was a heavy focus on winning social media strategies and how to define a brand and drive engagement in what is a very crowded environment.

Pitch (24)

 

Overcoming objections:

At some stage in its development, every business will encounter roadblocks and objections from potential clients. This lively workshop session, led by Mike Byrne from AVG, prepared each contestant with techniques for mitigating and overcoming common objections to their product or service during the sales process.

Pitch (36)

 

Financial Planning:

You can have the best product in the world but without the proper financial planning, your business may still struggle to turn a profit. A group of helpful tutors from the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW), also sponsors, were on hand in this session to help the contestants set up clear and sustainable financial numbers to back up their business plans.

Pitch (40)

 

Pitching and Presentation:

Pitching and being able to sell your business idea in as short a time as possible can often make the difference between getting investment or sales and falling short. Contestants at this year’s The Pitch were given mentoring and individual feedback from one of the leading pitch experts in the UK, Annette Kramer.

Pitch (47)

 

 

The Pitching:

After a busy day of thorough training and preparation, all 50 competitors had only 90 seconds to pitch their business, on camera, to the rest of the attendees. The business ideas were as varied as the competitors themselves and there were excellent pitches for everything from lifesaving medical equipment to artisan marshmallows to workplace pension brokers.

Click here for our full gallery

The next phase:

The next step of The Pitch will be the Northern leg of the boot-camp to be held in Manchester later in September. After both boot camps have taken place, the video pitches will be narrowed down from 100 to 30 applicants to proceed to the final where a winner will be chosen by a panel of judges including AVG’s own Judith Bitterli.

The overall winner of The Pitch will win a priceless prize package that includes expert mentoring from business leaders and free access to world leading products and services including free AVG CloudCare services for two years.

 

Hackers in Hollywood, and Beyond

Many celebrities got an unpleasant shock this past weekend. You may have heard that up to 100 celebrities – film stars, etc. – had nude photos hacked and leaked on renegade Web site 4chan.org. Many of the photos were apparently genuine.

Now that the FBI is investigating how these photos were hacked and posted, it’s an unfortunate reminder of the difficulties of maintaining our privacy in this digital age.

I won’t name the celebrities involved, but it’s safe to say it’s a huge invasion of privacy. Some experts are theorizing that the hacker or hackers exploited weaknesses in Apple’s iCloud platform. Apple is now investigating, according to reports and released this statement. Here’s an excerpt: “After more than 40 hours of investigation, we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet. None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone. We are continuing to work with law enforcement to help identify the criminals involved.”

As a major player in the data security business, we think that this is just a reminder to everyone that when data goes digital, there are security risks involved. It’s a hard lesson.

As British actress Emma Watson (who was not targeted in the hacking) wrote on Twitter: “Even worse than seeing women’s privacy violated on social media is reading the accompanying comments that show such a lack of empathy.â€

Protecting yourself

How to protect yourself, even when you’re not a celebrity? Here are some tips, which we’ve stressed before but can’t stress enough:

  • Create difficult passwords. Besides the speculation that iCloud was the victim, it has been suggested the hacker or hackers exploited each of the 100+ accounts’ passwords. As I’ve mentioned before, don’t use your birthday, and create multiple passwords for multiple accounts!
  • Consider switching off automatic Cloud photo sharing and backups/Photo Stream. This is a convenience tradeoff. To turn off automatic iCloud sharing, go into your Settings, then iCloud, then scroll down to photos and slide the option to Off.
  • Use encryption. Here I will proudly put in a plug for our own mobile phone encryption software, which protects your data against intrusion by encrypting your documents. This is a must for anyone storing private personal or important business intelligence on their phones.
  • Think about using a USB drive. If you want to share personal information or photos with a specific person, just use a USB.

 

As celebrities, Apple, and the FBI come to grips with this specific hacking instance, it’s important to realize everyone’s information is at stake these days – celebrity or not –

And an excellent reminder that we need to actively protect ours.

Image courtesy of ITV.com

Labor Day Reflection: The 77% Rule and Women in Tech

You don’t have to be anti-man to be pro-woman.

–Jane Galvin Lewis

 

Yesterday while I was observing Labor Day, the day set aside to celebrate the social and economic advancement of the American worker in the U.S.— it provided some time to reflect and consider the topic of women in the workforce and specifically pay parity.

What if I gave you 77 cents for every dollar you earned? Would you feel fairly compensated? Unfortunately, that’s generally the wages the average working woman makes as opposed to her male counterparts.

The 77 cents for every dollar? That’s a generalization that averages in all jobs across the board.  The good news is that the tech industry is more progressive. Pay parity, according to various surveys, is equal in our industry as long as the job titles are the same.

Of course, the catch is that women aren’t as likely to have the top titles. (For a more in-depth look at this you can go to one survey at Dice.)

Nevertheless, I believe tech is a great place for women and has a rich tradition, from Ada Lovelace to Admiral Grace Hopper. When I began in tech, role models were few.  Today, if you look around today, there are a number of role models for women starting out: Marissa Mayer, Sheryl Sandberg, and Susan Wojcicki, to name a few. But the playing field is still far from level.

 

Where and how can we level the playing field?

Maybe online? As reported in a survey by freelance job site Elance, women in technology are finding more opportunities online than on-site. According to their survey of 7,000 global independent professionals, 80% of respondents also said they’re optimistic about the future of high-tech professions for women even though a majority still sees a lag in pay equality and encouragement from parents and/or teachers.

Fabio Rosati, CEO of Elance, noted,  “Online work provides an attractive avenue to neutralize gender discrimination around the world and create flexible professional opportunities not available in traditional job markets.”

That’s one solution. I think another has got to be education. Basically, education is a great lever to pay parity.  And, backing programs such as Girls Who Code is a great way to get young women engaged in technology.

Mentoring is also another great avenue. It’s something I’m proud to say I use to measure my success as well.

I hope to share more of my thoughts and experiences at SWXS this coming year as a featured speaker on the topic “Boardroom or Baby.” You can support me and continue to raise awareness for the issue by going here to vote for my presentation.  Voting closes Friday, Sept. 5th – so go check out the SXSW PanelPicker and vote today!

Back to school…for the rest of us

“You’ll never know everything about anything, especially something you love.”

–Julia Child

All across the nation, parents are breathing sighs of relief as their children head back to school.

But how about ourselves? As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a strong believer in lifelong learning. It keeps us focused, interested, and engaged. It helps our communities. And whether you want to teach or learn, there’s a place for you, either in person or online.

While I have the greatest respect for traditional universities and our wonderful community colleges, there are so many resources available online today that make it easy to stay active and engaged in learning. Back in the early 2000s when I started an early online learning company that did classes for consumers on all sorts of topics sponsored by major brands – we were a bit ahead of our time. Now technologies –specifically video applications- have evolved so much to support and make online classes truly visual, interactive and engaging.

Though we juggle our work, projects, kids and other commitments and it can be crazy, many of the online courses are self-paced, making them more manageable.  And BTW, a report by the U.S. Department of Education has found that classes with online learning (either solely or as a component) on average produce stronger student learning outcomes than do classes with solely face-to-face instruction – especially among older learners.

Here are some of the best distance learning apps and sites that I’ve come across. These can be used whether you want to share your knowledge or want to learn…or, ideally, both! Here are five I recommend, with a bonus thrown in for good measure!

 

Canvas

Canvas is an open source platform for online collaboration that’s designed to be easy to use. It’s free and used by more than 800 colleges and universities. A sampling of courses shows a wide range of diverse material from “The Great Depression to the War on Terror,” a history course presented by a Seattle Central Community College Professor, to “Parenting in the Digital Age,” a course by the director of technology from an Indiana school district. These self-paced courses include video lectures, discussion forums, group work and more. Canvas’ motto is Keep Learning, something I think we can all agree with!

Coursera

The Coursera online portal also hosts classes from major universities around the country and the world, basically providing a way for you to learn at your own pace or audit classes from the comfort of your desktop. It currently boasts 9 million students, 737 courses and 110 partners, with both free and paid courses. In its specialization area you can take a group of courses, for example, to earn a Cybersecurity Certificate from the University of Maryland (for a fee). They also offer financial aid, by the way!

ePals

ePals says it’s “where learners connect”. It maintains a community of collaborative classrooms engaged in cross-cultural exchanges, project sharing and language education. It’s a sharing site that offers a way for groups of students around the world to be matched up and paired with other classrooms, and allows teachers to create their own projects or collaborate on others. It’s all about learning through experience.  I think this site is what the future is going to look like…at its best: People all over the world sharing knowledge together.

edX

edX is one of the leading sites for accessing free, open online courses. Harvard and MIT founded this platform, and offers classes from those amazing institutions, as well as classes from a growing list of partners. One course coming this week that caught my eye is UT Austin’s course on “Ideas of the Twentieth Century.”

iTunes U

Apple’s site and app for online and connected learning, iTunes U provides thousands of audio and video courses on-demand and the world’s largest catalog of free education content. You can access learning and presentations from many top schools and universities worldwide, including Stanford, Harvard, MIT and more.

 

And now for the bonus…

Don’t have time to commit to a class this fall? There’s an awesome YouTube presentation featuring Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clark and Stephen Hawking here about “God, The Universe, and Everything Else.” Now that’s education in less than an hour.

Happy back to school, everyone!