Greg’s List

1. In the real estate business Podcasting could be an inexpensive way to create training exercises for new agents. The business requires very skilled people to handle incoming phone calls seeking further information about advertised properties. If an untrained person takes the call, the lead could be lost by not getting the caller’s name and phone number.

A well prepared Podcast could contain staged phone calls with experienced agents replying with the proper responses so obtaining the caller’s name and phone consistently happens. The is very key to a successful office. New agents could then listen to these recording over and over until they feel comfortable in taking real calls.

2. Advertising the benefits of your company vs. other companies abilities offered to the public. For example, selling fee (commission). Our company may offer a 4% fee where others are often 6%. The Podcast could even include an sample selling price and explain exactly how much the consumer would save in real dollars by going with the lower rate.

3. A Podcast could be made on how to purchase a home at Auction. It could explain details in an auction sale contract such as the property is being purchased “as is” and a $10,000 certified check is due the moment the property is “struck down” on the day of the sale. It also could include the required time of closing and the fact that the sale can NOT be subject to a mortgage approval.

4. Another Podcast could include how to buy a home in Foreclosure. This could include how to negotiate the sale with the bank for a lower price than offered. It could explain how to go through the funding process from mortgage pre-approval to closing.

Greg Katz

In what ways do you think technology can be used to enhance learner production? Give some specific ideas.

There use to be a time when finding information was a slow process and not always successful. Today, we have reached a level where finding answers on any subject can be fast and with the ability to remain anonymous. This can be particularly important for those that need to learn answers to medical questions that one may normally be too embarrassed to ask about.

The internet provides wikis, blogs, webpages and newsgroups as way to seek out and exchange information. Another form of learning can be performed with a PowerPoint. It can make presentations of exceptional quality for learning if it is well thought out. Being very visual it can stimulate its viewers into a productive learning experience particularly if blended with a well thought out audio narration.

Spell checking is a routine feature built into programs and also on the internet. In fact, the author of this writing admits to being a marginal speller and seeks this technology frequently to improve his own spelling skills. This can be helpful as correct spellings can be found easily and quickly.

It is now possible to take entire online courses via the internet for schools including the Harvard Extension School, the University of Toronto and even the University of Oxford (UK). Because of technology, international learning can take place from the privacy of your own home! It is even possible today to access live television and radio stations regardless of your geographical location. For example, The Netherlands offers several high speed live television broadcasts with educational programming with shows such as tours of Dutch museums.

The above primarily mentions learning from computer and internet related media. Ebgert (2008), the author of “Supporting Learning with Technology” feels that anything where one can learn is considered a technology. This would include something as simple as a common writing/drawing instrument known as a pencil.

With all the technology available to learn, it means nothing if it not utilized properly. For example, the ESU Kemp Library is frequented by the author several times per week. The library is an exceptional one for a small university yet it is often empty! It has 1,000’s of outstanding books and periodicals not being used. Could it be that the newer learning technology of the internet is forcing the traditional library into extinction?

Greg Katz

How could PowerPoint and other technologies be used in your classroom or job to promote student/learner communication and interaction?

The author of this blog is brand new to PowerPoint and does not claim to be an expert on the software. However, he does have lots experience with other programs which can produce visual productions to know that such software can be helpful in assisting in many tasks. However, the value of any software is only as good as the user and the user’s creative ability to apply it where it is beneficial. He understands that many people use PowerPoint improperly quite frequently. Any poorly applied software/technology can actually be less than useful.

Even though the author has had only one day’s experience with PowerPoint, he found it to be quite user-friendly possessing similar features to others programs making it easy to adapt to. Being in the real estate business, he already sees tremendous potential of applications that this program can achieve. Microsoft has produced this and many other exceptional products that we couldn’t even have dreamed of in the past.

Many young people today can not appreciate just how lucky they are to have access to such well written software. The author recalls his first new computer purchased in 1983 being an IBM model 8088 with an OS program called DOS. His brother and he convinced their father that they could make it very useful because they saw the potential of an application for their real estate business. It cost $5,000 with a Princeton Graphics Color Monitor and a Juki 6100 daisy wheel printer. Most people saw this as foolish wasteful spending but we proved them wrong. It was one of best investments of a life time!

We had it do a simple but valuable task – to print 1,000’s of address labels of property owners of Monroe County, PA. This basic application resulted in our ability to mail 300-500 postcards per day to solicit house listings. As a result, by 1986, this properly applied technology assisted us in obtaining 1 out of every 13 listings on the market, the largest market share of any Realtor in the county at that time. Our tiny staff of six (6) Realtors made the big company competitors very intimidated and nervous.

This was clearly the result of exploiting a technology with a worthwhile application. However, to someone else, a DOS based computer was worthless! Even though PowerPoint as a program does not have any similarities to DOS, it does represent another huge software achievement to a person who struggled back in the days of DOS.

Today, it’s pretty obvious that PowerPoint could be a real friend to the real estate business. Presentations can shown locally or beyond. Being a very visual tool and utilizing a “slide presentation” format, the author can already see the possibilities. For example, he visualizes placing a large color monitor in his Main Street office window displaying a slide show with an extra large font text combined with large rotating house pictures. This PowerPoint application would draw results from the street.

PowerPoint also has the ability to produce a valuable video clips for sellers on how to prepare their home for Selling. Perhaps these videos could be moved to a DVD format to give to sellers upon listing their home. Another is to produce an entire PowerPoint for each home showing an interior tour. If made into DVD’s, they could be mailed to potential buyers for previewing. The same PowerPoint presentation could then be transferred onto a company website.

According to Egbert (2008), in her “Supporting Learning with Technology” book states, “The planning stage is the most crucial for creating a successful project.” The herein author found the same to be true in planning of the IBM computer purchase in the 1980’s. Egbert further says “research shows that students are more willing to help and collaborate when the teacher is a facilitator rather than a guide.” This should be kept in mind when introducing PowerPoint not only into the classroom but also into the business world. PowerPoint apparently has the ability with its strong visual and audio effects to reach those that respond well to such forms of communication. The author found it interesting that he received an email today from the Board of Realtors offering to teach a PowerPoint course. One could then assume that this industry has already adopted it.

Greg Katz

My father had always stressed the importance for his children to succeed to levels beyond him. He felt that life could be better if we build upon the previous generations’ achievements. He placed a high priority on structuring a strong financial base combined with higher education. He also felt that it was important to leave behind enough assets so that the next generation would not have to start from scratch. He certainly achieved this having been the first in his generation to graduate from college (ESU 1950) and leaving a huge estate which he built with my mother from only $300 in 1947.

Passing away at 81 in October 2007, he handed the torch to my two brothers and me. He said it was very common that many hard earned estates evaporate within three generations from irresponsible children. It is now our job preserve what they created and make it increase from here. It is also important to pass down these same teachings to our children today.

Education must be the key focus for our children’s future. No one would dispute that formal schooling provides an educational structure that is conducive to promoting a child’s mind. However, learning should be viewed as an on going process even beyond the classroom. Parents should realize that a child’s school education needs to be reinforced by them.

It is critical to recognize that windows of opportunities exist where children can learn with parents too. So we must set the stage for this to happen. Visiting museums, historical sites, majors cities and taking nature walks are just a few examples that could provide added meaning to what was already taught in the classroom. These seem like common sense but unfortunately they are not frequently done enough by parents. Linking the book knowledge to such activities makes their school more meaningful.

We think nothing of spending lots of time treating problems when children encounter trouble but if more time was devoted by parents in the first place, some of these problems might not have evolved in the first place. Today, people think of living for the moment with no regard to the future. This means spending beyond our income, needing the latest model car and buying the latest fashion clothing “keeping up with the Jones’. Isn’t better to do less of this which leaves more financial stability so we can focus on making our children’s education the number one priority?

The American society has become so materialistic leaving no regard to financial security for our children’s future. Nobody likes the current high fuel prices yet this may be a national turning point. This could force people into a period of strong conservation, a correction in society that may be long overdue. We may entering an age of shedding our addiction to material goods which may force people to think as to what is really important. Hopefully, education for our children will one of them.

The Amish community is a perfect example of people rejecting the materialistic part of America. Though they are not big on higher education, they have figured out how to build financial security better than most Americans. They don’t buy cars. They don’t shop in malls. They make their own clothes and grow their own food. Image if we eliminated all these costs from our financial picture. This would leave lots of money for our children’s college fund. Of course it’s not realistic to expect most of our country to revert to a horse and buggy days. However, with the current price of gas, it may be worth serious consideration.

Paving a way for our children to achieve beyond us should be important to all good parents. It’s not a simple task but if we apply a daily effort toward it, it can be a rewarding reality. If we can live without a few luxuries on the way and dedicate some real quality time with our children, the results may be promising for them. I believe our children are worth it. Do you?

Greg Katz

As educators we are sitting on a goldmine in computer technology that can promote benefits to our students if handled properly. The traditional roles of teaching methods are changing fast as teachers are becoming less involved as transmitters of information to one of facilitators. Teachers that recognize and accept this evolutionary change are putting the students’ best interest first.

Some teachers, particularly older ones that grew up in a pre-computer age, may actually develop a fear of merging technology into the classroom. Of course people fear what they don’t understand. Seeing a young child proficiently operate a computer can certainly be intimidating to a teacher that has always been expected to have superior knowledge over the student.

Some teachers who experience having less knowledge than the student are at a crossroadswhere they must make a choice to “catch up” or accept that it is ok that they don’t know everything. Realistically it may be a good idea for a teacher to address both of these areas. This combined with changing from the traditional teaching role of transmitter to now facilitator should restore a level of comfort to educators.

Teachers that refuse to be flexible with the exponential change of technology will risk becoming obsolete themselves as educators. Therefore the teacher’s role must change as technology changes. Joy Egbert, author of “Supporting Learning with Technology,” says the teacher’s role is pointing towards “goal-centered and student-centered curricula in which student learning is focal.” She further states, “A student-centered focus that includes understanding and addressing students’ interests, for example, means that teachers need to vary their teaching so that student interests are connected to classroom content and tasks.”

Egbert’s book further states that “Some teachers fear, often rightly, that technology learning may take the place of content learning and the curriculum will not be covered.” She says that teachers have to find a balance of content learning and technology yet some teachers have difficulty in achieving this result in repeating the same technology or ceasing such technology completely to concentrate on content. Egbert does not believe it has to be this way with support from students, parents and district to set one hour per week aside for learning.

In 1932 during the depression, FDR stated in his first inaugural address, “The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself.” Perhaps today’s teachers who find adjusting to technology difficult should confidently proceed forward anyway, just as President Roosevelt did. One should keep in mind that Roosevelt certainly felt disadvantaged too, having Polio as a child and being confined to a wheelchair as president. Therefore, the fearful teacher should consider modeling themselves to FDR’s difficult situation to improve their own position.

The author of this paper had personally been involved in helping an older person become proficient with computer and internet skills. About eight years ago his brother-in-law, James Smith of Horseheads, NY, had a 91 (yes, 91) year old friend who wanted to learn to operate computers. To save costs the author built an internet ready computer from scrap parts and delivered it to him. A huge 21” monitor was used to accommodate his poor eyesight.

Being carefully guided by the James Smith, the elderly man became quite skilled in a short time and learned to love the benefits of this technology. It was very gratifying to see a person who began life when horses ruled transportation to include such an experience. He passed away two years later at 93.

Greg Katz

Photography can be lots of fun today especially with the current digital cameras. Years ago more knowledge was needed in film photography for setting proper exposure and achieving proper focusing. Today, the digital camera is much smarter, being capable of obtaining accurate metering automatically for perfect light exposure. Even auto-focusing is far superior as well. Such advancements free today’s photographer to concentrate more on picture composition leaving the former difficulties for the camera to resolve.

Today, those that are less technically oriented can now be included in the world of photography. It also means an artistic person who may possess low mechanical skills can easily compete, often excelling beyond the older camera geeks who fully understand F-stops but fail in artistic talent. Digital photography by it’s nature of not using costly film and development, allows the photographer the liberty to do endless experimental shooting having no regard to film conservation.

TODAY’S PHOTO TIP: BACKGROUND - Most people only consider the subject (foreground) as the only essential element in picture taking… a huge mistake. Most photographer’s never “see” the background until long after the picture is printed making it too late to recapture the moment. The author personally experienced a perfect “Kodak moment” years ago taking a picture of a rose. The lighting and composition were ideal showing fine detail throughout. However, later the printed picture revealed a small cigarette butt on the ground in the BACKGROUND below the rose. That minor detail destroyed what would have been picture of publishable quality to just another snapshot.

Disturbing backgrounds can easily be controlled with basic awareness. In the example above, the photographer could have either removed the cigarette butt or moved the camera position to a different angle making the cigarette butt “disappear” behind the rose. Another option would have been to simply shoot the rose from it’s side rather than straight down.

It’s always a good idea to view the “live image” in the viewfinder screen and move slightly left, right, up and down observing the overall composition differences prior to shooting. Moving forward and backwards can also improve the final image. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Taking many pictures of the same subject from various viewpoints can give you outstanding results. So always look beyond the foreground if you want better pictures.

Greg Katz