Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Software Is Empowering

Microsoft ran their first ever Super Bowl commercial over the weekend. While it is obviously a advertisement for Microsoft and Microsoft products I see it as an advertisement of the empowering and life changing potential of computer software. That is a message I try to give to my students on a regular basis.
Computing is so much more than business machines or game machines. In so many ways computing is making a big difference to empower people in their daily lives. In the commercial we see a bit about the connection between medicine and computing about which so many people are unaware. I see this as an important message for many of our young people to see and hear.
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The commercial highlights, very briefly, some major empowerment of some people and is pretty moving. The Microsoft video site though has longer (about 2 minutes apiece) videos on each of the people in the commercial. I’ve listed them below with direct links in case you are interested.
  • See how Skype is allowing students around the world to take virtual field trips. (VIDEO)
  • Watch the amazing story from @teamgleason. (VIDEO)
  • Technology changed a little boy’s life. Watch his story here.
  • Imagine hearing for the first time at 29 years old (VIDEO)
  • Once an artist, always an artist. (VIDEO)
  • Surgeons provide better care to patients using @GestSure and Kinect. (VIDEO)

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