Tag: Technology
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Equipping Kids with 21st Century Learning Tools
West Liberty State University made news last week regarding their provision of a laptop for each incoming freshman. In today’s multi-disciplined, team-oriented, task-centric learning environment, a laptop is what a pencil and paper were in prior generations. It’s important to note that technology doesn’t necessarily make kids smarter, but technology facilitates the kind of learning…
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Catching Creative Economy Dreams
There are a handful of creative economy pioneers in West Virginia who are still going strong. Scot Jackson and his Dreamcatcher web services firm, launched in Charleston in 1996, are certainly among those who have blazed the high-tech trail within this industry segment. Scot and his growing staff were profiled in the Charleston Gazette-Mail. We’re…
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WV Companies Earn Badge of Growth Honor
To be the top 500 in anything in this world, you have to be pretty good. While the Fortune 500 is the most respected list of large corporations, the Inc. 500 is the prestigious of the fastest-growing small companies. Such names as Microsoft, E*Trade and Domino’s Pizza are just a few of the now-large companies…
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West Virginia Building its Research Muscles
Some exciting announcements on steps forward in West Virginia’s quest to become a more significant player in university research. As many of you are aware, a strong R&D infrastructure is critical to economic growth in today’s innovation economy. First, WVU unveiled its new Health Sciences Learning Center and the WVU Erma Byrd Biomedical Research Center.…
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The Questions, My Friend?
On June 23, 2008, I posted an article called, “The Answer, My Friend?” Its focus was wind energy as an alternative to mountain top removal mining. Obviously, the title winks and tips its hat to Dylan; but it also paved the way for today’s post, “The Questions, My Friend?” Ken Ward writes in the Gazette…
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Making a New Generation of Innovators
One of the most exciting speakers at this year’s Create WV Conference is Dale Dougherty. You may not have heard of him, but those in the publishing and Internet worlds certainly do. He was the co-founder of O’Reilly Media, one of the earliest and largest publishers of computer and software manuals. Today, he is credited…
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Education Innovation
createwv.typepad.com Dr. Curtis Johnson, co-author of Disrupting Class, will bring many stimulating ideas to the 2008 Create WV conference in October on how West Virginia schools can begin delivering children with the skills they’ll need for 21st century success. The Charleston Daily Mail recently ran this story about his ideas on how schools need to…
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Global Challenges CEO’s Face
In a brief post on Harvard Business Publishing’s blog (thanks Rich Shaffer), Umair Haque highlights four major challenges that CEOs and other leaders face in developing growth and long-term prosperity. The short summary: To a certain extent, West Virginia’s long history of not being on the cutting edge of economic growth has shielded it from…
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Charleston Sparking Creative Class Growth
Have you visited the East End of Charleston, WV lately? If not, you should head in that direction and take your laptop with you. Enjoy the nice outdoor seating at Delish Express or view the artwork at Bluegrass Kitchen (http://www.eastendmainstreet.com/pages/restaurants.htm), while emailing your monthly report to co-workers or researching on the internet and enjoying a…
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Should State Governments Invest in Start-Ups?
How do small states or states not traditionally strong in vibrant high-tech industry sectors catch up? In some cases, they focus the resources of the state to provide an investment spark. Is this a good idea? West Virginia entered into an experiment in venture capital investment a few years ago by divvying up $25 million…