Thanks to an email I received from the Massachusetts Senior Mentor, I stumbled over a GREAT inspirational video! It definitely outlines why we in FIRST do what we do! Not only that, but it’s titled after our favorite catchy Andymark slogan:
“Shift Happens”
http://www.glumbert.com/media/shift
And yes, you can digg it ~__^
Check it out! I was impressed!
Amazing video. It definitely has an outstanding impact and highlights both statistical technological improvements, but also the need for the improvement of our country as a cohesive whole in order to better compete with countries such as China and Japan. I loved the part about Nintendo > US Government 
Two thumbs up, Joe Matt style
Shift does indeed happen.
This is an amazing and inspiring video.
Andy B.
Scary statistics! The presentation did not seem credible since it did not state their references. Any ideas?
Wow, ouch, OMG, What, and dats crazy all in one.
I dont think you can just make up stats and things like that.
In all honesty, you can make up ANYTHING.
Haven’t you ever heard the “67% of all statistics are made up on the spot” line?
But I’m not sure where the facts or from, or where the video originated.
And I didn’t notice any credits when I watched to find its maker either…
Don’t put too much stock in anything that’s posted on a website. It’s slick, it’s flashy but where did all those amazing “facts” come from?
People and companies do it all the time.
of course it can all be false,…but it still makes you think, true or false.
Precisely
Edit: Thanks Art (post 17) for providing resource information
Can you, y’know, anti-DIGG something? There are a lot of compelling arguments to be made for improving the United States’ education system and I’m sure that at least one of them doesn’t rely on characterizing foreign schoolchildren as this big, bad thing that’s coming to steal your job.
Very interesting video, some of which I think is highly credible, however… I remember a book that I read in high school called 1984 (great thought provoking book) that seemed to try and forcast the future and not do such a great job at it. Basically, what I’m trying to say here is lets just see what the future brings and deal with it then. …Though I’d like cheaper laptops…
Krass is right…americans are taught things that will help them succeed in society, and the society is american…what we learn also helps in other areas that affect the world and affects us. What are taught to further America and solve problems here which would eventually solve problems in the world…but US first. Its hard to judge what country is smarter than another if you ask me.
Interesting, but I also don’t believe it and would love to see some research back up some of the statistics…
A quick look at one figure (the 351 babies born in India during this presentation) shows a little of the sensationalism…
It’s a 6 minute movie…
Which means:
3510 births per hour
84,240 births per day
30,747,600 births per year
According to https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/in.html in 2006 there is:
A population of 1,095,351,995
Birth rate of 22.01 births per 1000 people
So, that means:
24,108,697.41 births per year
66,051.23 births per day
2,752.13 births per hour
275.21 births per presentation
Still a lot, but quite a bit from the claimed number in the presentation…
Anyway…
My teacher actually showed this to my class one day and she got it off of some university’s website. I don’t know which one, but if I find the time, I will ask her. I think that it is actually credible because of the fact that she got it off of there.
This video reminded me a lot of Spaceship Earth at Epcot. All they need is for Walter Cronkite to narrate it. 
If there is anything the Information Age has taught me, it’s that Google is your friend. [Read: Here’s the film’s references for their statistics] 
Here’s a little background information about this video:
Karl Fisch, a high school administrator at Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado, pulled together a powerpoint with “some interesting ideas” for teachers at his school. (Later, Scott Mcleod, a professor at Univ. of Minnesota, generalized the presentation and created “Shift Happens”.)
Wow, that was really well put together. It really evokes a feel of teamwork and coming together to fix things. I wish I was more a part of this, but I’m just a volunteer…:mad:
Wish I could be in some of those shots.
Just having a link to the BLOG someone got their “information” from doesn’t make it a credible sources. Very Few of these claims are based on primary sources. The majority of them are from a single author (Ian Jukes) who does not sources his own paper. Others are simply a quote without context or someone’s personal opinion.
This Vid is interesting Drama, nothing else.
I read George Orwell’s book 1984 not too long ago, and although I agree entirely that it was an excellent thought provoking book I disagree that it was meant as a prediction of the future. I think his purpose for writing it was to paint a picture of a rather extreme totalitarian setting with the intent of raising controversy and opposition to such events. The title may suggest that it was an image of the future, but in fact his title originally was to be *The Last Man In Europe. *This was changed due to suggestion from the publisher.
Even today you can find references almost weekly in the news to 1984, as every issue surrounding privacy is highly contested and suggested as being just one step closer to the totalitarianism of Orwell’s society. This just proves that issues addressed in a book written almost sixty years ago are still relevant today, despite the title suggesting a fictional society of twenty three years ago.
In comparison, this is a compilation of facts and statistics (now mostly backed with sources) largely relating to the world as it currently stands. I as well find them fascinating. Although I don’t think the US will find itself jobless and economically crushed in five years, I do think we are on a slippery slope regarding our position in the world. If things aren’t addressed soon, then the dominant role we have taken for granted as a country could be lost very quickly. The best way to go about solving this is to accept the facts at hand and seek out a solution.
Even if we are all personally morally committed to the greater good of our own country, many corporations are not - and our own actions quite often don’t reflect such a position.