Soledad on Tech

Back in 1996, Soledad O'Brien hosted a very early show - THE SITE - on technology and the relatively new Internet. So it might be appropriate that she was ISTE 2015’s opening keynote speaker.

The International Society for Technology in Education might not be the appropriate lace to tell 10,000 educators and education leaders that technology is not the answer to education's problems.

"I might be in the wrong room to say this, but I think technology for technology's sake is a complete waste,” O’Brien said. And the audience gave her a raucous and support response.

Soledad went on to say that she views technology as a tool, a means to an end rather than an end itself.

In the tool category, she invited 10 ISTE attendees to the stage to try out Google Cardboard, a bare-bones virtual-reality experience, using paper-based VR goggles and smartphones. Using the headsets, O'Brien took the attendees on a virtual test drive of a career in veterinary surgery. Technology like this, she said, can expand students' horizons by immersing them in different vocational opportunities.

SOURCE: www.edtechmagazine.com

Soledad at Women As Changemakers Series at NYU

On March 23rd, Soledad O'Brien spoke as part of the "Women as Changemakers" series for Women’s History Month at NYU.

Speaking to an audience of NYU students, alums and the local community, she addressed women’s issues in the workplace based on her own experiences in television journalism.

She addressed some sobering numbers: According to 2008 stats from the American Society of Newspaper Editors, women hold only 37.36% of newsroom jobs, versus men at 64.8% of managerial positions.

Men comprise 58.2 percent of all copy editors, 60.9 percent of reporters and 72.9 percent of photographers.

O'Brien, who reached early fame with a technology program called THE SITE in 1996, still embraces technology but noted that she does not use Twitter.

Asked about moral and ethical issues she has faced, she warned student journalists that they should to “Figure out your line early, because there are always going to be people pushing you across that line.”

Soledad On Exit Polls and News Technology

CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien speaks with Andy Plesser (beet.tv) about reporting from the exit polls. She discussed the process for analyzing the polls and gives her perspective on covering the technology space for nearly 12 years (she was previously an anchor for ZDTV, the first technology news network).