Posted 9/8/2011
By Angie Kilbourne, AAM

Web Wise: Things Are About to Get Really Interesting

We live in some exciting times when it comes to computing technology. Some people might feel things move too quickly these days in regard to how information is disseminated digitally, but we are really at a watershed moment of history in my opinion.

Remember all those years ago when we were promised that paperless society? It's been the subject of many a joke in the past 10 years. But it's on the cusp of becoming reality, courtesy of mobile computing.

At press time, South Korea announced it is undertaking a massive project in its public school system to digitize school textbooks and replace all paper learning materials with electronic tablets by 2015. Students will be able to download their school materials to any electronic platform - computers, smartphones and tablets alike.

Not only will South Korean students have a lighter pack to carry, their learning materials will be able to include media-rich products, including videos and audio, and they'll be able to make their notes digitally and share them with instructors and fellow students.

Think of the implications here: We're standing at the edge of an educational revolution. Moving forward, students will learn in a totally new way. Interaction will be more digital and online; students could even attend class remotely one day.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you intend to be in business in 10 or 20 years - and I'm guessing many of you reading this are planning on it - technicians will leave school and enter the workforce with a slew of different traits and skills regarding how they access information, how they continue learning and how they will interact with customers.

But don't think you have 10 or 20 years to catch up. Today's students already use a plethora of digital media in their everyday lives, and companies are quickly adding multimedia offerings to their educational materials. And where it makes sense to do so, our world continues to move away from traditional media to digital, online and interactive formats.

In other words, things are about to get really interesting. I can't wait to see how the automotive repair industry meets the challenge.

ASA Web Ways: From the Show Floor

Automotive Service and Repair Week (ASRW) is fast approaching, and the AutoInc. staff will be previewing the International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE) and the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) shows and reporting news from the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 5-8. Read more on ASRW Now, our online daily, at www.ASRWnow.com.