Tech Article for You

We are very divided as parents when it comes to the use of technology in our children’s lives. Some whole-heartedly embrace it, and some absolutely abhor the idea of allowing their children to spend any time in front of the computer. As with many great things in life, if we don’t use it wisely, we end up getting hurt more than we benefit.

I don’t allow my students nor my children to spend precious time on the computer playing games; however, I encourage them to spend time writing on the computer and visiting educational websites to take quizzes and read informative articles. I even encourage them to write e-mail, provided they produce content rich e-mail.

More and more children’s educational websites are requiring subscriptions. I subscribe to several websites my students really enjoy. Brainpop.com, edhelper.com, and dictionary.com all got high marks. Their content is consistently entertaining and educational and they provide fresh material every day.

Surprisingly, standard issue software has turned out to be one of technology’s most useful educational tools. Microsoft Office has helped my students and children improve their writing at an astonishing speed. Not many people would think that Microsoft Word, which is primarily designed for adults, could have such an impact on a young child’s learning and writing. I didn’t know myself until my six-year-old daughter played around with the program and became instantly hooked. She wrote story after story non-stop for entire month; she would opt out of playing outside with her friends and eating dinner to concentrate on her stories.

Within one year, she has written more than 250,000 words. Last February she received an unsolicited invitation to appear on Good Morning America. If learning to use an adult oriented word processing program could accelerate Adora’s progress exponentially, would a similar strategy work with other children? I decided to find out. I started my school’s first writing workshop by encouraging students to learn to type. Within days, the students caught up to speed and started to create beautiful stories. I have been impressed by their output, but their changing attitude towards writing is even more amazing. Children who were once constantly frustrated by erasing and re-writing are now free to express their ideas. They have become avid readers and writers in a few weeks time.

The success of our workshop and my daughter’s publication of her first book convinced me that technology is tremendously useful in our students’ learning as long as we should teach them to use it wisely and effectively. When technology is implemented to enhance learning instead of being offered as a mere instrument for entertainment, it can reduce the time it takes to master a subject while making learning more enjoyable and fulfilling.

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The Internet has connected translation technologies with consumers at a pace that feels threatening to many of the million plus linguists around the world. Will they lose their role in globalization?

Imagine a world in which you speak or write your language, and the rest of the globe could instantly understand you in theirs.

While linguists tremble at the thought, perfect software-performed translation (known as “machine translation”) would save governments and businesses many billions of dollars a year. With enough platforms and distribution, it would increase productivity and add perhaps trillions more of value to worldwide GDP.

Some even believe that frictionless communication across languages would help different cultures and religions to see eye to eye, helping to bring about peace on earth (i.e., read as “no more war in Iraq”).

So the first key question on the minds of many is whether or not technology will ever replace human translation services?

The short answer isdrum roll please…not in our lifetime, if ever.

Why? Because software can only produce perfect output when it receives perfect input; and humans almost never communicate with perfect usage of the rules of grammar and terminology upon which software relies to translate one language into another.

The job of building and updating a database of literally billions of exceptions to the rules of language, and then matching them between hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects, would require more humans than will ever be economically feasible. And, let’s not forget the countless new words and expressions that we invent every single day.

I suggest that you carefully read this paragraph and imagine how software, which is rigid and pitiful in the face of human subtley, could possibly translate it with both figurative and literal accuracy. You see, language is not a science, but an art. As is translation. And art is a human endeavor.

Okay, so we are all relieved to know that the livelihood of individual linguists and translation services is not at risk. But what about our second question…

Will translation technology increase the ROI on globalization and produce social benefits that we only dare imagine in today’s rocky world?

My friends, I am happy to say that cultures, businesses, lovers and even religions are already being brought together by these technologies. The effects in our lifetime will be monumental.

And, in my subsequent two columns, I will tell you how. Hasta luego amigos!

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Our computers have become almost indispensable ministry tools. What would you do if the worst happened and you had to function without your computers? Would your ministry survive?

This article is the final installment in a 3-part series on how to protect your ministry from serious computer-related loss. This time we’re going to focus on what every ministry should know about software license compliance.

It’s a fact that software piracy is rampant in the world today…but did you know it’s also common in the Christian community, too? Webster’s dictionary defines piracy as “the unauthorized use of another’s production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright”. Whether we download them, copy them or buy them off the shelf, the software packages we use in everyday ministry operations are copyright-protected products with stiff laws in place to uphold the rights of their creators. Violating these laws could needlessly cost your ministry hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and open you up to potential prosecution.

The Law

When you purchase a software package for your ministry, it’s not quite the same as buying a tangible item, such as a paper shredder. If you buy a paper shredder for your office, you can use it in any room in the office and shred any document you like with it. With software, you are dealing with “intellectual property”. You don’t actually “purchase” the intellectual property from the software manufactureryou are only purchasing the right to use this intellectual property under a strict set of conditions (known as a “license agreement”). Any use outside of this license agreement falls under the category of software piracy.

There are several flavors of software piracy, but the most common ways churches and ministries fall into non-compliance (both knowingly and unknowingly) are “End User Piracy” and “Client-Server Overuse”.

“End User Piracy” happens when a ministry employee reproduces copies of a software package without the proper authorization. Examples of this would include:

Buying one copy of a program and installing it on more than one computer

Purchasing upgrade-priced software when a legal copy of the software was never originally purchased

Bringing ministry discs home and installing the software on personal computers

Helping someone else copy software illegally

“Client-Server Overuse” occurs when you use software in a network environment. If you only have 5 licenses for a particular software package, but 25 people access it over the network, you are violating the license agreement for that software package (and effectively stealing 20 copies of the package from the manufacturer).

The Consequences

Software manufacturers figured out how easy it was for users to make unauthorized copies of their products a long time ago. They reacted to this by forming an organization called the “Business Software Alliance” (AKA the BSA). The BSA exists to enforce software licensing in the business (and ministry) community, and they do this by investigating allegations of piracy and imposing the penalties provided under the law. Most of the tip-offs the BSA investigate come from disgruntled employees who call in and inform on their former employers.

Your ministry can be held liable for the actions of its employees under civil and criminal law, which means you could be both prosecuted and sued for copyright infringement even if you had no knowledge of the activity. In a civil lawsuit, the manufacturer can stop you from using the software package in question and also seek monetary damages, up to $150,000 per software package and even any profit or income attributed to the infringement. If the government prosecutes you in a criminal proceeding, the penalties could be as high as $250,000, 5 years in jail or both.

Beside the legal and financial ramifications of software piracy, I believe the spiritual implications are also important to consider. For God to bless our ministries and use them to build His kingdom, we need to obey the laws of the land and conduct our operations with the utmost integrity. It’s not worth saving a few hundred dollars on software if you end up losing the effectiveness and credibility of your ministry.

The Solution

Now that you know a little about this issue, here are a few important steps you can take to protect yourself and your ministry.

Perform a thorough software license audit. Document every software license you’ve purchased and compare that list against every software package you have installed. The difference may surprise you! Purchase whatever licenses you need to make up this difference.

Take advantage of software charity licensing and donation programs. Microsoft and many other manufacturers offer Charity licensing programs that allow your ministry to buy software at enormous discounts. Some even offer donation programs that let you get the software for free, if you qualify. With such huge discounts available to ministries and churches, it makes no sense to violate software licensing laws and face so much risk.

Implement an acceptable use policy. Education is the best way to keep your employees compliant. Put together a document that explains exactly what they can and can’t do with ministry computer and software assets, go over the document with each employee and have them sign off on it.

For more detailed information about the BSA, software piracy and to download a free copy of the BSA’s “Guide To Software Piracy and the Law”, visit their website at http://www.bsa.org or call (202) 872-5500.

Well, that’s about it. I hope your ministry can benefit from the valuable information presented in this series of articles, and that with some wisdom and good counsel, you can avoid all the pitfalls we discussed and be more successful in fulfilling the Great Commission.

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