Being On Cloud Nine

On June 2^nd, we joined Microsoft & IndiBlogger at The Tower Kitchen where they promised to unlock the power of the cloud! With the Office 365 for students they can stay connected to the learning community – anytime, anywhere. Being a student myself, though not the full time college going one, I was curious to know what they had in store for us.

I am extremely sorry to say this, but unlike the other meets of Indiblogger, this was not well planned or organized. The letter received by Inditeam confirmed it too. This is what they had to say. “Thank you for all the awesomeness, and for making it a fun afternoon! We hope that you enjoyed it despite the shortage of food and the lack of chairs. The venue was confirmed at the last moment, and getting things organized was rushed, to say the least. We're sorry for any inconvenience caused to you!”

Actually despite everything, it was an informative and entertaining Sunday with good time spent with Microsoft team, inditeam, indibloggers and friends. We had many different games and fun activities too. Bloggers who had questions regarding Office 365 were answered with patience by the Microsoft team.

Personally for me, the highlight of the event for me came from the Mircosoft team including Ramkumar Pichai (GM, Microsoft) who assured me of help regarding my dream of starting a virtual counseling center for cancer survivors about which I had written earlier as a part of reviewing Mircosoft office 365. If this ever works out, I am going to be forever grateful to Indiblogger and Mircrosoft team.Click on the picture to read more about my dream project. 

Now to answer the question what we wish we had in our school or college, and how it would have helped us. As I said earlier at the meet itself, I missed the convenience of search engines in my school days. It was difficult to find perfect information or answers to the questions as simple as why the sky appears blue when viewed from earth, or why do stars twinkle where as planets do not.

I was a perfectionist as a student and would search the libraries to find answers for the questions that cropped in my mind. I could not accept what was presented to me without proper explanations. Our teachers were at loss as to where to find answers for all the questions I asked. I wanted to know the answers for the questions not only that appeared in my text books or exam papers, but also that came in my mind while learning. There was so much of curiosity to know about the oceans, human psyche, wars, animals and moreover the space and world beyond our solar system.

Finally, after crossing my 30’s I did find the perfect way to quench my thirst for facts, trivia and knowledge. The day I found search engine, I was on cloud nine. In fact I even searched for the information on how the phrase ‘Being on cloud nine’ originate. Then I found the Encarta Encyclopedia which was a special learning experience for me.  As a student of M.S. in psychotherapy and counseling now, I find the search engine and internet to be my best guides and teachers. Unfortunately with family and various responsibilities, I do not have much time to spend on learning. If I had search engines back in my school days, I would have enjoyed my learning immensely.

Now with the advent of Cloud for Education, the life of students will be more simplified. Sharing information, answers and notes taken will be so much easier as will be discussion regarding a subject.

The hunt is on at the moment for the 50 brightest minds is on across 10,000 colleges throughout the country. Those students who have it in them will be mentored by the world’s leading software company. Students can use you’re their Office 365 institute email id and blog their way to win an opportunity of a lifetime – a 4 week Virtual Mentorship with some of the best brains in the country.

Overall it was a memorable experience which ended on a happy note for me and my family. 

https://www.cloudblogathon.co.in/Default.aspx