Thanks Garry

Your Social Network Can Make You Smile

Happiness is contagious, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal. James Fowler, political scientist at University of California, San Diego, explains how happiness spreads through social networks and how to make the holidays a little brighter.

http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/510221/97894783/npr_97894783.mp3

Asleep at the desk: Undergrad education gets a boost

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081130-asleep-at-the-desk-undergrad-education-gets-a-boost.html

College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S

So saith the New York Times 

New Survey Paints Bleak Picture Of Career Physicians

Nearly half of the primary care doctors who responded to a Physicians' Foundation Survey said they would quit the business within the next three years if they had something to fall back on.

I can't promise who long the link will last.

I read the news today oh, boy

I heard it too.

Florida To Raise University Tuition Statewide 15%

Cal State Schools May Slash Enrollment

Economic Crisis Hits Colleges In Pennsylvania

How Will Obama Help College Costs?

Thomas Friedman -- The Daily Show

Harvard Seeking Spending Cuts Amid Economic Crisis

Harvard has a 36.9 BILLION dollar endowment.

If they are tightening their belt -- that's a bad economic sign.

And yes, I am just plugging Fringe because it's a geek show that takes place on Harvard's campus.

Seriously, what straight geek boy would not want to date a girl with math hair.  Math hair is hot!

Tough Times Strain Colleges Rich and Poor

So says the New York Times

UF is featured in the New York Times . . .

for underage drinking. 

Go with your strengths, I always say. 

Pssst! Wanna Go to College for Free?

Business Week is jusk kickin' it for me this week.

http://www.businessweek.com/print/investor/content/nov2007/pi20071113_819956.htm

Business Week's Business School Rankings & Profiles

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/

Obama -- The President!!!

The University of Tampa

Transferring within Florida

Transferring from outside Florida

www.ut.edu

Degrees at The University of Tampa

Honors Program Information

FJCCSGA District One Retreat Notes

Commanding Heights 

This American Life

The Giant Pool Of Money

Another Freightening Story About The Economy

Fresh Air

The Tyrany of Oil

AP Investigation: Ike Environmental Toll Apparent

Google Search for Cleaner Energy

Net Metering Policies

Go Solar California

Solar, wind industries aided by federal bailout

Bailout Bill Is Rife With Tasty Green Pork

My Own Private Tokyo

William Gibson. Home at last, in the 21st century.

Banking Majors No More

Wow!  What a bad week to be a finance or banking major.

It is interesting, though, that so many move between finance and IT.

Not Making This Up

Let them eat cake

Immigrants No Longer See America as the Land of Prosperity

Story @ The Washington Post

Stanford Teaching MBAs How To Fight Open Source

WTF ??????

Seriously.  I just saw this on Slashdot (link).

Dear Stanford MBA Program,

Please go read/listen to the I, Cringely  blog form Sept 22, 2008.

It may keep you from getting fired.

P.S.

Drill. Here. Now.  Also, a bad idea.

WTF ??????

College Panel Calls for Less Focus on SATs

Read it the NYTimes

Summer 2009 Student Internship program at the U.S. Department of State

I have something of a guest speaker for you today. My friend Hilarion "Lari" Martinez works for the U.S. Department of State is going to tell you about the Summer 2009 Student Internship program at the U.S. Department of State. I have seen Lari speak and I have to tell after about the first third I started thinking about how I could apply. It is an insanely great opportunity.

I would like to tell you about the Summer 2009 Student Internship program at the U.S. Department of State. My name is Lari Martinez and I am the U.S. Department of State Diplomat in Residence hosted jointly by Florida International University and Miami Dade College. I also teach the Diplomacy class at FIU as I am hosted by the Department of International Relations.

What could a student internship mean to you at the U.S. Department of State? It's an opportunity for you to get an inside look at the different types of positions and responsibilities available in foreign affairs. Think of it as taking a career test ride before you actually have to decide what you are going to do with your life. You can also gain valuable work experience that will help you in virtually every endeavor, whether you choose to work in government or in the private sector. Then there's the added benefit of feeling good about knowing you are really doing something worthwhile for your nation.

At the U.S. Department of State, we like to say we're the face of America to the world. As an intern, you will be, too. Some of our students work in Washington, DC, and others have the opportunity to work at an embassy overseas. Positions are both paid and unpaid, and many are available during spring, summer or fall.

For internship program details such as duties of an intern, participating offices and bureaus, types of internships, salary/benefit/housing information, please see www.careers.state.gov.


Eligibility requirements

You must be:

- a U.S. citizen. U.S. citizenship and good academic standing are required, along with the successful completion of a background investigation, and the ability to receive either a Secret or Top Secret clearance (34kb, PDF). Random drug testing will be performed.


- a Student. A student is an individual who has been accepted for enrollment, or who is enrolled as a degree-seeking student in an accredited college or university

- a full- or part-time continuing college or university junior, or graduate student (including graduating seniors intending to go on to graduate school.) An applicant is considered a junior if he/she will have completed all sophomore credits (60 or more hours or 90 quarter hours) by the time the internship begins will be entering at least the junior year immediately completion of the internship.

IMPORTANT: You are eligible to apply for the Department's internship program if you have not yet completed your registration at a college or university for graduate or post-graduate studies (including law school) or are awaiting an admissions determination for graduate or post-graduate studies (including law school). However, if selected for an internship, you must provide proof that you have registered, or have been accepted for enrollment, for studies in the semester or quarter immediately following the internship before you can begin your internship.

A broad range of academic majors is sought in areas such as Business, Public Administration, Social Work, Economics, Information Management, Journalism and Biological, Physical or Engineering Sciences; intern duties and responsibilities vary according to post or office assignment, from scientific/technical tasks to administrative projects to logistical support.

The deadline for summer 2009 student internships is November 1st.

Please click here (http://careers.state.gov/students/programs.html#SIP) for more information, and to start the online application process.

You may also subscribed to the U.S. Department of State careers website listserve at http://www.careers.state.gov/keep-me-informed.html. You can view or update your subscriptions, password or e-mail address at any time on your own Profile. All you will need are your e-mail address and your password (if you have selected one). You can always use the "Forgot your Password" link on the Login page for help. This service is provided free of charge by the Office of Recruitment at the U.S. Department of State.


(Mr.) Hilarion "Lari" Martinez

U.S. Department of State Careers - Home
Source: www.careers.state.go...
Careers at U.S. Dept of State

Reading

Listen!

In The Center of The First World

Plastic Bottles

Imported Water

Cars we drive wherever we want to

Clothes we buy it's sweatshop labor

Drugs from corporate enablers

We're not living the Good life

Unless we're fighting the Good fight

You and Me just trying to get it right

In the center of the first world

8 The Art of Planning A Term

        From what I can tell, most of my students “plan” their course schedule for a semester based solely on two criteria. First, what is being offered that they are willing to take that term, and second, when is it being offered? The second of these criteria often trumps the first because of the “it’s too early in the morning” factor. Now you see why I put the word “plan” in quotes. 

I don’t fault them. At a state school, like the one where I teach, education about term planning usually takes the form of a little time management worksheet that breaks down a week into 186 hours and then budgets out time according to what the worksheet has deemed are your priorities. These sheets are always based on a fantasy world and not the real world. 

In the real world, everyone multitasks. So these nice little blocks of time are meaningless. In the world of my students, most are working full time, or as close to that as they can get and are also trying to take 12-15 hours of classes a semester. If they have to drop something, that is the cost of doing business. 

Private schools, especially liberal arts colleges, often do a much better job of planning a semester. It’s not uncommon at smaller colleges to meet with an academic advisor who is actually familiar with your goals and major and who will help you plan courses for the next semester. Planning the semester in this manner isn’t about budgeting time. It’s about crafting the next phase of your educational development. Remember, just because you don’t go to a school that thinks like this doesn’t mean you can’t.

Planning a Semester without a Day-Timer

Before beginning, I have one little caveat. In creating this little planning scenario, I am not going to worry too much about the differences between quarters and semesters since it works out about the same. To graduate in four years under the quarter system, you are going to take three or four courses each quarter that are worth four or five credits each. To graduate in four years under the semester system, you are going to have to take four or five courses each semester that are worth three or four credits each. There are other combinations available but I am trying to keep it simple.

 

The first thing you have to decide is how many courses you are going to take. I am assuming that you are going to want to get out in four years (good luck) and so I am planning with that goal in mind. 

Follow these directions in your first and second semesters:

Do nothing but knock out exit requirements. 

Whether you set it as a formal goal or not, much of your first semester is acclimating to college level work and adjusting to the culture of your college. Like a lot of things in life nothing can really prepare you for college until you are there. Lots of people don’t make it through the first semester. Just look at the parking lots at the beginning of the second semester.

Do not take any electives. 

Don’t take anything but general education exit requirements. Odds are you won’t be able to get into anything else anyway. So just accept it. Don’t take any electives yet because you want to do well in all your electives. 

Take three classes that you have traditionally done well in.

You are taking mainly classes that are your strengths because they are, or at least should be, more challenging than your high school, but also classes in which you are most assured to succeed. Also, core classes like composition, speech and math are going to be used in everything else. So, if you do well in these first, you stand a better chance in doing well in other classes later

Take one class in your worst subject

Take your worst subject now to get it out of the way. Generally, people avoid things they don’t like and we don’t like not doing well. So when people enter college, too often they avoid their weak subjects. Avoiding your worst subject is like delaying needed maintenance on your car. Both are more expensive in the long run. If you are willing to take summer school classes, another useful strategy is to take your worst subject in the summer. That way you can immerse yourself in the subject and it only lasts a short period of time. The “short period of time” sometimes scares people, but if you can deal with that, it’s a useful and proven method of getting past this obstacle. 

Try to Create Synergy in the Term 

Pick classes that work well together. If possible, try to work out a schedule that offers some type of synergy. Too often, freshman schedules read like this: Spanish Literature 252, Composition 101, Earth Science 101 and College Algebra 101. My objection to this course schedule is that these classes are four isolated subjects. It turns college into an education factory where on Tues-Thurs from 2-4 you turn the wrench, and Mon-Wed you use the rivet gun. How the wrench turning and rivet gunning contribute to your education is never revealed. “It makes you well rounded” is not an acceptable answer! 

So, if possible, don’t do this to yourself. Pick some classes that work together. Until you hit your major it is probably too much to ask to get all four courses to synergize but it’s reasonably simple to get a 2+2 schedule. For example: Composition and Speech plus Meteorology and Physical Science. Another example would be Chemistry and Biology plus Speech and College Algebra. In the second example it’s more 3 + 1 with speech being the odd class out but you still get a good deal of synergy. 2 + 2 is “better” in that it evenly distributes courses more closely geared towards your interests while satisfying the “well rounded” classes that are built into your degree track. 

Repurposing and Harvesting Work. When you have classes that are closely linked, you can more easily “repurpose” or “harvest” your work. By repurposing, I mean planning ahead for a piece of work to be used in more than one class. Your term paper in composition becomes a topic in speech. “Harvesting” happens after the fact where, for example, you write a paper in one class and then recycle it in another because you realize you can. 

Keep repurposing and harvesting on the down low because some professors are seriously against this idea. See what the school’s policy is and look for anything on a professor’s syllabus. If you are still nervous about repurposing or harvesting something, ask. Some professors don’t care, some do. Let me tell you a little something about professors. When they are working on a paper, they take it to conferences so it can be critiqued and improved. Eventually they publish it. This publication, if possible, is worked into a book. That’s one idea worked into three tenurable items. Talk about repurposing and harvesting!

Try to create synergy from term to term. If you are taking courses that are in a sequence, always take the next course in the sequence in the next term. If you take Composition I (or whatever it’s called at your school) in the fall, take Composition II in the spring. Often people get burnt-out on a subject after they have finished the first part of a sequence—especially if it is something they don’t like. This reaction is understandable, but it is not commendable. You are more apt to do better on the second section if the knowledge you gained in the first is still fresh, even if you feel that you are not solidly grounded in the first part of the sequence. You aren’t going to magically become better at the subject by ignoring it. 

This same approach also works for classes that are prerequisites and their corresponding classes. If you can take these classes immediately after one another, do so. The first class not only prepares you for the second but the second reinforces the first. The more we use new language and ideas the more they sink down into the marrow of our bones until they become as familiar to us as our first words. 

Courses are Still Taught By People

Remember when I talked about making a better deal with your professor?  Hint: it would be in the chapter with the same title as this paragraph.  Making a deal is a great way to create and keep synergy in a semester.  This is your education, your skill set, your knowledge, your future we are talking about.  Do not go gently into the generic matrix a professor has planned for the masses.  Request special attention.  Students rarely do this and professors will usually oblige.  Remember, you are not asking for less work. You are asking for better focused work that meets your specific needs.

Stay With Your Strengths

As I have already explained, I consider education and suffering to be different things. While I have and will continue to preach to you about diversifying your talents and knowledge, I also live in the same real world as you do. There are things each of us will never be competent at. For the sake of your GPA—and your sanity—avoid them. That’s why I stayed with writing as much as possible.

Get It All Done Early

One of my first suggestions in this section was to take your worst subject in the first semester to get it out of the way as soon as possible. I want to end this section by giving you that piece of advice about everything. I hate deadlines. I am afraid I am going to miss them so I always finish early. That way, if something goes wrong I have time to fix it. So, I tried to finish every semester (I always attended schools on the semester system) about a month early. Sometimes there were finals but if all you have to do is study for a final, the final is not that hard.

I am not trying to turn you into a little overachiever like myself. I am trying to save your GPA. If something is due on Tuesday, get it done the Friday before. Do not wait until Monday night. Your printer will fail, the lab will close, or there will be an emergency. Not every time, but sometimes, and one of those sometimes may coincide with your deadline.

10 The Easiest Route to the Most Valuable Degree

So far I have done my best to put together a rough sketch of the system of higher education. It’s a tricky task. The sketch has to be brief enough that you will read and remember it. But it also has to be detailed enough so that it is worth reading. It has to be applicable to everyone but not bore everyone in the process. 

What I have thus far failed to do is outline a real map through college. It’s an impossible task. Super Mario Brothers was a two dimensional platform game; if you did this thing at that time, the result would always be the same. Neither college nor life is like that. 

That said, I am going to give you a narrative guide, some thoughts combined with a story, which is my best broad advice on understanding the system of college in the United States of America at the beginning of the 21st century. Put on your explorer’s hat and get your whip, young  Indiana Jones, because here we go!

Now you may have known from birth what you wanted your college major to be. More than likely, you’re like most college students. You have at best the vaguest idea of what you might want to major in. I personally changed my intended major once a month for two years. If I could have done it online it would have been once a week. 

If you haven’t already started college, and are not hooked into an Ivy League, Big Ten school or private school via scholarships, this is my best advice: Go to a community college. I understand that you may want to “go away” to college. You want to meet new people and have new experiences. You are sick of your family and hometown. I am completely sympathetic to all these and any other feelings of flight you may have. I understand that the last thing you may want to do is to go to that damn community college, a.k.a. 13th grade. But in most cases, it’s really a smart move. Here’s why:

Your first two years of college are spent in general education classes, which are basically advanced reading, writing, math, and sciences along with some electives. Since you will take general education classes wherever you go. Why on earth should you pay a dime more for the exact same classes you could take someplace else for less? After your first two years, apply for acceptance into a well-known program at the school where you really want to go. 

Picture this: You went to Big Cool College because it is “the school” to attend in your state. At the end of your second year you apply to and are accepted into your intended major at said school. You go home for summer feeling great. 

You are telling all this to a friend at a party, where everyone from your senior class is off doing a little underage drinking—except you, of course. While talking to a friend, you relate the experience of your first two years at college, not to brag, but just to let him know that you were accepted into the major you’ve been talking about since high school. Your friend looks at you a little funny and says “That’s your major? Why didn’t you go to Little Podunk State College? They have the best program in the nation.”

 “What?” you offer defensively. 

“NO, dude really. Check it out in US News and World Report. I only know because my cousin’s friend’s sister goes there for that.” Reality still ringing in your ears, you sigh and consider doing a little underage drinking yourself. 

Stay sober for a moment though because you have just learned a valuable lesson. Not all the programs in any school, even the great schools, are of equal value. Schools can be strong in lots of areas and weak in the one area you are interested in. Big Cool School sounds great and it may be true that all the hip kids go there, but that doesn’t count for much if it doesn’t meet your academic and professional needs.

 

Unless you know what your major is, how can you decide which school to attend? Ah, yet another great reason to spend two years working on a General Studies A.A. at the community college. Then, once you know your major, pick a school. 

Right major, wrong school is what I call a “luxury problem.” It’s like being stuck on the freeway with four flat tires in a new Lexus you just paid for in cash. It’s not a desirable situation, but it’s easily amendable. There are much more serious problems that can befall you even before you pick your major. Scooby-Doo flashback with me back to that summer party:

You’re heading to the keg with a fresh 16 oz. plastic cup in hand when you see your valedictorian hurl all over the lawn, barely missing the prom queen’s shoes. “Poor kid,” a guy who sat behind you in English mourns while edging ahead of you in line. “He just hasn’t been the same since failing out last fall….” 

Don’t think I am exaggerating. This flashback is based on multiple true stories. In my sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school I watched the mighty tumble. Bright kids one and all; better academic performers than I could have hoped to have been in high school but they failed at college. Some partied too much. Some skipped class too much. Some had to work a job to afford the school of their choice and some just never made the psycho-social transition to college. They all could have used a little 13th grade, and there’s no shame in that. 

What is a shame is what happens to your college transcript if you fail out. Your transcript is your permanent record. Say you do reasonably well the first semester and fail out the second. If you want to transfer any of those credits, you have to transfer all those credits. Trust me, I speak from experience: it’s better to screw up your GPA in high school, like I did, than in college. 

Now failing out of college isn’t the end of the world. It certainly isn’t worth drinking yourself sick over, but it’s a real problem and can take some serious time to fix. 

Hope you’re not sick of that party yet because we are going back one more time….

 You are sipping some slightly warm Bud Lite from your plastic cup, still talking to the guy from your English class and looking for a place to sit. “So what are you doing in the fall? Picked a major?” you ask in idle conversation mode. Without blinking, Mr. I-barely-passed-English-because-I-slacked says, “I’m going to Stanford to major in Computer Science,” and then points out some choice lawn chairs. His reply gives you pause because you’re sure he tried to do his senior research paper on the Sports Illustrated “Swimsuit” issue. 

“Really?” you say, taking a big drink. 

“Yeah, my parents said if I could get into Stanford they would help me figure out a way to afford it. So I really applied myself for the last two years at Crappy Community College. Got good grades, some letters of recommendation, and come the fall I am bound for the coast.” 

“Great for you man,” you say, before finishing your cup of swill. “Think I’m going for another.”

It’s true. I know scores of people who attended a community college and went on to some of the best schools in the United States. It’s more than just a few people who fail out, drop out, and move on from four-year colleges before beginning their junior year. The fates of these people create openings at every school every year. These openings need to be filled. Students transferring from other colleges, including community and junior colleges, fill these openings. You, yes you, could be one these people. Provided that you have the grades and some letters of recommendation, you can transfer to just about any college in the nation. Yes, this includes the Ivy League and Public Ivy schools, which, if you understand what you are getting into, can be very worth your while. 

While starting at a community college is admittedly anticlimactic, it can be a safe, smart move. A community college is vastly cheaper than any other alternative. Unlike professors at a university or college, who are all expected to do research and publish scholarly articles, community college faculty only focus on teaching you. The faculty understands that it is their job to get you ready for your upper division classes. 

Your first two years are critical. You must make good grades to be accepted into whatever school or program you want to go to. Party too much and slack off, and the school where you really want to go won’t have anything to do with you.

A Few Exceptions To What I Just Said

Before you go and commit to this plan there are a few exceptions: If you want to go to an art school like Ringling, Savannah, or Berkley, you might want to start there as a freshman. At art schools you study Art—not a lot else.

If you have already been accepted at a school that has a highly competitive program that you know you want as your major in your junior year, again, starting as a freshman might be a better bet—more time to network. 

If your long-range intent is to get into a primo school like MIT, Duke or Stanford, you may have to take a few credits over. Freshman Calculus at MIT is probably a little more advanced than the class you took at your local community college. But hey, you’re going to MIT! What’s a few extra credits?

13 Plugging and Playing with Information Systems

One of the great gifts a college campus offers all its students is a plethora of information technologies. In fact you will probably be around more types of information technology during your years in college than at any point in your life. While you are on campus I strongly suggest you make learning all you can about these systems something of a hobby. Your institution will no doubt have some required course called something like Introduction to Computers, but that is not enough. How much is enough?

Let me tell you this little story, every so often a friend of mine brings in the local weather guy from one of the networks to speak in her Introduction to Mass Communications class. One of the main points he tries to make to her students is “learn to learn technology.” He says this because in the fifteen or so years he has been a news weatherman for this station they have changed computer systems five—yes five—times. I am not talking about a change from Windows XP to Windows Vista.  I mean whole new systems. If you are saying “but I am not going to be a weather forecaster” you have missed the point of my story.  

The point is no matter what your job is it’s going to involve information technologies. The more versed you are in all these systems the more opportunities you create for yourself. Perhaps that is why Indiana State University will be requiring Lenovo ThinkPads for every member of the incoming freshman class of 2007.  I think it’s great that IU wants all their students to have a laptop. I think it will be even better if IU has a commitment that every student learn that laptop’s full capabilities and not just use it as an expensive typewriter/entertainment device.

Truth be told, I am not exactly sure how to accomplish this goal, because I am not exactly sure how much knowledge each reader brings to this book. But I can tell you how I learned and continue to learn everything I know about computers. Ready? I asked someone who knew more than me and I listened. That’s it. I didn’t take classes; I didn’t read a lot of thick manuals. I just asked questions of people who knew more than I did. 

Now when you are on a college campus you are not only surrounded by what may be the greatest diversity of information systems you may ever encounter but you are also surrounded by people who know how to make this stuff work for you. So why not take advantage of this opportunity for which you or someone is paying large sums of money? Just ask and listen and try for yourself. If you do this long enough this magic moment will happen where suddenly it all makes sense. Maybe you are already there, maybe it will take until the last semester of your senior year, but the point is to spend a few minutes a day every day you are in school getting smarter about this stuff.

Did you notice how I keep calling them information systems? That’s not just me being redundant or overly clever. It’s me being descriptive. The point of learning “computers” is it improves our ability to make meaning. That’s what computers are, they are meaning making tools. Back in the day when Apple introduced the “computer for the rest of us” they meant people who were more interested in making meaning with a computer than typing in odd bits of language to make the computer compute.  So if you are thinking, “There’s no way I am going to learn how these things work.”  Remember that’s another way of saying I already know all I’ll ever need to know about making meaning. Then flip back a few pages and reread the weather forecaster story.

 

To that end I am going to give you a starter list of things to do your first semester. Whatever semester you are in you can consider this your first semester. At the end of this section is a list. It’s a list of things I think you should be able to do with a computer by the time you graduate college. Try checking off a few of these every semester.

Buying a new system for school? Get a new Mac.

Whenever I lecture about technology I am always asked by at least one person about what computer they should buy. I sigh inside because I know what’s coming. 

I am going to give them good advice that they probably won’t take. Then I tell them I’d buy a Mac. OK, first it is total disclosure time. I have multiple Macs in my house and I own stock in Apple. I also have many pieces of clothing with the Apple logo on it. None of these reasons are why I think you should buy a Mac. I think you should buy a Mac because if you do you will also be able to run Windows and Linux on it.  

Can you do that if you buy another company’s computer? Probably not reliably and, for sure, not legally. But if you did buy a Mac that means that you will be able to run any operating system and any program made for that operating system. Most incoming freshmen change their major a number of times. What if you chose a major that prefers one operating system over the other. Business programs are all about Windows, Communication programs often favor OS X, Computer Science majors are expected to know both those and Linux. 

Apparently I am not alone in this thinking, Needham and Company (they are an investment firm) surveyed college students about the ability to run Windows applications on a Mac and found the following: “Two important statistics emerged when the Mac could run Windows apps (applications). First, the mean likelihood of purchasing a Mac rose dramatically—from 24.7 per cent to 44 per cent. Second, the percentage of Windows users who would definitely buy a Mac rose from 1.8 per cent to 13.5 per cent.” Pretty impressive.

Of course there are some good reasons not to buy a Mac. Like I said a few pages ago IU wants all their students to run ThinkPads. So if you are going to IU looks like it’s Lenovo for you. IU is not alone in pre-selecting a system for their students. So talk to your school and intended program of study and see what they say.  As much as I want you to be able to run every program you possibly can, I also want you to have a reputation as someone who plays well with others.

But if you can pick any system you want and you see the wisdom of being able to run every application, drop by and check out the new Intel based Macs.  

Things to Check Off Your First Semester

Take the library tour. 

Time for another true story from The Adventures of Dean in Higher Education:

(read as if you were sitting around a campfire.)

It was the second semester of my students’ freshman year at a private liberal arts school. I asked them if they had ever had a tour of the school’s library. I thought it was a rhetorical question … but I was wrong! I’ve taught at Community Colleges where they make a point of making sure that incoming freshman have a library tour. So I took them the next week.  

I know that the student union is a more hip place to be than the library, but the library has all the information systems. So in the first few weeks of your first or second semester ask to take the library tour. At some point on most of these tours, quite often it’s the whole tour, the librarian giving the tour will guide you through the use of the school’s databases. When you get to this point here’s a few questions to be sure and ask:

Which databases are connectable via the internet?

How do I log onto these systems?

Are any of these systems designed to interact with any bibliographic software?

The artist Picasso once said that every act of creation was first an act of destruction. The point being that every creative act tears up stuff that has been made and makes something new out if it. That’s why we go to the library to find out what people already know and use that knowledge to help us create new things. The library in that sense is one of the oldest and most powerful information systems. Get to know your library—it’s a wise investment of your time.

Find out your school’s network policies. 

O.K. I know this school, I’ll just call it What Were You Thinking Community College that spent a ton to upgrade its email system so that every student could have an account. I know from solid sources some serious change was dropped on this project. But the students aren’t using it. Someone high up decided that since it was the school’s email and the faculty’s email was already a matter of public record the same would be true for students. Well it only took one student to actually read the network policy before word got out. So now the school has this expensive new email system and it’s hardly being used.

So understand your school’s network policy. It’s that document you sign to get your email. It will probably cover things like; Computer and Acceptable Use Policies, Copyrighted media, security, what can get your computer disconnected, etc. While you are learning about this, see what other accounts you can get. Your school may give you remote access to other systems as well as web and or FTP access. All stuff that can be handy if you know how to use it.  

Do NOT use Wikipedia as a source. 

The founder of Wikipedia is a man named Jimmy Wales. Every day he gets emails from students freaking out because they have received a bad grade—for using information from wikipedia.org. The thought he has when he receives such email is, and I quote: “For God sake, you’re in college; don’t cite the encyclopedia.” Yeah, so stop that. You’ll get a bad grade and we have warned you.

Buy one program other than Microsoft Word. 

Would you like an indicator of how with the times your school is? Take a look at their composition classes.  All too often Composition II, ENG 102 or something like that is wasted teaching the MLA guidelines for the citation and documentation of the literary research paper. Now keep in mind I was an English major as an undergrad. So for me it did a bit of good. But if you’re not a Literature or Humanities major it’s sort of an empty experience. Now I am not saying that the critical thinking one can gain from literary analysis is a waste. The waste is learning a bunch of MLA citation rules that, most likely, you will never use again. Every area of study uses its own citation method. Even if you do learn MLA they change it every number of years.  

If you buy one program besides MS Word your freshman year consider Citation, Endnote or Biblioscape. These are all programs that will manage all your bibliographic information for you. They take a bit to set up and you have to learn to use them, but once you get in the habit they will flawlessly cite your sources. Want to change from one method of citation to another? Click, click. Done. Are any of these programs iPod easy?  No. But they just might be the thing for you.

Which one should you buy? I don’t know but the librarians at your school might. It’s a good thing to ask them on that tour I suggested you take. Ask them if the system the library has prefers one flavor of software over another. That would be a defining characteristic in my selecting this type of software.  

Get an adult email address. 

Yep. I am gonna bring this up again. It is easy but critical. Think about it. I get emails from addresses that may have been cute when the sender was 15, but they will not cut it for your adult professional life or your life in college. Go get an adult email address. The shorter your email address is the better.

Go get it now.

Do I need to remind you that this “adult” thing goes for your cell phone too — especially if you are giving the number out to faculty and staff at the school. You do not want these people calling you and getting a message like “What up Biatch? Leave a message.”

Someone’s watching your MySpace. 

It’s true. It’s not just your top eight who are interested in the look of your MySpace/Facebook account. School officials are too. How come? I quote from a USA Today piece from 3.08.06. “Students post pictures of themselves holding cans of beer and bottles of liquor—even when they’re underage. They pose suggestively wearing little—sometimes no—clothing. Some appear to be smoking marijuana in bongs or joints, even holding firearms. They openly write nasty comments about each other or their teachers and coaches online.” 

Ever hear about those kids who steal a video camera and then tape themselves committing other crimes. Eventually they get busted and the cops find the tape. That’s MySpace for some people. Oh, and it’s not just schools, I quote now from the New York Daily News 3.19.06:

Just ask 27-year-old Colleen Kluttz. Type the freelance television producer’s name into Google and the second item that comes up is her popular MySpace profile. This online social network has become an outpost for photographic and written self-expression, but it’s not always an asset in landing a job. “A friend of mine posted a picture of me on MySpace with my eyes half closed and a caption that suggests I’ve smoked something illegal,” says Kluttz. She is also pretty sure this post has cost her a few jobs.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not trashing MySpace or Facebook. In fact, I am on MySpace—myspace.com/hackingcollege. I use it to keep you—my readers—up to date on higher education trends. Go check it out. You should probably make your space look nice and safe like mine. The whole point of the web was to make that page you’re on accessible to billions of people. So don’t put anything there you don’t want recorded for all digital time.  About now some of you are wishing you’d kept your shirt on for that photo huh? Remember, you are presenting yourself to the public not just your top eight.

Start learning the language. 

One of the things that makes computers difficult for people is the language. You know all those tech words:  http, usb, stmp, oss, j2e, G4. A conversation is not a lot of fun when you can’t understand a third of what is being said. So learn the language. There are a couple of ways to do this. First, like I said before, start asking people who know a little more than you to explain some of these things to you. Second, start reading up on technology a little. These three sites www.wired.com, www.slashdot.org and www.digg.com all cover technology trends and will help you begin to understand the conversation.

Let me give you a little life skills tip here. This is true with every academic subject. Once you understand the language you are half way to understanding the subject. These subjects are all what some people call discourse communities. That’s any group of people who have been having a long-term discussion and use insider language. Your family is a discourse community. Once you understand the terms being used you are halfway to understanding the conversation. So the next time you are sitting in a class that has nothing to do with your major know that you are there to learn to move between discourse communities.

Be like Santa!  Make a list and check it twice. 

First find out how many computer labs you have access to on campus. Then, visit each one, either in person or on the web, and find out what applications are installed on the systems in each lab. Once you know what’s on every system, make a list in order from those you most want to learn to those you least need to learn. Once you have this list just go to Google and put in the applications name followed by “tutorial.” Surf the results and bookmark the ones you like best. Now you are all set up to start learning how all these things work.  You don’t have to do this all at once. Just try and spend at least an hour a week learning something. If you do this you will thank me at the end of the year.

The list at the end of the section

So here is the list of things I think you should know by the time you graduate. You should know how to do these things using either Windows Vista. OS X, or  Linux. Which means you should know the basics of each operating system.

Install and uninstall programs 

Burn a CD/DVD

Some basic Photoshop or GIMP

Make a presentation in Powerpoint/Keynote

Connect your laptop wirelessly to a network

Hook up a simple network

Hook up a printer

Connect your cell phone to your computer via Bluetooth

Make a simple webpage—your MySpace page does not count

Scan a document

Fax a document

Attach a file or files to an email

How to backup your system