Hmm... it's been a long time since the last post...
Finals week just got busier than I expected.
I had only one final exam proper but had two final projects to get through. The exam was OK. I could've done better than I did but there's no way to change that anymore... In any case, doing decently in the class for the entire semester translated to a grade of A- (with A being the highest possible) for that particular subject. With both remaining classes being taught by the same teacher, they both had final project requirements. I'd finished one of them ahead of time and sent it in but kept putting the last one off till the last couple of weeks. I could've done it a little earlier... since I actually had two weeks in which I could've worked on it but then... that last minute stress seems to squeeze out decent work... I can say this fairly confidently since I got As in the classes and full points on both final projects. So yay!
Why did I put the project off? No real reason. Laziness... Thanksgiving... Just going off the boil...?
I'd say: "all of the above"
So I experienced my first traditional Thanksgiving this year. My hosts were three American students from my classes, who invited some Internationals over... for the Thanksgiving experience. It's much like my family celebrates Diwali... an excuse for family to get together and have food. Lots of it. We had a slightly non-traditional turkey - no baking (which is traditional) - we actually fried it. Putting a full turkey into a vat of hot, boiling oil? Good fun. Good times!
Laziness needs no explanation... going off the boil just occurred because we had the entire week of Thanksgiving off, where we would usually only have the week-end off. Our professors were off in Paris for a conference and we had nothing to do. Ideally... this should've meant that I worked on my final projects but... for that week and the week before, we had no assignments due, nothing to read... that has an absolutely devastating effect on the momentum of work... You're in the groove for 12 weeks... reading stuff, submitting things... time is no longer linear... it's defined by assignments, due dates and required readings. When none of these things exist, time returns to being linear and you go off the boil... bah.
Add to this the fact that most of my international classmates were yelling off their facebook mountains that they were ready for a break... and that did nothing to keep me motivated. I fought off the infection for about three weeks and then succumbed to it myself. Finally, I was like... "I'm ready for a break!" The only problem was that there were still those final three tasks in the way... Oh well...
This brings us to the title of the post...
Finals week was the first week of December. This last week, I've been on Xmas break in Canada, visiting cousins and family. I've been enjoying catching up with people and basking in familial warmth... even though it's -20 degrees outside and colder...
I suspected that I might go crazy in the break, for lack of having something to do... but that hasn't happened yet and I'm one week into it... Therefore... posts might not be as forthcoming in December... until the new year... However, I will be posting new experiences I've had in this break... already had various minor interesting moments in the last few days... but THAT... is another post...
Also in posts to come:
Reflections on the Grad school experiences in both countries
A look towards the New Year (might happen only in the new year)
A roundup/summation of the semester? With perhaps a focus on new things learned outside of the classroom
We shall see...
I'll wake up when December ends...
on Sunday, December 14, 2008Reflections on...the end of a semester
on Tuesday, November 18, 2008So it's been three months since I've been in Tallahassee and nearly three since classes started. My classmates have been ready for a break for the last three weeks. I wasn't quite sure about myself... however I think I am now.
Roughly three weeks ago, my classmates started praying for a swift end to the term. These are people who have taken 5 classes because they have to finish in a year. I can imagine and understand the kind of frantic manicness that they must feel round about this time... However, with three classes for me, I was being kept sufficiently busy and occupied, without wanting to jump into any nearby wells.
Then we had an entire week of no submissions and things were entirely laid back. It's like someone pulled the rug out from under my feet. Now, starting anything is slightly painful. Deadlines are cut close... but the good thing is that there's only two final projects left to submit now and I should finish a practically complete draft of one by the end of this week. That leaves me two whole weeks to steadily work on the last one. I just need to make sure that I do steadily work on it and not leave it hanging. However, finishing the one project two weeks before it's due will motivate me for the rest.
Just another four meetings left for this semester and year... next week's off and then only the last week of meetings and a test.
I think I'm ready for a break... there seem to be other symptoms of it as well... I just hope the break will be rejuvenating and then starting afresh from next year will not be a chore.
I never thought that lack of "busyness" would be so damned annoying...
Anecdotes from the week...
on Monday, October 13, 2008To go back to a theme running through the grad school experience, I'm going to share a couple of things discussed in class -
"You get promoted to your level of incompetence."
That's not a direct quote but it makes sense. If you're good at what you do, you keep going higher. Then you reach a certain level where you cannot go higher because you don't have the competencies for that post. Ergo, you're incompetent for the next rung and remain where you are!
Read more!
In Motivation class, we're currently looking at the concept of confidence and control and something called a Serenity Prayer was mentioned.
I really liked the thought behind it, though I will change a little part to reflect my "views":
Let me have grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Very nice.
Read more! and be sure to read the mother goose ditty on that page.
As a related spinoff, I found Bill Watterson being irreverent about it (and deliciously so) below:
And finally,
"What will the preachers do if the devil is saved?"
I will let you wonder about that for the time being... it's pretty interesting to ponder upon!
A change in perspective
on Friday, October 03, 2008It's been pretty interesting lately. I'm only a month and a half into this course but already, a lot of things around me become more interesting from a different perspective. The perspective of an Instructional Designer. There is some new jargon, there is some new classification of old and known things and there is a wonder about different processes and things - how they work, how could they be made to work better and more effectively. Three examples to illustrate.
I always thought that perhaps Americans need to be told too many things. I laughed at Windows XP when it had a tooltip (these are the small yellow boxes that briefly appear when your mouse pointer hovers over something and they tell you what the button does.) appear when hovering over the close button. All Windows user know what the X does and Mac users are not going to be stupid. However, when I looked at two pieces of print guides - one... my international center grad student handbook and second ... an instruction sheet I got for a party that is going to be put up soon, I had a new respect for thoroughness.
Perhaps the tooltip over the close button is still a little redundant but I suspect it comes more out of an ingrained thoroughness or a requirement of completeness which is global in all aspects.
What I mean by this is: There is no reason for a good designer to stop including certain things in small "obvious" places when they do a certain thing for the larger whole.
There is nothing really that my graduate handbook doesn't cover... from registration, to working, to working after the course, health, night clubs, transport... you name it and it has a place, person and number for every bit of information you need. One just needs to bother to read it.
The party sheet has instructions on how to set up your station, what items it will have, how to greet visitors and what to do with them, how to wind up and how to clean up and finally, where and how to return the materials you used. (It goes as far as telling the food crew to give away opened food packets at the end of the day) You just can't go wrong. It is an entire instructional module - thorough, complete and no need to ask questions. Time consuming at first but enduring and easily edited later.
(If you're confused by now... that's OK... this will still be a good post for ME to reflect upon later)
Secondly... I was amused by an automatic check out machine at a store yesterday. If you have no cashier, you're going to need instructions and you get them - written and in voice.
You press "start" to get started. (Duh!) Then a voice tells you to scan your first item and place it in a bag. I did scan. I didn't place it in the bag, I placed it on the side. The voice asked me to place it in the bag! (There are some weight sensors under the bag) When I did place it in the bag, it asked me to scan the next item. I was to click Pay when I was done, select payment method, follow written instructions and be on my way.
The insistence of the machine amused me - you could put anything in the bag, doesn't matter as long as it has weight - but it still made me put it in the bag. Another thing that happened was an understanding and wonder at the machine, the thought that went into it and the nature of its instructional design. I'm reminded in daily life, of applications for what I'm learning and it's not limited just to HR and the like and that's pretty interesting and gratifying.
Finally - HR has certain jargon - you learn about it (well, you do if you're studying HR) and it remains a little sterile (at least it did for me) in its application and you think it applies only to the corporate scenario. One such jargon term/idea/concept is a job aid. A job aid is anything that helps you make sure you do your job properly. These are checklists and/or instructions on a machine, at your work station as you do work.
To me, these things were only limited to factories and production lines and their kin.
However, the washing instructions on your t-shirt? They are also a job aid. They help you take care of your clothes properly. Never thought about it this way but my perspective's been changed and I look at almost everything in a new angle.
It is different. It is new. It is interesting and it is good!
I always thought that perhaps Americans need to be told too many things. I laughed at Windows XP when it had a tooltip (these are the small yellow boxes that briefly appear when your mouse pointer hovers over something and they tell you what the button does.) appear when hovering over the close button. All Windows user know what the X does and Mac users are not going to be stupid. However, when I looked at two pieces of print guides - one... my international center grad student handbook and second ... an instruction sheet I got for a party that is going to be put up soon, I had a new respect for thoroughness.
Perhaps the tooltip over the close button is still a little redundant but I suspect it comes more out of an ingrained thoroughness or a requirement of completeness which is global in all aspects.
What I mean by this is: There is no reason for a good designer to stop including certain things in small "obvious" places when they do a certain thing for the larger whole.
There is nothing really that my graduate handbook doesn't cover... from registration, to working, to working after the course, health, night clubs, transport... you name it and it has a place, person and number for every bit of information you need. One just needs to bother to read it.
The party sheet has instructions on how to set up your station, what items it will have, how to greet visitors and what to do with them, how to wind up and how to clean up and finally, where and how to return the materials you used. (It goes as far as telling the food crew to give away opened food packets at the end of the day) You just can't go wrong. It is an entire instructional module - thorough, complete and no need to ask questions. Time consuming at first but enduring and easily edited later.
(If you're confused by now... that's OK... this will still be a good post for ME to reflect upon later)
Secondly... I was amused by an automatic check out machine at a store yesterday. If you have no cashier, you're going to need instructions and you get them - written and in voice.
You press "start" to get started. (Duh!) Then a voice tells you to scan your first item and place it in a bag. I did scan. I didn't place it in the bag, I placed it on the side. The voice asked me to place it in the bag! (There are some weight sensors under the bag) When I did place it in the bag, it asked me to scan the next item. I was to click Pay when I was done, select payment method, follow written instructions and be on my way.
The insistence of the machine amused me - you could put anything in the bag, doesn't matter as long as it has weight - but it still made me put it in the bag. Another thing that happened was an understanding and wonder at the machine, the thought that went into it and the nature of its instructional design. I'm reminded in daily life, of applications for what I'm learning and it's not limited just to HR and the like and that's pretty interesting and gratifying.
Finally - HR has certain jargon - you learn about it (well, you do if you're studying HR) and it remains a little sterile (at least it did for me) in its application and you think it applies only to the corporate scenario. One such jargon term/idea/concept is a job aid. A job aid is anything that helps you make sure you do your job properly. These are checklists and/or instructions on a machine, at your work station as you do work.
To me, these things were only limited to factories and production lines and their kin.
However, the washing instructions on your t-shirt? They are also a job aid. They help you take care of your clothes properly. Never thought about it this way but my perspective's been changed and I look at almost everything in a new angle.
It is different. It is new. It is interesting and it is good!
Yeah... so that last update post never got done.
It will.. eventually. The thing about that is, while I'm doing many different things and learning much different stuff, it all sort of contributes to a larger whole. No single thing is monumentally interesting enough to report on and telling about it all would probably be incredibly boring.
I will be looking at periodic updates, interesting anecdotes and happenings and that kind of thing but I think to truly see the synthesis of my experience here, you'd either have to talk to me, see some of my work (when it comes about) or just wait and watch! It's not really something that can be explained.
So yeah... following up on the last post, a couple more ideas have popped up. At this time, I'm considering just doing the technical "teacher training" courses like instruction, assessment, evaluation etc. without going in for the degree. I would link these as electives for my current course and come and do a B.Ed back home... that should work.
Another thing I considered/am considering is switching to a doctoral track. The main reason for this is that doctoral students are studying the same courses as I am, and get a fancier degree. They also get preference for assistantships and thus get waivers etc... so it'd sorta be a free ride. Yet, if I don't get that (right away, at least) - then it's an added expense that's not really required. My (chosen and proposed) line of work doesn't really require a doctorate but it would feel nice to have it and one of my teachers believes that it might be beneficial for certain other plans of the future as well... yet for those plans... keep watching this space.
At the same time, I'm a little too lazy to give it my all and spend four more years here. It's interesting but a thought I had yesterday was "illuminating" - I'm not uncomfortable here. I'm not a sort of person who would be against settling abroad. Nor am I the sort who says I must come back. Yet... with things working out the way they have in these last two years, I currently want to come back and as a result... staying here for too long gives me a sensation of being "not at home." Even with me getting more comfortable about the thought of going to work in corporate settings (talking with my teachers and the application based nature of assignments is making it less stressful - I need to realise that no one will expect perfection right away - if there is such a thing anyway - when I start a job... I will be able to learn on the job as well and there, I shall have someone senior to guide me as well... I just need to breathe!) at this time I find myself looking at corporate settings at home. This also has two reasons:
1) I really want to teach back home and for that, I need to be home... and this could be something I could do part time/after hours.
2) There isn't a lot of professional, technical implementation back home, of the kinds of processes I'm learning about here. People do this sort of thing - no doubt - but they wing it and it would be good to perhaps teach them to be systematic or call myself a Pundit and do it myself... India, not the world, could be my oyster.
Segueing from the applications of the ISD process in coporates, I go to schools and if I wanted to do doctoral work, I could just do it in India for two more reasons.
1) Indian Ph.Ds don't seem as hard core and course based as they do it here - so I could do it at a little more leisure.
2) I would have a framework to base my research upon because what I'd like to do is see how Best Practices of instruction transfer from the western world and prior research to India and the collectivist culture.
It will be a challenge - but a delicious one.
I just need to start talking to people.
And talking to people is sort of a skill or an art I'm learning here. Slowly but surely my shell and reserve that keeps me from piping up, asking questions and just approaching unknown people is falling away. Make no mistake... it will be a while before I'm "debonair" about it and it might well take the rest of my course for me to get there but get there, I shall!
So today, I went to meet two of my teachers - well, one teacher and one advisor (he hasn't taught me yet).
To my advisor, I showed my proposed plan of study. I'm aiming for a major in Performance Improvement and Human Resource Development. Employers in India will feel it's delicious!
However, there were some issues some of the electives I wanted to take but the Boss put my mind to rest about that - for now. Suffice to say I'm a little annoyed that there is one course I might not be able to take due to lack of knowledge and subsequent "poor" planning. However, as of now, all things are a go!
What also came out of this meeting was a potential internship.
We need to have an internship component for our degree and the Boss said that we could do it practically anywhere. How it started out was with me discussing course choices with him and whether I should take one on Computer Courseware or Distance Learning. Distance Learning is not really an area of interest but with virtual organizations and the like, it might be a good skill to have in the kit... and he said, well, we're developing an undergrad course and it has videos and stuff and web pages that need developing - so that would be e-learning.
I like it...I get to work with him, it's curriculum development, it's e-learning AND chance of some money. win win win win. Plus win - looks good on resumés.
The genesis to this was really him thinking that perhaps I should do e-learning, rather than computer courseware because I could teach myself the latter. Well, I can teach myself stuff but unless it's required or a deep interest, I don't. It's not a matter of deep interest here but the pressure and requirement of an internship will help me get it done!
So yay!
I talked to my other professor - let's just call him Happy/Crazy/Funny/Silly Panda Bear.
He takes two of my three classes and I went and discussed the possibilities of using my project from the MPM days as a basis for my final projects in his class and that was a productive discussion that led to ideas that, while hypothetical in origin, might actually have real world, real time application. Let's see... that's for when I go back but keep watching for updates on the project and then the final idea. Panda Bear has been talking about the usefulness of a Ph.D in some of my future ventures and that's what led me to the transfer of knowledge/research to India idea and he said that it'd work!
Ph.D is a fair amount of work and Ph.Ds here who teach, need to do a LOT of publishing to keep current and build a reputation. I'm curious. I'm not sure, however, that I'm that interested in publishing. But, if I do transfer the current research from here to India (because I'm curious about the effects) then I should get readily publishable material, I could do a Ph.D on it and since no one is really doing anything of that sort in India, be THE MAN to go to when something like it required. Woo! Power trip! (Don't ask what "that sort of thing" is unless you have an afternoon free and can meet me in person)
After meeting both teachers, I went and met a third one - just went and talked to him about helping with the MAT program and he didn't really have anything in mind with which I could help but he then thought someone else might... so something interesting might work out of that. They haven't started writing... they're still collecting info. So, an insider's view on something I might take. If nothing else, I get more experience from helping, watching and learning on the job!
And again: it looks good on resumés!
All this from just going and talking to someone, asking questions and being prepared to take no for an answer. That's also a skill/requirement sometimes...
And I will continue... it's been interesting. Before I came here, a "boss" in an interesting company said I should go and talk to her if (in her words, I say "when") I came back from the US.
Recently, another "boss" (these are connections through extended family) emailed me and something might happen there... especially on the consultant level, which is great because I want to work in a school for a while!
So yeah... things are working out well. They are not really as confused and rambly as this post was. Believe me... it makes more sense in my head but you just can't jump in to it.
Oh well... excitement (of sorts) and work lies ahead. I should talk to my uncle and my Godfather about a few things as well. *makes note*
That's all for this time... you'll be sure to hear when another surge of excitement passes through!
It will.. eventually. The thing about that is, while I'm doing many different things and learning much different stuff, it all sort of contributes to a larger whole. No single thing is monumentally interesting enough to report on and telling about it all would probably be incredibly boring.
I will be looking at periodic updates, interesting anecdotes and happenings and that kind of thing but I think to truly see the synthesis of my experience here, you'd either have to talk to me, see some of my work (when it comes about) or just wait and watch! It's not really something that can be explained.
So yeah... following up on the last post, a couple more ideas have popped up. At this time, I'm considering just doing the technical "teacher training" courses like instruction, assessment, evaluation etc. without going in for the degree. I would link these as electives for my current course and come and do a B.Ed back home... that should work.
Another thing I considered/am considering is switching to a doctoral track. The main reason for this is that doctoral students are studying the same courses as I am, and get a fancier degree. They also get preference for assistantships and thus get waivers etc... so it'd sorta be a free ride. Yet, if I don't get that (right away, at least) - then it's an added expense that's not really required. My (chosen and proposed) line of work doesn't really require a doctorate but it would feel nice to have it and one of my teachers believes that it might be beneficial for certain other plans of the future as well... yet for those plans... keep watching this space.
At the same time, I'm a little too lazy to give it my all and spend four more years here. It's interesting but a thought I had yesterday was "illuminating" - I'm not uncomfortable here. I'm not a sort of person who would be against settling abroad. Nor am I the sort who says I must come back. Yet... with things working out the way they have in these last two years, I currently want to come back and as a result... staying here for too long gives me a sensation of being "not at home." Even with me getting more comfortable about the thought of going to work in corporate settings (talking with my teachers and the application based nature of assignments is making it less stressful - I need to realise that no one will expect perfection right away - if there is such a thing anyway - when I start a job... I will be able to learn on the job as well and there, I shall have someone senior to guide me as well... I just need to breathe!) at this time I find myself looking at corporate settings at home. This also has two reasons:
1) I really want to teach back home and for that, I need to be home... and this could be something I could do part time/after hours.
2) There isn't a lot of professional, technical implementation back home, of the kinds of processes I'm learning about here. People do this sort of thing - no doubt - but they wing it and it would be good to perhaps teach them to be systematic or call myself a Pundit and do it myself... India, not the world, could be my oyster.
Segueing from the applications of the ISD process in coporates, I go to schools and if I wanted to do doctoral work, I could just do it in India for two more reasons.
1) Indian Ph.Ds don't seem as hard core and course based as they do it here - so I could do it at a little more leisure.
2) I would have a framework to base my research upon because what I'd like to do is see how Best Practices of instruction transfer from the western world and prior research to India and the collectivist culture.
It will be a challenge - but a delicious one.
I just need to start talking to people.
And talking to people is sort of a skill or an art I'm learning here. Slowly but surely my shell and reserve that keeps me from piping up, asking questions and just approaching unknown people is falling away. Make no mistake... it will be a while before I'm "debonair" about it and it might well take the rest of my course for me to get there but get there, I shall!
So today, I went to meet two of my teachers - well, one teacher and one advisor (he hasn't taught me yet).
To my advisor, I showed my proposed plan of study. I'm aiming for a major in Performance Improvement and Human Resource Development. Employers in India will feel it's delicious!
However, there were some issues some of the electives I wanted to take but the Boss put my mind to rest about that - for now. Suffice to say I'm a little annoyed that there is one course I might not be able to take due to lack of knowledge and subsequent "poor" planning. However, as of now, all things are a go!
What also came out of this meeting was a potential internship.
We need to have an internship component for our degree and the Boss said that we could do it practically anywhere. How it started out was with me discussing course choices with him and whether I should take one on Computer Courseware or Distance Learning. Distance Learning is not really an area of interest but with virtual organizations and the like, it might be a good skill to have in the kit... and he said, well, we're developing an undergrad course and it has videos and stuff and web pages that need developing - so that would be e-learning.
I like it...I get to work with him, it's curriculum development, it's e-learning AND chance of some money. win win win win. Plus win - looks good on resumés.
The genesis to this was really him thinking that perhaps I should do e-learning, rather than computer courseware because I could teach myself the latter. Well, I can teach myself stuff but unless it's required or a deep interest, I don't. It's not a matter of deep interest here but the pressure and requirement of an internship will help me get it done!
So yay!
I talked to my other professor - let's just call him Happy/Crazy/Funny/Silly Panda Bear.
He takes two of my three classes and I went and discussed the possibilities of using my project from the MPM days as a basis for my final projects in his class and that was a productive discussion that led to ideas that, while hypothetical in origin, might actually have real world, real time application. Let's see... that's for when I go back but keep watching for updates on the project and then the final idea. Panda Bear has been talking about the usefulness of a Ph.D in some of my future ventures and that's what led me to the transfer of knowledge/research to India idea and he said that it'd work!
Ph.D is a fair amount of work and Ph.Ds here who teach, need to do a LOT of publishing to keep current and build a reputation. I'm curious. I'm not sure, however, that I'm that interested in publishing. But, if I do transfer the current research from here to India (because I'm curious about the effects) then I should get readily publishable material, I could do a Ph.D on it and since no one is really doing anything of that sort in India, be THE MAN to go to when something like it required. Woo! Power trip! (Don't ask what "that sort of thing" is unless you have an afternoon free and can meet me in person)
After meeting both teachers, I went and met a third one - just went and talked to him about helping with the MAT program and he didn't really have anything in mind with which I could help but he then thought someone else might... so something interesting might work out of that. They haven't started writing... they're still collecting info. So, an insider's view on something I might take. If nothing else, I get more experience from helping, watching and learning on the job!
And again: it looks good on resumés!
All this from just going and talking to someone, asking questions and being prepared to take no for an answer. That's also a skill/requirement sometimes...
And I will continue... it's been interesting. Before I came here, a "boss" in an interesting company said I should go and talk to her if (in her words, I say "when") I came back from the US.
Recently, another "boss" (these are connections through extended family) emailed me and something might happen there... especially on the consultant level, which is great because I want to work in a school for a while!
So yeah... things are working out well. They are not really as confused and rambly as this post was. Believe me... it makes more sense in my head but you just can't jump in to it.
Oh well... excitement (of sorts) and work lies ahead. I should talk to my uncle and my Godfather about a few things as well. *makes note*
That's all for this time... you'll be sure to hear when another surge of excitement passes through!
Anecdotes...
on Tuesday, September 09, 2008Random anecdotes...
I went to graduate school in shorts today!
Does on do that in college? They do it in Florida...
I was expected to wear formal clothes in my last course.. what do I do with all those shirts now?
Wait for a job I suppose...
I swear I learn more things from my classmates than the text or the teacher...
The teacher asked what your parents would say, when you said you were bored...
One of the ladies said her mother used to tell her that, "Only boring people are bored!"
Point to ponder:
"Someone is boring me. I think it's me." -- Dylan Thomas
Didn't John Berryman say that boredom was a lack of inner resources? These guys must have been friends.
The goal in instruction is engagement, not entertainment! How many of a comedian's jokes do you remember after their routine is over?
This is an interesting link!
I hope they've been washed...
A roundup of the last couple of days...
on Wednesday, August 27, 2008So the post didn't come on time. Oh well... no excuses, no apologies. Things happen.
Deal with it!
Does it even matter?
Oh the melodrama... but there was a good reason for this late post.
For (probably) the first time in my life, I was being productive at the PC yesterday... answering correspondence, activating my debit card, checking my mail (the regular kind...) etc etc. Makes me feel all grown up!
Yesterday was fine. Got up, biked to college... cooled down...
New class: EDP 5217 - Learner Motivation - Same teacher.
I'm getting more acquainted with the fellow classmates and it should be good fun!
It was a sunny morning, but just as wrapped up, a lady in class happened to say that she wasn't going anywhere... it was suddenly raining!
I mooched about for a bit and then started home as soon as it abated.
Of course... I got caught in another downpour on the way home.
It was funny and infuriating. Brilliant blue sky to the left, dull gray to the right... small raindrops... I'm praying for five minute relief before it comes down... The Powers That Be say: "Hell no!" and it starts pelting. I sought shelter under a tree which was conveniently around and hoped that perhaps it'd be over in five minutes. Eventually, the benevolent tree was no longer effective, I gave it up as a bad job and started biking onward...
Of course... the moment I turn in at the community entrance... it lets up... as I get to my apartment, it's all blue... as I dismount, the thunder rumbles in a wicked chuckle... at having got me.
THE UNIVERSE IS OUT TO GET ME!!!1 OMG!!1 OHNOES!eleven
Riiight... back to Earth...
Came home to read that there was a tornado warning in effect.
One symptom of tornadoes is that there is a silence after a rain storm... and of course... there was silence all round after the rain. No breeze, no one out and about, no rain, no clouds moving... and then... a leaf moved!! But the tree didn't blow away... so no Oz trips for me yet... :'(
I got what are effectively, disaster preparation and management tips for storm season here... they are almost apocalyptic in their descriptions but thunder storms are really the worst that I'm supposed to expect here... Though it's good to know all those safety tips...
The evening was spent being productive... and then an attempt to go to bed early since class was at 9 this morning... For some reason I'm having trouble falling asleep... just thinking too much...
You'd think the biking would tire me... hmm... At least it's not as bad as just before my visa interview... where I'd be up till 5am and get up after 1pm....
Oh well... got up today, a little sleep deprived... once I set out... wondered if the bike was a good idea... everything was misty at 8am! But I stuck to it and my perseverance won! No rain and none coming back either.
Today's class: EDP 5217 - Theories of Learning and Cognition for Instruction.
The instructor is called Dr. Valerie Shute and she seems nice as well. Enthusiastic and open and she had a task for us... to draw (that's right) four things on a piece of paper and find someone we didn't know. We had to talk to them about each other's papers and then introduce our partner.
The four things we had to draw were:
1. My Greatest Accomplishment (I drew a kid giving me a Teachers' Day card)
2. My Greatest Possession (I drew myself giving a friend a Friendship Day card)
3. What I want to be when I grow up (I drew a Best Teacher Award) [Is there a pattern here, do you think?]
4. What I would do if I had only a year to live (I drew a passport, an airplane and an island with a palm tree)
If you haven't figured the descriptions and their meanings out... please seek help!
It was pretty amazing to hear about and hear from the classmates... I am going to enjoy this.
Everyone is here because they want to be and not because they have to. They are OK with saying "I don't know" and are willing to help where they can. It's fantastic!
So yeah... that common theme up there... It's pretty obvious where it's pointing me but with my being pragmatic, I know I will have to defer my "vocation" for a while whilst I get other things done.
I have a meeting with my adviser day after tomorrow and I shall pick his brain about certain ideas I have and see where that leads me...
Tomorrow - explore the bus lines, go grocery shopping and get chinese food!
Whee!
Random reflections, musings and amusing tidbits:
Yesterday I saw two girls collapse in a fit of giggles on a sidewalk. Randomly. Just like that. Was both, scary and amusing.
Today, there was a guy standing near the library with a board declaring Free Hugs. [And the answer is: No - I was on a bike]
Americans seem very patient with cyclists and give a wide berth to you if you're on one...
Not sure whether it's concern for you or worry about you being silly. Perhaps concern that you'd get hit and sue them, perhaps?
The friendly vibe continues... got waved at by a random cyclist in the community today... always a nice feeling. Such similar interests might be the key to making friends here... cycles, food, study, Ultimate!
I actually played Ultimate for half an hour on the 21st! Some kids were playing on the lawn in front of the library and after watching me watch them for a while, a couple came up and asked me to jump in. It was nice. Still getting settled here but I think in a couple of weeks I will start going to pickup games... once I figure the buses out... those games are late in the evening.
American Universities are giant energy guzzling behemoths, but after spending one class on monday with it being 30 degrees in the room, (closed windows, no ventilation), I've decided that a/c is good. Sorry polar ice-caps! :-(
There are people in my course who are getting paid to study and their accommodation and course all paid for... by respective armies... it almost, *almost* makes me want to sign up but... I'm a wuss and my formal education is *almost almost* done...
Oh well... but those guys are amazing...
I have now gotten obsessed with the Blackboard discussion group for EME 5601 - there's a thread there that lets us get acquainted with each other... these guys' observations about each other and their own stories are brilliant. I know I'm gushing but believe me... I'm not overdoing it...
More... as and when they come...
Deal with it!
Does it even matter?
Oh the melodrama... but there was a good reason for this late post.
For (probably) the first time in my life, I was being productive at the PC yesterday... answering correspondence, activating my debit card, checking my mail (the regular kind...) etc etc. Makes me feel all grown up!
Yesterday was fine. Got up, biked to college... cooled down...
New class: EDP 5217 - Learner Motivation - Same teacher.
I'm getting more acquainted with the fellow classmates and it should be good fun!
It was a sunny morning, but just as wrapped up, a lady in class happened to say that she wasn't going anywhere... it was suddenly raining!
I mooched about for a bit and then started home as soon as it abated.
Of course... I got caught in another downpour on the way home.
It was funny and infuriating. Brilliant blue sky to the left, dull gray to the right... small raindrops... I'm praying for five minute relief before it comes down... The Powers That Be say: "Hell no!" and it starts pelting. I sought shelter under a tree which was conveniently around and hoped that perhaps it'd be over in five minutes. Eventually, the benevolent tree was no longer effective, I gave it up as a bad job and started biking onward...
Of course... the moment I turn in at the community entrance... it lets up... as I get to my apartment, it's all blue... as I dismount, the thunder rumbles in a wicked chuckle... at having got me.
THE UNIVERSE IS OUT TO GET ME!!!1 OMG!!1 OHNOES!eleven
Riiight... back to Earth...
Came home to read that there was a tornado warning in effect.
One symptom of tornadoes is that there is a silence after a rain storm... and of course... there was silence all round after the rain. No breeze, no one out and about, no rain, no clouds moving... and then... a leaf moved!! But the tree didn't blow away... so no Oz trips for me yet... :'(
I got what are effectively, disaster preparation and management tips for storm season here... they are almost apocalyptic in their descriptions but thunder storms are really the worst that I'm supposed to expect here... Though it's good to know all those safety tips...
The evening was spent being productive... and then an attempt to go to bed early since class was at 9 this morning... For some reason I'm having trouble falling asleep... just thinking too much...
You'd think the biking would tire me... hmm... At least it's not as bad as just before my visa interview... where I'd be up till 5am and get up after 1pm....
Oh well... got up today, a little sleep deprived... once I set out... wondered if the bike was a good idea... everything was misty at 8am! But I stuck to it and my perseverance won! No rain and none coming back either.
Today's class: EDP 5217 - Theories of Learning and Cognition for Instruction.
The instructor is called Dr. Valerie Shute and she seems nice as well. Enthusiastic and open and she had a task for us... to draw (that's right) four things on a piece of paper and find someone we didn't know. We had to talk to them about each other's papers and then introduce our partner.
The four things we had to draw were:
1. My Greatest Accomplishment (I drew a kid giving me a Teachers' Day card)
2. My Greatest Possession (I drew myself giving a friend a Friendship Day card)
3. What I want to be when I grow up (I drew a Best Teacher Award) [Is there a pattern here, do you think?]
4. What I would do if I had only a year to live (I drew a passport, an airplane and an island with a palm tree)
If you haven't figured the descriptions and their meanings out... please seek help!
It was pretty amazing to hear about and hear from the classmates... I am going to enjoy this.
Everyone is here because they want to be and not because they have to. They are OK with saying "I don't know" and are willing to help where they can. It's fantastic!
So yeah... that common theme up there... It's pretty obvious where it's pointing me but with my being pragmatic, I know I will have to defer my "vocation" for a while whilst I get other things done.
I have a meeting with my adviser day after tomorrow and I shall pick his brain about certain ideas I have and see where that leads me...
Tomorrow - explore the bus lines, go grocery shopping and get chinese food!
Whee!
Random reflections, musings and amusing tidbits:
Yesterday I saw two girls collapse in a fit of giggles on a sidewalk. Randomly. Just like that. Was both, scary and amusing.
Today, there was a guy standing near the library with a board declaring Free Hugs. [And the answer is: No - I was on a bike]
Americans seem very patient with cyclists and give a wide berth to you if you're on one...
Not sure whether it's concern for you or worry about you being silly. Perhaps concern that you'd get hit and sue them, perhaps?
The friendly vibe continues... got waved at by a random cyclist in the community today... always a nice feeling. Such similar interests might be the key to making friends here... cycles, food, study, Ultimate!
I actually played Ultimate for half an hour on the 21st! Some kids were playing on the lawn in front of the library and after watching me watch them for a while, a couple came up and asked me to jump in. It was nice. Still getting settled here but I think in a couple of weeks I will start going to pickup games... once I figure the buses out... those games are late in the evening.
American Universities are giant energy guzzling behemoths, but after spending one class on monday with it being 30 degrees in the room, (closed windows, no ventilation), I've decided that a/c is good. Sorry polar ice-caps! :-(
There are people in my course who are getting paid to study and their accommodation and course all paid for... by respective armies... it almost, *almost* makes me want to sign up but... I'm a wuss and my formal education is *almost almost* done...
Oh well... but those guys are amazing...
I have now gotten obsessed with the Blackboard discussion group for EME 5601 - there's a thread there that lets us get acquainted with each other... these guys' observations about each other and their own stories are brilliant. I know I'm gushing but believe me... I'm not overdoing it...
More... as and when they come...
First day at grad school!
on Monday, August 25, 2008hah!
Well... first day in an American grad school.
I was happy to get out of the house today. Other than the fact that I would have had to do so, anyway... it being first day of classes and all... I've been stuck in the house [and yes, I know that a post on the house is due... tomorrow... I promise.] for three days, thanks to tropical storm Fay, that became tropical depression Fay.
From Friday afternoon till Saturday afternoon, the rain didn't stop. I'm not kidding.
I never thought a day would dawn where I'd pray for the rain to stop but it did...
It's not a huge volume when it comes but it's a pretty decent volume that just keeps on going... as if it were on Duracell batteries...
Dad managed to take back the umbrella we'd brought along, with him and thus, I was stuck - no umbrella, no car, no raincoat... nothing to do...
Yet, with the internet on... I survived.
I was praying that things would let up today (they were supposed to, according to the weather people) and they did.
After a restless night, I got up, had breakfast, got ready, mooched about on the web for a bit, had a sandwich for lunch and off I was!
My vehicle... My new bicycle. I haven't biked at all in the last 5 years and this was tiring... I'm not pooped - which is a good thing... shows I'm not in terrible shape...yet I have a feeling I won't have too much trouble getting to sleep tonight. In fact, this post almost didn't happen... I was ready to fall asleep at the desk... yet, being the good boy I am, I decided to do the dishes... which has given me a spurt of energy that brings you this post. Yay for the dishes!
It took me twenty minutes to get to school. Parked the bike near the Education building [Yes I know... pictures of my college are also due but I don't quite promise as to when those will come up] and I just sat around for about ten minutes, getting my breath and strength back.
Note to self: From tomorrow, carry a water bottle and a towel.
The class was fun. Today's class: EME 5601 - Introduction to Instructional Systems. The teacher is called Dr. John Keller and he seems like quite a nice guy.
He gave a brief introduction to class procedures... though not quite to the subject and we had a small learning/diagnostic exercise in class.
A Ph.D student gave us her research survey - representing mental models as graphs. It involved representing our understanding of a problem set to us, through the use of circles (nodules/vertices) and links (edges, showing correlation).
The teacher decided to gauge our knowledge about Instructional Systems by asking us to relate, according to us, what an Instructional Designer would need to do, to create a study unit for 5th graders...
It was fun... I wonder if he will give feedback.
After class, I went and spent some money. I needed change for a fifty!
Got a keychain for all the keys I'm collecting and a teddy bear in an FSU jersey! I still need something to cuddle!
Our FSU ID card is a jack of many trades.
It is my ID card, library card, can act as a debit card and also has a chip on it, on which I load money. I need that to use the laundry at this apartment community.... hence the need to change a fifty. Those cash to chip machines don't take fifties and I wasn't interested in putting so much money on the card either.
I cycled back - another twenty minutes - at approximately 6 km total, each day and three days a week (at least) of cycling... I should get into pretty neat shape by the time I'm done here. Woo!
As I mooched around, getting my breath and strength back (again), I hailed a neighbour.
I'd already been leaning towards procrastinating the laundry again but I saw him coming back with an empty laundry bag and decided to go grill him about the way the laundry works.
We ended up talking for about half an hour and I made a new friend!
Well, Andrew and I didn't talk about laundry but he's at FSU for a graduate program in Religion and he happens to be focussing on Hinduism. So that led to different topics... he also a teacher... and I have a neighbour/friend to bother here! Yay!
He's also offered to let me tag along on grocery trips.. which is also great!
So yeah.. graduate life... by oneself... at this point, not very different from what I've been doing these last two years... except for the lack of friends/acquaintances at this point... but with one down, another hello at the laundry and getting a little more comfortable with my classmates... things are looking up!
On a concluding note... I have a point to ponder.
Whilst it's only natural that people are drawn to people similar to them, I wonder whether complete insularity in a community such as this, where tons of graduate students come from all over the world, is completely healthy. The Indians, the Koreans, the Chinese and the others seem to form some sort of nationalistic herds and don't seem to delve outside of them too much.
Call me elitist, call me weird, call me an explorer... but I think it's always more interesting to get to know new people and new points of view... where is the adventure? where is the experience in sticking to what/who we know...
(Disclaimer for the above: I am, by no means, claiming to be the most outgoing, enthusiastic, extroverted person around. I'm actually pretty shy as far as making first contact goes but I'm working on it.. and if you're going to come so far from home to do something, shouldn't you grad all opportunities you get? That's what I'm getting at...)
Well... first day in an American grad school.
I was happy to get out of the house today. Other than the fact that I would have had to do so, anyway... it being first day of classes and all... I've been stuck in the house [and yes, I know that a post on the house is due... tomorrow... I promise.] for three days, thanks to tropical storm Fay, that became tropical depression Fay.
From Friday afternoon till Saturday afternoon, the rain didn't stop. I'm not kidding.
I never thought a day would dawn where I'd pray for the rain to stop but it did...
It's not a huge volume when it comes but it's a pretty decent volume that just keeps on going... as if it were on Duracell batteries...
Dad managed to take back the umbrella we'd brought along, with him and thus, I was stuck - no umbrella, no car, no raincoat... nothing to do...
Yet, with the internet on... I survived.
I was praying that things would let up today (they were supposed to, according to the weather people) and they did.
After a restless night, I got up, had breakfast, got ready, mooched about on the web for a bit, had a sandwich for lunch and off I was!
My vehicle... My new bicycle. I haven't biked at all in the last 5 years and this was tiring... I'm not pooped - which is a good thing... shows I'm not in terrible shape...yet I have a feeling I won't have too much trouble getting to sleep tonight. In fact, this post almost didn't happen... I was ready to fall asleep at the desk... yet, being the good boy I am, I decided to do the dishes... which has given me a spurt of energy that brings you this post. Yay for the dishes!
It took me twenty minutes to get to school. Parked the bike near the Education building [Yes I know... pictures of my college are also due but I don't quite promise as to when those will come up] and I just sat around for about ten minutes, getting my breath and strength back.
Note to self: From tomorrow, carry a water bottle and a towel.
The class was fun. Today's class: EME 5601 - Introduction to Instructional Systems. The teacher is called Dr. John Keller and he seems like quite a nice guy.
He gave a brief introduction to class procedures... though not quite to the subject and we had a small learning/diagnostic exercise in class.
A Ph.D student gave us her research survey - representing mental models as graphs. It involved representing our understanding of a problem set to us, through the use of circles (nodules/vertices) and links (edges, showing correlation).
The teacher decided to gauge our knowledge about Instructional Systems by asking us to relate, according to us, what an Instructional Designer would need to do, to create a study unit for 5th graders...
It was fun... I wonder if he will give feedback.
After class, I went and spent some money. I needed change for a fifty!
Got a keychain for all the keys I'm collecting and a teddy bear in an FSU jersey! I still need something to cuddle!
Our FSU ID card is a jack of many trades.
It is my ID card, library card, can act as a debit card and also has a chip on it, on which I load money. I need that to use the laundry at this apartment community.... hence the need to change a fifty. Those cash to chip machines don't take fifties and I wasn't interested in putting so much money on the card either.
I cycled back - another twenty minutes - at approximately 6 km total, each day and three days a week (at least) of cycling... I should get into pretty neat shape by the time I'm done here. Woo!
As I mooched around, getting my breath and strength back (again), I hailed a neighbour.
I'd already been leaning towards procrastinating the laundry again but I saw him coming back with an empty laundry bag and decided to go grill him about the way the laundry works.
We ended up talking for about half an hour and I made a new friend!
Well, Andrew and I didn't talk about laundry but he's at FSU for a graduate program in Religion and he happens to be focussing on Hinduism. So that led to different topics... he also a teacher... and I have a neighbour/friend to bother here! Yay!
He's also offered to let me tag along on grocery trips.. which is also great!
So yeah.. graduate life... by oneself... at this point, not very different from what I've been doing these last two years... except for the lack of friends/acquaintances at this point... but with one down, another hello at the laundry and getting a little more comfortable with my classmates... things are looking up!
On a concluding note... I have a point to ponder.
Whilst it's only natural that people are drawn to people similar to them, I wonder whether complete insularity in a community such as this, where tons of graduate students come from all over the world, is completely healthy. The Indians, the Koreans, the Chinese and the others seem to form some sort of nationalistic herds and don't seem to delve outside of them too much.
Call me elitist, call me weird, call me an explorer... but I think it's always more interesting to get to know new people and new points of view... where is the adventure? where is the experience in sticking to what/who we know...
(Disclaimer for the above: I am, by no means, claiming to be the most outgoing, enthusiastic, extroverted person around. I'm actually pretty shy as far as making first contact goes but I'm working on it.. and if you're going to come so far from home to do something, shouldn't you grad all opportunities you get? That's what I'm getting at...)
Impressions...
on Tuesday, August 19, 2008We flew in to Tallahassee from Charlotte, North Carolina, to bright sunshine at about 7pm...
The moment we got off the plane on to the jetty... it was like being back in Mumbai.
I've never been to this part of the world at this time of the year...
Usually we visit in April or May and there is usually a slight nip in the air... somewhere...
If it was slightly disappointing to miss the blast of cool air as we stepped out of the airport in New York, it was positively shocking to be assailed by heat and humidity in TLH...
To be entirely honest, I'd been warmed about humidity in TLH but I was feeling cocky about it. Having lived in Mumbai... there's nought much that can scare me as far as heat and humidity go.
Yet... with this sort of preconceived notion, it was a smack across the face when we arrived here.
The heat isn't unbearable. Honestly, it's not even as bad as Mumbai.
If you stick to one place, then you're going to be hot and bothered but if you move, do something or there's the slightest breeze, it's all quite comfortable.
One thing that will take getting used to, is this amazingly bright sunshine that they seem to have here. In talking with dad and discussing how the latitudinal position of Florida shouldn't really affect the brightness of the sunshine as much (straight v. slanting sun rays), he happened to mention that there is less pollution here... less fog and haze... hence the brightness. Good point.
Tallahassee is small.
Quite small... though it is somewhat strange.
We're staying at a hotel which is within 5 and 15 min (walking distance) from practically every pat of the campus I will need.
There are tons of food joints nearby. Downtown is a bit of a hike, yet the utilities office is around the corner.
All said and done... the malls and grocery stores are sort of out in the boondocks!
The apartment where I will be staying is roughly 2 miles from campus.
We are looking at getting a bike for me. I could even walk (or bus) but the bike seems to offer most flexibility and least tedium.
Yet... if I want to go grocery shopping, I foresee requiring two buses, a friend willing to drive me around or... stealing a car...
This will be interesting...
This place was called rubbish by some cousins of a friend. These cousins live in Orlando, big party place about 5 hours away by road, and I don't doubt they'd think this town is a bit of a one horse place... for the first two days that we got here... there was not a soul to be found anywhere around. With people on vacation, not even the lone tumbleweeds meander through here... unlike old westerns...
Yet...
There are trees and trees everywhere.
From all my previous trips to the US (and even as we mused on it whilst in the plane)... I've learned that this country is pretty plain and flat. The Rockies are about the only exciting part and those, too, are limited to a few states.
Having been around a fair bit in the region of the US known as the Midwest... well... that is nothing but corn,wheat and cows.
TLH... has no mountains... yet tons and tons of trees. And it's absolutely splendid. There's actually a national forest somewhere nearby and that's what we flew over as we landed at the airport (8 flights, total, in a day I believe...) and it was pretty neat... for some reason...
One hears about the famed southern hospitality in the US.
Yet... one also experiences/wonders about a certain amount of xenophobia when visiting a foreign country but after nearly a week here, I think I can conclude that the people here are genuinely friendly...
Lots of smile, Hi-how-are-you?s, people easily willing to help or just a nod whilst walking on the street. It is... refreshing? heart warming? endearing? contagious??
On sunday, dad and I went about for a stroll in downtown TLH and returned empty handed... not a ghoul whispered on the wind and I was wondering what the deal was... yet... as move in day nears (the 20th - tomorrow) and residence halls prepare to open... we saw a number of families at the Wal-Mart yesterday... doing precisely what we were... shopping for a new year... for a new experience...
I've already had a sampling of the new experience.
I registered for my classes yesterday and there is an online tool called Blackboard, which is a mix of communication, teaching, learning and repository of information for courses here...
One of my teachers has already opened up some material for viewing and the experience promises to be new, interesting, stimulating, challenging.
For now... I am excited!
The moment we got off the plane on to the jetty... it was like being back in Mumbai.
I've never been to this part of the world at this time of the year...
Usually we visit in April or May and there is usually a slight nip in the air... somewhere...
If it was slightly disappointing to miss the blast of cool air as we stepped out of the airport in New York, it was positively shocking to be assailed by heat and humidity in TLH...
To be entirely honest, I'd been warmed about humidity in TLH but I was feeling cocky about it. Having lived in Mumbai... there's nought much that can scare me as far as heat and humidity go.
Yet... with this sort of preconceived notion, it was a smack across the face when we arrived here.
The heat isn't unbearable. Honestly, it's not even as bad as Mumbai.
If you stick to one place, then you're going to be hot and bothered but if you move, do something or there's the slightest breeze, it's all quite comfortable.
One thing that will take getting used to, is this amazingly bright sunshine that they seem to have here. In talking with dad and discussing how the latitudinal position of Florida shouldn't really affect the brightness of the sunshine as much (straight v. slanting sun rays), he happened to mention that there is less pollution here... less fog and haze... hence the brightness. Good point.
Tallahassee is small.
Quite small... though it is somewhat strange.
We're staying at a hotel which is within 5 and 15 min (walking distance) from practically every pat of the campus I will need.
There are tons of food joints nearby. Downtown is a bit of a hike, yet the utilities office is around the corner.
All said and done... the malls and grocery stores are sort of out in the boondocks!
The apartment where I will be staying is roughly 2 miles from campus.
We are looking at getting a bike for me. I could even walk (or bus) but the bike seems to offer most flexibility and least tedium.
Yet... if I want to go grocery shopping, I foresee requiring two buses, a friend willing to drive me around or... stealing a car...
This will be interesting...
This place was called rubbish by some cousins of a friend. These cousins live in Orlando, big party place about 5 hours away by road, and I don't doubt they'd think this town is a bit of a one horse place... for the first two days that we got here... there was not a soul to be found anywhere around. With people on vacation, not even the lone tumbleweeds meander through here... unlike old westerns...
Yet...
There are trees and trees everywhere.
From all my previous trips to the US (and even as we mused on it whilst in the plane)... I've learned that this country is pretty plain and flat. The Rockies are about the only exciting part and those, too, are limited to a few states.
Having been around a fair bit in the region of the US known as the Midwest... well... that is nothing but corn,wheat and cows.
TLH... has no mountains... yet tons and tons of trees. And it's absolutely splendid. There's actually a national forest somewhere nearby and that's what we flew over as we landed at the airport (8 flights, total, in a day I believe...) and it was pretty neat... for some reason...
One hears about the famed southern hospitality in the US.
Yet... one also experiences/wonders about a certain amount of xenophobia when visiting a foreign country but after nearly a week here, I think I can conclude that the people here are genuinely friendly...
Lots of smile, Hi-how-are-you?s, people easily willing to help or just a nod whilst walking on the street. It is... refreshing? heart warming? endearing? contagious??
On sunday, dad and I went about for a stroll in downtown TLH and returned empty handed... not a ghoul whispered on the wind and I was wondering what the deal was... yet... as move in day nears (the 20th - tomorrow) and residence halls prepare to open... we saw a number of families at the Wal-Mart yesterday... doing precisely what we were... shopping for a new year... for a new experience...
I've already had a sampling of the new experience.
I registered for my classes yesterday and there is an online tool called Blackboard, which is a mix of communication, teaching, learning and repository of information for courses here...
One of my teachers has already opened up some material for viewing and the experience promises to be new, interesting, stimulating, challenging.
For now... I am excited!
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