pancake bits
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Hack Jersey: "Perceptions and Perspectives on Hacking" I wrote a thing.
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:)
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Minnesota is like totally the stupidest state. Right? Duh. This is a dumb law with good intentions, whose efforts should really go towards educating folks on how to pick the best and most cost-effective college options.
Online education is a very controversial topic in higher ed, and that’s all I can really say without pissing off my colleagues.
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“For whatever misguided reason, mathematics students have been deprived of the heart and soul of the course and been left with a torturous outer shell. The prime example is the gutting of geometry courses, where proofs have been removed or deemphasized. Apparently some teachers think that this is “doing the students a favor.” Or is it that many teachers do not really understand the mathematics at all?” -
The 13 Most Useless College Majors (As Determined By Science)
1. Fine Arts
3. Film, Video, and Photographic Arts
4. Commercial Art and Graphic Design
5. Architecture
6. Philosophy and Religious Studies
7. English Literature and Language
8. Journalism
9. Anthropology and Archeology
11. Music
12. History
13. Political Science and Government
(Ed: Your primary tumblrs majored in two of these and now work in the field of a third.)
I’ll finish that thesis on Nietzsche someday…
A college degree is only as useful as you make it. I work with incredibly rich and creative folks who majored in a lot of the ones on this list. Their ambition and passion made them a success, not a string of characters on a piece of paper.
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“ Every student at Montclair State University in New Jersey must complete a computer science in order to graduate. For most students, that course is Introduction for Computer Applications: Being Fluent with Information Technology. (Music majors take Music and Computer Technology I.)
The course is designed to teach students majoring in subjects such as fashion, dance, or art history about network security, artificial intelligence, databases, and e-commerce, says Michael Oudshoorn, chairman of the computer science department at Montclair.
“It’s not aimed at making them experts; it’s aimed at making them aware,” Oudshoorn says. “They do live in a digital age … They have an obligation to know something about the technology.”
”—Computer Science Transitions From Elective to Requirement, USNews
H8rs gonna h8 on CMPT 109, but the increasing number of students that give us great feedback on the course proves its worth.
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Don’t know who told you otherwise, but…
“General education” is not supposed to be synonymous with “fluff.”
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Christie's college merger plan must go through Legislature, non-partisan office says If you go to or work in a NJ state institution (or any state institution), you need to get interested in this story. In a nutshell, Governor Christie is pushing hard to give Rutgers’ Camden campus to Rowan University, and parts of UMDNJ to Rutgers’ Newark campus.
Earlier this year, a panel formed by Christie recommended a sweeping reorganization that includes creation of a New Jersey Health Sciences University in Newark to replace UMDNJ, place University Hospital under nonprofit management, and fold Rutgers-Camden and its law school into Rowan. … Last fall, the panel recommended shifting the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the School of Public Health from UMDNJ to Rutgers in New Brunswick. … Christie has also batted away several other potential obstacles, like the cost of combining the universities and concern about the American Bar Association not accrediting a Rowan law school.
Why should we all be interested is this? Well, imagine an entity (in this case, the state government) making huge changes without considering how this affects the students (or even the costs going into it) - after years of decreasing funding to those same schools.
Something here stinks, and I think the smell is coming from Trenton.
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Student Government Election season
Chalk drawings all over the nation’s sidewalks.
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Spring Break
The university is weird when there are no students around. Every opportunity to get food or coffee ends at 3pm. What’s up with that?
Come back, you guys.
I’m taking this opportunity to repost a link to my informal Grading/Feedback poll. If you’re a teacher in a any capacity, please let me know how you grade and provide feedback to your students. It will help me out with my Masters project.
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Survey: What do you use for creating rubrics, grading, and providing student feedback? I follow a lot of awesome teachers, and awesome teachers in the making. I’m currently developing a project to complete my Masters in Computer Science this semester, and it is something related to rubrics, grades, and feedback on assignments.
If you’re a teacher, or someone training to be a teacher that knows the tools of the trade, please take my informal survey so I can get a better idea of what you cool cats need!
If you want to learn more, or discuss this topic beyond the scope of the survey’s little baby textboxes, you can email me at schifferj@montclair.edu.
Thanks bb,
j -
“It goes against the grain of modern education to teach children to program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail and learning to be self-critical?” — Alan Perlis -
ENOUGH IS TOO MUCH
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SCHOOL:
- In class: 1+1=2
- Exercises: 1+2+1=4
- Test: John buys 4 oranges. He eats one and gives another to Ted. Calculate the sun's mass.
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Dear Jenn, I'm thinking of going to Montclair in the Fall, but my cousin went and said that figuring out all the paperwork and financial aid junk was a nightmare. Do you only teach computers? What is Montclair like?
Anonymous
I’m sorry your cousin had such a rough time here. One thing you’ll learn when going to college for the first time is about the enormous amount of paperwork and digital data involved. That, with the large number of students at any state university, will inevitably lead to some tests in your patience and the ability to follow through on tasks. This isn’t just a Montclair problem, you’ll find - it’s an everywhere problem: college, DMV, starting a new job, doing taxes, etc. When you’re working in the “real world,” you’ll realize how hard it is to do the jobs of those inducing your “nightmares.”
The important thing to remember is that you’re dealing with people, and people make mistakes. Most of the mistakes are on the part of both sides - they may lose paperwork, and you may assume everything is taken care of, or you ignore deadlines. *Never* assume everything is well until you have it in writing (a receipt, for instance).
Also - and this is IMPORTANT - always meet with your advisor once you start - at least once a semester right before registration time. If you don’t like your advisor, ask your department (or the advising department) for a new one. They’re going to help you make sure you graduate on time and with the courses you need to succeed.
I used to teach as an adjunct, before I was actually a CompSci major here, and then a graduate assistant while I was taking grad courses. Now I’m the department administrator here, so I don’t have time to teach. When I did, it was the general education course (CMPT109).
There’s this phrase used in tech, “eating your own dog food,” which basically means that someone actually is using the product that they’re creating. These are the type of people who you should trust when giving you opinions on their work. In the past 8 years I’ve been an undergrad, graduate student, adjunct, and department administrator. I’m also living downtown, so it’s pretty obvious that I’m attached to both the town and the university, and enjoying the Beggin’ Strips.
If we offer a program here that you’re interested in, I think MSU is a great choice. The town of Montclair is nice, also - if not a bit expensive, plus there are many folks that live here that think this is the coolest town on Earth (it’s not).
I HOPE THIS HELPS, BRAH.
