A Student’s Guide to Computers for Online School: Internet Connection

A spotty internet connection can translate into delayed email notifications and even late assignments, which has the potential to diminish your GPA at your online school.

Wired vs. Wireless

Wireless Router

The days of dial-up internet are behind us leaving the options of direct internet connection through a network cable or a wireless router.  Particularly for laptop owners such as myself, having wireless internet is a big perk.

Wireless internet is achieved through a wireless router which, in many cases, is provided with the subscription of internet services by your local provider.  Since there is a wide range of routers, it’s best to do some research or talk to the person at the electronic store to determine what the best choice would be for your needs.  There may be rental options available also.

Wireless Broadband

Some cell phone providers even have wireless broadband services that allow you to connect to the internet at home and anywhere you go with no cables or fuss.

Check out your local internet service providers and compare different options based on your needs.  As an online school student on a budget, you may want to consider sharing an internet connection with your neighbor to cut the bill in half.

Do you have a preference between wired and wireless internet?

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Some students tempted to just scrap the whole thing and hit the ground running without so much as a glance back at their tiny hometown college.

Others relish in the moment.

The moment that puts a formal punctuation mark on the crazy four years (or ten years, depending on how much you crazy you get) we call the university experience. Commencement speeches are often riddled with cliche upon cliche. “You are the future,” or “Seize the day,” or silly little phrases like “You can change the world.”   We hear these prosaic declarations, the rolling of eyes ensues and we think, “Oh yeah, i’m sure changing the world will just fall into my lap during the hours of nine-to-five in my corporate job.”

Sometimes though when we give our  brothers cynicism and better judgment the cold shoulder and alllow ourselves to enjoy and believe in those dramatic, romantic notions you will be inspired. Yes, inspired. Not “motivational-workplace-poster” inspired, but the real thing.  For just an instant, allow yourself to believe in all those dramatic, romantic notions.

Commencement Speeches

America’s Best College Graduation Speeches

Anna Quindlen

“It is fear that always tamps down our authentic selves, that turns us into some patchwork collection of affectations and expectations, mores and mannerisms, some treadmill set to the prevailing speed of universal acceptability that causes a tyranny of homogeny, whether it’s the homogeny of the straight world of the suits or the spiky world of the avant-garde.”

Elie Wiesel

“Granted, the world you inherited is far from being safe and peaceful. But it is your task, and maybe mine still, to improve it. Remember: one person’s courageous humanist initiative or moral commitment can make a difference and it has. Always one person saved, one person or one family in those dark times and they remain my idols. For even then, those who did so restored the honor of the human race and of humanity. Of  all Albert Camus’s sayings I prefer the one which comes at the dénouement of his novel The Plague: When everything is done. After all is said and done, said Camus, there is more in man, which means in human being, to celebrate than to denigrate.”

Ali G

“First of all, I iz got to say I iz a bit nervous speakin to so many of you – at least me would be if I weren’t totally mashed. Normally de only public-speaking I does is to 12 people – and it’s well easy all me has to say iz me name and de words ‘not guilty’.”

Laura Bush

“I could not recall who gave the commencement address for my Master’s Degree. That’s because I skipped the ceremony. But I did look it up, and you can imagine my surprise when I discovered it was some guy named George Bush. Four years after that speech, I married his son.”

Rudy Giuliani

“In America, the heroic example of past generations are carried on and built upon by the next generation. When I saw those firefighters, I saw in their eyes, and I saw in their action the same thing that their fathers would have done or their grandfathers would have done in the same situation, and they did the same thing. In the face of being attacked, in the face of having their lives in jeopardy, in the face of watching their brothers and comrades die in front of them, what they said was, we don’t retreat. We don’t put our heads down. We don’t back up. We stand for something bigger than us. We stand for democracy. We stand for liberty. We stand for freedom. We stand for peace. And we’re going to put up our flag, and hold it there, and it is going to prevail, and it is going to wave as a symbol of freedom and democracy for us. And we don’t want to impose it on anyone else. We want to give it to them. Share it with them as a gift that isn’t ours alone, but a gift that comes from God.”

Will Ferrell

“I probably shouldn’t use the word ain’t during this day in which we celebrate education, but that’s just the way I play it, holmes.”

Conan O Brien

“I’d like to thank the Class Marshals for inviting me here today. The last time I was invited to Harvard it cost me $110,000, so you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit suspicious.”

Jon Stewart

“I congratulate the students for being able to walk even a half a mile in this non-breathable fabric in the Williamsburg heat.”

David Foster Wallace

“The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.”

Eileen Myles

“[Birth is] just a great act, that great act makes all the other ones possible, it’s an act of allowing, of not destroying, of giving, letting life pass through, and I thought I should bring this to you, what a frightening thought, a woman’s body being the archway to the future, and as we stand here, and some of you will be giving birth, or being there, and holding her, and some of you have already done this, and here are your kids, they sit in their seats today, graduating from college. This is greatness, to pass through and know, to know that it’s happening to you, to be awake at the moment of birth.”

Stephen Colbert

“This seems like a very nice place. They have a lovely Web site. Besides, have you seen the world outside lately? They are playing for KEEPS out there, folks. My God, I couldn’t wait to get here today just so I could take a breather from the real world.”

The Creme de la Creme of all Commencement Speeches:

Steve Jobs

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life…I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life

And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Or are you partial to the cool factor that the tree-lined streets of the east coast is dripping in?

Do you know how to work that wool peacoat or would rather year round t-shirt weather? Are you more Beach Boys or Velvet Underground?

It’s a paralyzing decision for some. Remember that OC Episode where Summer and Seth debate over Brown and Berkley? Serious stuff people. My Colleges is committed to giving you the skinny on West Vs. East debate, starting with major selection. Have you ever wondered what types of majors are most popular on the east and west coasts? So did we and with that burning question we got up to our elbows in researching popular majors of over 30 universities and colleges from both sides of the divide.

West Coast Vs. East Coast Metholodolgy

We examined the West Coast from major schools including: University of Arizona, University of Southern California, University of Colorado-Boulder, Utah State University, New Mexico University, University of Las Vegas, Portland State, University of Washington, Brigham Young University, Arizona State University, Stanford, University of Utah and University of California-San Diego.

Our east coast contenders included: University of Florida, Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue, University of Boston, Columbia, Harvard, Cornell, Yale, Dartmouth, Carnegie Mellon, Wake Forrest University, University of Miami and Duke University.

West Coast Vs. East Coast Popular Majors Results

There are 3 Majors that are equally popular transcending coastal boundaries

1. Psychology

2. Biology

3. Business

Majors more popular on the West Coast

1. Education

2. Communications

Majors that are more popular on the East Coast

1. Social Sciences

2. English

But the bigger question is why? Are all those stereotypes about Ivy League, pedigree-rich New England boys and the whole “I wish they all could be California Girls” thing? Does that make a difference in the majors people choose? And there is also the chance that you don’t really care at all and if this is your case the solution is simple: Online schools like University of Phoenix, Capella University, Kaplan University, Strayer University, Everest University, Devry University and more.

My Colleges and Careers proudly announces it’s first ever “Sweater Vest Awards.” The award recognizes collegiate level professors and to be honest there are no requirements. We don’t care what why teach, how you teach, why your teach or even if you are good at what you do. Our only requirement? You are amusing  enough to get me to read the second page of results when I google your name. Drumroll please…

“Master of the Op-Ed Award”

Name: Paul Krugman
Area of Instruction: Economics and International Affairs
University Catalog: MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Berkley
Moonlight Gig: author, op-ed columnist for the New York Times
Pomp and Circustance: Nobel Prize Winner
Fun Fact: President Clinton courted him for a position in his administration but Krugman declared he didn’t bite his tongue enough to have that sort of role.

Sound Bite: “The raw fact is that every successful example of economic development this past century – every case of a poor nation that worked its way up to a more or less decent, or at least dramatically better, standard of living – has taken place via globalization, that is, by producing for the world market rather than trying for self-sufficiency.”

“King of the Hip-Hop Shout-Out”

Name: Cornel Ronald West
Area of Instruction: African American Studies and Religion
Moonlight Gig: West appears in both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. He plays Councilor West, one of the elders who serves on the council of Zion.
University Catalog:
Pomp and Circumstance:
Fun Fact: West was also featured on Starbucks Coffee Cups with The Way I See It #284 quoted, “You can’t lead the people if you don’t love the people. You can’t save the people, if you don’t serve the people.” In Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Just Might Be OK’ from his album Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, he says ‘I ain’t Cornel West, I am Cornel Westside, Chi-town Rivera.”

Sound Bite: “Who wants to be well-adjusted to injustice? What kind of human being do you want to be?”

“Drug Dealer Finance Awareness Award”

Name:Steven Levitt
Area of Instruction:Economics
University Catalog:University of Chicago
Moonlight Gig:Writing Best-selling books like”Freakonomics”
Pomp and Circumstance: Levitt was chosen as one of Time Magazine’s “100 People Who Shape Our World” in 2006.

Fun Fact: Levitt is known for his work in the field of crime, in particular on the link between legalized abortion and crime rates. He also has some theories on how drug dealers account for money in gang settings.

Sound Bite: “An expert doesn’t so much argue the various sides of an issue as plant his flag firmly on one side. That’s because an expert whose argument reeks of restraint or nuance often doesn’t get much attention. An expert must be bold if he hopes to alchemize his homespun theory into conventional wisdom.”

“The Folk-Rock Credibility Award”

(Editors Note: Beam was also considered for the “Most Likely to be Mistaken for Amish” award.)

Name:Sam Beam
Area of Instruction: Film and cinematography
University Rap Sheet: University of Miami and Miami International University of Art & Design
Moonlight Gig:Um….this is kind of obvious but songwriting and singing. He is the folk god behind “Iron and Wine.”
Pomp and Circumstance: His song “Such Great Heights” is the anthem of every indie wannabe out there.
Fun Fact: His sweet lyrics are likely influenced from having four daughters.
Sound Bite: He is a man of few words. Try listening to his albums.

Professor Most Likely to Bring You to Tears Award

Name:Randy Pausch
Area of Instruction:Computer Science
University Rap Sheet:Carnegie Mellon
Moonlight Gig: A devoted Star Trek fan, Pausch was invited by film director J. J. Abrams to film a role in the latest Star Trek movie. Abrams heard of Pausch’s condition and sent a personal e-mail inviting Pausch to the set. Pausch accepted and traveled to Los Angeles, California to shoot his scene. In addition to appearing in the film, he also has a line of dialogue at the beginning of the film (“Captain, we have visual.”) and donated the $217.06 paycheck to charity.
Pomp and Circumstance: As he was dying of pancreatic cancer, he wrote and delivered and speak called, “The Last Lecture.” His words became a youtube hit and now it is a best-selling book.
Fun Fact:The Pittsburgh City Council declared November 19, 2007 to be “Dr. Randy Pausch Day”
Sound Bite: “We don’t have a Michael J. Fox” to speak for pancreatic cancer “because people die too fast.”

“Most Precocious Professor Award”

Name: Alia Sabur
Area of Instruction: Math and Physics
University Catalog:She graduate summa cum laude from Stony Brook University at age 14 and at 19 she was hired as a professor for Konkuk University in Seoul Korea.
Moonlight Gig:She is a black belt and once played with recording artist Smash Mouth. Random. Looks like she really left Smash Mouth in the dust.
Pomp and Circumstance: She holds the Guiness record for youngest professor in the world.
Fun Fact: In traditional Korean culture, children are considered to be 1 year old when they are born, and add a year to their age every New Year instead of their actual birthday, so in Korea Sabur is considered 20.
Sound Bite: “You can reach a lot of people with music. It’s never been really a hobby to me. It’s always been on equal par with my academics.”

Growing up in Utah sometimes I heard jokes about going to Utah Valley State College and people calling it “High School by the Highway.” A few years and a good deal of refiner’s fire induced maturity later, that “High School by the Highway,” is now Utah Valley University and nobody needs to defend choosing to go there for college. It has programs that other more erudite Universities in the area don’t like Aviation and their education program is highly competitive.

I’ve grown to respect community college and when I saw Slate.com this afternoon I saw that I just got a HUGE endorsement. From Mr. Obama himself. In a speech Tuesday in Warren, Mich., he proposed sinking nearly $12 billion into revamping the country’s community-college system. The proposal allocates $9 billion in grant money to boost academic programs and raise graduation rates, plus another $2.5 billion to upgrade school facilities. It would also fund open-source online courses so that schools can do more classes online.

And no, I’m not suggesting that the College of Rural Town, USA is going to comparable to Harvard. I don’t think many are under that illusion either. The truth is that many of the nation’s hardest most intelligent workers come from all walks of life. You don’t have to be a Vanderbilt anymore. So it’s time we started supporting more money on the Johnsons and the Smiths.

I don’t want to make any hasty generalizations so take the following statement with a grain of salt: Community colleges are filled with people who actually want to go to college.

The Slate article describes it perfectly, “We live in a knowledge economy, and we’ve set up education as if we’re an agrarian culture. It used to be that you could educate the top 10 percent, he said, and the rest of the population would get unskilled jobs. But in a global economy, where even professions like cashier or truck driver require constant upgrades in technology and information, a high-school diploma is not always enough. That said, a pricey Ivy League degree may not be necessary, either. Community colleges fill that hole….With jobs going overseas at ever-faster rates, America needs an educated, flexible work force ready to change jobs on short notice. That work force is more likely to emerge from community colleges than from, say, the Dartmouth English department.”

So whether you are currently writing your thesis on Milton over at Harvard or if you take online classes after work, embrace your inner Don Henley and “Get Over It.” Community College is here to stay.

“The purpose of primary education is the development of your weak characteristics; the purpose of university education, the development of your strong.”

-Nevin Fenneman

College is a place where C’s get degrees.

“To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you too may one day be president of the United States.”
-George W. Bush

College is a place where those who care to learn will do just that.

“College is like a fountain of knowledge – and the students are there to drink”

-Anonymous

College for most people in a helluva lot more fun than high school.

“Don’t let anyone tell you that high school is supposed to be fun.  High school is to be endured.  College is fun.”

-Stefanie Meyer

College students  shouldn’t spend the whole time with their nose pressed in a book.

“You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You’ll never remember class time, but you’ll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don’t have. Drink ’til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does…”
-Tom Petty

Should you bite the financial bullet and get more educational training,

OR

try to make it in the career real world first?

Click here for a forum on NY Times where M.A. grads wrote in their thoughts on the process.

Scholarships are not just for child prodigies or those annoying SAT-crazed kids from high school. There is one just for you, the trick is finding it.

The argument that you can’t get something for nothing will fade away as you read our list of the easiest to obtain and most ridiculous scholarships out there.

So maybe your not a genius. Maybe your ACT score sounds like it has been cut in half. Maybe your grades are more near the middle of the alphabet.

You’re right, you probably won’t get a full-ride academic scholarship but being clever and resourceful can get you some decent college dough. There is no expiration date or external marker on being clever. It is yours for the taking. Check out our list of scholarships below. If you are tall, a nudist, a ranch hand or if you have a special affinity for duct tape, today is your lucky day.

A Tall Drink of Water

You know that description “tall, dark and handsome?” Forget dark and handsome: the Tall Clubs International Scholarship committee only cares if you are tall.  The committee selects a winner after reading the “What Being Tall Means to Me” essay.

Just Another Household Name

Are you one of those people who is constantly spelling out your last name to people? V as in victor, a as in apple……blah, blah, blah. It’s a daily annoyance and finally someone has recognized your suffering and wants to reward you for all your stoic re-spellings. If you last name is Van Valkenburg or  Zolp you might have some cash to claim.

Scotch Tape Lovers Need Not Apply

Duck Brand Duct Tape awards students who fashion their prom attire strictly out of duct-tape a generous scholarship. They might need to use the money for skin graphs though after ripping all that tape of their skin. The Duck Brand people even have a percentage breakdown on how the scoring is done including categories of workmanship, originality, use of color, accessories and the quantity of duct tape used. This is serious business people.

No More Crying Yourself to Sleep

In an act of shameless brand promotion the folks over at  OP Loftbeds are ready to pay up for the best essay about putting together and using an OP loftbed. Its kind of like getting paid to sleep. Yes please.

The Naked Truth

The American Nudist Research Library Scholarship doles out some cash to nudists. A pithy joke about this scholarship isn’t even necessary, its comedic value stands on its own.

Like Taking Candy from a Baby

Attention all aspiring Willy Wonka’s out there: The American Association of Candy Technologists awards a scholarship to a student looking to pusue a career in candy technology. There is $5000 bucks with your name on it if you can demonstrate your interest in confectionary technology and some sort of food science, chemical science or biological science major.

Alien Wannabees Unite!

The Klingon Language Institute awards a scholarship to a student who fluently speaks in the fictional language Klingon from Star Trek. Something for everyone I guess? The formal announcement of the winner takes place at the Klingon Language Institute  convention where the winner will be the envy of an entire army of trekies.

All that Wining and Dining is about to Pay Off.

The American Society for Enology and Viticulture gives financial assistance to students pursuing a degree in enology, viticulture, or in a curriculum emphasizing a science basic to the wine and grape industry. A written statement about your interest in the wine industry is judged. And no, getting drunk on wine does not quality as “an interest in the wine industry.”

If square roots aren’t your thing, then at least Professor Corey Manchester’s boyish god looks will give you something to study in math class.  San Diego State students voted their favorite math teacher into the Rate My Professor’s “Top 50 Hottest Professors” list.  We fought off his starstruck admirers long enough to get in a little Q and A with mathematician.

My Colleges and Careers: What was your initial reaction to being ranked as one of the nation’s hottest professors?

Professor Manchester: I was really flattered, but I just don’t get it!

My Colleges and Careers:  How familiar were you with ratemyprofessor.com?

Professor Manchester: Very. I know it’s the primary resource for students picking classes. I know alot of professors hate it, but I think it’s good that they’re being held accountable for being less than stellar at their jobs.

My Colleges and Careers: Do you think this sort of category is frivolous and silly or fun and interesting?

Professor Manchester: I guess a little of both. I also won “Favorite Faculty Member of the Year” this year, and that means far more to me than anything based on physicality.

My Colleges and Careers: Has anyone ever told you that you resemble a celebrity? If so, who?

Professor Manchester: Hmmm..not that I recall. At least not in adulthood–when I was little, people always told me I looked like Ricky Schroeder (blonde and freckly).

My Colleges and Careers: What do you love about being a professor?

Professor Manchester: Oh gosh…so many things. I love being able to explain a difficult concept to a group of people who probably aren’t huge fans of the subject. I love being able to show them that everything in their lives in based on math. I love making them think about math in a totally different way. I love giving them an appropriately nurturing environment for math (rather than a sink-or-swin approach like many professors deliver).

My Colleges and Careers: Are you going to leverage this title for a salary increase?

Professor Manchester: Yah right. I’ll be lucky to not be laid off, given the state of the California budget!

The average teaching evaluation was 4.2 on a 5-point scale. Those at the bottom end of the attractiveness scale received, on average, a teaching evaluation of about 3.5, while those on the top end received about 4.5.

Who are we to argue with the New York Times? No one. That is exactly why My Colleges and Careers is giving an unapologetic endorsement to the site’s entertaining list of Rate My Professor’s Top 50 Hottest Professors. We were lucky enough to talk to Professor Sexy himself: Hugo Schwyzer. Schwyzer teaches history at Pasadena City College. Here is our Q and A.

My Colleges and Careers: What is your initial reaction to winning this award?

Professor Schwyzer: Embarrassment and disbelief.

My Colleges and Careers: How familiar were you with ratemyprofessor.com?

Professor Schwyzer: Very.  I started hearing about it in 2004 and 05, and was initially excited by its possibilities.  Now, I’m a bit cynical, as it appears anyone can rate you multiple times.

My Colleges and Careers: Do you think this sort of category is frivolous and silly or fun and interesting?

Professor Schwyzer: Well, yes and no.  I think hotness is less about physical attractiveness and more about passion.  I’d like to think that this award reflects the way I teach more than the way I dress or look.

My Colleges and Careers: Has anyone ever told you that you resemble a celebrity? If so, who?

Professor Schwyzer: Occasionally I get Guy Pearse (LA Confidential.)

My Colleges and Careers: What do you love about being a professor?

Professor Schwyzer: I love teaching and connecting with students.  I walk out of the classroom unsure whether I’ve just been working or playing — I would do this stuff for free, and I’ve been at it for sixteen happy years.

Professor Schwyzer: Oh, I’d get teased even more than I already do.

While a professor’s ability to teach and inspire will always be the the bread and butter that our educational system survives on, sometimes a little dessert is ok.

We now present to you (with a cherry on top) an up close and personal interview with one of the country’s hottest educators: Professor Dacia Charlesworth, Associate Professor in the Department of Communications at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

My Colleges and Careers: What was your initial reaction upon learning you were ranked as one of the nation’s “Hottest Professors?”
Professor Charlesworth: I laughed. I joke that since I was 1st runner-up for homecoming queen this title has replaced all the feeling of inadequacy I once had. Seriously though, I support RMP and encourage my students to leave their comments. Some faculty don’t like RMP and feel that since there’s no way to actually verify if students have completed one of your classes the site is invalid. I note that there are measures faculty can take if they think a comment is unfair or submitted by someone who clearly wasn’t a student (e.g., one of my friends flagged a rude comment by a student who’d written that he’d taken her for a class the university didn’t even offer; RMP removed the comment). RMP is one way for students to learn about professor’s teaching styles; I always ask my students to be very clear about rating and referencing my expectations and grading standards since I’m very rigorous and want potential students to know what to expect in my classes.

My Colleges and Careers: Do you think this sort of category is frivolous and silly or fun and interesting?
Professor Charlesworth: It’s both. I do know some students who’ve told me they marked certain professors as “hot” as a joke. As a communication scholar, I know that an individual’s ethos, or credibility, is dependent upon one’s attractiveness, dynamism, and trustworthiness. Thus, the measure of “hotness” could mean different things to different students (e.g., students might consider one’s personality “hot”). As a feminist rhetorical critic, I’ve analyzed the site, focusing specifically on the “hotness” factor, and have been surprised to find that both men and women are discussed equally in terms of hotness. I thought I’d discover that the female professors who were ranked as being hot would have comments that focused only on their physicality rather than their intellect. Of course, I haven’t conducted an official analysis of the site–just a quick once over.

My Colleges and Careers: Has anyone ever told you that you resemble a celebrity? If so, who?
Professor Charlesworth: I’m usually told that I look like Rachel Ray or Rachel McAdams.  I used to love Ray; however, she’s overexposed and her voice annoys the heck out of me now. I’m a huge McAdams fan and whenever The Notebook or The Wedding Crashers air on TV I know that within the next few days someone is likely to tell me I remind them of McAdams.

My Colleges and Careers: What do you love about being a professor?
Professor Charlesworth: I know it’s cliche, but I love the students. I’ve always been extremely lucky in that I’ve been able to find students who rise to my expectations and amaze me. I also love being able to teach students to see things they wouldn’t have been before.  As I’ve noted, I’m a feminist rhetorical critic and my research involves examining the roles of everyday life. When I teach a course like Persuasion or Communication & Gender I’m very satisfied when students tell me: “You’ve ruined my life! I can’t watch TV, go to the movies, or read a magazine without analyzing everything I see!”

My Colleges and Careers: Are you going to leverage this title for a salary increase?
Professor Charlesworth: I’d thought about that but now my husband is my boss’s boss’s boss, so that would just be considered nepotism!
For more information about professors, college and online education visit My Colleges and Careers.

Social Media is playing a role in the dispute more than ever before.

Iranian government officials have tried to block coverage of the riots through social media sites like Twitter.  Google reported that YouTube appears to be formally blocked in Iran but the the site is still experiencing 10 percent of it’s normal traffic levels from the country.
This organic discussion and collection of links circling the globe is markedly different from traditional news. The difference between social media news and traditional news is that everything is based on merit rather than authority and there is no strong mechanism to distinguish between fact and fiction.

As I have thought about the web and its role in the dissemination of information I have started to wonder what Iran’s education system is like. Well-educated countries often have a more vocal expression of opinion. That diversity of opinion is often accompanied by generous freedom of speech rights, as seen in America, but Iran is not so lucky.

Facts about the Education System in Iran:

• At the university level every student attending public schools is required to commit to serve the government for a number of years typically equivalent to those spent at the university, or pay it off for a very low price (typically a few hundred dollars).
• Iranian universities produce approximately 750,000 skilled graduates annually.
• English as a second language is introduced from grade 7
• The most popular field of study for college students is engineering at 25.2 percent, followed by the medical field at 24.2 percent and 13.4 percent are involved in pedagogic and teacher’s training.

One thing is for sure though: Iranians understand citizen journalism and using social media. No doubt about that.

BLACKBOARD

First of all, my university uses Blackboard so professors can post assignments, occasional readings, and grades to view.

GOOGLE MAIL

I like Gmail for email and correspondence purposes. I utilize the Gmail labels and archive frequently so my inbox is not cluttered and therefore reserved for immediate tasks.

FACEBOOK

Furthermore, I use Facebook as a means to connect with my friends and family spread around the country and world. Along with “friending” people, its great to post pictures to keep tabs on what your friends are up to. However, Facebook can be addicting, so you have to limit yourself to how often you log in.

ONLINE NEWS

Since I’m in a transitory phase of my life and years away from a permenent residence, I also use the internet to read the news (New York Times, CNN, Fox, Google News, etc) in lieu of subscribing.

TWITTER

Even though it’s the social networking medium du jour, I rarely use my Twitter account because I think having a Facebook and reading the news is enough to keep me updated with what is going on in my peers lives and in the world.

BLOGGER

As a journalism major, I was urged to start a personal blog, which I use through Google’s Blogger. This has been another way that I connect with my friends: by reading their posts and having two-way interaction through comments.

LINKED IN

I have been invited many times to join LinkedIn, and upon graduation I think I’ll create an account. The thought of getting involved with another social media outlet right now overwhelms me, but from what I’ve heard from friends who have already entered the professional world, it is a great networking tool.

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• Online Education Gets a Boost from Facebook

I’m one of those Generation Y college students who has always enjoyed the benefits of the internet throughout my scholastic career.  Let me cite a few examples for you:

-Second Grade: My Dad used to let me get on the internet for a half an hour a day to look at pictures of the Spice Girls.  While this was not technically school-related I did master some navigation skills.  (Picture me clicking on sparkly pop-ups offering free lip gloss).

-Sixth Grade: When I was assigned to do a report on the planet Venus, I cleverly used up half of the required posterboard space with photos of the planet I downloaded online.

-Seventh Grade: I clearly remember the sheer moment of terror I experienced as  I was printing out my science project report and realized I had misused the words, “effect,” and “affect.”  A quick visit to dictionary.com cleared things right up.

-Ninth Grade: For our unit on the Holocaust we were able to view images of the concentration camps and museums during computer class.  I remember how much those images jolted me and what a sense of reverence I gained for those people.

-Tenth Grade: The dreaded “Term Research Paper,” was made much easier through the use of internet research resources.  Going to the library and checking out all those dusty books about Ernest Hemingway would have taken FOREVER.

-Twelfth Grade: As college application dates loomed in on me, I was able to check out schools and send in my application materials via the web.

College: I have never used the web more in my life.   I’m constantly researching things for papers, tests and assignments through my school’s portal and through the plain old Google search.  My professors often post assignments and guides on the Blackboard.com system and you can even check your grades online there as well. In group projects, we regularly use Google Docs to edit and collaborate.   Also, because I am a communications major, I have spent a good deal of time studying the way  the internet and social networking have changed marketing and advertising.   It is simply something I can’t ignore in this industry.

College has brought on more recreational uses of the web as well.   Facebook breaks are the perfect reprieve during long study sessions and ratemyprofessor.com has saved me from more than one awful professor.

I expect that the internet and its powerful tools will only become more important and useful for me as I continue my career. Or as my friends at BadBoySodas would say, “The innanet’s blowin up.”