The Apple of Eden

                Technology has stolen our attention and time whether or not we like to admit it. For my capstone project I adressed if technology was enough to make JSU a 21st century learning evironment? And to my surprise this was actually a hard topic to create a project on. But nevertheless I took a different spin on how to answer the question. I used Apple to help prove my point.

                First I want you to think about what kind of technologies we have in today's world: computers, smartphones, tablets, projectors, and Ipods & Iphones. Most of these inventions came from the creations of Steve Jobs creator of Apple. Jobs always had a fun time making and presenting new technologies to the public. In the WWDC of 2010 and 2011 Jobs' final two had a joy that only could be made from beauty and possibility.


               Second, I want to talk about how Jobs' ran Apple and how this relates to my topic. Jobs had a completely different style of running his business. He encouraged his employees to have fun at work and create inventions. He encouraged them to make stuff only thought in their imaginations. Also he had the company buildings set up so people that work in completely different fields would and could communicate. So how does this relate to JSU or us? I feel like if we viewed college the same way we could get so much more out of it. Make bold decisions and take chances just have fun! Be involved with different groups and help out your counttry.

                                                    (via Geek.com source Instagram)



                So is technology enough? Yes, but for JSU to be a 21st centurty learning environment we as students and teachers alike have to be the change. We have to be engaging and trying to make the best out of our time and lives. We chose to come to college so get involved. Technology is a great thing to have and use but personal relationships are the greatest things we as humans can have.

Time to Reflect

                Well everyone we have made it to the end of this semester...thank goodness. Throughout this semester we have had to write posts on almost every topic of college to help see why we chose college and also help us to become better writers. This has been a completely new but good way of writing. This has helped me to enjoy writing better because we have got to write on a computer instead of writing papers. I have found three strengths through writing this way: forming my ideas easier, connecting to both sides, and the ability to write on whatever topic.


                First, forming my ideas has become very easy since I started writing these posts. In my post "What is college good for?" I broke down my post into four points. This helped me to keep the focus on the main point by bringing out supporting arguments. This helped the post flow more smoothly during the entire thing. I have found it easier by breaking things down into smaller topics it makes it easier to write an article.


                Second, connecting to both sides was a key in helping me write posts. With all of these questions that we have to answer they could be answered both ways so having an opinion on both sides is the key. In my post Why College? I answered mostly why college but I was easily able to answer why not go to college. I think that having an opinion that could answer either way is very important in not just writing but life in general. If you have a certain mind set and won't allow for question then you won't be able to make the best decisions.

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                Third, a strength I have found is the ability to write on whatever topic that is given to me. For the blog post five we had to respond to Share or Die I responded to an article about post-college life. It was hard in my opinion to write a post to respond to it but I did nevertheless. I think that because these posts are so widespread on how you could answer them it helps in answering posts. This post was challenging because there was not a "question" I had to answer but through previous writing I was able to form an opinion and write a response. Having to write responses to so many different questions has helped me to be open to whatever is next.


                 Throughout this entire semester I have been challenged to be a better writer and I think it has paid off. I don't like writing but I don't mind doing it. This has been a new experience for me in writing and I think it will prove to be a great benefit. I think everybody should try this way of writing just to get a feel for it. Thank You!

                                              photo credit: Russ Watkins via photopin cc

We are Fearless! "Why College" Remix

                As we have been talking all semester the question is Why College? We have covered almost every possible answer and solution to this. But this answer will and should be different for each and every one of us. This is the best time of a person's life and a time of learning who you are along with learning to become a better person with a college degree. For me experience, education, and something different are the reasons why I chose college.

                Experience is extremely important in today's society. Most people get hired based on merits alone not education. College is great for preparing people for potential jobs and how to work in them. Derek Moody left a great comment from this earlier post. He talked about how college teaches the knowledge needed and the best time to use it for situations. Now anyone can get a job but college enables you to use knowledge to your advantage and not just have to work.

                                                            

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                Education is unlike anything else in this world. No one can take it from you and it's priceless. Bobby Fong said ,"College can't serve you well without challenging you to integrate information and skills in ways you haven't before, and to apply the results to problems that may not yield clear and simple answers."  College, unlike any other thing in this world, let's you have a great education while incorporating fun yet intriguing. Louis Menand stated " An intelligent person is open-minded, an outside-the-box thinker, an effective communicator, is prudent, self-critical, consistent." This is important when learning because if this is how you approach college then you will appreciate it more and learn the most you can.

              My last reason of why college is for something different. Everyone has to go through thirteen years of school to be able to go to college. Why on earth would someone go four or more years longer that they have to? I never really liked high-school. The only thing I liked was band. There was never anything I wanted to do or groups I wanted to join. With college there are so many things to do along with school itself. College is very different from what I expected and I am glad for that.

                So my reasons for college are experience, education, and something different. Everyone has different reasons for college and you should stick to them. College is awesome and is something that can never be matched by any other thing in this world. For everyone that goes to college let's all have fun and make the most of our college.

Are you a resident of your city?

                Sarah Idzik in Share or Die started out for college how many of us did. Easy A's in high school with lots of involvement but not too deeply challenged. It seemed college would be a breeze ...sound familiar? Sarah did the traditional method of school for four years then graduate. She had no internships or any kind of training for what type of job she wanted. In turn for her bills and student loans she had to take a minimum paying job that she hated and had no benefit to her at all just to make it. For her it was a great time during school becuase her teachers and friends made her adjust how she thought and really beacme more intellectual, but her job was not on the market for her when she graudated so it forced her to take drastic measures.

                As we have been talking about for the past few weeks is this good for anyone? I really don't think so. This falls on the college though for not giving any oppotrunity for internships or co-op programs. College enables you to learn so much information but fails to let you use the imformation for problem solving or collaboration with others for a new idea. It is almost silly to call a college a college today becuase the meaning and use of it has changed drastically.

                With whatever kind of eduaction you are going to college for it should pay dividends for you in the future not make you question if you can survuve until the next paycheck. If college eduaction was where it should be there would be less complainers and more doers in the world. There is no reason for college to be extremely expensive it only is because the people who run them treat it as a business and not an educational opportunity. Knowing that in today's society everyone tries college to either drop out or graduate but either side has huge student loan debt that they can't pay back.

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                If you go to college and get a wonderful education like Sarah Idzik but can't use the education then why go? Becuase of her hard times and troubles with her Chicago education she is going to move somewhere else and find her place in the world. That is what we must all do. Find our place in the world and make an impact. Some will finish college some won't but the  most important part is for you to do what you love and be happy. Find what you want to do and achieve it, find your interests and join a group and discuss it, and leave your mark for everyone to see. It's been said if you love your job you won't have worked a day in your life. And you don't need college for this to happen. College enables you to think in different ways just don't lose "your" own way of how to think. Think for yourself, nobody wants to be a conformist. Love where you live and participate and be a resident!    

Is College Enough?

                In today's world people are going to college to obtain skills that will help them with life and their job. To be honest this is a load of crap. College is supposed to help you become a better person by interacting with people with diffferent views than you so you broaden your mind. But does it really accomplish that? College is awesome and a great thing to be a part of, but is it enough?...No.


                In many traditional style classes students sit in a lecture and take notes as the professor rambles on about some topic that most people could care less about. After the lecture you go and memorize the material so you can make an "A" on the test and eventually pass the class and get the credit. This is not learning by any stretch of the imagination, all this is is just doing enough to get out of the class. College is supposed to be about finding problems and solving them with tools and skills learned through classes and experiences. This does not seem like college is doing it's job only teaching material. I like being able to know the professor not just be some face in the class and with this style it can never happen. If you don't understand anything you're on your own to learn the material. Scott Young had this same issue and questions college as well.


                Maybe it's students fault but college as it looks now is not holding up to par as it once did. Many students go take "boring" classes becuase they are required and don't have anything to do with what they would like as a job. With students doing this it makes them have very little participation with the professors which in turn makes the learning process terrible. College only is good if we view it as so and in today's society not so fast. It seems like college just isn't cutting it. We in America need to relax and stop pushing everybody to go to college. It simply won't be the solution for everybody plus many people make a great living away from the "college life".

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                Even if a college student does graduate the skills needed for marketing and communication are not taught which hinders a graduate from getting a job. A degree is not enough today so having other tools to help get you're name out and for potential employers to see that you are different is the key. Also with today's technology you have to ask yourself will this job be relevant in the future so would help prepare me for this future? Probably not. Trying to find a job today is extremely difficult and hard to come by becuase experience is not given through college. Many companies keep people working past retirement age just becuase of the fear of hiring someone with no experience. So being Financially Poor results from college just not offering enough for people. 


College is great but just isn't cutting it. People look for experience and skills before hiring and college does not offer those. College tries to mold people to be better citizens and make a good society but it simply isn't enough. Hopefully by the time I graduate these problems will be fixed or at least on the way to be.

BAM! What Is college "good" for?

Value

                In today's world there is always the question of why go to college and spend the money for a degree. College is entirely more than just a "degree". According to Mike Rose, college is "not just learning things to make a living, but also learning things to enable you to do things with your life, to enable you to find interests and pursuits that may in some way or another expand the way we see things." You simply cannot find a place like college.

Opportunity

                College is a great way for many doors to be opened for an individual. Andrew Bast said that "Computer science, accounting, marketing-- the purpose of many majors is self-evident. They lead to well-paid jobs and clear-cut career paths. ( One hopes at least.) But comparative literature, classics, and philosophy--according to the new convential wisdom--offer no clear trajectory." College is not all about getting that dream job but taking advantage of your opportunities.

                                       
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Student Debt

                Debt is almost certain while attending college unless you get fortunate enough to receive a scholarship. This can really put you in a bind because without a good paying job it will take a long time to pay it off. Mark Kantrowitz says "it's smart if it's enabling you to invest in your future," Kantrowitz tells NPR's Steve Inskeep. "But if you borrow more than your expected starting salary after you graduate, you're going to struggle to pay your loans." Almost every college graduate has some kind of debt so a good paying job would be a logical solution for this.

Death

                The stress and pressure from student loans can sometimes be so severe that individuals do commit suicide or at least talk about it. This happens in result of spending so much money for degrees that don't have jobs waiting for those grads. Studet loan debt has passed $1 trillion, if that number doesn't scare you then something is wrong. People just are not physically able to pay back the thousands upon thosands required to graduate from school.

                                               photo credit: Max Lib via photo pin cc

Why College?

I chose college because from an early age everyone I knew always said the same thing, go to college. So I took their advice and here I am, but not until around my sophmore year in high school did I ever understand why people I looked to as role models said for me to go to college. You can get a more prestigious job with a higher education. Having this "degree" will help open doors that would have remained closed without said degree. Plus it is proven that a higher degree allows for one to make more money and the only place to get a degree is college. College prepares you to get a job that you want to do for the rest of your life. I want to work for NASA or Boeing so they probably would not hire someone that has no experience in that field or knowledge of it. A degree enables you to have the training and the schooling required.

I love college and everything about it but I would like to bring out one point that might be offensive to some. In my opinion if you go to college for a career that there are no jobs then you waste around four years of your time and thousands of dollars. In the current day we live in math, science, engineering, and medical degrees are the only ones that mean anything. I know someone that went to The University of Alabama and majored in communications. Nothing wrong with that, it's just that person couldn't find a job for that degree and is now working at Academy for minimum wage. Four years costs around $50,000 so it would take an extremely long time to pay off student loans and debt. So unless you know 100% there will be a job in your field it would almost be smarter to not go to college.