Archive for September, 2009

Literacy: We’ve Still Got It

I was never concerned as to whether or not today’s school-age kids were going to be considered fully functioning adults someday; anyone who can seemingly mind-meld with a computer (or a cell phone or anything gizmo-ish), understand it, and make it work is probably going to do just fine once they’re let loose on the [ READ MORE ]

Number-Crunching the Effects of Student Loans

College Scholarships.org has the bad financial news for college students explained simply and graphically below. The immediate effects of student loans are explained, as well as the long-term effects (the ones you thought you’d be done thinking about that many years down the line). I’m hoping that the nationwide foreclosure situation has educated everyone as [ READ MORE ]

Super Scientific Description

I love it when highly educated, intelligent, and knowledgeable scientists find something new that’s so damn cool, the only thing they can come up with to say is, “It’s a big weird looking freaky thing.” Ichthyologist Doug Long of the California Academy of Sciences came up with that one in an interview with Wired Science. [ READ MORE ]

No More Tray Sledding For You!

In an effort to reduce waste and do their part to save the planet, college dining halls have begun to go trayless. Plates are still available (they’re not barbarians), as are eating utensils. It turns out that the trayless policy has reduced water and energy use, and because the students can only gracefully carry so [ READ MORE ]

“An Inside Look At College Costs”

This is a ponderable piece on the current financial situation colleges and universities have found themselves in. Who benefits from the money coming into a school? Hint: It’s probably not the faculty or the students. Here’s an excerpt: An interesting point to consider comes from the U.S. Department of Education, which surveyed nearly 3,000 colleges [ READ MORE ]

“Ask Your Teachers for a Rebate”

Ian Ayres is a gentleman and a scholar (and a lawyer and an economist). He’s a professor at Yale, and since 2005 has been handing out cash to his students whenever he assigns one of his own books as a required text. That way, he hopes, people will understand that he wants to use his [ READ MORE ]

Grad School Application Advice: Don’t Be Student #2

If you’re planning to apply to grad school someday, please heed Female Science Professor’s words of wisdom. She knows of what she speaks, and her descriptions of two different–and considerately unnamed–graduate-program hopefuls is painful in its education. Student 1 seems capable of dealing with the realities of and the hoop-jumping required for graduate studies. Student [ READ MORE ]

“The University’s Crisis of Purpose”

Big dreams and no money. Such is the situation colleges, universities, and the students who attend them are struggling with. The schools want to teach students to think outside the box, to be able to look ahead and improve the future of humanity. The students want to learn how to think wider and deeper and [ READ MORE ]

Too Much Enrollment, Not Enough Funding

Enrollment at community colleges is increasing at a startling rate. The two main contributing factors being: (a) college students and their parents are pinched for funds and spending a few years at a community college is several thousand dollars cheaper than heading for a four-year school immediately after high school graduation; and (b) adults who [ READ MORE ]

Simplify Messaging Insanity With Sendible

Simplify the high-tech messaging portion of your super busy life. If you’ve got messages coming in and going out from several directions all at once, it’s likely you’ll end up scattered and cranky. Or you’ll chuck all messaging devices and end up living on the perfect island I’ve already set aside for my own future [ READ MORE ]