Epics of India

(simple clock, taken from Pixabay ) Time management is a big deal, not only in college but in moving on into the professional world. A 3 month project cannot be magically condensed down into a night, no matter how hard you try. The consequences of doing that in college may just be a bad grade, but out there, especially in the engineering sector, lives could be put at risk! There's a saying a like and try to live by: "If it's not in your schedule, it doesn't exist." So, to mitigate potential procrastination, I've added a set hour block according to my schedule. Of course, there's always some flexibility needed; schedules don't always pan out the way I want them to. But it's good to at least develop some kind of consistency. I also downloaded this extension in my browser that displays a to-do list when I open a new tab. That way, before I can get to browsing the net, I'm reminded of what I need to do. I appreciate the article on building a...

(cafe tabletop, from Maxpixel.net ) This is the first, and probably will be the only, class where the majority of the assignments are through blogging. I greatly prefer this over turning in papers. It is a little more informal and a lot more interactive than traditional papers, and I think it fits the style of an online class much better. My first thought after visiting the Class Wiki was "overwhelming." There was a lot of information, but as I went through it a dissected it link by link, it turned out to be not too bad. I've only yet scratched the surface.  Until the next post, Smith

(Bill Russell, taken from  wikimedia ) Online classes have been...hit-and-miss for me. I like the flexibility and how fast you can finish the classes. Sometimes, they are set up really nicely and the professor is clear on when assignments are due, what assignments are due, what their grading policies are, etc. Other times, not so much. I think some professors forget that students are also taking other classes and assume the students are free to study for their class at any time (because it's online)...Happily, I can say that this is one of the former. The assignments are detailed and well explained, and the due dates, though flexible, are clear. I like the extra credit assignments ! The Wikipedia Trails one sounds interesting, similar to another game called "The Wiki Game," but without a clear destination. I'm looking forward to that one. I think the most interesting start-finish combination I have had from "The Wiki Game" was barbiturate (nervous ...

(A+ grade, taken from here ) "Are we raising kids who are obsessed with getting A's?...Their biggest goal is getting the next A, or the next test score?" Wow, what a question. This is definitely prevalent in today's academic environment. Students are so occupied with results that they disregard any sort of problem-solving processes. This in turn, results in a very negative trend - a short term, "quick fix," pseudo-high from a burst of dopamine that is a reward for, for example, looking up an answer online. As they continue to do so, a vicious cycle appears - a quick and easy answer (and praise for it) sets up a "comfort zone," as Carol Dweck calls it , of which students are afraid to venture out of because of the endangerment to their ego. As much as I am ashamed to admit it, I am also guilty of this. There's a definite cultural shift in this age - where you have the world in the palm of your hand - from learning things to looking up th...

My name is Smith. I know your first question: "What?? That's your first name?" 99.3% of people I've met have had this exact same conversation with me. I believe this is how the story goes: I was born in Bangkok, Thailand in July 1997. My mother is a native Thai, and my father is from Burma (which I believe is now called Myanmar). They had set their minds and their hearts to go the US eventually to make sure their kids had a good education and a better opportunity at a good life. Thus, to make sure I fit in, they looked up the most common English names. Unfortunately, the one they found happened to be a last name. And so, to this day, I have never met another man named Smith. Here's a picture of my parents, taken on a trip back to Thailand last summer. They're pretty cool people: (Surat Thani, Thailand) Fun fact, though: Martin van Buren's (the eighth US president's) youngest son was named Smith! So indirectly, I guess I'm pretty famous, tho...

Wow, there are so many creative ways to depict classic Indian stories! Turning them into "Storybooks," in which characters from these Indian stories are included in a modern retelling makes them more interesting and easier to understand, like your professor making a concept easier to understand by giving an anecdote. These are three Storybooks from previous students of Epics of India that I really enjoyed: The House to a Wife of Many What a haunting tale. The introduction set the story up in a way that really immersed you, almost as if you were talking to a friend that was recounting a story they went through. I almost believed that it was a real story being told. The format of the story - through entries from a diary rather than through narration - did an excellent job in establishing a timeline, but it sounded like the main character, who was reading the diary, had a very similar tone of voice/vocabulary as Betsy, who was from the late 19th century. That was a little...

Cape Town, South Africa:  I visited Cape Town two summers ago, and the beautiful landscapes captivated me. From white sand beaches, to soaring mountains, to wild grasslands, South Africa has it all. If I had the opportunity, I wouldn't hesitate to go back! It's only an ocean away...The following three pictures (taken by me), capture only 10% (or less) of the amazing scenery you can find there:   (Camps Bay Beach, Cape Town)  (Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town) (some of my group playing frisbee on the beach)