Midway VLOG Review of Summer Term '13

Between working full time at CMU, being a full-time student at RMU, serving in the National Guard, and volunteering as a firefighter, I've been extremely busy. I'm working to restructure my schedule and have been looking at my time management skills through prioritization. To save some time here, I've posted my first video blog (VLOG) to this site. Cheers!

I survived Week 1

My first week of doctoral coursework was very fruitful. Both of my professors were extremely knowledgeable, professional, and recognized experts in the field of education. I was swamped with reading and assignments. I love to read, but I’m typically a slower reader, especially when I feel that I need to take notes-which I nearly always do. There is obviously a lot of work involved in this program, but I knew that there would be so there’s no call to complain on that front.

The other student’s in my cohort are all extremely friendly people with diverse backgrounds and positive attitudes. I feel blessed that I can go through this with them.  I think that in a classroom full of extroverts, I may be the only introvert. I would bet that my research and public speaking skills will both improve vastly over the next several years.

I do feel a little bit out of my league, but I typically feel the same way with every new job I've ever started- it takes a little bit of time for me to get into the groove. I’m doing my best to stay cheerful and tweak my time management skills to accommodate these new life changes. Week 2 of 8 of the Summer Term starts tonight at 6PM in the RMU Library. Wish me luck!

Buying Books for 1st Term

It’s real now. I just bought my books for my first doctoral courses. I only had to purchase four books initially. I opted to buy online through Amazon.com. I elected 2-day shipping. My total in charges was $384.30. This might seem like a lot of money and I certainly do not like to part with my hard earned dollars, but compared to my prior studies I felt as though I had gotten a deal. The RMU bookstore had ordered, and reserved a copy of each of the textbooks for us. By ordering from Amazon rather than the campus bookstore I saved over $100.00. Bear in mind that I am not, nor have I ever been a wealthy man. 

I purchased my first car in 2001. I was in high school and had saved money from working as a caddy at the Fox Chapel Golf Club and a park attendant for a children’s park in my township. I paid only $500.00 for a four door 1987 Chevy Cavalier. The car was an obvious lemon- but I loved it. Today the reality of being a graduate student is that you must be prepared to spend more on books per semester than I did on my first vehicle.

Meaningful  Learning with Technology (4^th Edition). Howland, Jane L.

Qualitative Research in Education: A User’s Guide. Lichtman, Marilyn

Reading Statistics and Research (6^th Edition). Huck, Schuyler W.

Distance Education: A Systems View of Online Learning. Moore, Michael G.