Details coming soon...
Please keep watching- www.anycollege.com !!!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
It's contest day!!
If you haven't done so, you have until 5 PM CST today to check this out and post it!!
http://www.anycollege.com/contest/index.cfm
Win a $250 giftcard for Target to deck out your future dorm room if you're an incoming college freshman in 2009 or 2010!!
http://www.anycollege.com/contest/index.cfm
Win a $250 giftcard for Target to deck out your future dorm room if you're an incoming college freshman in 2009 or 2010!!
Monday, July 20, 2009
New Contest!! $250 Giftcard to deck your dorm!
Win a $250 giftcard to decorate your dorm room! 3 easy steps below:
Step 1 Must be one of the following:
Follower of AnyCollege.com on Twitter (www.twitter.com/anycollege)
Fan of AnyCollege.com on Facebook (www.facebook.com/anycollege)
Friend of AnyCollege.com on MySpace (www.myspace.com/anycollege)
Note: Increase your odds of winning by adding AnyCollege.com on more than one social network!
Step 2: Must have the provided logo as your profile picture on August 12th
(Here's the link for the images: http://www.anycollege.com/contest/index.cfm)
Step 3 Make the following post to your profile on August 12th:
' Win a $2,000 AnyCollege.com Scholarship! Take five minutes to apply at http://www.anycollege.com/scholarship.cfm '
Special Instructions:
Twitter followers, RT @anycollege
Facebook fans, post to ‘What’s on Your Mind’
MySpace fans, post to ‘What are you doing right now?’ or ‘Bulletin Space’
Full Contest Rules:
1. Must be an incoming college freshman as of 2009 or 2010.
2. Must be a fan, friend, or follower of AnyCollege.com on Facebook, MySpace and/or Twitter. Note: Joining more than one network increases your odds of winning!
3. Must have the provided AnyCollege.com logo as your profile picture on August 12th (all day!) AND post the following link to your page – Win a $2,000 AnyCollege.com Scholarship! Take five minutes to apply at http://www.anycollege.com/scholarship.cfm.
4. Winner will be chosen at random for a $250 giftcard and will be notified on August 13th through instant message on Facebook, MySpace and/or Twitter. No information submission is necessary to win, however the winner must provide us with a mailing address for the giftcard.
Step 1 Must be one of the following:
Follower of AnyCollege.com on Twitter (www.twitter.com/anycollege)
Fan of AnyCollege.com on Facebook (www.facebook.com/anycollege)
Friend of AnyCollege.com on MySpace (www.myspace.com/anycollege)
Note: Increase your odds of winning by adding AnyCollege.com on more than one social network!
Step 2: Must have the provided logo as your profile picture on August 12th
(Here's the link for the images: http://www.anycollege.com/contest/index.cfm)
Step 3 Make the following post to your profile on August 12th:
' Win a $2,000 AnyCollege.com Scholarship! Take five minutes to apply at http://www.anycollege.com/scholarship.cfm '
Special Instructions:
Twitter followers, RT @anycollege
Facebook fans, post to ‘What’s on Your Mind’
MySpace fans, post to ‘What are you doing right now?’ or ‘Bulletin Space’
Full Contest Rules:
1. Must be an incoming college freshman as of 2009 or 2010.
2. Must be a fan, friend, or follower of AnyCollege.com on Facebook, MySpace and/or Twitter. Note: Joining more than one network increases your odds of winning!
3. Must have the provided AnyCollege.com logo as your profile picture on August 12th (all day!) AND post the following link to your page – Win a $2,000 AnyCollege.com Scholarship! Take five minutes to apply at http://www.anycollege.com/scholarship.cfm.
4. Winner will be chosen at random for a $250 giftcard and will be notified on August 13th through instant message on Facebook, MySpace and/or Twitter. No information submission is necessary to win, however the winner must provide us with a mailing address for the giftcard.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Diving In
I think I heard the most amazing thing ever on the radio driving home yesterday. Talking with a panel about community organizations in a small, northern MN iron range town a local woman came up and said "If you're going to complain about apathy, start with yourself." This one hit home.
I moved back to a small town a little over a year ago from living in a mid-sized city as well as two large metro areas for almost 10 years- in which time I became accustomed to the variety of resources and opportunities that were available for any interest that a person could have.
Upon moving up to this area I knew that there wouldn't be as many organizations and whatnot, however I was not expecting the attitude that surrounded them. I kept hearing over and over "This town needs a ______" (there would be a variety of things to fill that gap). But when I would ask "Then why don't you start one?" I would get a look of complete and utter astonishment, followed by a myriad of excuses from I don't have time to I don't know how to nothing at all....
So, after my experiences in Student Services of trying to get student organizations up and running on campus, which often came up with the same excuses (and that students wanted to be involved but didn't want to start something) I got myself in order and started three organizations in the city. Two are still growing but one took off like a rocket, and it's brought together over 500 people in the community. Was it a risk? Sure! Was it time consuming? Sure! But I have gotten to meet a lot of really fun, neat people that I would not have otherwise met.
So, the moral of this story is: if you get to campus this fall and realize that there isn't a group for whatever activity it is that you like to do: start one! Don't complain that your college doesn't have a group for people like you- chances are there are others on campus complaining about the same thing! Start with your own apathy, get rid of it and dive in head first!
PS- it's a resume builder too!
I moved back to a small town a little over a year ago from living in a mid-sized city as well as two large metro areas for almost 10 years- in which time I became accustomed to the variety of resources and opportunities that were available for any interest that a person could have.
Upon moving up to this area I knew that there wouldn't be as many organizations and whatnot, however I was not expecting the attitude that surrounded them. I kept hearing over and over "This town needs a ______" (there would be a variety of things to fill that gap). But when I would ask "Then why don't you start one?" I would get a look of complete and utter astonishment, followed by a myriad of excuses from I don't have time to I don't know how to nothing at all....
So, after my experiences in Student Services of trying to get student organizations up and running on campus, which often came up with the same excuses (and that students wanted to be involved but didn't want to start something) I got myself in order and started three organizations in the city. Two are still growing but one took off like a rocket, and it's brought together over 500 people in the community. Was it a risk? Sure! Was it time consuming? Sure! But I have gotten to meet a lot of really fun, neat people that I would not have otherwise met.
So, the moral of this story is: if you get to campus this fall and realize that there isn't a group for whatever activity it is that you like to do: start one! Don't complain that your college doesn't have a group for people like you- chances are there are others on campus complaining about the same thing! Start with your own apathy, get rid of it and dive in head first!
PS- it's a resume builder too!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Link to us!
If you're interested and wanted to place a link on your site to quickly direct students to our search here is a set of links and images that can easily be copied and pasted to your page.
https://www.anycollege.com/linktous.cfm
https://www.anycollege.com/linktous.cfm
Monday, July 13, 2009
What does "College" mean to you?
Just read a good blog post on the different connotations that "going to college" has with some people.
I'd like to revisit a few, and ask you to see where you fall in the list:
"Going to College" means a thing you just do after high school... a time to move out, meet people, party, and then move on with your life. (Whether or not that college pertains to it...)
"Going to College" means trying to get into the most prestigious college available... whether or not you like it, it's all about how hard it is to get in. Eventually you'll have a piece of paper you can brag about on the wall.
"Going to College" is about expanding your knowledge. Taking classes you wouldn't have the opportunity to anywhere else and learning about... well, whatever you can learn about!
"Going to College" is the first step towards a career and career training.
"Going to College" is something you do when you don't know what else to do with your life.
Chances are, one or more might apply to you... but I think it's something important to think about. Where were you when you started your college search? What did going to college mean then that it doesn't mean now? Why did it change? Why do you think you fall into the category you do? Did I miss any categories?
Just some food for thought for the week...
I'd like to revisit a few, and ask you to see where you fall in the list:
"Going to College" means a thing you just do after high school... a time to move out, meet people, party, and then move on with your life. (Whether or not that college pertains to it...)
"Going to College" means trying to get into the most prestigious college available... whether or not you like it, it's all about how hard it is to get in. Eventually you'll have a piece of paper you can brag about on the wall.
"Going to College" is about expanding your knowledge. Taking classes you wouldn't have the opportunity to anywhere else and learning about... well, whatever you can learn about!
"Going to College" is the first step towards a career and career training.
"Going to College" is something you do when you don't know what else to do with your life.
Chances are, one or more might apply to you... but I think it's something important to think about. Where were you when you started your college search? What did going to college mean then that it doesn't mean now? Why did it change? Why do you think you fall into the category you do? Did I miss any categories?
Just some food for thought for the week...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Respecting Students
I came across an interesting article today about how one professor turned his class around by getting a more positive view of his students and his material.
I thought it was an excellent point he made when he said he went into his material and found that it was put together on the idea of "You must learn this though it is a painful process". When he went back and tried to make the experience of learning more interesting to his students and a more enjoyable experience (note: not easier, just more enjoyable) by celebrating the discoveries with the students suddenly fewer students dropped his course and more were passing with higher grades.
Funny how that works... a little respect pays back 10 fold, rather than just dismissing students as "impossible to teach."
I thought it was an excellent point he made when he said he went into his material and found that it was put together on the idea of "You must learn this though it is a painful process". When he went back and tried to make the experience of learning more interesting to his students and a more enjoyable experience (note: not easier, just more enjoyable) by celebrating the discoveries with the students suddenly fewer students dropped his course and more were passing with higher grades.
Funny how that works... a little respect pays back 10 fold, rather than just dismissing students as "impossible to teach."
Monday, June 29, 2009
Pointing Fingers
I have heard some variations of this theme in my time through higher education, and it's one that has perplexed me quite a bit.
There seems to be a pointing fingers game within student success between student and professors. Students blame the profs for being bad teachers, and the profs blame the students for being lazy and unwilling to learn. So where is the line?
Many of the professors that I know are unwilling/unable to change their teaching style. To many, "changing teaching style" is equated with "dumbing down the class", which obviously they are unwilling (rightfully so) to do. However, as many in education know, there are many ways to teach the same material without "dumbing down" the class or making it easier. Making the material easier to learn does not mean making the material easier overall.
I guess I come down on the side of the student: if the material is being taught unsuccessfully then the style of teaching needs to change. I think the way to tell this is the continued success rates in a classroom. If semester after semester large numbers of students are failing the same class taught by the same professor, then maybe that professor should take a look at the teaching methods (not material...) being used in the classroom.
Maybe it's that I have a hard time thinking entire classes of students would not turn in homework in class after class... again, if that is happening where is the information getting lost?
However, this isn't to say that there aren't lazy or bad or poor students out there (I've been one too at times!), but when it's consistent then I think it's a problem.
On the other side, if there is a student failing similar classes over and over and over again at what point is there an intervention to understand how the student learns best and find where s/he is struggling? I know this takes time and manpower on the side of the school, but isn't the retention of a student worth it? Again, this isn't to say to put together a specialized plan for the student, but simply to help him/her understand how best to approach school work.
I was 23 before I realized I was an auditory learner. If I take notes I am far less likely to remember information than if I simply listen to it- at which point I can replay it in my head like a tape recorder. I recall a class in which I was yelled at in front of the class because I was not taking notes- and when I tried to explain that I learn better by listening and processing the information rather than mindlessly writing down the words being spoken it just resulted in being forced to write down the notes that he insisted people took to remember things- he even stopped to check that I was writing at points that day. It's a good thing that was only a one day for work kind of class, because I would have never gone back had it been a regular college class! (Yes, I'm stubborn like that.)But it would have been much better had it simply been accepted that I knew what kind of a learner I am and moved on from there. I think also had I known this earlier in my college career some classes would have been easier and I would have learned more, rather than trying to fit into what I "should" be doing to retain information.
The latest place where this has come up is with online vs. traditional vs. blended education. Obviously the some of the three formats work for some students and professors better than others. But they seem to all be pointing fingers accusing the other style (whichever one that is) of holding them back. A study came out showing blended education to be bringing in a lot of good results with students as well as high retention rates, but naturally there is outcry against having to change a teaching style or a learning style.
Again... we get profs blaming students for not knowing how to use the software (Blackboard, Angel, etc.) properly and students blaming the profs for not structuring/designing the class to be online user friendly. (A lovely quote from a comment on the subject: When it works, it's not an online utopia--it's just another space for meaningful learning. )
So at what point must the student or professor or admin at a school step back, stop pointing fingers at everyone else and say "Maybe it's not "them"... maybe it's me?"
Sadly, that's a very, very hard statement for many people to make.
There seems to be a pointing fingers game within student success between student and professors. Students blame the profs for being bad teachers, and the profs blame the students for being lazy and unwilling to learn. So where is the line?
Many of the professors that I know are unwilling/unable to change their teaching style. To many, "changing teaching style" is equated with "dumbing down the class", which obviously they are unwilling (rightfully so) to do. However, as many in education know, there are many ways to teach the same material without "dumbing down" the class or making it easier. Making the material easier to learn does not mean making the material easier overall.
I guess I come down on the side of the student: if the material is being taught unsuccessfully then the style of teaching needs to change. I think the way to tell this is the continued success rates in a classroom. If semester after semester large numbers of students are failing the same class taught by the same professor, then maybe that professor should take a look at the teaching methods (not material...) being used in the classroom.
Maybe it's that I have a hard time thinking entire classes of students would not turn in homework in class after class... again, if that is happening where is the information getting lost?
However, this isn't to say that there aren't lazy or bad or poor students out there (I've been one too at times!), but when it's consistent then I think it's a problem.
On the other side, if there is a student failing similar classes over and over and over again at what point is there an intervention to understand how the student learns best and find where s/he is struggling? I know this takes time and manpower on the side of the school, but isn't the retention of a student worth it? Again, this isn't to say to put together a specialized plan for the student, but simply to help him/her understand how best to approach school work.
I was 23 before I realized I was an auditory learner. If I take notes I am far less likely to remember information than if I simply listen to it- at which point I can replay it in my head like a tape recorder. I recall a class in which I was yelled at in front of the class because I was not taking notes- and when I tried to explain that I learn better by listening and processing the information rather than mindlessly writing down the words being spoken it just resulted in being forced to write down the notes that he insisted people took to remember things- he even stopped to check that I was writing at points that day. It's a good thing that was only a one day for work kind of class, because I would have never gone back had it been a regular college class! (Yes, I'm stubborn like that.)But it would have been much better had it simply been accepted that I knew what kind of a learner I am and moved on from there. I think also had I known this earlier in my college career some classes would have been easier and I would have learned more, rather than trying to fit into what I "should" be doing to retain information.
The latest place where this has come up is with online vs. traditional vs. blended education. Obviously the some of the three formats work for some students and professors better than others. But they seem to all be pointing fingers accusing the other style (whichever one that is) of holding them back. A study came out showing blended education to be bringing in a lot of good results with students as well as high retention rates, but naturally there is outcry against having to change a teaching style or a learning style.
Again... we get profs blaming students for not knowing how to use the software (Blackboard, Angel, etc.) properly and students blaming the profs for not structuring/designing the class to be online user friendly. (A lovely quote from a comment on the subject: When it works, it's not an online utopia--it's just another space for meaningful learning. )
So at what point must the student or professor or admin at a school step back, stop pointing fingers at everyone else and say "Maybe it's not "them"... maybe it's me?"
Sadly, that's a very, very hard statement for many people to make.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Bizarre quizzes
There are some of those quizzes that are supposedly supposed to help you determine what you're supposed to be when you grow up, or whatever else (not one of those "Which Superhero Are You" kind of ones). I just tried to take one from an affiliate site here and I got totally confused. Here's the survey if you'd like to give it a shot.
The questions were laid out in an either/or kind of fashion, but often the two choices were completely unrelated. It was like answering "Are you more interested in riding an elephant or creating a calendar?" Most of the time I kept thinking "Well, neither of these". And when the questions kept clearly being centered around the medical or tourism industries (neither of which I personally am too interested in) I ended up making a fairly false impression of myself. Truth be told I only made it halfway through the survey.
Does anyone know how these are supposed to work? If I have to continually indicate that I'd be more interested in the tourism industry than the medical industry (but never get to indicate that I'm not very interested in either and never get to compare those two to anything else...) then I wondered if I would get a response of "You should go into tourism and be a travel agent!"
Riiiiight.
So, I remain a little confused, and still don't want to be a travel agent when I grow up.
The questions were laid out in an either/or kind of fashion, but often the two choices were completely unrelated. It was like answering "Are you more interested in riding an elephant or creating a calendar?" Most of the time I kept thinking "Well, neither of these". And when the questions kept clearly being centered around the medical or tourism industries (neither of which I personally am too interested in) I ended up making a fairly false impression of myself. Truth be told I only made it halfway through the survey.
Does anyone know how these are supposed to work? If I have to continually indicate that I'd be more interested in the tourism industry than the medical industry (but never get to indicate that I'm not very interested in either and never get to compare those two to anything else...) then I wondered if I would get a response of "You should go into tourism and be a travel agent!"
Riiiiight.
So, I remain a little confused, and still don't want to be a travel agent when I grow up.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Need Some Lovin'
Actually, make that, "Need Some Likin' "
These videos need some love, er, like... from YOU!
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=3622798
Or... there's this one:
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=1563445#now_playing
Or, be the first one to like THIS video:
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=1594688#now_playing
What about this video?
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=1565417#now_playing
Still no love? Try this:
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=1592197#now_playing
Were you the first liker on any of these? Did the videos get you interested in any of these schools?
These videos need some love, er, like... from YOU!
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=3622798
Or... there's this one:
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=1563445#now_playing
Or, be the first one to like THIS video:
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=1594688#now_playing
What about this video?
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=1565417#now_playing
Still no love? Try this:
http://www.anycollege.com/video_library/index.cfm?cid=1592197#now_playing
Were you the first liker on any of these? Did the videos get you interested in any of these schools?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Staying With the Times: Profs, Admin and Technology
I admit, I get a bit of a kick reading about the latest technology that has come out and then reading the comments on the article to see how many prophets of doom that have a PhD attached to their name like to come out and say that whatever the new gadget is will completely ruin education, etc etc etc.
I heard one about the Kindle, which I admit I don't know much about but if it's true that a student could just buy one of these then pay a lot less to download books onto it... well, from a students perspective that's pretty cool. (Yes I know there's the whole textbook industry to think about but at what point is it ridiculous that you can't buy a used book because the professor is using the newest edition that has 2 pages changed in it?)
Then I heard about the person who came up with (as a joke, I will add) the corrupted email attachment that students can pay $5.00 to download and send to their professors to buy a little extra time to write the paper. Again, I admit I giggled a little bit when I read that. Yes, I know it's ethically wrong to do, but if you were to ask a random sampling of students if they ever wished they had something like that I bet 75% would say that at some point in their life they wished they had thought of that. (It's that whole reality thing again!)
But that's not the point of this blog.
The point was the outrage (and rightly so, but still) of various professors and instructors in the comments section of this article. Many, many, many of them said "I never use email for anything in my class and after reading this I never ever will!" But here's where I get confused. Most of us in the business world use email on a daily basis for a lot of important communication. So why can't education hop on the same bandwagon? What is causing this horrible horrible fear that many academics have in both secondary school and post secondary education about using technology in the classroom? It's got to be more than the occasional corrupt file that a student sends to buy another day to write a paper. Why is there a seeming stubborn contingent that wants us to stay permanently in 1975? (Or earlier...) But yet we can't imagine a 16 year old driving a car now without a cell phone...
I do think that these things (email, Kindles, Blackboard and other online learning software, even social networking) are there to improve our lives and improve learning... if first we learn not to be afraid of them. (The ironic thing is as I'm writing this I'm looking at my cell phone which only calls people and can do text messages- nothing else... I intentionally bought a phone that doesn't have anything else on it, mainly because I don't need it. I'm not against it being out there and available, it's just not necessary for me at this time.) Plus, a LOT of the online software that is being used in higher education has options that prevent cheating. But if that's where kids are- on the computer and online... why not go to them instead of forcing them to conform to something out of date? Maybe we could look at adapting to them, since the 16-22 year old demographic tends to be on the cutting edge of the newest technology, and encourage them to take the technology and run with it. (Aren't we complaining about the lack of innovation and creativity in kids? I hear it quite a bit...) Who knows what might happen!
Moral of the story... adapt. Things won't ever, ever stay the same no matter how much we'd sometimes like them to, especially with the speed at which technology is evolving now. But it's not going to do anyone any good to dig your heels in and say you're not playing... so might as well join 'em if you can't beat em.
Anyway- read the article-- the issue it's about is one thing, but the response of the academics is what scares me.
Students? What do you think?
Teachers/professors? What do you think?
I heard one about the Kindle, which I admit I don't know much about but if it's true that a student could just buy one of these then pay a lot less to download books onto it... well, from a students perspective that's pretty cool. (Yes I know there's the whole textbook industry to think about but at what point is it ridiculous that you can't buy a used book because the professor is using the newest edition that has 2 pages changed in it?)
Then I heard about the person who came up with (as a joke, I will add) the corrupted email attachment that students can pay $5.00 to download and send to their professors to buy a little extra time to write the paper. Again, I admit I giggled a little bit when I read that. Yes, I know it's ethically wrong to do, but if you were to ask a random sampling of students if they ever wished they had something like that I bet 75% would say that at some point in their life they wished they had thought of that. (It's that whole reality thing again!)
But that's not the point of this blog.
The point was the outrage (and rightly so, but still) of various professors and instructors in the comments section of this article. Many, many, many of them said "I never use email for anything in my class and after reading this I never ever will!" But here's where I get confused. Most of us in the business world use email on a daily basis for a lot of important communication. So why can't education hop on the same bandwagon? What is causing this horrible horrible fear that many academics have in both secondary school and post secondary education about using technology in the classroom? It's got to be more than the occasional corrupt file that a student sends to buy another day to write a paper. Why is there a seeming stubborn contingent that wants us to stay permanently in 1975? (Or earlier...) But yet we can't imagine a 16 year old driving a car now without a cell phone...
I do think that these things (email, Kindles, Blackboard and other online learning software, even social networking) are there to improve our lives and improve learning... if first we learn not to be afraid of them. (The ironic thing is as I'm writing this I'm looking at my cell phone which only calls people and can do text messages- nothing else... I intentionally bought a phone that doesn't have anything else on it, mainly because I don't need it. I'm not against it being out there and available, it's just not necessary for me at this time.) Plus, a LOT of the online software that is being used in higher education has options that prevent cheating. But if that's where kids are- on the computer and online... why not go to them instead of forcing them to conform to something out of date? Maybe we could look at adapting to them, since the 16-22 year old demographic tends to be on the cutting edge of the newest technology, and encourage them to take the technology and run with it. (Aren't we complaining about the lack of innovation and creativity in kids? I hear it quite a bit...) Who knows what might happen!
Moral of the story... adapt. Things won't ever, ever stay the same no matter how much we'd sometimes like them to, especially with the speed at which technology is evolving now. But it's not going to do anyone any good to dig your heels in and say you're not playing... so might as well join 'em if you can't beat em.
Anyway- read the article-- the issue it's about is one thing, but the response of the academics is what scares me.
Students? What do you think?
Teachers/professors? What do you think?
Friday, June 12, 2009
Games + College Admission
Not gonna lie, when we started talking about that I got the fun little chills that come with hearing a REALLY good idea come up.
What about this: Almost all teens and even their parents now are playing some kind of video game, be that on the Xbox, on their mobile phone or on the internet. (I watched one of the high school kids I work with outside of Anycollege play Bejeweled obsessively on her phone for almost an hour the other night.)
So what about a casual type of game to help with college admissions? I'm not sure yet what this would be... but it sounds kind of cool. Think about the games on Facebook and Myspace that people use: the Mafia Wars and similar games, even the Lil' Green Patch, etc. My guess is that you can think of someone who is crazy addicted to one of these games. So what if it was something like that but centered around a college? Hmmm...
Lots of possibility...
What about this: Almost all teens and even their parents now are playing some kind of video game, be that on the Xbox, on their mobile phone or on the internet. (I watched one of the high school kids I work with outside of Anycollege play Bejeweled obsessively on her phone for almost an hour the other night.)
So what about a casual type of game to help with college admissions? I'm not sure yet what this would be... but it sounds kind of cool. Think about the games on Facebook and Myspace that people use: the Mafia Wars and similar games, even the Lil' Green Patch, etc. My guess is that you can think of someone who is crazy addicted to one of these games. So what if it was something like that but centered around a college? Hmmm...
Lots of possibility...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
"Like" Your Favorite Video!!
New feature on the website!
Like, now you can, like, totally, like, like your favorite, like, video on our, like, college video website!
Like, now you can, like, totally, like, like your favorite, like, video on our, like, college video website!
www.anycollege.tv
Do you have a school you really like or a video you really like? Tell your friends about it and have them like it too!
And I have a challenge for you: post a comment using the word "like" more than I did in once sentence!
PS- check out our home page too. New stuff... see the most liked video, most watched video, most searched schools and majors!
And I have a challenge for you: post a comment using the word "like" more than I did in once sentence!
PS- check out our home page too. New stuff... see the most liked video, most watched video, most searched schools and majors!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Your College Advisor
Without a doubt, this is one of the most important, influential people in your college career. He/she will help you figure out your classes, help you figure out some direction for your overall education or other general academic matters.
I've gone through a few of these over the years and have seen what good and bad ones can do for your academics- and have a few thoughts on working with them.
Advisor #1 was a very well respected professor in her field (she liked very much to talk about the various people she had trained with and trained herself). This was cool, except for the fact that she had her favorites in the department and I was not one of them. This meant my advising meetings were about half the time of some of the other students- I would ask quite a few questions (after reading this blog I'm sure you can imagine how many questions I will ask in an actual conversation) because I was very interested in doing much of the same kind of work that she had done. But I hardly got the time of day with her. To be honest, while I was thrilled to have her as an advisor I was very happy when I switched to...
Advisor #2 who is still to this day my favorite advisor. After one conversation with me he suggested a completely different track within the field that I was studying, and immediately figured out where my actual interests were. While he was not as well known in the field, he taught some of the most interesting classes I've ever taken and always had advice on whatever I wanted to ask him about- from extracurricular activities to other classes he didn't teach. He kept in touch with me as well as many other students after we left the college for some years and was still even then a great person to approach for questions.
Advisor #3 was at a different college and we simply did not see eye to eye. Ever. He wanted me to follow the track that he taught (never mind that it was a complete 180 from my interests and prior education that advisor #2 laid the foundation for). It's frustrating as a student to have the person who is supposed to be helping you never really listen to where you're trying to go with your education and career. However, there was another professor who taught the classes that I really liked who was much more helpful in assisting me at this time.
Advisor #4 was at yet another university, this one of over 50,000 students. I met him only once in the course of two or so years. He signed the papers needed for graduation, asked how my last class was going and flipped out when I said "Fine...". He kept asking "Just, fine?" Well... yes! I was fairly indifferent to it at that point and I didn't see the use of getting all excited over the last week of classes. I told him I was passing it with a good grade and there was nothing to worry about. I really couldn't get out of the office fast enough.
Advisor #5 in grad school was pretty good. He really had some good suggestions for my classes and helped me get an independent study so I could live 200 miles from the campus and finish the last class. Again, it made a big difference that he listened to what I wanted to do and based on my employment history (in higher education) and prior education (in fine arts) he was able to really help me get my thoughts in order for after my graduation.
Advisor #6 is my current advisor, for my final thesis/capstone project that will finish my graduate degree. Granted I am living about 200 miles from campus so in person meetings are more than a little hard, but the beauty of email is I can instantly send her everything that I'm working on, and typically she gets it back quickly. That is, when she's not busy. It's been a little frustrating trying to finish the degree and having to wait and wait and wait for her schedule to allow her the time to take a look at my work when I'm trying to wrap everything up quite quickly at this point. Granted yes, I know she's busy at the school, but it's frustrating being in the position of having to wait for your adviser's approval and spin your wheels in place until that happens.
So I've run the spectrum from very involved to barely knowing my advisor. I recommend highly trying to get to know him/her and open yourself up to that person enough that you can get good advice from him/her. You won't always get along. That's frustrating, but it happens. When it does I would recommend either trying to switch to someone else once you've gotten to know a few professors or just do what I did and have an informal advisor. Either way, having someone at the school who knows you as more than just a name on a paper or a seat in class will be beneficial when you run into the inevitable roadblocks that will come up.
I've gone through a few of these over the years and have seen what good and bad ones can do for your academics- and have a few thoughts on working with them.
Advisor #1 was a very well respected professor in her field (she liked very much to talk about the various people she had trained with and trained herself). This was cool, except for the fact that she had her favorites in the department and I was not one of them. This meant my advising meetings were about half the time of some of the other students- I would ask quite a few questions (after reading this blog I'm sure you can imagine how many questions I will ask in an actual conversation) because I was very interested in doing much of the same kind of work that she had done. But I hardly got the time of day with her. To be honest, while I was thrilled to have her as an advisor I was very happy when I switched to...
Advisor #2 who is still to this day my favorite advisor. After one conversation with me he suggested a completely different track within the field that I was studying, and immediately figured out where my actual interests were. While he was not as well known in the field, he taught some of the most interesting classes I've ever taken and always had advice on whatever I wanted to ask him about- from extracurricular activities to other classes he didn't teach. He kept in touch with me as well as many other students after we left the college for some years and was still even then a great person to approach for questions.
Advisor #3 was at a different college and we simply did not see eye to eye. Ever. He wanted me to follow the track that he taught (never mind that it was a complete 180 from my interests and prior education that advisor #2 laid the foundation for). It's frustrating as a student to have the person who is supposed to be helping you never really listen to where you're trying to go with your education and career. However, there was another professor who taught the classes that I really liked who was much more helpful in assisting me at this time.
Advisor #4 was at yet another university, this one of over 50,000 students. I met him only once in the course of two or so years. He signed the papers needed for graduation, asked how my last class was going and flipped out when I said "Fine...". He kept asking "Just, fine?" Well... yes! I was fairly indifferent to it at that point and I didn't see the use of getting all excited over the last week of classes. I told him I was passing it with a good grade and there was nothing to worry about. I really couldn't get out of the office fast enough.
Advisor #5 in grad school was pretty good. He really had some good suggestions for my classes and helped me get an independent study so I could live 200 miles from the campus and finish the last class. Again, it made a big difference that he listened to what I wanted to do and based on my employment history (in higher education) and prior education (in fine arts) he was able to really help me get my thoughts in order for after my graduation.
Advisor #6 is my current advisor, for my final thesis/capstone project that will finish my graduate degree. Granted I am living about 200 miles from campus so in person meetings are more than a little hard, but the beauty of email is I can instantly send her everything that I'm working on, and typically she gets it back quickly. That is, when she's not busy. It's been a little frustrating trying to finish the degree and having to wait and wait and wait for her schedule to allow her the time to take a look at my work when I'm trying to wrap everything up quite quickly at this point. Granted yes, I know she's busy at the school, but it's frustrating being in the position of having to wait for your adviser's approval and spin your wheels in place until that happens.
So I've run the spectrum from very involved to barely knowing my advisor. I recommend highly trying to get to know him/her and open yourself up to that person enough that you can get good advice from him/her. You won't always get along. That's frustrating, but it happens. When it does I would recommend either trying to switch to someone else once you've gotten to know a few professors or just do what I did and have an informal advisor. Either way, having someone at the school who knows you as more than just a name on a paper or a seat in class will be beneficial when you run into the inevitable roadblocks that will come up.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Program size at college...
Lately I've been working on a project outside of Anycollege that is involving several high school students who are going to be seniors next year and are starting to narrow down their search for colleges. While talking to them (as many of them are considering going to college for the same undergraduate degree I have) an interesting topic has come up: the size of the department that you're going to.
Most college search and fit characteristics tend to revolve around location of the campus (city/rural), overall size of the campus, extracurricular opportunities, class size etc.... but very rarely do I ever hear come up "how big is the department?"
This might seem like it directly relates to class size but I don't believe this is the case.
Reason being, you can have a tiny department, but this could mean they only offer some classes every other year, thus forcing two years worth of classes to take it all at once and doubling the amount of people in the class.
Also, there is access to opportunity. Again, the key is to find the happy medium. If it's super small you may be guaranteed the chance to get involved in everything your academic department or school does, thus giving you a lot of opportunity but not much competition. On the other hand, you can have a larger department where students have to compete to get a shot to be involved, but can't always be in everything thus decreasing involvement. (Or, the department can be huge and competition can be crazy and you can only be involved occasionally... ) So what's the best route?
I think it depends on your personality, what you are comfortable with, what your career goals are and how you feel about the campus. Again, a small department you'll get to know everyone very well (some will say too well) but a larger department you'll have more opportunity to meet more people but maybe not get to know everyone quite as well.
However, I do think you should also seriously consider the size of your academic department when looking for a college, in addition to all of those other things. Sure it's one more thing to look at, but if you make the right choice the first time you'll be much more successful and happier down the road. [Insert my theme of transferring is a pain here].
What do you think? Is department size something to consider?
Most college search and fit characteristics tend to revolve around location of the campus (city/rural), overall size of the campus, extracurricular opportunities, class size etc.... but very rarely do I ever hear come up "how big is the department?"
This might seem like it directly relates to class size but I don't believe this is the case.
Reason being, you can have a tiny department, but this could mean they only offer some classes every other year, thus forcing two years worth of classes to take it all at once and doubling the amount of people in the class.
Also, there is access to opportunity. Again, the key is to find the happy medium. If it's super small you may be guaranteed the chance to get involved in everything your academic department or school does, thus giving you a lot of opportunity but not much competition. On the other hand, you can have a larger department where students have to compete to get a shot to be involved, but can't always be in everything thus decreasing involvement. (Or, the department can be huge and competition can be crazy and you can only be involved occasionally... ) So what's the best route?
I think it depends on your personality, what you are comfortable with, what your career goals are and how you feel about the campus. Again, a small department you'll get to know everyone very well (some will say too well) but a larger department you'll have more opportunity to meet more people but maybe not get to know everyone quite as well.
However, I do think you should also seriously consider the size of your academic department when looking for a college, in addition to all of those other things. Sure it's one more thing to look at, but if you make the right choice the first time you'll be much more successful and happier down the road. [Insert my theme of transferring is a pain here].
What do you think? Is department size something to consider?
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Internets iz a scary place!
Lots of hubbub this morning about a well respected blog for higher education marketing being taken down, due to to disagreements between the blogger and the blogger's higher-ups.
Basically the back story is this: The blog is a personal blog, tastefully and humorously written, that fictionalizes the blogger's roadblocks at work. Identities of the people, places and events being referred to are not disclosed or heavily fictionalized in the form of cartoons, and the blog brought some insight into the blogger's life and the background of the work he was doing for his school. But, the school decided that he was too openly criticizing their processes and as soon as they found out about the blog he was "given a talking to" about the blog, and the writer decided to shut it down. Basically they were afraid his critiques, though cleverly disguised, were not disguised enough and it would hinder their web redesign process even more if others saw it and were afraid of how they would be represented on it. (Granted in a humorous, cartoony way.)
This got me thinking, as it did many others.
The Internet is empowering to everyone- anyone can go on it and instantly have a voice via a blog or twitter or commenting on articles that is public and out there for the world to see. And that scares the bejeebus out of some institutions and whatnot (the college I worked for previously was one of these places, and closely monitored anything students said about it and would not allow any kind of public commenting forum because of what students might say on it), because they can't 100% monitor what is being publicly said about them.
And you know what? I think that's great.
That isn't to say I approve of the people who go on various articles and say terrible things about anyone that disagrees with them. But if someone has a terrible experience somewhere this not only gives the ability to share that with others who could potentially go there, but also a heads up to that institution/company/ etc. that someone had a terrible time and there is a situation to be remedied. Maybe it's too late to fix that one experience, but it's a chance to find an underlying problem and fix it. Plus if you can find something like this and then apologize and rectify everything how good does your company look then???
Sure we only want to see great things about whatever it is that we're involved with, but I think with the prevalence of the Internet authenticity is now valued more than constant pitches. A good review on a blog of a product or place is worth more than a thousand advertisements saying how good the product is. Why? We are all savvy now to being pitched to. No one wants to be sold anything, they want to find it organically, from a source they trust.
That being said, I think more people are more likely to trust a blog's opinion or a Tweet than an advertisement because it's an authentic reaction to whatever it is the blog or Tweet is about.
Sadly, many places still try to monitor everything that is being said about them, directly or indirectly, as in the case of this blog. But that just isn't possible anymore, and hey, if you can't beat them- join them! And let's face it, you can't make everyone happy all the time.
Again, I don't think there is a place for what I call "internet litter" (the hateful remarks spewed on some comment forms at other posters or the article itself) but conversation can be critical and be OK... as a college or company isn't it better to know someone is unhappy so you can do something about it rather than pretend it never happened?
Times is a changin'... some of the old ways of marketing and PR just don't work anymore with the "web 2.0" stuff.
I have to share the initial blog's response to the outcry on the web from blogs such as this one. What a beauty of a response- well done!
And on that note- have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Basically the back story is this: The blog is a personal blog, tastefully and humorously written, that fictionalizes the blogger's roadblocks at work. Identities of the people, places and events being referred to are not disclosed or heavily fictionalized in the form of cartoons, and the blog brought some insight into the blogger's life and the background of the work he was doing for his school. But, the school decided that he was too openly criticizing their processes and as soon as they found out about the blog he was "given a talking to" about the blog, and the writer decided to shut it down. Basically they were afraid his critiques, though cleverly disguised, were not disguised enough and it would hinder their web redesign process even more if others saw it and were afraid of how they would be represented on it. (Granted in a humorous, cartoony way.)
This got me thinking, as it did many others.
The Internet is empowering to everyone- anyone can go on it and instantly have a voice via a blog or twitter or commenting on articles that is public and out there for the world to see. And that scares the bejeebus out of some institutions and whatnot (the college I worked for previously was one of these places, and closely monitored anything students said about it and would not allow any kind of public commenting forum because of what students might say on it), because they can't 100% monitor what is being publicly said about them.
And you know what? I think that's great.
That isn't to say I approve of the people who go on various articles and say terrible things about anyone that disagrees with them. But if someone has a terrible experience somewhere this not only gives the ability to share that with others who could potentially go there, but also a heads up to that institution/company/ etc. that someone had a terrible time and there is a situation to be remedied. Maybe it's too late to fix that one experience, but it's a chance to find an underlying problem and fix it. Plus if you can find something like this and then apologize and rectify everything how good does your company look then???
Sure we only want to see great things about whatever it is that we're involved with, but I think with the prevalence of the Internet authenticity is now valued more than constant pitches. A good review on a blog of a product or place is worth more than a thousand advertisements saying how good the product is. Why? We are all savvy now to being pitched to. No one wants to be sold anything, they want to find it organically, from a source they trust.
That being said, I think more people are more likely to trust a blog's opinion or a Tweet than an advertisement because it's an authentic reaction to whatever it is the blog or Tweet is about.
Sadly, many places still try to monitor everything that is being said about them, directly or indirectly, as in the case of this blog. But that just isn't possible anymore, and hey, if you can't beat them- join them! And let's face it, you can't make everyone happy all the time.
Again, I don't think there is a place for what I call "internet litter" (the hateful remarks spewed on some comment forms at other posters or the article itself) but conversation can be critical and be OK... as a college or company isn't it better to know someone is unhappy so you can do something about it rather than pretend it never happened?
Times is a changin'... some of the old ways of marketing and PR just don't work anymore with the "web 2.0" stuff.
I have to share the initial blog's response to the outcry on the web from blogs such as this one. What a beauty of a response- well done!
And on that note- have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Cool Things About Involving High School Students
I have had a revelation with some of the community activities that I've been doing in the past few months that I don't know if it's really been figured out yet by a lot of the organizers in the community I'm in.
High Schoolers are the BEST people to get involved in your activity. Why?
Here's a quick run down:
1. They're passionate about it. There's not the cynicism I find with other adults about whatever the event is, these kids throw themselves into it 100% and completely believe it will be successful.
2. Because they are excited, they bring their friends, who in turn get excited. And so on...
3. They are masters of social networking. Do you want to advertise your event? Get a 16 year old who is on Facebook/Myspace/Twitter excited about it and s/he will update the status thing every 5 minutes with something new and exciting about your event/activity. Pretty soon everyone knows about it.
4. Text messaging. See #3, only with text messages.
5. When the teen is begging to go to this event, then they tell their parents... and thus the adults in the community find out about it.
It's an easy way to get word out about your activity in the community you're in. Social networking has made the world a much smaller pace where news can travel in an instant... and these kids are on top of it. The trick is involving a few of them in the production side of it- not only does it give them some responsibility but they're REALLY proud of it when it's over. So, moral of the story: to do grass roots marketing involve your local teenagers!
High Schoolers are the BEST people to get involved in your activity. Why?
Here's a quick run down:
1. They're passionate about it. There's not the cynicism I find with other adults about whatever the event is, these kids throw themselves into it 100% and completely believe it will be successful.
2. Because they are excited, they bring their friends, who in turn get excited. And so on...
3. They are masters of social networking. Do you want to advertise your event? Get a 16 year old who is on Facebook/Myspace/Twitter excited about it and s/he will update the status thing every 5 minutes with something new and exciting about your event/activity. Pretty soon everyone knows about it.
4. Text messaging. See #3, only with text messages.
5. When the teen is begging to go to this event, then they tell their parents... and thus the adults in the community find out about it.
It's an easy way to get word out about your activity in the community you're in. Social networking has made the world a much smaller pace where news can travel in an instant... and these kids are on top of it. The trick is involving a few of them in the production side of it- not only does it give them some responsibility but they're REALLY proud of it when it's over. So, moral of the story: to do grass roots marketing involve your local teenagers!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Words!
This is a fantastic video from someone who writes the dictionary. Quite frankly, I never thought writing the dictionary would be a cool job, but shows what I didn't know!
Check it out. It's kind of long so give it a bit to load, then watch, and watch the whole thing. There is a great bit about 10 minutes in. http://gelconference.com/videos/2006/erin_mckean/
Check it out. It's kind of long so give it a bit to load, then watch, and watch the whole thing. There is a great bit about 10 minutes in. http://gelconference.com/videos/2006/erin_mckean/
Friday, May 22, 2009
New Scholarship!
New scholarship available at www.mycollegescholarship.com
Check it out and have a great long weekend!
Check it out and have a great long weekend!
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