First week of classes in review
Miscellaneous notes from the first week of classes:
- Wow, it’s been a while since I was a student. My Tuesday evening class was practically my first exposure to PowerPoint as a lecture presentation method. Not that I’ve never encountered PowerPoint before — far from it — but before this term, I’d never taken a class where the professor used it. Though this may have something to do with humanities professors’ notorious resistance to new technologies than anything else. (Transparencies on the overhead projector, anyone?)
- Info 503, Introduction to Information Systems Analysis, was a bit of a culture shock at first, since it’s oriented toward the business-and-tech side of things. But then the professor started talking about object-oriented approaches to systems analysis, and my ears pricked up, even though it’s a fairly new set of concepts for me.
- I never really thought about it before, but I must be a visual learner — everything makes more sense to me if there are diagrams.
- The challenging thing about evening classes (this, at least, I remember from the occasional three-hour, 6 PM graduate seminar back in my Eng. Lit. days) is figuring out when to eat. I suspect that sandwiches before class and big salads at home afterwards are the answer. And energy bars. Lots and lots of ’em.
- In Info 510 (Information Sources and Services), we went around the room and introduced ourselves. It’s an interesting blend of just-finished-college folks and self-proclaimed career changers. Everyone has a different background.
- I’m finally going to learn how to use Dialog. Yay!
- And now, back to thinking about topics for group project #1 of my MSLIS career…
amanda, have you by any chance seen the powerpoint version of the gettysburg address?
http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/
I’m not out of my twenties yet and I’ve never seen Powerpoint in the classroom. Oh yeah, and I’m still in school.
Oh, man, that Gettysburg Address site is hilarious. Edward Tufte would be pleased.