k.e.g. on tap: life, quotes, and random musings

It wasn't the reward that mattered or the recognition you might harvest. It was your depth of commitment, your quality of service, the product of your devotion -- these were the things that counted in life. When you gave purely, the honor in giving, and that was honor enough. --Captain Scott O'Grady

It's hard to believe that it's already time for first year students to move in today. I can't help but reflect on my time in college (which I realize was not that long ago). I remember how nervous I was to start college. It turns out (no matter how cliche it sounds) to be the best years of my life so far. I made awesome friends from all across the country and globe. Many of those friendships will be lifelong relationships. I don't know where I would be today without my Cottey girls and the awesome people working at Cottey. Coe is/was great too. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to study abroad and meet my amazing host family. I can only hope that I can help the students I encounter through this position to have an equally great college experience. Here's to a great year!

I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in 13 Things. I have learned so much about Web 2.0. It's been great. I have suggested some of the things to my dad for him to use in his line of work. I've also found ways to make use of some of them in my office at Coe. This school year the Office of Service-Learning & Campus Engagement (fondly thought of as "OSLiCE") is going to have a blog about all the events put on by our office. I am pretty excited about it as a way to engage with students in a different way and maybe even gain some publicity for our office. I think my time with the 13 things has been good for me personally as well as professionally. I have learned about all sorts of great web 2.0 features that I had no clue about. I feel more knowledgeable about some of the more recent technological advances. Ask my brother, I tend to be someone clueless about anything other than the basics. I think it's been rather interesting to read other peoples vie...

Screen Toaster seems cool. I just don't think I am tech-savvy enough to make use of it. Unless perhaps, I can use it when I need my brother's help fixing my computer. I think it could be quite helpful in terms of learning how to use various applications and other elements of Web 2.0. I am not entirely certain how I could make use of this in my office just yet, but I don't want to give up hope just yet. I might just need to tinker around with it a bit more and give it a bit more thought. Until then I am left feeling somewhat clueless about the whole thing. My attempt at " toasting the screen ."

Watching the videos made Creative Commons seem really great. When exploring the website, I came to find that it wasn't quite as easy to navigate as I imagined it would. That being said, I still think it could have some good uses for students in various arenas so long as they take time to verify that the item they have selected actually falls within the realm of "creative commons." I could imagine some students not putting in the effort to verify such sources. I think as with any type of source students use for the academic endeavors, we need to teach students the correct way to make use of external information and media and how to properly site work. Even when students have been taught how to use MLA, APA, or Chicago guidelines for citations, there are still students who will plagiarize someone's work. As it is now, I think most students probably do not fully understand copyright law. As with most things, there seem to be some positives and negatives to Creative ...

I can certainly see how having Google Reader set up could be quite useful to some individuals. I just don't think I am one of those people. The main reasons I seem to get online are to check/respond to email, check my facebook, and the occasional research. I get the majority of my news for the day by watching the early morning news and the local news at night before going to bed. I think between my limited interaction with the internet outside of communicating with family, friends, and colleagues, Delicious takes care of all my internet needs (at least for now). I could see how one day that may change, but right now it probably won't become a main part of my online life.