•8:30 PM
It is the same, but it is different, too. University, that is.
As I have mentioned before, the campus is mostly the same. Of course, many of the classrooms have been updated to accomodate the use of laptops ... which means there are electrical outlets at each desk space. The classrooms are equipped for multi-media presentations, and there is free wireless available in several buildings on campus.
For the most part, the students seem the same ... the geeks, the jocks, the artsy people, the cool chicks. Plus those guys who you know will get kicked out after the first semester... They all wear jeans and t-shirts, just like in the late '80s. Pretty much anything casual goes ... I saw a guy today wearing a rainbow-coloured belt ??
And, I feel the same; which is to say that I feel comfortable. I am looking through my same eyes; the only problem is that when people look back, I look a little different to them than I did twenty years ago. I feel comfortable in a classroom, and until my Early British Literature class, I felt fairly confident in my abilities. Don't worry, we'll discuss it soon; just not today.
The one thing that has changed significantly are the professors. When I was a student twenty years ago, the professors were impersonal and distant. They were there to lecture and bestow their knowledge upon us. The professors did not care to know our names or anything about us (the students) for that matter. I felt like a number in a sea of faces. And they certainly didn't care if you came to class or not.
Today, professors seem genuinely interested in getting to know their students. In each of my first two classes, we had to introduce ourselves ... because the profs want to learn our names. They are interested in the students' opinions and thoughts ... they encourage open discussion. Sometimes they even talk about themselves in a personal manner. One of my profs told the class she failed Economics when she was an undergrad, and she talked about her little boy. This would NEVER have happened twenty years ago.
Plus, each of my four professors has given their curriculum vitae (verbally) ... like they need to reassure us they are qualified to teach university-level courses.
The professors care if you attend their classes. They want you there, and they encourage it by providing marks for class participation. Each of my four courses awards marks for attendance, and participation.
Teaching styles have changed drastically. Professors lectured when I went to school twenty years ago. They stood at the front of the class in front of a lecturn and they spoke at us. Many times it was boring, and dry, and unengaging. Today, the professors teach. It is interactive and fun. In one class, we got into groups, moving furniture around the room and putting together very small presentations on literary terms. I will forever feel comfortable in defining ideology, paradigm and hegemony.
As I am sure you can imagine, laptops are everywhere ... these kids even sit in the hallway, and while awaiting a class, they pull out their laptop and log in. Right there. While sitting cross-legged on the floor. I just don't have the energy to do that. It's much easier for us old ladies to just pull out a good old fashioned paperback book and do a little reading if we're a little early for class.
The other thing that bears mentioning is the abundance of information that is available to students today. There is an obvious and enormous difference from twenty years ago, and the contrast in the level of understanding is incredible. No longer are you dependent on just your textbook for information or explanation ... you have the Internet at your fingertips. For instance, my professor referenced a book that further expounded on the point she was making. In days past, I would not have really thought any more about it ... what could I do, other than check the University Library? However, since it was an essay published in 1967, I would never have found it. Plus I had the title wrong. After just a few clicks, I had all the information I needed to appreciate what she was talking about. My History professor posts all his power-point lecture notes on-line for easy access to what he lectured about.
It is all about easily accessed information.
The University of Windsor Library has put together special resources for each department ... just to make things even easier for research. For instance, the English resource page links students up to further readings by era, but also gives access to newspaper publications dating back to the 1800s. You can read the newspaper from the day your Grama was born ... how cool is that? But you must have a Student ID to do it.
Yep, things are definitely different. But in a strange way, it is all still the same. Except now I have to attend classes, do the assigned reading, complete the assignments on time, attend class and participate ... and try to get supper on the table for three hungry kids and a husband, too. But more on that another day.
As I have mentioned before, the campus is mostly the same. Of course, many of the classrooms have been updated to accomodate the use of laptops ... which means there are electrical outlets at each desk space. The classrooms are equipped for multi-media presentations, and there is free wireless available in several buildings on campus.
For the most part, the students seem the same ... the geeks, the jocks, the artsy people, the cool chicks. Plus those guys who you know will get kicked out after the first semester... They all wear jeans and t-shirts, just like in the late '80s. Pretty much anything casual goes ... I saw a guy today wearing a rainbow-coloured belt ??
And, I feel the same; which is to say that I feel comfortable. I am looking through my same eyes; the only problem is that when people look back, I look a little different to them than I did twenty years ago. I feel comfortable in a classroom, and until my Early British Literature class, I felt fairly confident in my abilities. Don't worry, we'll discuss it soon; just not today.
The one thing that has changed significantly are the professors. When I was a student twenty years ago, the professors were impersonal and distant. They were there to lecture and bestow their knowledge upon us. The professors did not care to know our names or anything about us (the students) for that matter. I felt like a number in a sea of faces. And they certainly didn't care if you came to class or not.
Today, professors seem genuinely interested in getting to know their students. In each of my first two classes, we had to introduce ourselves ... because the profs want to learn our names. They are interested in the students' opinions and thoughts ... they encourage open discussion. Sometimes they even talk about themselves in a personal manner. One of my profs told the class she failed Economics when she was an undergrad, and she talked about her little boy. This would NEVER have happened twenty years ago.
Plus, each of my four professors has given their curriculum vitae (verbally) ... like they need to reassure us they are qualified to teach university-level courses.
The professors care if you attend their classes. They want you there, and they encourage it by providing marks for class participation. Each of my four courses awards marks for attendance, and participation.
Teaching styles have changed drastically. Professors lectured when I went to school twenty years ago. They stood at the front of the class in front of a lecturn and they spoke at us. Many times it was boring, and dry, and unengaging. Today, the professors teach. It is interactive and fun. In one class, we got into groups, moving furniture around the room and putting together very small presentations on literary terms. I will forever feel comfortable in defining ideology, paradigm and hegemony.
As I am sure you can imagine, laptops are everywhere ... these kids even sit in the hallway, and while awaiting a class, they pull out their laptop and log in. Right there. While sitting cross-legged on the floor. I just don't have the energy to do that. It's much easier for us old ladies to just pull out a good old fashioned paperback book and do a little reading if we're a little early for class.
The other thing that bears mentioning is the abundance of information that is available to students today. There is an obvious and enormous difference from twenty years ago, and the contrast in the level of understanding is incredible. No longer are you dependent on just your textbook for information or explanation ... you have the Internet at your fingertips. For instance, my professor referenced a book that further expounded on the point she was making. In days past, I would not have really thought any more about it ... what could I do, other than check the University Library? However, since it was an essay published in 1967, I would never have found it. Plus I had the title wrong. After just a few clicks, I had all the information I needed to appreciate what she was talking about. My History professor posts all his power-point lecture notes on-line for easy access to what he lectured about.
It is all about easily accessed information.
The University of Windsor Library has put together special resources for each department ... just to make things even easier for research. For instance, the English resource page links students up to further readings by era, but also gives access to newspaper publications dating back to the 1800s. You can read the newspaper from the day your Grama was born ... how cool is that? But you must have a Student ID to do it.
Yep, things are definitely different. But in a strange way, it is all still the same. Except now I have to attend classes, do the assigned reading, complete the assignments on time, attend class and participate ... and try to get supper on the table for three hungry kids and a husband, too. But more on that another day.
1 comments:
I am so proud of you, Jill. Returning to school full time is a huge undertaking at any age with or without a family to care for. It will not be easy but I know it will be very rewarding. Good luck and big hugs dear daughter!