Learning Reconsidered is a document released jointly by NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) and ACPA (American College Personnel Association) in 2004. Student affairs staff are now taking into consideration the ideas of this landmark document when planning various campus activities for students.

Campus diversity programs can address one of the outcomes from Learning Reconsidered, namely Humanitarianism. Humanitarianism involves the understanding and appreciation of other people and their differences. This is the most obvious outcome that diversity can address but there are at least three other outcomes that can also be achieved if an event was structured right.

The outcome Cognitive Complexity involves reflective thinking about important issues of today’s society. Given that North America has become so diverse with people of many different ethnicity, cultures, religions and languages, diversity is certainly an important issue. But we must also include differences in sexual orientation and whether an individual is handicapped or not as part of overall diversity since everyone has the potential to be a positive contributor to society. Everyone regardless of differences should be included and student affairs professionals should ensure that programs benefit as many students as possible.

A diversity program that makes students think about multiculturalism and other differences between people in ways they have never thought of before will contribute to Cognitive Complexity. For example, a session that highlights certain benefits of a diverse society can be a real eye opener to many college students.

Another Learning Reconsidered outcome is Knowledge Acquisition, Integration and Application. This outcome involves students learning specific skills that they can apply to their daily lives on campus as well as in their future careers. A diversity program that includes some practical skills on how students can use diversity to enrich their lives and possibly give them an edge in their careers will most definitely achieve this particular outcome. Skills that teach students to interact successfully with others who are different from them would be extremely worthwhile.

A fourth learning outcome can be Inter and Intrapersonal Competence. This outcome involves how well people can interact with others. One of the most important skills that any student can ever learn is dealing effectively with other people, i.e., people skills. It has been suggested that the most successful people in any field are very good with people skills. These soft social skills will often determine who become the true leaders in society and careers across all professions. Unfortunately, these types of skills are not often taught in classrooms or courses so student affairs staff can help students develop them through other means.

Since our world is becoming a global economy and there is so much diversity in North America, the development of people skills and diversity skills actually go hand in hand now. Dealing effectively with people in general will mean that one can be effective with lots of different types of individuals in a diverse environment.

A college diversity program or event must include some type of interaction between students who are different from each other in order for it to address the outcome of Inter and Intrapersonal Competence. It could involve group activities during such workshops or having ethnic minorities interact with students during a cultural festival. As long as there is interaction, this outcome will be addressed.

So in summary, no less than four possible outcomes of Learning Reconsidered can be achieved with the right campus diversity program. Student affairs staff should aim to program events that address Learning Reconsidered outcomes whenever possible.

That first year for me was scary, a very difficult transition from the cushiony fourth year to the first year alone in the classroom. I wanted the ever constant guidance of my mentor and counselors but I was expected to deal with problems alone. As an in-service student who thought my love for pantomime, drama, music would aid me, I was incredibly self-conscientious.

I felt it was best to hold unto the framework of a lesson plan. After all, the structure made sense, it was something that I could hold unto. It was rudimentary work. Did it follow the formula I was taught of a pre-while and post? Were there transitions? After all, I was only repeating what I was taught to do.

Admittedly, this notion of what is a lesson as I was taught was my crutch. I leaned on it heavily. It came at the expense of developing my own teaching personality. But I had other things to worry about like blending in a cultural classroom that was increasingly becoming threatening to my authority as a new teacher.

Dear teachers, it would take me ten long years to realize something that I am telling you in a few paragraphs.

For someone who never had any experience coming to terms with my authority such as participating in any leadership skills or taking part in any student’s committees in High School, it was hard for me to accept my own authority as a teacher, even now.

That journey started with a 24 year old practice teacher who just wanted to have fun with her students and was crying in front of her fourth year counselor who, through my own shower of tears, told me that I was a teacher.

So on that note, write down your assets and what you believe you are good at. Look at those things that help you connect with the students. A lesson is very dynamic and much of it is personality centered. The minute I learned to enter the classroom without my lesson book in my hand was the day the students were the foreground and not the lesson. The lesson is the means but not the means to the end. Seasoned teachers would call this ’spontaneity.’ On a more profound level, I call it coming to terms with who you are as a person.

We all have to take those giant steps and small to larger risks with the activities we decide to do, and so, here we are and where we have come to be.

So, as a new teacher, you have the authority and you are in charge but in more ways than one.

There is a game design school where you can get to know about what the field encompasses. This is having the following modules in which one gets to learn about: user interface design, interactive application design, product design, audio and video editing, game development, web design and industrial visualization. The best thing about the these programs is that they are engaging and anyone with an interest in the arts can do them successfully. The digital arts programs are categorized into many disciplines meaning that there is a wide scope of subjects that a learner gets to know of. The subjects are namely: illustration, traditional drawing, graphic design, sculpter, 3D modelling, story development, sound design, animation video, story telling, media integration and storyboarding

These design programs offered at a game design school are technical and they come in applied courses. These programs which are utilized by companies which embrace an integrated media and are usually structured in such a way that they allow the learners focus and specialize in a specific area. If your interest is in video editing then you can choose to pursue video editing which is your area of interest.

To take up these packages of video game design you have to have web design skills like web interface and fundamental programming graphics. These are the concepts required for any students aspiring to do the course. The video game design Students are usually introduced to the graphics, concepts, strategies and terminologies required in order to understand the whole subject .A student is usually accredited with a bachelor of science in Digital Art and Animation and a Bachelor of Science in Digital Audio Technology

• Learn the best routes between your residence hall and your classes and activities. Take the safest route, not the fastest route.
• Travel in groups of two or more at night and always walk in well-lit, heavily traveled areas.
• Stay on the part of the sidewalk that is farthest away from shrubs, dark doorways, and alleys.
• Share your class schedule with friends and family, effectively creating a buddy system.
• When you go out, let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back.
• Know where the emergency telephones are located. (See “Emergency Telephones.”)
• Use the shuttle buses after dark. After the shuttle buses have stopped running, call the Escort Service for a ride. (See “Escort Service.”)
• Wherever you are, stay alert to your surroundings and the actions of people around you.
• Follow your instincts. If something doesn’t feel right, change directions, go to an emergency phone or into a public building, or call University Police (5-1111).
• Do not leave your belongings unattended, even for a few minutes.
• Avoid displaying large amounts of cash or other tempting targets such as jewelry or expensive clothing.
• Always lock your bike or rent a bike locker to store your bike.
• Always lock your car and keep valuables out of site. Check the back seat before getting in.
• Park in well-lit, well-traveled areas of the parking lot.
• Memorize the phone number of the University Police Department (5-1111).
• Remember, alcohol and/or drugs are involved in 90 percent of campus crimes.

Well, if you didn’t know these facts about the second testament of God’s word, don’t worry!  Just play “Just the Facts!” and you will soon be on your way to possessing a greater mind indeed.

Here’s what you do: This game is best played with a pocket chart, but you could also lay the cards you will create out on a table.  (Don’t know what a pocket chart is?  Google the term and you’ll find out.)  You will need to make a total of 21 cards.  These can be index cards or made nicely on your computer.  Three of the cards will say “New Testament”.  Nine of the cards will say the following numbers or words:

1. 27
2. 260
3. 7959
4. 181,253
5. Acts
6. Third John
7. 4
8. 1
9. 22

The 9 remaining cards will say the following:

1. Books
2. Chapters
3. Verses
4. Words
5. Longest Book
6. Shortest Book
7. Gospels
8. Historical Books
9. Letters or Epistles

Place the 3 “New Testament” cards along with the first set of 9 cards face down on your pocket chart or on a table in jumbled order.  Then place the other set of 9 cards face out so that the whole class can easily see them.  The numbers shown above in each list correspond with each other.  For example, there are 27 books in the New Testament as matched above.

Now divide your class into 2 teams.  Have one team member go first.  Explain that the cards on the pocket chart give facts about the New Testament.  The child will need to match the card he picks with one of the cards that are displayed face out.  If he makes a correct match, those 2 cards can now be set aside.  If an incorrect match is made, the pocket chart card should be returned to its original place.  However, if the child picks an “New Testament” card, their team holds that card.  No match needs to be made and the play goes to the next team.  The team that finds 2 “New Testament” cards first is the winner.

As a suggestion, if a team finds the “New Testament” cards early on in the game, you might want to continue the game by allowing each team to try and make matches.  For each match that is made, award 100 points.  The team with the most points wins.

1) Be the early bird. Start applying for scholarships and lining up low-priced college options right now. “You want to make sure you are the first one in line,” says Cheryl Maplethorpe, director of financial aid for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. Many grants are awarded on a first-come-first-served basis, she notes. And many low-cost colleges are cutting off applications especially early this season. College students who haven’t already filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid this year should do it as soon as possible. (High school seniors have to wait until January to apply for next fall.) You can search for nongovernmental scholarships by asking your high school counselor, your college’s financial aid office, and your college’s department for scholarship possibilities and advice. Many are also listed on websites like this one, scholarsite.com, or the College Board.

While there aren’t many private scholarships still awarding money for this academic year, students can—and should—start applying now for private scholarships for next year, because some of the biggest and best private scholarships, such as those offered by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, have October deadlines. And the most popular cheap four-year schools in California, including San Diego State University and Sonoma State University, will stop taking next year’s admissions applications for many types of students November 30.

2) Ask the boss. Check with the student’s and parents’ employers to see if they offer any kind of education or scholarship benefit.

3) Try low-cost colleges. Prepare applications (including transfer applications for students already in college) to some low-cost, in-state community colleges and public universities to provide a “financial safety school” option, says Eileen O’Leary, assistant vice president of student financial services at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass. That way, even if you don’t get any free money, your bills still will be much lower.

4) Become a catch. Prepare applications to at least two (or even more, to increase your chances of setting off a scholarship bidding war) public and private schools for which you’d be a catch because of higher-than-average grades or some special skill or talent. Students whose grades or test scores are higher than the school’s average have a good chance of receiving merit grants. “Put as much detail as possible into your college application,” says Sandra Bartholomew, dean of enrollment management at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt. “Colleges have money to award for lots of nonacademic credentials” like leadership, community service, environmentalism, visual and performing arts, etc., she adds.

5) Fill out forms in January. As soon as possible in January, fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to qualify for aid next fall. While it is easier to complete the form if the student and parent have also filed their taxes, it is better to fill out the FAFSA with estimates (which can later be corrected) early than to wait past February 1. Students hoping to attend one of the approximately 300 schools that also require the College Board’s more exhaustive CSS/Financial Aid Profile application should also complete that before mid-February.

6) Appeal. Draft an appeal letter if the student has any financial difficulties not covered by the FAFSA, such as a parent’s job loss or mortgage problems. The student should send letters explaining the problem (with documentation, if possible) to any target schools and private scholarship programs, financial aid officers say. The letter to schools should request a “professional judgment review.”

Who should you get a letter of recommendation from?

When you find out you need a letter of recommendation, you may be tempted to run to a family member (How could your grandma ever say anything bad about you??) or a friend, but your first choice should probably be a teacher, employer or some other non-personal acquaintance. Although having a letter of recommendation from a family member or friend is not a bad thing, most scholarship providers and educational institutions prefer that you submit at least one letter from someone who you are not emotionally tied to, as this person will be able to write more objectively and honestly about your qualifications and strengths.

What should your letter of recommendation say?

Sometimes a scholarship provider or college admission department will tell you what topics your letter(s) of recommendation should cover. When they don’t, it’s probably best to have the letter writer talk about your strengths, his/her relationship to you, and why he/she feels you would be deserving of the scholarship or admission. The writer can even provide examples of challenges he/she has seen you overcome, significant achievements you have made, and initiative you have taken. The letter of recommendation should be typed, but signed by the letter writer. Also, it is important that you give the person who is writing the letter for you plenty of time to write the letter. If he or she feels rushed, the letter of recommendation might not be as well thought out as you might expect.

Where should you tell your acquaintance to send the letter of recommendation?

The rules and procedures for each college and for each scholarship program will vary, so be sure to carefully read the application form and all instructions about how to send in your letters of recommendation. Some colleges and scholarship committees prefer that the letter writer send in the letter of recommendation separately from the application packet, to ensure that the student did not manufacture his/her own letter. Others prefer that you include the letter(s) of recommendation with the application packet so they do not have to worry about having incomplete application packets, but they may require you to submit the letter inside a sealed, signed envelope to ensure privacy and validity. Again, the rules vary, so be sure to pay attention to the fine print when trying to find out where to send in your letter(s) of recommendation.

Why do you need to submit a letter of recommendation?

Most scholarship providers and college admission offices want some outside perspective about the student who is applying for their scholarship or admission to their school. Before you get annoyed because a letter of recommendation is another thing you have to worry about, think about the positives. You may be able to use that letter over and over again. Not only can you use it for other scholarships you are going to apply for, you may also be able to use it for college admission, internship positions, and job opportunities. Letters of recommendation are a great way to showcase your talents and abilities for scholarship providers and admissions officers. An outside perspective that acknowledges your accomplishments and strengths can go a long way toward convincing an organization that you are worthy of admission or deserving of their scholarship dollars.