Archive for August, 2007
All posts (by category)
August 31st, 2007
This is an unusual post, but it might be very useful to those who would like to browse through my old posts. It's the latest update of the post whose link can be found on my sidebar, just below the blogrolls. The links to all my posts are arranged alphabetically, according to different categories. Enjoy!
Assclown Award winners
· Bashir, Abu Bakar
· Belle, Sonia
· Biden, Joseph
· Buchanan, Pat
· Carter, Jimmy
· Chavez, Hugo
· Chirac, Jacques
· Clinton, Bill
· Coulter, Ann
· Galloway, George
· Hussein, Saddam
· Maher, Bill
· Obama, Barack
· Reynolds, Glenn, aka "Instapundit"
· Robertson, Pat
· Romney, Mitt
· Sheehan, Cindy
· Webb, James
· Zhirinovsky, Vladimir
Autobiographical posts
· 10 Things I Hate About The Blogosphere
· 2006 Bloggies
· 500th post
· All about my father
· Another picture of me
· Australian Boner
· Babel Fish is worth dick
· Best fuck of my life
· Bizarro e-mail
· Comments welcome!
· Contract of Wifely Expectations
· Essay about me!
· Dirty secrets of my life
· Discussing Bush, Saddam and Iraq with Funny Boys
· Hanging out with Funny Boys
· Harsh criticism of yours truly
· Is my real name Hugh MacLeod?
· I have been tagged
· I love this picture
· I'm so vain
· Interview with me
· Is there really a Sonia ?
· I was interviewed by Beakerkin
· Letter from an anonymous skeptic
· Letter from Artemis
· Letters from an Admirer
· Life’s simple pleasures
· Masturbation survey
· My favorite books
· My favorite wines
· My 1st Anniversary
· My life in the nude
· My little island has just gotten bigger
· My lover Suzie
· My new home - Clipperton traffic
· Ninete, a girl who looks like me
· Open Letter to Rabbi Axlerod
· Overheard on the net
· Parlez en bien, parlez en mal, mais parlez en
· Poem from an Admirer
· Poll about me
· Questions from an anonymous admirer
· Real tits
· Seductive flirt
· Serious moral dilemma
· Sexy feet
· Sinful Life of Sonia Belle
· Sonia's Big Orgy
· Sonia's Erotic Adventure
· Sonia's Torturous Journey
· Sonia Under Official Investigation in Australia
· Stern warning from Adsense
· St-Thomas Ignacy
· Tagged again
· Template change
· Thanks, but no sex
· That's me
· Thinking Blogger Award
· This is ironic
· Three poems about me
· Ulya - is that me ?
· Welcome DailyKos readers!
· What American City Are You ?
· Where should I move ?
· Why no ugly chicks on my blog?
Best posts from my favorite blogs
· 2006-09-25
· 2006-09-27
· 2006-10-05
· 2006-11-01
· 2006-11-30
· 2007-01-28
· 2007-02-15
· 2007-03-21
Cinema
· 2005 - Best Nude Actress Awards
· 2005 - Oscar nominations
· 2005 - Oscar predictions - best actress
· 2005 - Oscar predictions - best picture
· 2005 - Oscar predictions - best supporting actress
· 2005 - Oscar winners
· 2006 - Best Nude Actress Awards
· 2006 - Oscar predictions
· 2006 - Oscar predictions - best actress
Faces of Evil
· Cho Seung-hui
· Gill, Kimveer
· Hussein, Saddam
· Hussein, Saddam and
Chavez, Hugo
· Karr, John Mark<br
Good news and bad news
· 2006-01-19
· 2006-01-21
· 2006-01-26
· 2006-01-27
· 2006-01-28
· 2006-02-01
· 2006-02-06
· 2006-02-16
· 2006-02-28
· 2006-03-28
· 2006-05-25
· 2006-06-06
· 2006-07-08
Great films
· 2 Girls (2006) ***
· 27 Missing Kisses (2000) ****
· 300 (2007) ****
· Ai no shinsekai (1995) ***
· Anges exterminateurs (2006) ****
· Apocalypto (2006) ****
· Baise-moi (2000) ***
· Black Snake Moan (2007) ***
· Broken Flowers (2005) ****
· Bully (2001) ***
· Chaos (2006) ****
· Children Of Men (2006) ****
· Clockwork Orange (1971) *****
· Dangerous Beauty (1998) ****
· Daughter of Darkness (1993) ***
· DaVinci Code, The (2006) ***
· Dog />· Emmanuelle (1974) **
· Eyes Wide Shut (1999) *****
· Factory Girl (2007) ***
· Freddy Vs Jason (2003) ***
· Frida (2002) ***
· Greta (1977) ***
· Historias del Desencanto (2005) *****
· Hostel (2006) ***
· Irréversible (2002) ****
· Kite (1998) ****
· Lives Of Others (2006) ***
· Love Actually (2003) ****
· Lovely & Amazing (2001) ***
· Manderlay (2006) ****
· Mezzo Forte (2001) ****
· Mrs Henderson Presents (2005) ***
· Munich (2005) **
· Notorious Bettie Page (2006) ***
· Notte prima degli esami (2006) ***
· Of Freaks And Men (1998) *****
· Open Water (2003) ***
· Play (2005) ****
· Poupées russes, Salo Or The 120 Days Of Sodom (1975) *****
· Samaritan Girl (2004) ***
· Scanner Darkly (2006) ****
· Scream of the Ants (2006) ****
· Sex And Lucia (2001) ***
· Shortbus (2006) ***
· Sin City (2005) *****
· Singapore Sling (1990) *****
· Snakes on a Plane (2006) ***
· Storytelling (2001) ***
· Submission (2004) **
· Swimming Pool (2003) ****
· Swordfish (2001) ***
· These Girls (2005) ***
· Trainspotting (1996) *****
· Transamerica (2005) ***
· Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) *****
· Vraie jeune fille (1975) ***
· Varuh Meje (2002) ***
· Where The Truth Lies (2005) ****
· Women From Cell Block 9 (1977) **
· Women On The Run (1993) ****
· Y tu mama tambien (2002) *****
Great paintings
· "Andromeda"
· Balthus, ''Guitar Lesson''
· Boucher, "Birth of Venus"
· Boucher, "Odalisque"
· Boogaard, Diederick van den, "Sindy III"
· Boogaard, Ron van den, "Toro"
· Botero, Fernando
· Bouguereau, "L'Enfant"
· Bouguereau, "Nymphs and a Satyr"
· Briullov, Karl
· Caillebotte, "Nu au divan"
· Chagall, Marc
· Church, "Twilight in the Wilderness"
· Collier, John
· Collier, "Pharaoh's Handmaidens"
· Colville, Alex
· Courbet, "L'Origine du monde"
· Courbet, "Sleepers"
· Cranach, "Golden and Silver Ages"
· Cranach, "Judgement of Paris"
· Cybis, "Primavera"
· Dali, "Virgin Auto-Sodomized By Her Own Chastity"
· Degas, Edgar
· Degas, "Spartan Girls Challenging the Boys"
· Degas, "Woman Leaving Her Bath"
· Delacroix, "La Liberté guidant le />· Delvaux, "Phases of the Moon"
· Delvaux, "Sabbat"
· Dix, "Self Portrait with a Model"
· École de Fontainebleau, "Gabrielle d'Estrées and Her Sister"
· Ernst, "Robing of the Bride"
· Ernst, "Virgin Spanking Jesus"
· Fragonard, "La Gimblette"
· Fragonard, "Les Catherine"
· Gentileschi, "Susanna"
· Gérôme, "Harem Pool"
· Gérôme, "Selling Slaves in Rome"
· Gérôme, "Slave Market"
· Grottger, "Fryne"
· Hilz, "Peasant Venus"
· Hitler, Adolf
· Kustodiev, Boris
· Lawner, "Dayla 2"
· Lawner, "T"
· Lempicka, "Deux amies" (1928)
· Leonardo da Vinci
· Manet, "Déjeuner sur l'herbe"
· Matisse, "Blue Nude"
· Munch, Edvard
· Picasso, Pablo
· Plastov, "Old Village Bath"
· Renoir, "After the Bath"
· Renoir, "Bathers in the Forest"
· Rivera, "Desnuda con Alcatraces"
· Rubens, "Fur Coat"
· Rubens, "Three Graces"
· Rubens, "Venus at the Mirror"
· Saliger, Ivo
· Seurat, "Poseuses"
· "Stalin"
· Titian, "Diana and Acteon"
· Titian, ''Mary Magdalene''
· Tremois, Pierre-Yves
· Weiss, Wojciech
· Wiertz, Antoine
· Zorn, Anders
Great poems and songs
· Always True To You In My Fashion
· Amor Mio
· Annabella...
· Beauty Is Upon You
· Daddy's Girl
· Il Cielo In Una Stanza
· I See Beauty
· Lush for Your Love
· Patricia the Stripper
· Step by Step
· Switezianka
· To Alinda...
· To Mandy...
Hero(ine) of the Hour
· Al-Sistani, Grand Ayatollah Ali
· Cutler, Jessica
· Hirsi Ali, Ayaan
· Karnes, David
· Khatami, Mohammad
· Manuel II
· Morales, Evo
· Obama, Barack
· Pelosi, Nancy and
Rangel, Charles
· Schwarzenegger, Arnold
Humour
· Barbie Exposed
· Bored radiology students
· Cartoon - Artificial insemination
· Cartoon - Basket-boobs
· Cartoon - Blonde laundry
· Cartoon - Computer sex
· Cartoon - Fast-forward
· Cartoon - Fun at the beach
· Cartoon - Mars and Venus
· Cartoon - Medieval times
· Cartoon - Nude bank robbers
· Cartoon - Nude model
· Cartoon - />· Cartoon - Oral balloon
· Cartoon - Orgasm
· Cartoon - Sex in the dark
· Cartoon - Sexual Discrimination
· Cartoon - Sleepfucking
· Cartoon - Threesome
· Computer humor
· Crazy soccer
· Cute little puppy
· Find a peach
· Funny quotes
· German language is weird
· Green sex
· Hell breaks loose as Teresa has sex with an "A" student
· If WWII was a RTS game
· Joke - Desert island
· Joke - Dumb blonde
· Joke - Farwood
· Joke - French Muslims
· Joke - Half of Leviticus right there...
· Joke - Homey Commandments
· Joke - Life's Cycle
· Joke - Lipstick mirror
· Joke - Man Eat Dog
· Joke - Men
· Joke - Mommy and Uncle Frank
· Joke - My uncle
· Joke - Overheard on a flight
· Joke - Sex maniac
· Joke - Where do babies come from ?
· Lipstick Lesbians Protest Soft Butches in Make-up
· Obscene Epitaph
· Oscar Wilde
· Swedish Witch
· Toilet humor
· Upside down
· You know dick
Kama Sutra
· 69
· Camel Position
· Crab Position
· Deer Position
· Herd of Cows
· Lotus Position
· Lower Congress
· Octopussy Position
· Oral Congress
· Position K9
· Pressing Position
· Starfish Position
· Strange Position
· Supported Congress
· Suspended Congress
· Tantric Ecstasy
· Tiger Position
· Twining Position
· United Congress
· Upside Down
· Woman Plays Man I
· Woman Plays Man II
· Yawning Position
My paintings
· "Abstraction" (2006)
· "Annick" (2004)
· Turns Out" (2004)
· "Ass The World Turns" (2004)
· "Ass We Look" (2005)
· "Beauty in Pink" (2006)
· "Big Chest" (2005)
· "Big Fight" (2004)
· "Blue Attraction" (2004)
· "Blue Bodies" (2004)
· "Bossom Buddies" (2004)
· "Buns of Steel" (2004)
· "Buns of Steel II" (2006)
· "Chains of Love" (2006)
· "Chaos" (2004)
· "Chaos II" (2004)
· "Cold War" (2003)
· "Confrontation" (2005)
· (2004)
· "Death to Stalin" diptych (2000)
· "Death to Tyrants" triptych (2000-2006)
· "Dinara" (2003)
· "Eagle's Nest" (2004)
· "Erotic Convergence" (2004)
· "Fantasy in Blue" (2005)
· "Fight, The" (2003)
· "Fight in Green" (2004)
· "Fighting Women" (2004)
· "Fragments of Desire" (2003)
· ''From Behind'' (2006)
· "Full View" (2004)
· "German Quilt" (2000)
· "Girlfriends" (2003)
· "Girls in Green" (2004)
· "Gym Class" (2003)
· "Happy Girl" (2005)
· "Harmony" (2003)
· "Harmony in Rose - Clemence Poesy" (2006)
· "Hidden Secrets" (2004)
· "Hold Me Tight" (2003)
· ''Hommage à Aivazovski'' (2003)
· ''Hommage à Bierstadt'' (2003)
· "Hommage à Boucher" (2000)
· "Hommage à Courbet" (2003)
· "Hommage à Cranach" (2000)
· "Hommage à Murillo" (2000)
· "Hot Brazil" (2004)
· "Hottie" (2006)
· "Ladies in Green" (2005)
· "Ladies in Yellow" (2003)
· "Left Behind" (2004)
· "Nude Wrestling" (2003)
· ''Nudist Club'' (2006)
· "On Your Knees" (2005)
· "Phallic Temptations" (2004)
· ''Pink Fight'' (2006)
· "Pretty in Pink" (2005)
· "Samira" (2006)
· "Sands of Time" (2005)
· ''Saudi Arabia and Iran'' (2006)
· "Secrets" (2006)
· "Secrets of Life" (2004)
· "Self Portrait" (2006)
· "Shades" (2004)
· "Shaking Hands" (2004)
· "Shapely Ass" (2005)
· "Shining Through" (2005)
· "Sitting Beauty" (2003)
· "Slick" (2004)
· "Snow White" (2003)
· "Sorority Girls" (2005)
· "Soupy" (2005)
· "Straight (2005)
· "Strip Party" (2004)
· "Suggestion" (2005)
· "Sweet Memories" (2003)
· "Tan Lines" (2004)
· "Three Girls in Blue" (2003)
· ''Ulya'' (2006)
· "Under Water" (2005)
· "Widespread" (2004)
· "Women in Brown" (2003)
· "Women in Green" (2004)
· "Women in Yellow" (2003)
· "Wrestling in Brown" (2003)
· "Wrestling Ladies" (2003)
· "Yellow Fight" (2003)
My poems
· À Joanne...
· À Roxanne...
· Beach, The
· To Adriana (aka Sophia)...
· To Agatha...
· To Alexandra...
· To Aniko...
· To Annick...
· To Annie...
· To Antuanetta...
· To Aya...
· To Brigitte...
· To Chandra...
· To Chisato...
· To Christina...
· To Clara...
· To Gloria...
· To Graces...
· To Jackie...
· To Jennifer Aniston...
· To Joanna...
· To Katerina...
· To Kozumi...
· To Lily...
· To Marise...
· To Misoku...
· To Natalana...
· To Natalie...
· To Nora...
· To Reiko...
· To Sako...
· To Salote...
· To Sarah...
· To Sarah Jessica...
· To Sawa...
· To Tiffany...
· To Viviane...
· To Zoë...
News from all over
· 2006-07-21
· 2006-07-22
· 2006-07-25
· 2006-08-01
· 2006-08-08
· 2006-08-10
· 2006-08-12
· 2006-08-15
· 2006-08-17
· 2006-09-19
· 2006-09-29
·
Nude actresses
· Antonelli, Laura
· Capotondi, Cristina
· Dawson, Rosario
· Dench, Judi
· Dombasle, Arielle
· Fleury, Cécile <br Monroe, Marilyn
· Walker, Polly
Nude photos
· Another odalisque
· Another young beauty
· Another young beauty returns
· Aphrodite
· April Fools' Day
· Beach bunnies
· Beachcombers
· Beautiful blog<br Betty
· Body paint
· Brazilian Women's Soccer Team
· Camila Beck
· Camila Beck again
· Closer
· Cool pool shades
· Couch girl
· />· Dancing nymphs at Yale
· Denise
· Dog House
· Don't be cross
· Double pleasure
· Double trouble
· Eye Candy
· For Desert
· Frolicking Girls
· From China with a smile
· From Japan with love
· Fun on the beach
· Girl Leaving Her Bath
· Girls and perfect fitness
· Girl with Hair
· Georgia W. Bush
· Great horny
· Happy New Year!
· Happy Valentine's Day
· Here's Agatha again
· High Heels
· Holding firm
· Hot sex
· Jenny
· Juliet
· Jungle Fever
· Kassenautomat Girl
· Kind Girls
· Lady in Black... and White
· Lady in the Mirror
· l'amour parfait
· la nuque
· Make love not war, Mehmet
· Merry Christmas! - 2005
· Merry Christmas! - 2006
· Mirror, Mirror
· Monkey Girl
· Moon Ladies
· More naked heels
· More pictures of Agatha
· More pictures of Alexandra
· Motocycle Babe
· Musas - another soft-core blog like mine
· Mysterious girl
· Naked Air
· Nude cycling
· Nude fitness
· Nude wrestling
· On the tip of a tongue
· Peach on a beach
· Peeping
· Perfect T
· Perspective
· Phad Thai
· Playing Chest
· Quatre amies lesbiennes
· Sapphic moment
· See you in two weeks
· Serena
· Sexy brunette
· Shaving time
· Shower Girl
· She's cuter than that puppy
· Shy
· Stretched thin
· Sunset Girl
· Syberian Beauty
· Tattoo nudity
· Thai Maid
· Three Cuties
· Tight squeeze
· To Natacha...
· To Yoko...
· Trésors cachés
· Tub Water
· Uncovered
· Waterfall Girl
· Water Nymph
· Wet dream
· Yachty girl
· Yoga fan
Politics
· Abajo Fidel
· Ahmadinejad - a clever and dangerous enemy
· Another suicide bombing
· Armenian Genocide and its deniers
· Armenian Genocide: the Turkish side of the story
· Blogs banned in India
· Cartoon War explained
· Cartoon War update
· Catch 22 of the Middle East conflict
· Christopher Hitchens on Iraq
· Defeat for />· Dictator Hugo Chavez
· End of the Neo-Con Era
· Female university professor murdered by religious fanatics in Egypt
· Former Nazi German Concentration Camp of Auschwitz
· Genesis of World War III
· Good news from Iraq
· Great article by Christopher Hitchens
· Hollywood declares war on and Hamas
· Hypocrisy of the anti-war Left
· I agree with Joel Stein
· ''Inconvenient Truth'' about the ''State of Fear''
· Iraq should split up
· Iran's cartoon contest
· Is Chavez ruining Venezuela ?
· Is there "I was raped, but it was my fault"
· Kim Strangelove
· King Is Dead - Love Live The King
· Leon Trotsky
· Letter from a Turkish soldier
· Miracle
· "Mohammed cartoons" update
· Muslim brothel controversy
· Myth of military casualties
· Myths about religion in the United States
· Myths about the Soviet Union
· Now I am afraid!
· One down, dozens still to go
· Pinochet will soon die
· Pogroms of gays in Baghdad
· Polish Muslims
· Real maps of the World
· Real nature of the Darfur genocide />· Right-wing and wrong-wing
· Sexual slavery in Europe
· Struggle for Iraq
· Tornado religion
· Totalitarian Disease
· To Wiretap Or Not To Wiretap
· True face of Aristide
· Truth about Iraq
· Turkey and Islam
· Unpopular war or unpopular defeat ?
· Up Yours
· US mid-term elections (2006)
· Violence and the Left
· Vlasov Mystery
· Was Moscow planning an invasion of the Western Europe in 1965 ?
· We are hypocrites
· We Iranian reforms a sham designed to trick gullible Westerners ?
· What's REALLY going on in Iraq ?
· Which leader should Dick Cheney invite on his next hunting trip ?
· Who said it ?
· Why is the Left covering up self-oppression in the Third World ?
· Why I supported the invasion of Iraq
· Why I will not sign this letter
· Women in the military
Sexy news
· Angelina and Brad in Namibia
· Annoying law
· Are some rape victims asking for it ?
· Bare celebrities
· Britney au naturel
· Britney Spears caught without her panties
· Candy stripper
· Celebrity roundup
· Celebrity sex tapes
· Censorship on LiveJournal
· Christina Aguilera in GQ
· Drew caught having sex
· DUI of porn
· Euro-tique
· Female predators
· Gossip - Dannii Minogue
· Great Streakers - Heidi Wardrop
· Heidi Klum's fake bikinis
· Indecent Exposure
· Interesting links
· Is Big Brother too sleazy ?
· It's legal now to be nude in Daytona Beach!
· Kira O'Reilly's "Inthewrongplaceness"
· Lady Godiva rides again
· Lesbian news
· More nude cyclists protests
· Naked body in "History of Tears"
· Naked ramblers
· Naked snake catching
· New blog - Orthodox DYKEtionary
· Nude Aussie athletes
· Nude cyclists protest against oil
· Nude modeling
· Ode to femininity
· Paris Hilton faces slander charges
· Paris Hilton has pissed herself
· PETA girls
· Porn stars in politics
· Power of a blowjob
· Scarlett and Keira bare all
· Sexy gossip - 2006-08-24
· Sexy gossip - 2006-09-30
· Sexy Tunick in Chavezland
· Tammy NYP
· Two cheerleaders caught having sex
· Unrated nudity
· ''Up-skirting'' to be banned in Australia
· Welfare state prostitution
Top 10 Films
· 1981 - Top 10 Films
· 1985 - Top 10 Films
· 1986 - Top 10 Films
· 1987 - Top 10 Films
· 1988 - Top 10 Films
· 1989 - Top 10 Films
· 1990 - Top 10 Films
· 1991 - Top 10 Films
· 1992 - Top 10 Films
· 1993 - Top 10 Films
· 1994 - Top 10 Films
· 1995 - Top 10 Films
· 1996 - Top 10 Films
· 1997 - Top 10 Films
· 1998 - Top 10 Films
· 1999 - Top 10 Films<br 10 Films
· 2001 - Top 10 Films
· 2002 - Top 10 Films
· 2003 - Top 10 Films
· 2004 - Top 10 Films
· 2005 - Top 10 Films
· 2006 - Top 10 Films
Travel
· Appointment in Samarra
· Beautiful Venezuela
· Best nudist resorts
· Bolivia
· Bora Bora
· Castro's beautiful island
· Countries where I have been
· Denim Revolution in Belarus ?
· Denmark
· Dominican Republic
· Earthquake hits Tonga
· Easter Island
· El Salvador
· Greece
· Guilin Mountains in China
· Hezbollah's Stronghold
· Hezbollah's Target
· Hierve el agua
· Incredible sight in Dubai
· Jodhpur - the Indian Alhambra
· Lesotho's hidden charms
· Letter from Liberia
· More Dubai attractions
· Nepal's Catch 22
· Nepal update
· Niger's beauty
· Samana Bay, Dominican Republic
· Shiite Iraq
· Syriana
· Tonga
· Turkmenistan
· Underwater caves of Quintana Roo
· Viva India!
· War with Iran
Learn a foreign language - English in USA?
August 31st, 2007
It should be the individuals choice if they want or need to learn another language and which will language will be should also be their choice. If you have all the materials you need and a great desire to learn a foreign language, then there's something else holding you back. Once you'll start to learn and you'll like it, your ability to learn a second foreign language will improve and in the same time your whole perspective on learning will be positively affected! Read more in French at and
Charter school sponsored by Capella University to begin classes Sept. 4
August 31st, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS, August 29, 2007 – , a charter high school in northern Minnesota that is sponsored by Capella University, will open for its first day of school on Sept. 4, 2007. () is an accredited, fully and a leader in . Charter schools are K-12 public schools that operate independently from the school district in which they are located.
Video lectures
August 27th, 2007
I thought that not having an actual class to attend would be challenging to me. I was wrong.
Tonight I watched 2 lectures via the DVD set that I was coerced into purchasing. I learned something valuable. And remembered something that I forgot whilst romanticizing school. Lectures can be really boring. I'm certain that I would love the professor who is on the videos if I were in person in his class. But...the video version of my professor is dull.
So, I'm going to have to invest in a LOT of coffee to get me through the remaining 22 26 videos. And maybe a healthy dose of chocolate as well.
First Classes!
August 15th, 2007
We both talked to our Academic Adviser today. I now have my first two classes set at Kaplan University. Unfortunately, one of them is College Algebra! I hate Algebra! Rats! Oh well, better to get it over with now, I guess. The other class is in LAN (Local Area Network) concepts. At least this one has to do with computers.
Sue and I are both looking forward to getting started. I guess I will have to ask Sandy for help with my homework! (She actually did fairly well with Algebra last year.
Time will tell.
Library Education In The Online Environment
August 13th, 2007
In a comment on my post, Joe wrote:
As someone considering a degree in library science via an online program, I would like you to perhaps post on what problems exist and how they relate in a larger sense to the problem of educating librarians in cyberspace. I’m very familiar with online courses and have taken many over the years. I always feel the instructor makes the course. I’m just wondering about the problems of library education in online environments.
I didn't really want my response to be buried in the comments, so decided to respond in a separate post.
First, it is important for me to note that the only type of online classes I have taken have been library science ones. When I decided to pursue my MLS, I knew I would be doing so in an online program. There was no question of this. I chose to study at SCSU for several reasons - there were no residency requirements, the cost was affordable, and finally, the school was within driving distance in case something happened and I did need to go to campus. Because I was nervous about the online format, I registered for a class in the fall of 2005 before I was accepted into the program. This turned out the be both the best and worst thing that I did. The best because I took the class with the professor who would turn out to be my advisor - with whom I have tried to take as many classes as possible. The worst because the class was so well taught that I assumed this would be the norm. It wasn't. I decided to attend SCSU's program based upon how excellent this online class was.
Despite the fact that I haven't taken other types of online classes, it seems to me that the challenges in providing a decent online programs are probably fairly consistent across disciplines. I have no reason to assume that some of the problems in my distance program are solely confined to the ILS department. There aren't any forums, services, programs, etc. that bring together all distance students at SCSU, so I haven't discussed this with any students outside of the MLS program. However, the fact that there aren't any forums, services or programs targeted to distance student indicates that the distance programs don't have a strong infrastructure.
As for Joe's comment about the professor making the course, I do have to agree. Professors have the most control over specific classes - and they have the ability to make a class an agonizing experience (as well as a fabulous one). But, one thing I have learned over the past couple of years is that there is much more than the class experience to a program. Programs need administrative support - and they need support for student services. Without this type of committed infrastructure, distance students have no means of feeling grounded within the program - no means of feeling as if they are a part of the larger school community. This is what I think is missing at Southern.
With all this in mind, my recommendation to people considering enrolling a distance MLS program is to understand what one needs out of a program. Do you have experience working in libraries? Do you need to develop contacts in the library world? It may be more difficult to do some of these things in an online environment. I have found that it is much harder to foster relationships with professors, librarians and administrators online. It may not be easy for distance students to use some of the job placement, resume and job fair services. It can be harder for distance students to network with their professors and with their peers. All of this can be done, but some schools offer more support to distance students than others.
I would think the best way to know how much support is available for distance students would be to try to talk to current students. How do you find them? Southern has a listserv that prospective students can join - I'm sure others have similar things. Join the newlib listserv. There are many current students and recent graduates on this list. Join the on Ning. Try and talk to several students - people all have different reactions to things. Get the name of good professors - email them and see what the response is. If I were to apply to an MLS program again, I would definitely do more research. Of course, the best way to learn is probably to take a class.
Joe, I hope this provides some helpful information. I would think that your experience with online classes will give you an idea of what is important to you in your education. Best of luck!
One Laptop Per Child
August 10th, 2007
Wouldn't it be great if every child, everywhere, had her or his own laptop computer to use? Not just any laptop, but one specifically designed for children that was rugged enough to withstand harsh environments, did not need constant software upgrades and had an operating system that was easy to learn and came packed with educational software. Well, that is the goal of the project and they already have a few prototypes out there. Today's post looks not just at the organization, but also at the new possibilities their success may bring and the consequences it could have for some of the world's poorest people.
Back in the Saddle Again!
August 10th, 2007
Sue and I are about to re-enter the world of online education once again. We have gotten the ball rolling on going back to school for our degrees in Animation.
In March of this year, we had attempted to get started with Kaplan University, an online University. You may recall from an earlier blog entry the trouble we ran into from a couple of overzealous admissions reps. At that point we had pretty much decided that attending Kaplan was not going to be in our future.
A few days later we had gotten a call from the head of the admissions department, who asked to hear our side of the story. I told him what the two reps had done. ( A brief re-cap: They wanted to get all of the items on the admissions checklist done in one night, regardless of the fact that we were both in a lot of pain, and needed to take a break They were relentless, and downright adamant about it all getting done right then and there. The clincher had been a scathing email I got stating that we must not be very serious about advancing our educations.)
Needless to say, this gentleman was less than pleased with his subordinates. He told us they would be dealt with, and asked us if we still wanted to come to Kaplan. After consideration, we decided that we would, but needed a bit of time to retreat and lick our wounds so to speak.
We had decided to wait until Tara and Elisa went back home to Missouri, and then contacted them and got things started again. So we filled out all the paper work, and are apparently on schedule to start classes on August 22.
We will keep you informed as to our progress. Maybe after I learn enough, I might be able to place a little animated do-dad here!
Choosing learning enviornments to meet students’ needs
August 10th, 2007
About ten years ago I came to terms with the fact that I needed to lose some weight, my college years had finally caught up with me, and wanted to join a program to help me do so. After looking around at the different programs I discovered that there are real differences in the way programs approach weight management. I needed to choose the one that matched my needs at the time if I was going to be successful. Notever having needed to lose weight before, I knew I would need a lot of hand holding and therefore chose to join . This program was a little more expensive, but it had a lot of structure to it - I had to buy their premade meals, but that took any decision making out of the equation. I needed this level of rigidity to learn about portion sizes and such. I was very successful on this program.
However, a few years after I got married and enjoyed cooking for two a bit too much, my husband and I decided to join together - not because Jenny Craig wasn't still a great program, but because our needs had changed - we now needed to be able to eat any foods, but the right amounts. Again we had success.
There are an increasing number of online learning environments available for our students today and they vary in how much support is provided to a student and how a student is able to pace their learning. Just as no one diet plan is right for every person, no single online learning environment is right for every student. When deciding whether to put a student online to learn there are several factors to consider:
- Acceleration vs Credit Recovery: we have students who want to take courses online in order to get ahead. These students are typically good candidates for an online Virtual School. NC now has and so far I have seen our students taking courses for acceleration see success. Virtual schools are great for students taking a course for the first time. There is a real teacher on the other end who can answer a student's questions and provide additional support as needed. Online Learning Applications that are precoded with the lessons and tests often require the school to provide another teacher to be present to provide that kind of support. This person may not be a subject area expert in the course the student is taking. However, for a student needing credit recovery and having already been exposed to the material once, these online learning applications can be ideal.
- Pacing: What kind of pacing does the student need? While virtual schools do not have a set time of day when they meet, there are deadlines for assignments and participation. They have a beginning and ending date to the course. This works well if you have identified the students at the beginning of the year or semester, but not for students who need help after the year has already begun. For those students, one of the pre-packaged online applications works well. Students can begin the course at any time and can actually pace themselves. Those who need to go at a faster pace can do so and those who need more time and practice have it. These packages also work well for students who do not need the entire course, but perhaps a unit or two for additional support.
- Interface: We had been using an online learning application that was well know but very heavily text based. The students and the teachers were really unsatisfied with it. Tonight we are hoping our school board will approve our conversion to a different online learning application that is multimedia based, providing students with audio and video support to the content. We have piloted this product with great success. Contact me and I will give you the name of the product. I was asked by our leaders why we need to purchase this product when our students have access to NCVPS for free. My answer was that one was not enough to meet the needs of all of our students. See all of the above for why :)
Capella University Announces New Education Specialist Online Degree
August 8th, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS, August 7, 2007 – (), an accredited,* based in Minneapolis, has announced a new (EdS) degree program in its School of Education. Within this program, two specializations are being offered, Leadership in Educational Administration, and Curriculum and Instruction. Capella also announced a new education-focused specialization, , as part of its Master of Science in Human Services program.
