Newly Revised Buddy System

After its initial sign up announcement, the buddy program went under the radar for quite a while. I had growing concerns that it would flunk like it did last year. However, things seem to have improved. I received an email notifying me of my budd(ies) just today, and it seems to be fairly thorough. I got three of them, apparently due to a lack in volunteers. Will they stick with it and nurture it into a full, successful program? Who knows? I can only hope so...

...Yet, I have concerns that it'll fall to the level of quality that can be found in a lot of the materials they provided us relating to creating a schedule/staying on pace (If you haven't seen the 'staying on pace' video, save yourself the time and squelch your curiosity- suffice to say, it's scarily corny.) The introductory document sent to the buddy-ers (can't think of a better term as of yet,) told me to fill out a survey and send it to my buddies, but it was a very lame survey. You'd think with the number of email surveys circulating, it would be manageable to pick a couple good questions, but no. One of them is literally "I need (fill in the blank.)" Full thing below:

Line 1: I am (your first name)
Line 2: (some adjectives that describe you)
Line 3: Son/daughter of (and/or brother/sister of)
Line 4: Who needs (some things you need)
Line 5: Who loves (some things you love)
Line 6: Who hates (some things you hate)
Line 7: Who fears (some things you fear)
Line 8: Who came to iQ because (some reasons you’re attending iQ)
Line 9: My favorite thing about iQ is (your favorite thing about iQ)
Line 10: Who dreams of (some goals for this year and/or beyond this year)
Line 11: Resident of: (you can describe your house, or name your hometown; or even the planet you live on!)
Line 12: (your last name)

I don't mean to be too harsh on the poor guys; they clearly put some effort into it, but the worst part is how they describe that survey:

"you’ll be creating an autobiographical poem that will tell your buddy some important things about you."

Ouch.

-H²

Blog Reforms of September 07

Fellow authors, readers, and the occasional malicious internet surfer, I bring you the shortly-awaited, completely unexpected and mildly insignificant iQ Student Blog Reforms of September, 2007! Here's a list of the exciting changes:

Change #1: Refined "Label" feature and applied appropriate labels to all current posts
Why it helps: The motivation to do this came about thanks to a suggestion from a fellow student, who thought it would be beneficial to provide readers with clarity, and allow them to more easily browse the various types of posts you'll find in the diverse realm that is this blog. While it's not exactly what anyone had in mind, I think it'll help you if you just want to read a certain type of post. To use it, note the "Topics of Interest" section of the right column. Just click one to sort.

Change #2: Modified and updated the "Information" module
Why it helps: People who come here not knowing where they are will now know where they are and can leave accordingly!

Change #3: Altered the shade of blue on the 'iQ Students' blog title
Why it helps: Bet you didn't see that coming! I'd also be willing to bet you'd never have noticed, had I not mentioned it here.
Special note: If you liked the old color better, just comment here and I'll reluctantly change it back.

Since I can't remember if I changed anything else, I'll assume that's everything for now. Hope it enhances your experience, and please go vote in the poll so we authors have a better notion of what you want to see us write about!

Till next time,

-H²
OFFICIAL REFORM COLONEL

Did you know?

- Wild baboons are breaking into houses and cars and stealing things in South Africa.

- The Hundred Year War didn't last 100 years. It lasted 117 years.

- There is a gap of happiness between men and women. Men are generally happier than women.

And the survey says...

In response to the question of how many hours you spend in Elluminates weekly, you said:

(46%) "5+!" Hats off to this crowd, the more the merrier!
(33%) "3-4..." I applause your interest, and your understanding of moderation.
(13%) "Wait, what? Elluminates?" Do me a favor: Visit elluminate.com, login, and join the first session you see... Just do it.
(6%) "1-2" Not bad, not bad...


Thanks for participating! Watch for the next poll coming soon.

-H²

Discussion Board Quandary

Alright, what's the deal? It took a while to get Commons setup, and then longer to get the Discussion Board Suggestions section setup, but now that they did that, the only thing they've done is create three mildly pointless boards that don't actually allow for any serious debating...

Am I the only one gradually moving from "Patience" to "Frustration" at an exponentially greater rate? Or is this actually bothering some of you as well?

Personally, I want discussion. Even just an acknowledgment of the suggestions posted by students in that section. After all, why ask if they don't seem to care?

The Results are In

After a week of frenzied voting, the results to last week's poll are in!

In response to all the mass emails, you said:
41% as the leader of the votes was "Very Annoying"
29% as second place (though not by much,) was "Not so bad/They mean well"
20% of you just let out a howl at the horror of the experience.
8% are bald. I think there's a discount on wigs this week at Wal-mart if you're quick...


Thanks for participating. Next poll starts Monday the 17th!


Edit: Due to various discrepancies in the poll (are you already growing your hair back?) the number of bald voters dropped from 9% to 8%...

Patriot Day

Today is 9/11. Take time to remember everyone who died. Remember the figherfighters and police who gave their lives to save other peoples. Remember all of your family and friends who died.

Win An Apple iPhone!

Yes, it sounds like junk mail, but it is entirely true.

I was interested in seeing if iQ had a Wikipedia page, and so while I was searching Google, I came across a website of iQ's I had not seen before. Of course, I clicked it:

iQ Academy

(Page will NOT open in a new window. I seem to have forgotten that bit of code. Just + click it open.)

And there, right before my eyes; a chance at last.

In case you are unaware of the greatest phone ever, check out the site.

(Same applies for this link, it will not open in a new window, sorry.)

It looks easy enough. They want us to do a video demonstrating the freedom and flexibility provided by online education. (There's a video of iQ Academy director Lisa McClure doing just that. She and a few others are using their laptop... while skydiving!) Everything we need to know is on the site, along with what will help us in winning.

Unfortunately, I just found out about this, and the deadline is noon on September 14th. Hopefully many of you were aware of this long before I was. If you weren't, there's still time!

If you want to add any special effects, titles, sounds, transitions, etc., I suggest you use iMovie HD, which should have came loaded on all of our laptops. It would normally be pretty slow, but since we're only using YouTube quality video here, it should be no problem at all.

I wish the best of luck to everyone!

EDIT:

I should mention, and I'm a little disappointed with myself that I didn't, that buying the iPhone means switching to AT&T's service. It's a 2 year agreement, plans starting at $59.99, and the phone can not be used (except to dial 911) until you have this service.

Elluminate Ethics

As the first week of Elluminates has begun, chances are good that you'll either have one very shortly after reading this, or you already had your first and may be able to relate to some of my advice.

First of all, if you're wondering how many I've been to, I have no idea. Enough that I can't count them. I've been to almost every possible elluminate for my classes, barring illness or travel, for all of my three years at iQ. I know the ropes pretty well, and would like to share some tips on interacting within elluminate (not tech help- for that you've got other pre-established resources.)

Tip #1: Use the mic.

This is a very serious part of it. If every student used the mic to convey their point at least *some* of the time, everyone would benefit. It's more fun, it's more fluid, and you can focus your attention. Of course there will be times when you're munching on something, or your mic doesn't work (don't lie about this, btw,) or you don't feel well (this either.) However, these times are theoretically occurrences with a very low frequency, and are not -by any standards- a permanent excuse. Thinking your voice is bad is actually a permanent excuse, but unwarranted and you shouldn't get away with never speaking because of that. (Do you also never say anything in public?) Bite the bullet and get on it. You won't regret the new freedom.

Tip #2: Don't spam the whiteboard

This is another big one. Do not, even if everyone is fooling around, ever, under any circumstances, spam the whiteboard with tons of Pencil Tool, dumb images, the same text, or any other evil materials you can think up. There will be opportunities to go wild, but by going wild you need to respect others and not take up everyone's space with junk. Not spamming might go unnoticed, but if you mess with everyone, you will be seen and most people will find you annoying. For everyone that doesn't spam the whiteboard (or contrastingly makes it pretty,) I salute you in advance.

Tip #3: Be friendly and informative, not distant and blurry

Some people will join elluminates and leave their virtual self there while they go off and do whatever they do. This is not wise- You are lagging a perfectly fine computer, you aren't learning all the cool course material you could be learning, and you definitely aren't making friends. Even in a session of a class you don't like, you very well might meet a student or two with a similar opinion. *Poof* New friend... s. The best way to capitalize on the awesome fun that is Elluminate is to get involved and stay involved as much as possible.

Tip #4: Don't do
this
ever
ever
ever
ever
ever
ever
.

Tip #5: :) Too many :P Smilies are Annoying :D :P :D :S :D -_- :P

Tip #6: Saying the obvious to everyone is not helpful, and in most cases unfunny.

"Hey look, yellow."

Tip #7: Not participating in a discussion (particularly on the mic) is boring.

Tip #8: If you have to leave early, don't say goodbye more than once. Please. People who only say goodbye once are more appreciated because of it (and everyone *will* notice the first time.) This leads to tip #9...

Tip #9: Don't assume that unresponsiveness means people either don't like you, don't care what you're saying, or didn't see what you typed. They may just have nothing to say, be feeling too lazy to type back, or really don't care what you said. Also, don't take it personally. If what you're saying is important, repeat it, and if that doesn't work, someone else will join in your quest to get the message out. This is especially useful for semi-distracted teachers.

Tip #10: plz use cptl lettrs 'n full wrds sumtimes cuz it make ur stuff easier 2 read



That's all for now; might see you in class!

-H²

Salutations!

Greetings!
My name is Mandy, I am a Senior here at iQ. I think that this is a wonderful idea to really get to know people and what is going on in their heads. It is a fabulous idea! I have actually been a student here at iQ for 3 years, and for good reason. I am a former student of West Bend West, I left after my Sophomore year, and a very unsuccessful one at that. I had a knee and sinus problem, a problem that had me in and out of school for more than 2 months out of the school year, sprawled throughout that year due to surgeries and therapy.
iQ was answer to a prayer.
My Junior year had been interrupted, however, as my parents split up, and my mother, my brothers (3) and I had left the house, and I was unable to finish a portion of school, as where we were residing did not have internet.
Last year went very good, my Senior year, but I decided I would stay one more year to prepare myself for going to college.
So, that is where I am. I am technically a Senior+. *riendose en voz alta*
Glad to be here, pleasure to meet you all, and I look forward to getting to know you all!
Here's to a good year, and a great start!

~Mandy Massingale

My First Week At iQ

My first week has been super hard. I've been trying to figure out how to navigate all my classes.AP Government is really hard. I also couldn't figure out how to get my printer to work. If anybody wants to help, please email me at horsecrazyaly15@yahoo.com.The school is pretty cool all together. Everybody have a good week!

CarlySmash is in the house!

Okay, that was lame.

And I'd been sitting here staring at the screen, listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with no ideas at all.
But then I realized, I could use my lack of ideas as a decent post.

So I took a page from the Book of Streeter Seidell,
and made this.

Three guys walking down the street...

The first one walks into a bar. He bought a beer and stayed there for an hour.

The second one walks into a bar. He was unconscious for an hour.

The third guy walks into a poll, and votes the second guy for president.

---
While that joke wasn't a political statement, it did have something special in it. Can you guess? A poll! That's right. And that's also a new feature on Blogger, that we get to use. (*listens for resounding cheers of joy*)

You can find the poll of the week, which I'll obviously update weekly, in the right column (For those of you seeing only a blank green background, it's the other right.)

-H²

Into the Fray

With one full day of school behind me, I'm happy to be in one piece after the (usual) amount of day 1 chaos yesterday. Despite everything from not having my ibook till the 3rd, to being without an elluminate login to attend the Physics elluminate that didn't happen anyway, it was certainly a positive precursor to what is shaping up to be one of the best years at iQ yet. The crazier it starts, the better off everyone is. It's only by having the troubles that staff and students can properly get into the online learning groove- and I don't mean that lightly.

It's the problems at iQ, and even life in general, that shape the success of its participants. Through the struggles to get everything in line, we learn where our priorities really are, and we gain crucial skills that will solidify our composition in future struggles. Chaos breeds greatness. Keep that in mind, as you wait to get that critical problem fixed (or tear your hair out at the mass-emails flooding your inbox.)


-H<sup>2


Edit 1: Added mass email note. Thanks Charles.</sup>