Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips Our backgrounds don’t often determine our present. I took one English class in high school. I took one English class in college. Not much of a background in writing, huh? I have written half a dozen books (published) and over a hundred articles (published) as well as a hundred short stories (self-published) […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Schools are for learning. Or are schools for teaching? The two are different. If learning is the goal, this school district succeeded. “High school students crash the WiFi system so the teachers cannot access homework assignments.” The kids at that high school learned a lot. They learned computing; they learned computer security; […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips If you want people to focus on the focal point, discuss nonsense first. Rubbing spaghetti Play-Doh on a surfboard means nothing to no one. (At least I think it means nothing to no one. If someone out there has a strong feeling about it, please let me know.) It is the perfect […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Another instance of “don’t judge a book by its cover” slaps me in the face. I bought my wife an Android tablet for Christmas. If you know my wife, you will need a couple of minutes to regain your composure and resume breathing. Okay, we continue. I, being the smart computing person […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips What do companies want from job candidates? I wish they would make up their mind, but I’m just that kind of person. Let’s go around this little goofy circle Companies won’t hire you unless you walk in with a certificate, a.k.a., a college degree. Companies don’t like what colleges teach (see link) […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips The best schools: do they teach any better or simply ruin fewer students? Ah, here is yet another list of the best schools (this one is about computer science). I didn’t attend any of these as I could not afford it. Rich kids go to these schools. Their rich parents’ extraordinary tuition […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips I complete yet another certificate program. This time it is in Data Science and from Microsoft and EdX. I just finished the Microsoft Professional Program in Data Science. This took about 12 weeks and cost me about $500. The Good: I learned… cool tricks with MS Excel how to write SQL queries […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips If you are a successful college professor, and someone asks you to turn your course into a MOOC, proceed with great care. These things are not the same. I am currently taking a series of online courses or MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course or is it Massive Online Open Course or is […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips Why do online educators put bad presentations in their courses? I am taking yet another online course. My wish is to show potential employers that despite my advanced age I am not brain dead yet and still actively learning. My current online course—no names mentioned to protect the guilty—brings with it something […]

[Read more →]

by Dwayne Phillips I receive yet another certification. I just passed yet another exam and received yet another certification. Contrary to advertisements, the exam was full of trick questions and didn’t test knowledge of the subject matter. Nevertheless, that is the certification industry, and it is a big $$$ indu$try. I find it a shame […]

[Read more →]