Unit 5 Post

Attending Kaplan University has been a huge change in my life thus far. It started out with an urge to do something different with my life, to change directions. I had started a degree many years ago with a stint at a major university in California, but.....life happened, and got in the way. I quit, vowing it was "just a break." But a year turned into two, then three, and so on. I was in a rut, and didn't know what to do with myself. It took the fact that I was (and still am) in a dead-end job, and that if I wanted any type of meaningful career, then I was going to have to complete my education. After much thought and consideration, I settled on Health Information Technology, because it has major potential and is something that I could see myself doing for a long time, along with whatever else I decided to do in life. I knew I wanted to be in the healthcare field, but I didn't want to be a nurse, and could not go to medical school. I don't have that kind of personality to be that "hands on" with patients, anyway. Going to online classes is very strenuous on my life, but at the same time rewarding in many ways. I get a sense of accomplishment when I complete a course, knowing that I have gained one more step in completing an important goal. I feel better knowing that I will "finish what I started" a long time ago. This time, education means more to me, and I am even more determined to cross that finish line. Online courses are difficult to integrate into my life at this point, because of my work and family obligations, but I am also slowly learning how to juggle things. Sometimes I do screw up and miss an assignment, but I try to turn things in late anyways, instead of cry about it. I have even failed one course, but am retaking it this term, because I am not giving up for anything! I hope to keep a positive attitude most of the time, and turn my failures into learning experiences, even if the same mistake is made more than once. Now that I have a child, it is important for me to set a great example for her to look up to when she feels lost or discouraged. Completing my education and looking to the future for more opportunities is one of the best things I can do to teach her by my example to work hard and never give up on her goals.

Unit 3 post

Ok, guys....
I've been a baaaad little girl and late with assignments. This one was supposed to be done back in unit 3. Honestly, I misread or misheard directions and thought that we didn't start posting until unit 4, but I guess that's neither here nor there anymore. By now some of you as well as Professor D'Angelo know that my topic for my paper is home birthing. I have some strong opinions, and it seems like many others out there have them too. It is a topic that excites people, both professional and non-professional alike, because it is so controversial. I wonder how everyone feels about this particular subject. Feel free to drop me a line on this blog if you have the time and wish to contribute to my general curiosity about it.
Being an online student is not as easy as I thought it would be. I thought that because it is not a "traditional" format, going to a classroom and interacting with people in person, but instead "going to class" in my pj's and submitting assignments at 3 a.m. that it would involve more freedom. This is not the case. Ok, yes, it is pretty cool to be able to go to seminar in my pj's and not brush my teeth for it, etc. but.....the pressure is just as great to do well and succeed at the assignments, especially in this class. There is much more writing involved than I am used to. Its not easy being a new mom, having a full time day job AND attending classes at the same time. I thought that having the option to stay up late and have classes after work would be good for me, but it doesn't seem to make it much easier. I still have to sleep sometime, and it is just too tempting to fall asleep on the couch after a long day, when the baby finally goes to bed, dinner is served and I am EXHAUSTED. I'm struggling, but hoping to pull through and pass this course. The anonymity of this system is both a plus and a minus. Like I mentioned before, its good to "come as you are" to class, but at the same time, I am a social person, who likes to talk directly face to face to my fellow classmates and instructors, so the whole online experience is a little alien to me. What is interesting is that this will probably be the norm in a few decades, if not sooner, when all children have to do is log on and go to class via their computers at home. While this would be a technological wonder, it would be very sad at the same time. We all need to interact with each other to "stay human"and that is why I like the fact that Kaplan encourages students to keep in touch with other students and instructors via message boards and instant messaging.
The Blog-o-sphere. I really like that term. It really is an atmosphere unto itself, with all of the bloggers and ideas running wild out there in the online community. Its really amazes me that 10 years ago, the word "blog" did not exist, and that it was not even an idea that someone could write casually and be published for the world to see their thoughts, ideas, complaints, etc. We are all potential authors and everyone has something of interest to say at some point, so I believe this is a wonderful way to encourage and bring out the creativity in all of those who venture into the world wide web beyond facebook.

The last six weeks....

Well, let me see.
The last six weeks have been a time of joy and transition, stress, and frustration. I had been on maternity leave since February 16th, the day my daughter was born. These past 3 months have been amazing and educational. The saying is true; you don't really know how hard it is to raise a child until you have one yourself, especially when they are very young. You also have no idea how joyful and fulfilling it is at the same time. Lately, however, It has been rough going through the aforementioned "transition" time while going back to work. Shayna and I had become accustomed to sleeping in and doing things our way. Now, we have to be out the door by 7 am to get her to the sitters and myself to work on time. Work is not my favorite place anymore!!!! I never thought I would be the kind of mom to regret returning to work after the birth of a child. In fact, I imagined myself welcoming it in a way, so that there would be a sense of 'normalcy' back in my life. Now I realize that for myself, nothing would be more normal than being a stay at home mom raising my own child. I miss her terribly during the day. On top of all of this, I have decided to fire my babysitter this next week. She takes care of Shay's needs well enough, and doesn't abuse or neglect her, but the environment in her home is less than ideal for a young infant in my opinion. The gigantic flat screen is always on, its very bright inside at all times, Julietta (the sitter) has a 7 month old baby that is always crying loudly about something (she is a very needy child), and there is not enough one-on-one time provided for my child. The other child always takes center stage. My daughter comes home cranky, exhausted, and confused because it is hard for her to have a normal routine in that house, and I won't stand for it anymore. So, I will be making other arrangements. This way, Shayna will be in her own home, with her own things, and with someone who can give her more individual care and attention. Parenthood is definitely becoming an adventure for me, and I have decided to blog it on another site, more extensively. I look forward to learning more about it, and myself in the months and years to come!

It is important to cite our sources in order to avoid plagiarism, because we should never intentionally take credit for the hard work of another writer, student or professional. It is just the same as the theft of a hard earned paycheck, or a family heirloom, that which has been tended to and protected. Also, when we plagiarize someone elses' ideas, we are advertising to the world that we are too lazy and/or creative to come up with our own ideas, learn and think for ourselves. I'm not sure how I would handle things if I learned that someone had taken my work and attempted to make others believe it was theirs, but I would be really upset. If it was in an academic setting, I would bring it to the attention of the dean of that school in order for it to be investigated, for a start. If it was done in a professional setting, and if someone plagiarized important field work, for instance, then I would seek legal recourse and possibly go to court over it. In the professional world, it is important to have copyrights put into place as soon as possible after a work is published, so that the author has this legal protection. In the case of websites that claim to legally own content written by someone else, I don't really think there is anything wrong with it per se, as a website is sometimes erected to make money, and therefore unless an author wants to submit a copyright request along with their post to the website, then the author should understand that a website such as youtube has the right to use the information however they see fit.