I was inspired to track some of my goals here on my blog after seeing Rebecca Thorman do the same over at Modite earlier tonight (check out her post for the “rules”). I think it’s a great idea to establish and track goals in a such a public forum. I’m not a To-Do List person at all, but I like this concept a lot.

To start this on the right foot, here are some goals I had for August – some of which I accomplished and some I didn’t:

• Negotiate for a raise so I can move back to the city and not have to live in a cardboard box
• Go to the gym 3 times a week (I left my gym shoes in my cousin’s car and I haven’t seen her again yet, so…)
• Get a new cell phone and get on a plan instead of doing “pay as you go” (got a BlackBerry!)
• Start looking for an apartment for October 1st (found a cheap apartment in a good neighbourhood for September 1st, but with half price rent for September – score!)
• Go to Montréal to visit family (this is long overdue, but it had to be postponed because I can’t afford rent and such an expensive trip at the same time)

Life and career goals for September:

• Move into the new apartment, get all nest-y and finish painting over Labour Day weekend
• Go to the beach a few times before winter sets it since I live right on it now – I already took my first early-morning beach walk last weekend when I crashed at the empty apartment to begin cleaning and painting
• Get the Internet at home (!!!)
• Throw a house-warming party
• Hire an intern to help me with all the insanity at work
• Actually trust said intern enough to delegate tasks to him/her

Also, I don’t like blogging about how much I hate parts of my life. I did that for years as a teenager, and while I still have plenty of teenage angst inside of me at age 23, I stopped writing in my livejournal for a reason. I used to feel better when I spilled out all my negativity into a space like that, but now it just makes me feel worse. If I don’t write it down, then I can just forget about it.

But now, things are starting to move again. I’m moving again, literally. I got a cute one bedroom in The Beaches and although it requires a lot of TLC, it’s worth it. It’s cheap and it’s small, but it’s just me so it’s a good size. The lake, the beach and the boardwalk are one block away. The neighbourhood is full of families and dogs and ridiculously in shape people who all seem very relaxed because they live by the water. I like it.

I took it even though I promised myself I wouldn’t paint another apartment for a long time, and even though it needed to be cleaned from top to bottom. I’m tired of painting and the walls in particular were unbelievably dirty.

But as I scrubbed the walls of their grime and wiped away the cobwebs, I realized it’s a good experience to go through. It’s like a ritual that allows me to see every centimeter of my new home up close and personal. I’m a nester by nature, so painting everything the colours I love and putting my things just so are very important to me.

And I’ve moved so many times that it takes such a ritual for a space to feel like home. This will be my 13th move and more than half of those were just in the last five years. It took me along time to allow any place feel like home because home always meant my mom was there, and she wasn’t. She wasn’t anywhere. But I’ve come to terms with that now.

So, I move in next weekend. And I will have a life again, with friends and actually going into work every day and living in a city that is a living entity all on its own.

I think this means I can write again. Thank goodness.

A girl directly in front of me is toggling between two chat windows, a website of song lyrics, email, her Facebook profile, and, every now and then, her lecture notes. It’s hard to concentrate. I feel a pang of sympathy for the professor at the front of the hall. His multitasking students are certainly busy, but by bringing their online lives into the classroom, are they paying enough attention to him—or their educations?

Over at Maclean’s OnCampus, Karen Pinchin argues in, “Can I have your half-attention, please?” that although many post-secondary institutions now require their students to use laptops, using a computer during lecture can actually cause the student to score lower on tests.

And, of course, some professors just find them plain disrespectful.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out using a laptop during class takes brainpower away from learning.

But I would argue students just aren’t being challenged to use enough of their brainpower during a lecture to warrant giving their full attention to the instructor.

Post-secondary students have been listening to lecturers and scribbling down notes to memorize for centuries. Haven’t our brains, and our expectations of communication, evolved over that time? Especially over the past 20 years or so? Of course!

The old tribal storytelling method where important information is passed down to the youth from the elders no longer applies. Not in the information age.

We’re not the first generation to seek out distractions during a tediously boring lecture. Before laptops became as prevalent as they are today, students doodled, worked on other assignments, discretely read books, wrote letters (or grocery lists, novels or to-do lists) or just zoned out altogether.

That says a lot about the method of delivery of information. Too many instructors rely solely on the lecture method to teach students. Three hours listening to the same person drone on and on about a single topic is enough to drive away anyone’s attention span, no matter how disciplined a learner.

Some professors think their lectures become more entertaining if they throw the information together in a PowerPoint presentation rather than writing it on a black/whiteboard or putting it up on an overhead projector. Putting notes online ahead of time is even worse because students already know what to expect when they arrive — if they arrive.

Looking back over the past four years of my undergraduate career, I remember leaving lectures during the break halfway through numerous times simply because it was boring and I felt like I wasn’t learning anything. Sometimes I had something better to do, sometimes not.

Now, I’m not an educational flake. I love learning. I constantly consume information. I always want to know more.

But maybe that’s the problem. Either the information being provided to students by most instructors or the way it’s being delivered isn’t up to snuff with what we’re used to.

The most interesting and, I would aruge, informative lectures I’ve ever attended have included at least some of the following elements, all of which I think are must-haves in this day and age:

• Variety – A mix of the traditional podium-style lecturing along with other styles is the only way to ensure students pay attention in class. Otherwise, it turns into a real snooze-fest after about 15 minutes or so.

• Discussion – Even in large classes, giving students the opportunity to form and verbally express their thoughts on a topic is the easiest way to mix things up. Although students can become  annoyed by peers who voice opinions too regularly, a group discussion at the beginning or end of a class will get their mind working whether they raise their hand or not.

• Multimedia – Most post-secondary classrooms are totally wired these days and allow instructors to share video, audio, photos, slideshows and web pages with students. Too few profs take advantage of this incredible tool, however, and even fewer know how to use it properly. Moving smoothly from one method to another is essential in avoiding those deadly techno-phobic moments during which attention — and respect — is lost.

• Interactivity – Whether the instructor asks survey questions or simply asks students to write down the answer to a question on a sheet of paper to hand in at the end of class for participation marks, allowing students to contribute something outside of a discussion setting should prevent them from zoning out too often.

• Web 2.0 – This under-used tool is probably the most valuable. By giving students the opportunity to participate and think about class material outside of a classroom setting, they’ll be more interested in class lectures and discussions. Online blogs, forums, social networking and communities are easy to create and maintain. Students can contribute at any time and move the online material and ongoing discussions into the classroom setting.

• Time out – Providing students with a short break mid-way through a longer class is essential. Not only will you notice a renewed focus when they return, their bladders and stiff bodies will thank you.

What do you think is essential to providing an interesting, informative lecture?