Blog Assignment 7

    

     Randy Pausch's lecture on Achieving Your Childhood Dreams was absolutely incredible. He was hilarious and his lecture was so easy to watch and listen to! It was quite obvious that he loved his job and he took it very seriously. Amazing things were done by him while he was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
     Professor Pausch believed in group projects. He did not teach out of a book. The students were given a project every semester and this was their assignment for that semester. They always worked in groups and every several weeks they switched up their group members. I love this concept! The students get to know each other and learn to work with others as a team. Not only is this important for the assignment, but it is such a life lesson! I love this aspect of EDM because I have gotten to know people in this class and truly work as a team
     I also loved the fact that the students had an opportunity to choose what their projects were about. This benefits both the professor and the student. Through this method, the students can choose a subject that interests them and will enjoy the assignment more. The professor doesn't have to worry about assigning many different assignments to each group of students. Professor Pausch seemed so engaged in his students' work. It is very encouraging as a student to have a professor that cares about you and your work. I loved when Professor Pausch said that when people drive you hard, that is when they care about you. This is a sign that they want you to be better. When you are doing a bad job and no one points it out to you, that is when they have given up on you.
     Professor Pausch stresses that he always set the bar higher and higher for his students. He pushed students to do better. He believed it was a disservice to students to set the bar just anywhere. When you continually set goals for your students, they only will get better. Professor Pausch seemed to stress and practice this in his classroom. I've experienced this first hand in EDM. Many projects that I glance at, I think I'll never be able to complete it or do the required task. I attempt it anyways, and I am able to figure it out with the help of my instructors and peers. If I had never tried, I would not know how to do half of what I am capable of now.
     This video was such an encouragement to me! The fact that he was dying when he did this lecture and he was still having a great time! I want to live my life similarly! Life is short and I need to enjoy every minute of it! The three points that I want to remain in my life are to never lose the childlike wonder, help others, and continue to have fun! His whole point of his lecture was not about how to achieve your dreams, but how to live your life! I feel sure that this lecture and it's lessons will stick with me for quites sometime. What a path he left for others to follow!