In Memory of :

There has been alot to happen since I last blogged. The world has lost countless of people due to the protests in Iran and everyday circumstances. I would like to take the time to send condolescences to all the families who have lost loved ones whether it has been through natural causes or a terrible twist in fate. I would also like to send prayers out to the families of three individuals who have died the past week. These three individuals have made entertaining the world their primary goal and succeeded beyond a doubt. To the families of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Micheal Jackson, may God Bless you and see you through the dark moment in time. What will follow will be a memoriam of these three individuals in pictures. May God Bless and keep every last one of you. Until next time bloggers, see you later.

Week 2

Hi Bloggers! I have good news today. I finally made an appointment to get my tooth pulled on yesterday and the extraction was a success. I was issued a prescription for painkillers and antibiotics. I did a dumb thing though and took both at the same time and got sick to the stomach. Lesson learned! I will not make the same mistake again. I am still doing well in my online classes at Walden University. I am still studying to take my driver's exam. Hopefully, I will be a license driver by the end of the summer. Well until next time bloggers, see ya later!

Update!

Hi Bloggers! I have been away for a couple of days but I am back now and with some good information. I have been looking for my birth certificate and social security card so I could take my written test for my driver's license. Guess what? I didn't find it so I have to order another copy of both documents and wait for them to be sent by mail. I don't get to test until I have those documents. It darkened my week dramatically. I also developed a nagging and relentless toothache that goes and comes when it pleases so I have to find time to make an appointment to get it pulled. Ouch! On top of everything, I have been doing okay in my online courses but it hasn't been easy. Okay I know I told you I had good news right well I do. I did well in my courses and earned As and that is great considering the week I have had. I am just thankful that I have survived such a busy and crazy week. I told that I was boring so don't get mad if you were looking for something more outlandish or exciting. Until next time, see ya!

Online Learning: Benefits and Consequences part 2

Hi bloggers! Yesterday, I started with the first part of a long conversation about the benefits and consequences of online learning. For me, it has been mostly benefits but for some of my friends it has been hard consequences. I have a friend for confidential purposes, I call her Lydia, who decided to go to school online. She did well in the online sector until her financial aid kept getting screwed up. Then her classes started being dropped and she was never informed until an hour before she was to enter the class. After calling and specking with academic counselor after counselor, she decided to go some place else. She enrolled in a traditional school that offered online degree programs and since switching; she has been happy ever since. For me, the online experience was the best choice I ever made. I am nopt trying to plug any online colleges or anything but I was proud to have earned my degree online and have it recognized by my state board of education. Regardless of what some people think, online learning is not easy street. You have got to work hard if you want good grades. I had to work hard and I did and I think it is very sad that people do not want to recognize an online degree as legimate or credible as a traditional one. Learning online is not for everyone especially if those individuals think that they are going to be given easy Mickey Mouse stuff. Online learning is not for the lazy, it is for the busy people who need an advance degree but don't have the time to sit in a classroom and listen to a lecture.

Online Learning: Benefits and Consequences

Hi. This is the first installment of articles discussing the good and bad aspects of learning online. I will talk about my experiences with online learning and also relay details of others bad and good experiences with learning on the web.

Background Information:
During my first year as an educator, I realized that in order for me to solidify my position as an educator, I would have to take courses to further my education. The closer college to my home was The University of Mississippi which was about an hour and a half away. Commuting was out of the question. Night classes or weekend classes were unmanageable because of the commute and my hectic schedules as a teacher. I decided to look online. I searched the web for colleges that would offer degree programs online with little to no commuting requirements and that would be accredited by my state department of education. I found the University of Phoenix. It offered most of its degree programs online and on campus. I called and spoke to an enrollment counselor and an hour later I was enrolled. I decided to get an advanced degree in the area in which I am currently teaching: Mathematics Education. The program was simple to follow and very flexible but it was not easy by a long shot. The courses I took required me to use APA style to construct my papers and many of my professors made us follow the manual to a tee. I worked hard and I gave it my all. Nothing came easy and I was glad for it at the end. In March of this year, I completed the masters program and received my degree. I was able to get the certification I needed in order to keep my job as a elementary math teacher.

Viewpoints about Online Learning
I was very excited to be graduating and getting certification as a math teacher but what I wasn't glad about was how people viewed my hard earned degree. I started reading articles regarding prejudice against earning a degree online. These articles implied that administrators in HR offices would not view a degree earn online as being equal to one earned at a traditional college. I have earned two degrees through the traditional level and have to say that they were easier to get than the one I earned from UPX. As I continued to read, many of these articles had a negative view about University of Phoenix. I was heartbroken. I had learned quite a bit from UPX and now people are telling me that my degree means nothing because it was from UPX. I was angry and I had to find out if the department of education would accept my degree. Since I had earned a degree from an accredited institution, my certification was granted and I was safe. But I couldn't let it go. I needed to know why UPX was getting so much bad press from people. I went through the program just fine. So I decided to ask people around me who had atteded UPX online how they were doing. Out of the three people I asked two had a favorable opinion of the school. So I decided to ask questions about peoples views of learning online and many people seem to like the idea but the majority of them think that learning online is easy. If there is anyone out there who is considering or knows someone who has completed and online program, I'd like to hear from you. Feel free to post any ideas or comments to this article. There will be more additions to come.

Learning to drive at the age of 27.

This summer, I have an agenda filled with goals I need to accomplish before school reconvenes for the new year. Among these goals are: losing thirty pounds, finishing my two courses with Walden University, and getting my driver's license. Yes getting my driver's license! I have made several failed attempts to get this darn thing and always something would come up to postpone or stop me. This time things are going to be different. I have been practicing and practicing and I have a good feeling about this time. I think I am on the way to becoming a licensed driver. For years, I had been carrying around a permit flashing it as a valid id well it is a valid id but its not a license. After this week, I will be able to flash a real license and be proud to say I finally earned it even though it took me eleven years. I am not ashamed of not having a license because there are so many things that I do have that most folks don't. I, however, don't ridicule people who don't have what I have because I know we are all different. I just hope that people would do the same with me when they find that I don't have a license. It really doesn't matter now because by the end of the week, I hope to be well on my way to being a license driver.

Why I Decided to Blog again

Hi. Its been a long time since I blogged so now I am back and trying to get into the swing of things again. I started blogging so that my voice could be heard and so that I could get the news out about my poetry book. I thought that I could break into the writing business by self-publishing my way to the top. I learned a cruel but valuable lesson; things don't always workout the way you plan. I talked about everything on my first blog but very few people clicked in and very few people listened. Well, I guess the wrong people listened and I ended up getting a nasty virus that caused my computer to crash taking with it all of my poetry files and research papers(I was in grad school at the time). I vowed that I would never blog again. In frustration, I dismantled my site. Abandon my website and never looked back. Meanwhile, my poetry books sit dusty and forgotten on the electronic shelf of the POD that promised me bright lights and big dreams. I know now that if I want to make it as a writer, I have got to work my way up from the bottom just as I had done with becoming a teacher. Blogging is the best way to get my voice out and even if I don't get paid for it, I am just glad to have the opportunity to write. I love writing and next to teaching, its the only thing I ever really wanted to do. So now I am in it for the long haul. I will only write about what interests me and events that affect the world around me and you. I have given up politics. I leave political analysis to the people who are paid to do it and subsequently waste taxpayers money. I now issue an invitation to the fans of writing and reading. If you like to write, if you love to read; tell me about your life. I am here and will be listening. Lord knows I am going to be writing telling you about mine. Whatever is on your mind, please share it.

My contact information (please use it)

Hi, the following information is all you will need to contact me outside of this blog.
My wiki is http://newamethawilliams.wikispaces.com/ .
My url is http://amethawilliams.com/ .
My twitter is http://twitter.com/amethawilliams .
My Myspace url is http://www.myspace.com/amethawilliams81 .
My email addresses are amethawilliams@yahoo.com and Mywork@amethawilliams.com .
Anyway you need to contact me, you can so please feel free.

The Beginning

Hi, my name is Ametha Williams. One year ago, I became fascinated with blogging and the online scene altogether. I had a blog and several websites which were rarely visited so I tore down my blog and went back to my little hole in the wall life sad and defeated. Well, I am back and this time it is going to be different. I am going to write about things that affect me and the world and I am going to write about crap. I loved the feeling blogging gave me and I was stupid to give it up. I have learned alot in the 355 days that I have been away and I am going to apply what I know to my blog and keep blogging until I can't write anymore. I missed venting my opinions and talking about things that I love and believe in. I am also a new member of twitter and I have my own wiki: http://newamethawilliams.wikispaces.com . Please feel free to blog with me. Share your opinions with me, I am willing to listen.