I'm getting increasingly frustrated with blogger.com. Apparently this blog is still being hosted (in cyberspace of course) at my acquiring excellence website. Of course if you try and go to that link acquiringexcellence.com/blog.html, you will find that there is nothing there. I've tried repeatedly to redirect my website acquiringexcellence.com to just this blog, but it still won't let me. I found a link on blogger for just this issue, and it told me it only takes 48 hours to "clear" the issue. It's now been more than a week, and still, no love from blogger.

So, here we come to my predicament. I don't want to keep this at blogspot.com. If I do, then I'm wasting money on my acquiringexcellence website which now has absolutely nothing on it. Do I persist in trying to redirect, or do I get a new domain?

I just finished reading a book called "Crush It: Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion". He recommends using your name as a domain name. I questioned him in an email, and his explanation is that your name doesn't change, but your interests, businesses, opportunities can. That makes sense, but my name isn't really conducive to a website. The last letter of my name is the first letter of my last name. So, do I confuse people with two h's together in a URL? No, if I purchased a domain with my name, I think I would take out an h, and then in the website, make the "H" kind of like a symbol, if that makes sense?

While I've been working on my dissertation methodology review, I've also been experimenting with logos and website designs in photoshop. Here are some of my ideas:









If anyone is reading my blog, I'd appreciate your input. So number one, do I abandon my original website domain or wait patiently for blogger to get its act together. And, if I do buy a new domain with my name, which logo/background do you like best?

Thanks!

Website

I'm in the process of revamping my website. I figured there's no point in paying to have it hosted when there are so many sites that will allow me to redirect my domain. As such, I'm continuing to blog, and my hope is that after I clear up some technical difficulties, I will be able to redirect this blog to my original domain.

Right now, though, I need some ideas. I want to create my own logo. I've found multiple tutorials on how to create text graphics. So I plan on using one of those tutorials, but I'd really like to get some ideas for pictures to add into the logo. For any of you who are reading my blog, I'd love your suggestions. Here is what I'm interested in promoting:

Learning
Strategies
Non-traditional learners
Thinking
Ideas
Tutoring
Languages

More dissertation news

I spoke to the developer of the TIPP assessment today, and I think we've worked out a decent plan to evaluate both validity and reliability. I'm going to pass it by my mentor before I write up anything official, but as of now, here is what we're going to do:

In my request for participation, I will assign three dates where all participants will need to attend. At the first date, students will come and take a paper form of the TIPP assessment and leave. At the second date, students will come and take the TIPP assessment again, and before leaving will sit through a TIPP presentation. After the TIPP presentation, students will be asked to rank themselves on both character and sensory modes. Finally, they will be instructed to look for an email giving them access to their results and a list of strategies tied to those results. At the third meeting, students will be asked to complete a survey asking them to list three strategies they chose from their results they decided to employ and whether they would use those strategies again. The feeling is if the students were willing to use the strategies again, then those strategies were beneficial to the students.

I still need to explain my correlation methods / data analysis, but I feel I made some progress today.

mentors, committee members... etc

I got an okay from a professor in the school psychology specialization yesterday and was extremely excited. She seemed genuinely interested in my study. But, just as I was about to submit her name on my committee form, I realized that if I did, my request would be rejected. My other committee member is from general psychology, which means I currently have no committee members from the educational psychology specialization, which is against policy. I thought about it and decided well, if I really wanted this school psychology professor on my committee, I just need to find another professor from the educational psychology specialization to be on my committee. It doesn't really seem fair to one of my original committee members, but to be honest, I haven't done anything yet that the original committee member has to see. He has probably been waiting in limbo, well, beside his other responsibilities, while I move slowly through this dissertation process. So, I sought out another professor, one I actually had for a class or two during both my MS and PhD programs. He immediately replied and accepted my request, but then added that he thought I could have chosen a better method for proving validity.

So, now what? Well, I'm not ready to submit my committee form yet. Right now, I suppose I could submit either both names or simply the Ed Psych professor's name, but I'm going to hold off at least until Friday. Tomorrow, I have a scheduled phone call with Shelly Loewen, the developer of the TIPP assessment. I will talk to her again about my plans to prove face validity and also the suggestion for a more rigorous validity study. And, then hopefully, I'll feel more confident about both the direction of my study and my selection of committee members.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid

I received the draft of the 2010-2011 FAFSA today. I plan to look it over this week and will hopefully have a video blog up soon regarding the changes from last year. But for now, here are some important things to consider:

1) You cannot fill out the new FAFSA until after January 1, 2010.
2) It is better for you to estimate your taxes on the FAFSA and get it submitted as soon as possible than to wait until after your taxes are filed. Many school-based and outside scholarships are first come, first serve. And, you can always make adjustments to your FAFSA, if needed, after you file your taxes.
3) NEVER pay anyone to fill out your FAFSA. This application is FREE, hence its name. The financial aid officers at your intended school are paid to assist you through the process of applying for financial aid. But, if they're not available, there are others, like me, who would be happy to answer questions about the FAFSA free of charge. DO NOT go to FAFSA.com to fill out your FAFSA online. Yes, you can complete the FAFSA online, but the ONLY website where you should go to do this is http://www.fafsa.ed.gov

financial aid

For those who are interested, I plan to conduct financial aid workshops in early January at the local Key Center Library to help new and continuing students complete their FAFSAs and answer any miscellaneous questions about financial aid. I have been contacted to consult with a company on their decision to outsource their student financial aid to a third-party servicer. I hadn't considered offering that service; however, given my background working with a small school both independently and with a third-party servicer, I admit I am uniquely qualified to consult on such matters.

I do love financial aid, but I hate the politics involved in working for a school. I think in the future, wherever I might end up, I will consult with schools and help students and families with financial aid, but I will never work for a school as a financial aid administrator again.

For those interested in contacting me, I have worked for both a liberal arts university and a for-profit vocational school. I have been involved in all aspects of financial aid, and now not being affiliated with any school, I can offer un-biased advice in not only filling out the FAFSA, but where to look for scholarships and choosing which school to attend based on the financial aid factor. I'm not going to charge for any services offered in the area of financial aid. I would simply ask if you felt assisted by me you would tell someone else. Referrals are most definitely the highest form of flattery and certainly the highest wage I could ever earn.

dissertation progress

Well, I have finally gotten my topic approved. I know I've delayed my dissertation for some time due to personal and health issues, and I've actually felt embarrassed to ask for more time. But, both my dissertation mentor and my academic advisor have been more than generous, and my latest deadline gives me, I think, another 9 months to finish my current section.

I'm still planning on using the TIPP in my dissertation and feel very fortunate to have such a gifted individual allowing me to use her assessment. As I have said in previous blogs Shelly Loewen has been instrumental in not only encouraging me to pursue my doctorate degree but also in letting me bounce ideas off of her throughout my doctorate program up to this point.

I had a slight scare about a month ago upon seeing that her website was down, but we have spoken since then, and everything is under control.

So, enough with my rambling, what is my dissertation topic? A Reliability and Validity Study of the TIPP Assessment for Use with Adolescents. This second step that I'm completing now is the methodology to include my population description, sampling techniques, rationale for both population and sampling, and the actual methodology description. For the most part, I feel fairly confident about what I'm doing. I have emailed the Peninsula School District to inquire about their computer labs in the elementary and middle schools and also to confirm the process by which I need to request permission to request student participation in my study. I had emailed them more than a year ago with my initial questions. However, the computer I was using died, and I lost the email that was sent to me. I'm hoping that the process will be simple, and they will be interested in helping me out.

My biggest concern is statistics. I understand correlations; however, with the TIPP assessment giving a categorical profile as a result, it is difficult for me to consider a simple Pearson's Correlation Coefficient. It would seem, according to the little I have read and conferring with my dissertation mentor, that Cronbach's alpha for intraclass reliability would be the most appropriate. But, I don't know enough about it to proceed. I think for now, I want to have everything completed with the exception of my explanation and rationale for Cronbach's alpha, and then I can confidently approach my mentor again for a crash course in statistics.

Beyond that, I am excited about this study. The more I think about it, the more I want to be in a position where I can evaluate educational programs and assessments. What would that job be called or where could I find that job? I'm not sure. I have done some searches, and have not found exactly the title with which I could be satisfied. I suppose I'm looking at a consultancy job; however, the problem is my dissertation will be the first time I have ever evaluated anything!

I will post again when I've completed my methodology review form.