2009.12.27
How to Get a Glowing Recommendation Letter
Students who do well in my courses often come to me asking for a
recommendation letter for graduate or postgraduate study.
I only write letters for students I know well
and I can honestly recommend, so some end up with a glowing
recommendation while others leave empty handed.
While I was drafting a few letters today,
it occurred to me that obtaining a good recommendation letter
is a lot easier if you've planned for it well in advance.
Continue reading "How to Get a Glowing Recommendation Letter"Last modified: Sunday, December 27, 2009 6:53 pm
2009.02.18
The Information Train
The Information Train is a scientific
experiment that I presented at the
Wizards of Science 2009 contest over the past weekend.
The entry demonstrates how computers communicate with each other by
setting up a network in which a model train transfers a picture's pixels
from one computer to the other.
You can find
a video of the experiment
on YouTube, and, if you're interested, you can also download
the corresponding software and schematics from
this web page.
Continue reading "The Information Train"Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 4:21 pm
2009.01.01
The Changing Value of Knowledge and Skills
I feel we're witnessing a watershed in the value of knowledge and many,
once crucial, skills.
Thanks to powerful ubiquitous computers and the internet,
hard-earned knowledge and skills that used to be important are no more.
Here are some examples.
Continue reading "The Changing Value of Knowledge and Skills"Last modified: Thursday, January 1, 2009 11:28 pm
2008.04.28
In Presentations Less is More
A couple of months ago I prepared the slides for a paper I will present
at the
30th International Conference on Software Engineering.
After reading Garr Reynolds's book
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design on Presentation Design and Delivery
I became enlightened, and I decided to redo the presentation from scratch,
creating less cluttered, more focused, and simpler slides.
Continue reading "In Presentations Less is More"Last modified: Monday, April 28, 2008 0:12 am
2005.09.05
Preparing for the Exams
The (retake) exam period has started.
At the metro the passenger sitting opposite me is obviously a student
frantically sorting the cards containing a 6%-reduced photocopy of her forensic
psychology textbook.
Continue reading "Preparing for the Exams"Last modified: Tuesday, September 6, 2005 0:23 am
2004.10.24
Involving Students With Open Source Projects
A Slashdot story titled
OSDDP: Involving Students With Open Source Docs
prompted me to describe my experiences with the
Software Comprehension and Maintenance
course I am teaching.
The reactions from the—difficult to please—slashdot crowd
were surprisingly positive and friendly.
Continue reading "Involving Students With Open Source Projects"Last modified: Monday, October 25, 2004 10:29 am
