Boost your brain this summer: Coursera, edX, TED-Ed and other online learning resources

I declared my summer 2012 as a summer of learning. I love learning new things by myself and I have already reflected on the topic of self education here a two and a half year ago. There I listed several resources that are generally still actual, however some new great opportunities have emerged for self-learners. MIT OCW, for example, seemed to be one of the greatest things, however, when digging into it, you might get just partial information (just lecture notes, just assignments, etc). I was more looking forward to a real online class, with video lectures, assignments, deadlines etc. 

Google Education resources

Earlier this month I learned about an online course of power searching offered by Google. I signed up for it partly because of I was interested to learn the methods and media used in the course, then surely also to learn new things on search. They were 6 classes, each comprised of lessons (video lectures) and activities (quizzes). There was a mid-term assignment with a deadline and a final assignment. One could attempt to take them as many times as needed and just the highest score was being counted. The certificates were being sent out to those who got at least 75% score. I got 100% :) Now the classes are online for everyone, without the assessments, however.

Hopefully, more courses like this will be offered by Google!

Coursera.org

I had heard of Coursera since months ago, however signed up for it just recently, after I watched its co-founder Daphne Koller talk at TEDGlobal 2012 (the talk is not yet up on TED.com, I watched the webstream, upd. 03.08.2012 - the talk is now live!). There were several interesting courses starting in September, January 2013 and even later. The first course I signed up to, started on July 23 - "Internet History, Technology, Security".
It features video lectures every week, quiz assignments and peer-graded assignments. The platform has a basic wiki for additional resources and also a discussion board, where students discuss various topics (except for the quiz answers :) and even form study groups (there is one for Armenians as well).
I really love the coursera platform and look forward to completing several courses there!

Interesting read: Is Coursera the Beginning of the End for Traditional Higher Education?, Forbes
upd. TED blog featured 12 great free online courses. (03.08.2012)

TED-Ed

This is TED's educational initiative, was presented at TEDxSummit in Doha, and launched in spring. It features animated videos on various topic that can be used in classes.
Here is one of the most recent lessons: "How do pain relievers work?"

Here is one of my favorites: The cockroach beatbox

edX.org

First it was MITx, now it's edX - ambitiously announced as the future of online education. It's MIT and Harvard that teamed up to create online courses for interactive studies on the web, free for everyone.

EdX's goals combine the desire to reach out to students of all ages, means, and nations, and to deliver these teachings from a faculty who reflect the diversity of its audience. EdX is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is governed by MIT and Harvard.

Few days ago edX announced its 7 courses for Fall 2012 on Computer science and Chemistry from MIT, Harvard and Berkeley. Currently I'm looking forward to new courses that would be of my interest.

Interesting read: Universities Reshaping Education on the Web, The New York Times.



p.s. Some reflections on current educational system in Russian: habr.ru/p/148356/

March Equinox

Oh my... so many things happen to me daily. I'm engaged in so many activities, that I can't attempt to count all the roles I'm acting as on daily basis.
Sometimes, when I'm hell tired like this, I start to look for the guilty party and eventually I blame myself for constantly challenging my own abilities and being unable to say no to new opportunities. I don't know where the limit is, but I'm nowhere near to reaching it at all.

You never know what opportunity is going to land in your inbox at any moment... --couldn't be truer!

“You are a mashup of what you let into your life.” - Austin Kleon

I hope I'll be able to share here some part of the awesomeness I'm experiencing currently, all the amazing events, discoveries and experiences.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost …. I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.


Chapter Two I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.


Chapter Three I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.


Chapter Four I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.


Chapter Five I walk down another street.


by Portia Nelson

Victor Ambartsumyan's legacy and my trip to Byurakan Observatory

I have already told about my passion for astronomy in my blog more than 2 years ago. This April 16 has been a very remarkable day for me. I had a tour in the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory. It was a press trip organized by the Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS); a step for promoting science and journalists came for help :) [note: i'm not a journalist currently, but how could i resist not to go there, with the excuse that i work for a news organization... and am a blogger? :)]

here i'm actually outside (on the balcony) the biggest (2.6 m) telescope

The trip included several presentations about the Obeservatory and Victor Ambartsumyan, contemporary issues of astronomy, science journalism and more. They were held by Areg Mickaelian - the man who organized the trip (co-president of the ArAS) and Hayk Harutyunyan - the director of Byurakan Observatory.

We learnt some amazing facts (Gayane Mirzoyan has outlined some of them in her blog (Russian) about the observatory, the telescopes etc. Here's my pick:

• When first installed in 1976, the 2.6m telescope was the 7th in the world, now it's 45th... 
• Couple of years ago a small observatory was set up for educational purposes in Stepanakert, Artsakh Republic.
• A number of international astronomic conferences were held in Armenia throughout these years, 
• In 1964 and 1971 conferences on extraterrestrial civilizations were held in Byurakan Observatory. The meeting of 1971 was the first international symposium on the problem of Extraterrestrial Civilizations and Communication with Them.  Many prominent scientists, including astronomers, physicists, chemists, biologists, philosophers, and specialists of other related fields participated in the symposium.
• Victor Ambartsumyan has been promoting Armenian language within the science academy institutions and in his will he even wrote that "everybody, regardless the percentage of Armenian genes in their blood, should study and master the Armenian language" (source in Armenian).

Areg Mickaelian, Leading Scientist and Head of research group at the  BAO

Hayk Harutyunyan, director of the BAO

There were also talks about astronomy and astrology (turns out even some journalists didn't know the difference!).. For those who don't know me well -- I absolutely hate everything connected with astrology and get frustrated to hear people confusing it with astronomy! 

Here are some pics from the Ambartsumyan's worplace: 

Victor Ambartsumyan's desk

the amazing portrait by my former colleague William

After the presentations we had a tour in Ambartsumyan's house, which is now a museum. Then we went to see the pride of the observatory - the 2.6m telescope. I've been there couple of times by night and never seen it in the daylight. Turns out it was possible to get out to the balcony.

2.6m telescope. pride of the observatory

here is it - the largest telescope of the observatory

the control panel of the telescope

me and Gayane, to whom I am grateful for learning about the press tour

the group of the press tour

...........

This week I watched The Contact again. I have almost forgotten how I loved that movie. And the next day I read in the news that SETI suspends its search for alien life :(

.. and I just finished translating the first Armenian TED speaker - Garik Israelian's talk about the spectroscopy and search for extraterrestrial life. Soon the Armenian subtitles will be published here. Here's the talk:

a taste of military

One sunny October afternoon PanARMENIAN Media staff took a day off (the news editorial works 7-days/week) and went on a team retreat to a... military polygon. Being a pacifist and all that stuff, I had announced that I won't be taking a gun, and would just stand there and watch other people shooting (I had even missed a preliminary training on how to load the gun, how do hold it, what/where are the targets, etc)

The only required thing was not to wear skirts (please:). I gladly put on my black patent boots and jeans, someone arranged a special rambo-style make-up so we arrived there, at the Nubarashen military polygon (in a Yerevan suburb) fully prepared.

initial preparations

the required make-up :D

beware!  I can shoot!

We got the full cartridge and signed in a special list. There were some military servants standing nearby, enjoying this scene with the mostly female group that was laughing, making fun of each other and holding a real kalashnikov for the first time in their lives. Then they were cheering us and giving advices on how to hold it so it wouldn't hurt the shoulder and to open the mouth not to hurt the ears. 

Turned out I was the 2nd one in the list and as I usually do in these kind of situations, i did the opposite of getting into panic. Meaning, I got concentrated and really up to doing it. I just love new experiences in life.

 I took the gun, asked the instructor to make sure it won't hurt my shoulder and barely seeing the target I started to push the trigger.. one, two... three.. not even close :) then I got the round. puf, puf! 

can you see the target? me neither :D

To me the target was to overcome myself, not to hit a physical object. Yeah, it was deafening, my untrained shoulders felt the kickback and i smelled the gunpowder to the extent of getting used to it.

Overall, this was a remarkable experience and I got a souvenir in the form of a cartridge case to remind me of my first gun experience in life.

the souvenir

P.S. Foreseeing questions like how did we organize this kind of a team retreat, I must say that the idea belonged to our editor-in-chief Marina, who wrote an official letter to the Minister of Defense and got the approval. All the security measures have been taken in the polygon and special preparations were done in order to host us that day.

our team

Սթիվ Ջոբսն ասում է` մնացեք քաղցած, մնացեք հիմար

թեև Apple-ի երկրպագու չեմ, բայց այս մարդն
ինձ մոտ շատ մեծ հարգանք է վայելում :)

Պատրաստվելով դասերիս, մտածեցի որ արժե այս հայտնի ելույթը ցույց տալ ուսանողներին: Անգլերենը չհասկանալու խնդիրը լուծելու համար, որոշեցի ենթագրերը թարգմանել հայերեն և ավելացնել տեսանյութում: Մի կերպ գտա ելույթի տրանսկրիպցիան .srt ֆայլով (իսպաներեն տարբերակը) ու տեքստային խմբագրիչում տող-առ-տող թարգմանեցի: Չգտնելով օրիգինալ տեսանյութին լեզու ավելացնելու ձևը (պարզվում է` միայն հեղինակն է կարող ուրիշ լեզվով ենթագրեր ավելացնել տեսանյութին YouTube-ում) նորից բեռնեցի տեսանյութը ինձ մոտ` ավելացնելով ենթագրերի ֆայլը:

Ամբողջական թարգմանված տեքստն այստեղ է: Սխալներ նկատելու դեպքում, խնդրում եմ իմաց տվեք` կուղղեմ (մի քիչ շտապելով եմ թարգմանել, հաստատ անթերի չէ, սակայն կուզեի, որ լիներ :)):
Հայերեն .srt ֆայլը կարելի է ներբեռնել այստեղից:

էդպես.. մտածեցի, կարող է` ուրիշ մեկին էլ պետք գա: Ի դեպ, իմ արդեն գործընկեր երիտասարդ դասախոսներին էլ խորհուրդ կտայի ցուցադրել այս տեսանյութը ուսանողներին... թե մեկ-երկուսի մոտ էլ ուղեղում որոշ բաներ արթնանան` էլի օգուտ կլինի:

New beginning (part 2)

The beginning of this post is here.

Coming true

in Manana youth center (2004),
where i used to teach kids web design

On one of the sunny August days i got the offer. My friend, who was affiliated with one of the private universities, asked me if i would like to teach :) and if my boss would like that idea too?

As someone who's equally interested in my development and realizes that this is another approaching milestone for me, he would surely agree.

So i started preparing. "Internet marketing" is not a subject i would normally consider myself a professional in. But since it is in my area of interest and was aligned with my further plans in life, having my quick-learning skills, I could definitely do it. There are not so many things that i'm this much sure in.

Seems like my long time wishes is coming true.

in EIU (my new workplace),
during some AIESEC event in 2008

I got enough time for preparation. I knew i should write a course syllabus, define the detailed plan of the classes, assignments, projects, testing methods & stuff like that.
For the start, i downloaded a dozen of internet marketing classes syllabuses and explored them. I already had a picture how my syllabus will look like (using the best examples from each) and i found out that i definitely need a course website to set up. Then found couple of online courses that i studied.. And even found Harvard Extension Program's internet marketing distant course's materials (just from the last year!). I mean ALL materials. Video lectures, assignments, study materials in PDF and doc… my heaven :)

So i'll have 2 groups: 4th year and 2nd year of Master's. 2 class hours in each group per week.
I have to develop a very interactive course, including many interesting in-class activities and assignments. Taking into account that the students' marketing knowledge, as well as English-language skills may be limited, i'll have to make sure to find appropriate materials in russian or translate some stuff myself.
Quite a challenge already. It could also be so i would have to first teach what's the internet, then what's marketing.. and so on :)

But while i was picturing myself during the classes, i identified another challenge: my look. i have some concerns regarding my look. *they say* i'm looking younger than my age, even much younger. I have a fear that it will create a faulty impression that i'm not serious enough or professional enough. I'll make sure to put some blush and lipstick before entering the class :)

The first class

my new workplace

I ran my first class in the 4th year group last Tuesday. I've been preparing for quite a while. I've already created the course website, the syllabus is ready to be finalized, i have collected and prepared all the info for the first class. Including my self-presentation, the syllabus presentation, the material on what is internet and what's internet marketing in general :) some ice-breaking acivities are also being prepared. I made a student form so that everyone can fill and i can learn more about them. I will share my impressions from the first lesson soon.

My co-workers and friends are already making fun of me. Maybe they can't imagine me being a professor, dealing with students. Can i really picture myself there? :D should i wear glasses? Dress like a nerd? Be very strict and demanding? Shout on misbehaviouring students? Use punishments? Hit with a pen on a wooden table several times to silence those who speak during the class? :D
In fact, during the first class I asked the students what works for them as a punishment, and what should i do to silence them. I'll share their answers soon :)

My little social experiment
While being very excited about my new "role" and job... i updated my status on FB. I wrote "I got a new job", keeping in mind that people know about my close ties with the current job, they will somehow assume that i got an additional one and didn't quit PanARMENIAN. I couldn't, however, imagine the huge response I got from many friends. Some of them still ask me about where do i work now, since they are convinced that i changed my job, instead of getting an additional one :) 

The experiment identified people who were interested in me, happy hearing good news for me or cared about my workplace :)

...

In a separate post I'll describe my first impressions on today's students and teaching in general.

New beginning (part 1)

Fall 2010
Here it comes. My beloved autumn. The 26th one I witness. It has always had a special meaning for me. It's when I get most productive, enthusiastic and innovative. It's the start of something new. New area of learning. For many years it had always been celebrated by the beginning of studies which i had managed to miss during the summer...

For a few years after my graduation, I'd already missed the excitement prior to September 1. I felt the lack of celebrating the start of something new. This year it's again the beginning of studies for me. No, I'm not studying again :)
But let me share something with you.

Historical remark, i.e. my teaching experience

my first encounter with a computer. Netherlands, 1994

When it first somehow turned out that i have to start teaching, I was merely 17 years old. Just entered the university, uncertain about so many things. But luckily, i had to teach kids younger than me and things i was very confident in: computer skills. At first. Then i got offered to teach another subject: HTML. I was just started to explore the book my mother bought me from Vernissage. A soft-cover tutorial in Russian, with big red titles, describing all the magic of creating web sites. The job was tough... I had to learn first, and learn deeply, in order to be able to teach it to kids... and they may ask questions.... luckily, it was then i discovered that I can actually learn things pretty quickly. Those kids had no chance to catch up with me :)

It continued for about 7 years... when i'm now looking back, i can't imagine having a 7 years experience of teaching.. can i say that i really did master some key points of teaching art? I mean 7 years, beh!

During that period i even had an out-of-class student. She was a neighbor of ours, just married, looking for a job, but lacking any computer skills. It was a different experience, but probably also somehow notable.

Then I joined AIESEC. The title of trainer somehow again stuck on me, as i was destined to teach computer skills, effective PC/internet usage stuff to people who needed it. I loved the process. I realized that sharing knowledge is something i truly get satisfied from. I love the feeling to be the source of knowledge for someone. It adds value to my knowledge too. So in AIESEC i've been doing some trainings and presentations...

and so about the public speaking. Those who know me, can state that i'm quite a shy personality, not very talkative especially in front of more than 3-4 people. That is how I am... It took me quite a while to overcome the fear of getting on stage and voice trembling. I'm still in the process of learning it, through experiences, thanks to feedbacks. i'm constantly improving my public speaking and presentation skills because i knew it would someday become useful ...

The thought…

Some years ago i started seriously considering offering to teach in my university (SEUA). I was thinking to approach our dean and tell him that i'd be glad to teach some IT-related subject i'm confident about in my faculty. Not that i was feeling the urge to give something back to my alma mater.

Probably the main reason is that I was just feeling bad for today's students who do not have enough young and enthusiastic professors to learn from. I remember that during my studies, most of the useful skills and knowledge were gained from those few young graduates that were teaching us couple of hours a week. They were like vivid examples of successful entrepreneurs and scientists that could inspire us and teach using the language that we used. They knew much more of contemporary technology than their older, wiser colleagues with higher degrees, who were, however, stuck in the soviet-style mindset and methodic, refusing to adopt newer technologies and teaching methods in the classroom.

my diploma work, printed, ready for the defense :)

However, maybe deservingly, these old guys are still much more respected and considered to be more important by the university management, and they not only do not encourage or promote young professors, they put obstacles on their way.

If i actually approached my dean and my offer to teach got accepted, i would still have the feeling that i "own" the university for giving me the opportunity to teach. They would probably treat me like i'm too young "to know many things" and i won't get the deserved respect for the time i would take from my fulltime job and free time and devote to teaching, practically for no or very small monetary compensation. They would feel that they can exploit me, and load with lots of stuff i shouldn’t do. Maybe i'm very wrong with my assumptions but somehow i feel that it will be more or less like that.

My mom (a university professor, PhD) one advised me not to apply for postgraduate studies unless i'm planning to devote my life to teaching. No, she exactly said like this: "Do you really want to devote your time to teaching in a university? Hardly, there's no reason to study PhD for you". What she didn't know is that i actually love teaching (genes, huh), but she was assuming that she didn't want me to encounter the difficulties that the teachers and professors face today. They are way underpaid and have so few opportunities and it's not one of the most rewarding jobs.

I have my own motives for this.

1. The satisfaction from knowing that you were the source of someone's knowledge and the feeling to be helpful for several people.

2. Developing the public speaking skills, ability to handle a large audience.

3. Getting to know subject much more deeper, really mastering it.

4. Kind of recognition of the knowledge you have. You won't teach it, if you wouldn't know it good enough, true?

5. Learning 'back' from the students.

click here to read the part 2.

TED. տեխնոլոգիա, ժամանց, դիզայն. տարածվելու արժանի գաղափարներ

Արդեն բավականին ժամանակ է ինչ ուզում եմ իմ բոլոր ընկերներին ու ընթերցողներին ծանոթացնել այս հոյակապ նախագծին և պատմել իմ վերջին «թուլություններից» մեկի մասին:

Եւ այսպես... ի՞նչ է TED-ը:

TED-ը փոքր ոչ առևտրային կազմակերպություն է: Այն նվիրված է այնպիսի գաղափարներին, որոնք արժանի են տարածման: Ստեղծվել է 1984-ին որպես կոնֆերանս, որը երեք աշխարհների (տեխնոլոգիա, ժամանց, դիզայն) մարդկանց հավաքել էր միասին: Այդ ժամանակից ի վեր թեմաների շրջանակը զգալիորեն ընդլայնվել է: Բացի իր 2 ամենամյա` TED կոնֆերանսներից (Լոնգ Բիչ և Փալմ Սփրինգս), ինչպես նաև յուրաքանչյուր ամառ Մեծ Բրիտանիայի Օքսֆորդ քաղաքում տեղի ունեցող TED Global-ից, TED-ը ներառում է նաև TEDTalks տեսանյութերի կայքը, Բաց Թարգմանության Նախագիծը և Բաց Հեռուստատեսության Նախագիծը, TEDx ծրագիրը և ամենամյա TED մրցանակը:

Դրանց մասնակցելը մեծ հաջողություն է (պահանջում է բավականին ջանքեր, գումար և գուցե` բախտ :)), իսկ այնտեղ ելույթ ունենալը ուղղակի մի չտեսնված պատիվ է: Դա արդեն դասում է մարդուն Ռիչարդ Բրենսոնի, Ալ Գորի, Բիլ Գեյթսի, Լարի Փեյջի ու Սերգեյ Բրինի և աշխարհահռչակ շատ գիտնականների շարքում:

TEDx

TEDx-ը ստեղծվել է TED-ի «տարածվելու արժանի գաղափարներ» ոգով: Ծրագիրը տարբեր համայնքների, կազմակերպությունների և անհատների հնարավորություն է ընձեռում TED-ատիպ երկխոսություններ կազմակերպել ավելի տեղային մակարդակով:

TEDx միջոցառումների ժամանակ յուրատիպ ելույթների հետ մեկտեղ ցուցադրվում են նաև TED ելույթների տեսանյութեր, որոնք առավել խորը զրույցների խթան են հանդիսանում: TEDx միջոցառումները ամբողջովին պլանավորվում և համակարգվում են TED-ից անկախ` համայնք առ համայնք:

Ովքեր տեղյակ չեն` առաջին TEDxYerevan կոնֆերանսը տեղի կունենա սեպտեմբերի 25-ին: Իսկ դեկտեմբերին` առաջին գլոբալ TED Women-ին զուգահեռ տեղի կունենա TEDxWomenYerevan-ը: Նորությունների համար` հետևեք ինձ ;)

TED Talks

TEDTalks նախագիծն ի սկզբանե ուղղակի փորձ էր աշխարհի հետ կիսվելու այն ամենով, ինչ կատարվում էր TED-ի ընթացքում: «Տարածվելու արժանի գաղափարներ» անվանման տակ ելույթները դրվեցին կայքում` դիտման համար: Կարճ ժամանակում դրանք միլիոնավոր հանդիսատեսներ հավաքեցին: Արձագանքն այնքան ոգևորիչ էր, որ TED կայքը ամբողջովին վերափոխվեց, կենտրոնական մասում դնելով հենց ելույթները, և յուրաքանչյուրին հնարավորություն ընձեռնեց ունկնդրելու աշխարհի ամենաոգեշնչող ձայները:

Ես կարող եմ ժամեր անցկացնել դիտելով այս ելույթները, որոնք ներկայացնում են աշխարհի ամենահայտնի գիտնականները, ձեռնարկատերերը և ուղղակի հետաքրքիր մարդիկ:


TED Open Translation Project

TED-ի Բաց թարգմանության նախագիծը TED ելույթները հասանելի է դարձնում անգլերենին չտիրապետող լսարանին, առաջարկելով ենթատիտրեր, ինտերակտիվ սղագրություն և հնարավորություն, որ յուրաքանչյուր ելույթ թարգմանվի աշխարհի տարբեր ծայրերում գտնվող կամավորների կողմից: Այժմ նախագիծը ներառում է ավելի քան 10.000 թարգմանություններ արված 5000 կամավորների կողմից 77 լեզուներով: Այստեղ կարելի է տեսնել հայերեն լեզվի թարգմանիչներին: Արդեն 37 ելույթ ունի հայերեն  ինտերակտիվ սղագրություն և ենթատիտրեր:

Արդեն մի քանի ամիս է, ինչ ես էլ եմ մասնակցում թարգմանություններին: Որոշները բավականին բարդ են ընկալման և հատկապես թարգմանության համար, սակայն չափազանց հետաքրքիր են: Այս աշխատանքը օգնում է հայերեն ու անգլերեն լեզուները մշտապես ակտիվ պահել ուղեցում, և ավելի խորացնել լեզվի գիտելիքները: Թարգմանությունները օգնում են ճանաչել շատ նոր երևույթներ և սովորել նոր բաներ, որոնք ուղղակի դիտելիս չի հաջողվում:
Եթե ցանկանաք միանալ մեր շարքերին` այցելեք այս խումբը, մենք ձեզ ամեն ինչ կպատմենք :)
TED-ի հայերեն թարգմանիչները պարբերաբար հավաքվում և դիտում են TED ելույթներ: Մենք նաև մեր mailing list-ը ունենք:

TED թարգմանիչների հավաքը 

Ի դեպ, ես արդեն ունեմ TED ելույթների մեծամասնությունը ներբեռնած` մոտ 30Գբ (thx Gaspar!): Ցանկացողների հետ հաճույքով կկիսվեմ :))

Ահա իմ անձնական էջը ted.com-ում: Ստորև ներկայացնում եմ որոշ իմ ամենասիրած ելույթները:


Ահա իմ ամենասիրելի ելույթներից մի քանիսը: Վայելե՜ք :)
Իմ ընկեր Ալեքսիսի ելույթը :)


Զարմանալի բաներ


Ահա իմ սիրելի Ռիչարդ Բրենսոնը


Կարող էի էլի մի տասնյակ հետաքրքիր ելույթներ բերել այստեղ, բայց դժվար չէ դրանք գտնելը :) Ահա մի քանի ցանկեր`

• 20 must see business talks, 
• 20 excellent TED talks for small business owners, 
• 14 powerful TED talks by photographers, 
• the 10 best talks from TED 2010, 
• 15 TED talks for teachers, 
• 10 inspiring TED talks for startups.

Իմ հավանածներից որոշները կարող եք տեսնել TED-ի իմ անձնական էջում:

Ձեզ էլ խորհուրդ կտամ դիտեք հնարավորին չափ շատ TED ելույթներ, որպեսզի զգաք խելոքանալու և զարգանալու պրոցեսը :)))

on how i spent my summer holidays..,-not your average class assignment

If I had the opportunity to write a letter to myself, time traveling to past... say 3 months earlier, it would look like this:

Dear Arpi,
it's the end of spring 2010. Busy season for you. Being part of so many things, doing so much stuff.. making plans for the summer... 
so what is it? have a nice holiday somewhere, with friends... and/or buy some new gadgets you've been planning... learn new things... go out and have fun at nights.. work less and watch more movies?
you know, in reality, you failed at so many things from your plan... it's not just because you were bad at  accomplishing things.. you're sometimes being hard to yourself, setting ambitious goals, often impossible to realize all at the same time. maybe the percentage of the accomplished vs. planned things is not big enough for you, but it's number and value are remarkable..
Would you be surprised or saddened if you knew back then that you're not gonna go on a holiday or spend even just 1 day out of the city, away from the routine..? I'm sorry to tell you, but it really turned out that way... but don't worry, many amazing things happened to you during these 3 summer months, including things you couldn't have planned or imagined :)
First of all, you were a good girl, getting smarter by reading many smart books and watching many smart people talking. Yep, it's the time you get really obsessed with TED and translation of talks. You spend hours watching and hearing about many amazing things and that fuels your imagination, motivation and brings a lot of satisfaction. During this time you truly realize the need of >24 hours in a day, and think of ways to reduce time spent on the night sleep to have more time to watch interesting videos and read books. 
You finally get an unlimited quality internet at home. 
During summer you try on a new role at work, train yourself in a completely new profession and not surprisingly, it's coming easily for you... you are having many business meetings, training your communication skills and having some remarkable achievements in the area... i'm proud of you :))
Then you spoil yourself with couple of gadgets.. you know.. you finally get a motivation to read more and easily on your Kindle... then you.. guess what? get the latest smartphone... the smartest Android and become tech obsessed :) i can't yet judge if it's good or bad.. i'm still IN the state.. but let's hope it will turn out to have few or no disadvantages.
By the end of the summer one of your long time goals will be achieved. remember that small item on your "Things-to-do" MindMap that you're seeing on the right side every time you open the file? now it's getting expanded, really :)
you know, on one of the pleasant August Saturdays you spend an hour sitting in front of your university's building and trying to pick up some nice memories from the years of study. yep, you're becoming melancholic in politex! i'm not leaving a spoiler here, cause i have to write a separate blog post for it :) 
ah and regarding the blog ...
you still have difficulties finding the right timing for writing. by the end of August, you have 6-7 draft posts you can hardly ever finish. You still dream of finding ways to share all the learnings, exciting discoveries, interesting meetings you've encountered, but something's not letting you to do so. Also now, you have to work on your productivity/procrastination rate and get things done!
One more thing. you'll meet many new and amazing people. You'll enjoy your time with them and you'll finally learn enjoying every minute spend with a nice person even realizing that you're not gonna meet them ever again.
You'll have nice guests from HC/CS, learn many things from them... and your passion for traveling will leave you wondering of all the amazing places you could go to and torture with the impossibility of realizing them in the near future. 
Besides, you'll revive some old acquaintances and value your friendships.

Arpi.. the autumn is gonna be tough... you'll need a lot of energy to accomplish all the things that are along the way and have impact on other people.. this is not just for fun or for yourself... things are getting more serious and as long as other people are concerned, you'll be under pressure and urged to take responsibility. but i know you'll be good :) 

Yours truly,

Arpi

29.08.2010

the minimalist bug in me

I think i've caught a minimalist bug. Meaning, i have sort of an allergy to things /especially clothes/ that have a rich texture, lots of details and colors. I suddenly discovered that almost all of my clothes are single-colored, simple and do not have many details.

It became most obvious when I was shopping for summer dresses. In a wide collection of colorful and floral fabrics I had a hard time finding dresses i would like to wear. I was trying them on, and the most beautiful dresses just didn't fit on me as I saw it and I felt uncomfortable in them.

After discovering this, I forced myself to buy a scarf which was white with pink/violet circles as a pattern. It didn't come easily, I really made an effort. Sounds funny, huh?

I guess I'm having similar "disorders" from time to time. For instance, this winter I couldn't wear colors at all. My entire winter shopping consisted of black/beige/grey clothes. I couldn't make myself wear any color except for those and it was constantly being criticized by my mom, who hates wearing black.

Do you think it's some kind of a phobia? or is it a "normal" disorder? :)

p.s. while browsing for wallpapers, themes for various stuff, I always choose the "minimalist" category :D so it goes beyond the clothing.

Just felt like writing

I'm frozen. It's the end of January and the winter has just arrived. I took my usual longest way to home from work in order to have a walk, but when i got home, i didn't feel my feet and fingers. Hate feeling cold!
I guess I have to limit my walks, despite the fact i badly need that time for organizing own thoughts, listening to music and checking the streets for "updates" in terms of stores and other news. Oh yea, i hate missing any important update in the city (well, and in general too).

The job

Since the holidays finished, I've been working like never before. I'm being quite productive, organized and even actually efficient. If before I was mainly just generating ideas and developing some of them up to a written project, these days I'm actually implementing the ideas and creating something measurable and complete.

I developed a workaholism of a certain level and didn't even notice how my job took over my entire life at the moment. My brain's CPU is 100% busy with job-related tasks, even if I'm taking a walk, having a shower or going to bed. I'm constantly making charts, organizing information into tables, creating task lists, reading stuff needed for specific projects. Although my super accessible netbook and the lovely MindManager are making my work more efficient and easy, i'm actually afraid that i will feel lost when i won't have them around. I also started to rely on an online task manager TeuxDeux, my daily planner (portable hard copy) and also a weekly planner that hangs out on my desk in the office. It may seem that i have to spend quite a while in synchronization between them, but actually I use all of them for different planning and so far it has made me considerably more productive.
So what, that I work on Saturdays and holidays and evenings and (shame on me) even Sundays (from home though)? To the people who wonder why I do this - I just wish them someday to have the amount of satisfaction, recognition and appreciation in the workplace that I do. I am never forced but driven by an intrinsic motivation.

via Design Crush

Btw, a small and interesting e-book on motivating creative people for your reading.
I hope this energy boost won't decrease in the near future, however I will put some emphasis on my social life too.

The habits

I also advanced in terms of self-management, getting rid of some bad habits and working on improving my health. I mostly used to have a plain coffee in the mornings and then having some buns at the lunch time. I did realize that it's unhealthy but didn't have an idea on what I can manage to prepare for myself as a breakfast when I'm in a constant rush in the morning (that's the reason for not having a breakfast at all). [oh yeah, I am a long sentences' fan]
Also, I almost didn't eat any dairy product which was bad for my teeth and bones.
In the recent weeks I started to actually eat curds mixed with mashed apple. This mix is both easy, light and tasty. Thanks to my cousin for the tip!
After that I am having my coffee in the office and I'm actually being early in the office! что не может не радовать..(и не только шефа :)

The music

I'm very busy and I do a bunch of critical stuff. I can't allow myself to feel down or negative in any way. I didn't choose it intentionally, but I feel that the only TV channel I actually feel like watching/listening is the MTV Dance. I'm jumping, dancing, singing like a teenager. I completely overwrote my music playlist and no pixel of melancholy can be seen there. It really helps to keep my mood up high.

The death
A relative passed away last week. He didn't live only 2 weeks till his 50th anniversary. It was a lung cancer. The ironic thing was that the wife of that man who died, has been smoking extensively the following days, because she had to calm her nerves and nothing could be done about it. She had lost her son just the previous year. Nobody can even begin to imagine how she actually feels now. Cigarettes help to calm the nerves, but they often become the reason people suffer.
I can't help myself from being anxious, realizing that my dad won't even consider quitting or limiting his smoking.
I also discovered something rather shocking for me. It's that the relatives sometimes prefer to hide from the cancer patient the real reason of their illness. The man died without knowing what he was dying from. And I was being convinced that it's a right thing to do. I won't go into details now, but I strongly believe that it's very, very wrong. Not for everyone, however...

photo via Titania Aelita

Yoga in Armenia: what is yoga and how to get started?

One of my discoveries of the last year was certainly - yoga. Not that I learned about it just this year :) I just realized it this year that it's the perfect thing for me this period of my life and found the most amazing yoga studio in Yerevan. I had some friends who have been attending there for quite some time already, but never actually considered to enroll myself into a class too. I knew almost nothing about yoga but I was driven by curiosity and the promise of getting some peace after the hectic work days was convincing.
I had no problem deciding with the studio, since I only started yoga because of discovering Shoonch.

While this post will be about my perception and experience of yoga, it may also contain some voluntary advertisement of Shoonch yoga studio.

Useful tips for writing 2010 resolutions

Now is the time we try to make resolutions for the new year. I'm writing mine, and you?

If you lack ideas, this New Year Resolution Generator might be handy.

I would also like to share with you these "Tips for a better life" that I have saved in my computer long ago and forgot the source. upd: the author is Nithya Shanti.

1. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
3. Sleep for 7 hours.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Play more games.
6. Read more books than you did the previous year.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink plenty of water.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
14. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
15. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
16. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
17. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
18. Smile and laugh more.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Don't compare your partner with others.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Forgive everyone for everything.
26. What other people think of you is none of your business.
27. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
28. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
29. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
30. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
31. The best is yet to come.
32. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
33. Do the right thing!
34. Call your family often.
35. Your inner most is always happy. So be happy.
36. Each day give something good to others.
37. Don't over do. Keep your limits.