MT's MALT Blog

9-22-2011

2011-09-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Been awhile...but just saying that I don't even remember what I wrote about since the past blog. However hmm..what's on my mind now. I think that sometimes people get paid waaay to much doing what they do...NOT making a difference. I would tend to agree that I don't make much of a dent right now as well, but I can honestly say that and be truthful. For others, they seem to think they are important and that bothers me. Regardless, the other half is done with school...so that's good. we are looking for wedding stuff/places...just went to one and think that's the one...down and dirty Viet/Chinese and just pay and play. haPerhaps a new environment will suit me well. I do hope I can get what I want and go where i'm needed....or wanted i guess. It's been awhile. On a side note...i need to quit drinking...those empty calories are just intolerable. I should really study for the GREs as well. this self study crap is not working out. .. Perhaps I need to take a refresher course...then just take it. I'll look into that .. but problem is vocabulary...those are memorized...not learned in 2 days. ugg.. *shakes head* I need to check in on my cousin..see how she's doing...also my family...been staying away a little bit...but i just can't stand going there and nothing's the way i think it 'should' be. tough when my brother's out of work too...it's been awhile for him. I feel bad but what can i do..? Until next time...sooner than later i hope...

Carmageddon!!

2011-07-14T13:00:00.001-07:00

Well, here's a new one. I will NOT be attending MALT Cadre Camp this year due to the closure of the 405! I really wanted to go, but logistically I couldn't conjure up sitting in traffic.

Life is good. I really want to focus on the GREs right now so I can have options for school beyond MALT. We'll see. I'll begin studying after the first week of August (Blackhat in Vegas) duh...

Other than that, the better half will finish her class in August and then start her hours. Can't wait. It's been a tough 2 years waiting on her to finish classes. Hopefully we can start planning for our wedding.

Still a lil under the weather right now...damn truffle fries did me in!! Hate you Capital Grille!!

April blog

2011-04-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG time but for now i only have time to update you on a few things. Finished up my Action Research edits and hope it gets posted soon so that you can view the 'published' work. Life is good...keeping busy somehow and am relatively healthy. It's April 23rd so pre-Easter. Meat again tomorrow! YAY! Anyways, SF next week and Napa/Sonoma as well! Keep you updated bi-weekly hopefully. I think we might have a wedding date as well.

MT

January Blog

2011-01-10T14:20:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Anyways, that was a VERY short break (for the other half). This year will hopefully be quick, but i'll try to keep myself busy. I'll be taking a video editing/photo editing course at OCC so that should be fun. I just finished making edits to my Thesis and will be cutting/pasting it from my document onto my webpage so I can submit it to the CCAR. (Action Research site)

http://www.mykeytg.com/action_research/action_research.html

http://cadres.pepperdine.edu/ccar/define.html

Go check it out!

Out for now!

MT

December Blog

2010-12-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile, but alot has happened lately. We completed our parent's move and now we just completed our own move to Jeffrey Drive. Anyways i'm spent!! I also went over to VA and PA to visit friends and family. I had a great time doing so. Anyhow I guess the real news is that I don't think i'll be pursuing my EDD. The reasoning is that I will not be a FT educator and I can teach technology courses at a community college right now as an adjunct. I should really look into this option because I would save myself time and effort as well as 75K. Granted work will assist me in the payments, but I will still owe approximately 60K after all said and done. I'll need that cash to pay for a wedding and perhaps have a down payment for a new home!!! oh well...Still needing to pay for my Masters!!! haha... Anyways...hope all is well in the 'real' world...

MT out

September Update 9-23-2010

2010-09-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

well, the family has been moved and i think we are going to give them time before we visit them....they need to clear the way, garage, living room, backyard...etc. they had so much stuff!! i've been trying to get more involved in my own life, reaching out to others and trying to understand why people do the things they do. it's been a great learning experience...learning from listening. perhaps i can take some psychology classes?? well, the better half already is doing that so let's just have one shrink in the household. im having a blast with swimming and volleyball. had a horrible day this past tuesday but going to try to make up for it tonight. i just bought some flash cards for the GRE. i really need to get on that boat...but will need to also cut back on some other activities....like probably weekend vball and/or weekday vball. next weekend (oct-1) will be Vegas...then following weekend is a wedding...then prob vball/study etc..then end of oct i'll be in DC/VA/PA...ugg..then nov will be pretty much shot so i really have to download a schedule and mark it for studies. the better half is so busy and we barely saw ea.other yesterday. i guess it's for the best for now but i hope we don't get too distant. anyways. hope all is better out there in the world!! life is good...live it..

-MT

Sighs @ life...

2010-09-08T11:05:00.001-07:00

Found out a couple of weeks ago that my little cousin has Synovial Sarcoma. A rare type of cancer that attacks the soft tissue. Ugg..she's only 24. I'm so saddened by this and i've read her blogs and read into the cancer and it sounded like there wasn't much done to research the cancer. I've also read that there is a good chance for survival...76% but still, that's besides the point. She's family and it's like someone sucker punching me. I'm 34 going on 35 and at least i have 10 years or so on her that i wish she will have.

I am optimistic however and will continue to pray for her and spend as much time with her as possible. I will also do more research on the topic so that I can be more knowledgeable on it. Meanwhile here is her site on Synovial Sarcoma for those interested in reading up on it. Please do..

http://synovialsarcoma.tumblr.com/

Missing Malt 12

2010-08-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

It has been over a month now and i'm already missing my classmates. I just saw Mary this past weekend, Fabi and Cramer the weekend before that. There's a strong bond between most of us. Anyhow, I guess I can't wait for Debbie's school to start..as sick as it sounds so that I can start studying myself for the GREs. I'm wondering if i should take a prep course. I know I suck at math and my engrish is not as good anymore because of Rap, TV and listening to my co-workers talk. Anyways, I also need to figure out how i can spend my time more wisely. Too much is going on right now with my family that I really can't concentrate much on anything else but to assist in helping them out. Gosh I wish we won the lottery..but i also need to play it to win it!

Done!

2010-08-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

Now that i'm all done and graduated, i feel a sense of emptiness. I do miss my classmates but not so much the work involved in school. I will need to study now for my GREs... I need to get on that soon...The better half has 3 weeks off so I guess I will too so we could hang out more.

Be back again soon.

Checking out!!

MT

Finished with Action Research (For now)

2010-06-22T14:55:00.001-07:00

Finally finished the exhibitions!

The learning process was enormous. Even though I approached it as a regular presentation, It felt different presenting my findings in only 10 (or so) minutes and to answer questions from the panel. I wished I could have answered additional questions and wished it was longer than 10 minutes. I felt a little cheated from the time perspective. How can I do Action Research for the entire year and only present for 10 minutes. Anyhow, it is what it is and we finished it. I was also a little disappointed in the graduation brochure saying our program was (ONLINE). Felt a little cheated there too. I hope we'll have a session for the future cadre...in terms of process improvements etc.

Out for now,

MT

668 Blog for Week of 7/5/2010

2010-06-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Reflect on a successful experience you had managing someone else?

I do like the word Sponsor better than manager or boss. I enjoy the conversations that my peers have because they have always asked me for the final thought. I feel that I'm good at assisting others think in terms of the other person. Being empathetic to the other person's situation is a must. People must do this in order to make a sound decision. Unfortunately we can not have the other person do the same, but then once we think in their shoes, we can talk to them in a more understanding way. I've assisted my mentees this way and I've enjoyed it when they came back to me and said oh boy! that was great! the client understood exactly where we were coming from and understood why we came up with the recommendations that we did! This puts a smile in my face knowing that I made a minor difference.

What made this successful?

I think the ability to LISTEN to others is key not only at work, but in life. People in general are too eager to offer their own opinions and therefore really tune the other person out when they are talking. (I admit that I do as well) They tend to think that it's my way or the highway. We have to take a step back being in the IT world. We need to assess, reflect and recommend according to budget, interoperability and business need. Once we fully understand this, we can come up with a technically creative way to solve issues that the business may have. What makes our group successful is the fact that we indeed care about the business, but they have to understand that we too are doing our jobs and we need to follow the process, procedures and the policy set by the leaders. We are 'managing' the infrastructure and need to comply. But if we see an opportunity to go outside that policy, we have to do our homework to assess the risk, and the consequences.

What could you have done differently?

Unfortunately there are times where we take the Business's word for something that they said they had as a control. We don't have insight into their world so what they tell us we pretty much have to trust. In the real world, I was told that you can not audit trust. SO having said this, there were times where the business would take us for granted and didn't disclose fully what lack of controls they had and when IT Audit came in to audit them, it made us look like we messed up. I know we should 'do more' but then with the authority that has been passed down to us, that's all we could do, but we are however going to work on finding a better solution in the future so that we can improve upon the process so that we don't have to shrug and move along. Be agents of change...is what i'd like to do differently...

668 Blog for Week of 6/28/2010

2010-06-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

Reflect on a great manager - what made he/she great?

My top manager was in fact my partner in the Big 4 times. Those were the times where we could afford to do things that were 'fun' and when companies (Clients) were spending money on consultants and contractors. My ex-partner was a great leader. He was the guy who stepped in when the profits were bad and said what's the issue here? I don't care if we aren't making any money, I want to know what we can do to solve this issue, and to get us OUT of the client site as soon as possible. The managers and senior managers that was in charge of my project was demanding that the staff put in extra non-chargeable hours so that their profit rates were higher, sending morale down the gutter. In the Hamel book, I read that "A leader garners influence by demonstrating a capacity to get things done and excelling as a team builder" I was reminded of my Partner. He basically came in, spoke with the client, got what needed to get done, and got us out of there. The last meeting we had was a team building exercise that was at The Chart House in Malibu. We ate and drank the whole night. The bill was over $10,000 dollars for a team of approximately 15. He knew that we were burnt out, and needed to keep our morale up and so he spent that money on us to show us that there's also a time to play and have fun at work. I loved that guy! Oh and did I say he was a good leader too? =)

What does this tell you about yourself?

What I've learned from this experience is that managers manage and keep things in order. Leaders are those who gives vision and takes the followers under their belts to the 'promise land'. I've learned that I can't be a manager. I need to create opportunites, vision and direction for those who are following me and I need to keep morale on a higher level. Like the Googles of the world, I need to innovate and think more for the people and not just for profit. "in a high trust, low-fear organization, employees don't need alot of oversight, they need to be mentored and supported, rather than bossed around." These quotes supports what my story is all about above, and moving forward. (Pgs 88-89)I enjoy helping people, but first, they need to do all they can to think critically on their own and then come to me with alternatives so that I can assist them in making a decision. Like in Gary's class (Stager) Ask 3 before me. I thought that was a good phrase to adopt.

668 Blog for Week of 6/21/2010

2010-06-06T08:30:00.001-07:00

How can management be innovative?

Management are those who follow vision, mission statements and policy and procedures. They are those who follow what upper leadership has established for them. To answer the question, yes, management can be innovative, but only to their own processes. They can further advance their own internal flow and procedures, but management itself can no longer evolve from the past 20-30 years. It is meant to crack the whip on the lower tiered employees and serve as a middle tier that keeps the vision and mission of the upper 'management's' goals.

Does it then become leadership?

In (Northouse, 2003) we learned that a person, let's assume it's a manager can have a trait of a leader or possess the process of a leader. I believe that a person can show signs of being a leader, but when put to the test they may fail at becoming the leader. These managers may also have assigned leadership roles, or emergent leadership roles. Assigned in my opinion are those who are the 'managers' out there. They are assigned a team to lead or a task to complete. (Not real leaders) Emergent leaders are those positions that emerge over time, and is not assigned by position. Unfortunately there's an organizational hierarchy. A person must go through that and be put to the test prior to being a proclaimed 'leader'. Managers CAN become leaders, or are already leaders of their own group(s). Not all managers though will become leaders. Those people may not possess the traits of being a true leader. They are may only be good at what they do on a micro level and may not be too good with leading a diverse group of people.

Where do the lines intersect between management and leadership?

It says that Management produces order and consistency while Leadership produces change and movement. I believe that anything a manager can do a leader can do, but not all managers can perform leadership roles.

For example, Leaders can plan and budget, organize and staff, control and problem solve, all characteristics that Management possesses (Source: Adapted from A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs From Management Kotter 1990) Management meanwhile can not really establish direction (longer term than their immediate team), Align people (again long term strategy) and Motivate and Inspire employees. I've seen my immediate manager unable to motivate and inspire my own team. They do what their intrinsic motivators lead them and are mostly there for the extrinsic rewards of their paychecks. They do not do anything more than needed for the extrinsic rewards. While there are certain intersects i've mentioned above, I do feel that Leadership is different from management. Any leader can manage...but not all managers can lead. Some managers are there just to maintain order and consistency in the Organization. They are there to keep the 'process and procedure' in place, while leaders define the process and procedures, vision and mission of the organization.

MT

668 Blog Post for Week of June 7th 2010

2010-06-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

How does motivation translate into technology design and success?

For my Action Research project, motivation played a role in the success/failure of the implementation of our internal SharePoint project. What were the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators that my co-workers had to contribute to our knowledge management system? I found out that most of the co-workers were too busy with their own initiatives and were not motivated to contribute to something that didn't 'pay off'. Although management supported the initiative, the employees were not forced to contribute and were not rewarded either. This project would have been more successful if we had employees contribute eagerly and willingly. I had zero 'power' to coherce my co-workers and in these stress filled lay off filled times, people were reluctant to share their knowledge and were unmotivated to do so as well.

Think of an example successful technology, and share how motivation was a factor in its success.

The one technology that I can think of that is super successful right now is Facebook. People are genuinely curious by nature and so they wonder what their friends are up to, or they want to do things that offers them extrinsic rewards. I would think it's 'entertaining' to find out what your ex-girlfriend is doing, how she looks now or how your old friend is dating your ex-girlfriend now...uuhh..well, anyhow you get the point. Everyone has different motivators, and they all contribute differently to Facebook. One can just update their statuses allll day long, and another person would upload a ton of pictures to share. Aggregately, we have a technology that is meant to work the way it's designed. Facebook also adjusts to the needs of the community. (I.e privacy, updates, etc.) Usability, curiosity, adopt-ability are key factors of a successful technology product. (Social technology that is) It has to hit 'home' and provide the user with some sort of satisfaction, or extrinsic reward for them to use the technology.

MT out.

668 Blog for Week of May 31st

2010-05-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

What tools in the Drive Toolkit most interested you? How would you use these tools to motivate those around you? To be personally motivated?

Since I'm doing a fitness health plan for my organization, I thought I might as well drive that thought with the Type I Motivation for exercise from the Toolkit. (Pg. 2001)

Set your own goals - I'm sure we've all read it before but people do seem to want to look like the Calvin Klein models. Who wouldn't? before you try to get there, you must understand that they get paid to go to the gym, have a fitness instructor etc. We need to understand that we need to eat right everyday, and this includes working around the work schedule, the kids schedule the LIFE schedule. Do you wake up and brush your teeth? Do you have lunch at 12? Do you have to pick up the kids at 3? Well, work your workout into that schedule. It MUST be part of your life in order for you to succeed. Short term goals won't help you, long term ones will and everyone needs to incorporate healthy living/eating into their lives.

Ditch the Treadmill - Treadmills are soooo boring..I've gone on there and it's so boring that I always almost fall off of them. Do something FUN...go walk along the beach in the SAND...the resistance will help tone your muscles. Take the bike to the park, or somewhere fun and with a scenery. If your joints cant handle it then do some elliptical. If not, swim! What about boxing? There's so many things out there that's fun and engaging. One just needs to go out there to exert some energy. You'll have fun doing it AND you'll tone up and lose weight doing it! AWESOME!

Keep mastery in mind - I've always been blessed with athletic ability so I'm not a MASTER at a specific sport, but it helps to NOT be bad at it! =) For others that may have 3 thumbs or 2 left foots..feets? anyhow, try different things. Some people are better at Hip Hop classes, Pilate, Yoga etc. Not everyone will be good at something i.e golf, basketball, football but you get the point. If you do it like your job (repetitions) then eventually you'll get better @ it and even lead the class!

Reward yourself the right way - Oh how many times have we heard this? I worked out and now i deserve a chocolate cake, beer or ice cream! well, many times really but for the most part, you should be eating healthier, but you can splurge once in awhile...but guess what? IN MODERATION. The simple weight equation is Exert MORE than you INTAKE. It's easy and you'll lose weight! But you ARE what you eat is a common phrase that I hear. Don't starve yourself but then again don't splurge when really you've only done the minimum to prolong your life with some exercise and eating right.

People seem to think that they are too busy to live a healthy lifestyle, or have too many issues to do so too. I just think it's about motivation and commitment to your routine. If it's built into your daily lifestyle like combing your hair, or brushing your teeth, then you'll likely succeed. If not then you'll lose weight now, but will ultimately gain it back, leading to a negative feeling of failure.

I try to keep this focus myself, and not only with my health but my work and my life. Who wants to do mediocre work everyday? or why do mediocre work once in a while and great work other times. I will honestly try to do good work all the time. (MOST) =)

668 Blog for Week of May 24th

2010-05-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

Who is impacted by change? What are their characteristics and how do we use our understanding of them to best implement change?

I would argue that everyone is impacted by change in one way or another. From an organizational perspective, change can be a minor change in a form, and thus would lead the actors into filling out the form in a different manner. From a leadership change perspective, one can change an organizational structure and that change would permeate down to the lower level managment team. Chang in organizational culture can affect employees. If the company decides to cut peoples pay, enforce forced furlough or cut 401K contributions, this affects everyone monetarily and emotionally.

As pointed out in the previous paragraph, I believe that change can cause emotional strain as well as monetary strain. Perhaps change can also be a positive agent. I can't just keep thinking of the negative right? As an agent for change (or against change) we must understand and empathize with those being affected. We must understand the ramifications of this change towards the employee, or person, because at the end of the day...they are indeed people/humans. Once we are aware of the outcomes of the change, we should build in support mechanisms for those affected by the change. It's really bad to enforce negative change with out a positive outlook. Organizations that are better at the communication of this type of change are better prepared in my opinion. I guess a good example would be of my own organization. We were forced to 'cut' heads or 'right shore' and so instead of just cutting heads, they came up with an alternative plan for the employees. SO if they had to cut 15 jobs, per se, they would flat out and say we have a 'difficult' decision to make, but we are doing what's right for the organization and will instead of cutting 15 jobs, we'll enforce mandatory furlough days and cut 401K matching. Great news is, we save 15 jobs. (Could have been me) but bad news is, we lose money. All in all, it's a win win from a lose lose situation. Being prepared is the key for change. Also being creative in the communication is important too.

668 Blog for Week of May 17th 2010

2010-05-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Understanding the learning context for change, Part 1. How do we know what learning is necessary within ourselves and those impacted by the change?

I've been involved in conversations with co-workers, friends, family and even strangers. I can definitely tell you that I've learned alot from the aformentioned group of people. BUT there comes a time when I DO NOT know what the heck they are talking about and I feel a sense of unworthyness, uncomfortable-ness and unworthyness. When I feel that way, (which I hope is not often) I deem learning upon the subject is necessary. I hate the feeling of being lost or unable to contribute to a conversation or to work at the office. The world out there is an abundance of information and we just need to reach out there and grasp it.

Another example that I would like to bring out are times where I need to fix something. It may be a faucet, a tire, changing the oil, replacing the propane etc. I feel the need to do it myself and learn it myself so that I never have to ask anyone how to do it ever again. I love being self-sufficient.

For those who are impacted by my change. Hrm..I believe that it's for the better quite honestly. When I better myself, I think that I make it better for those around me. If I can fix all the things i've mentioned, then you should benefit from that. If i've learned how to be more effective and efficient at work, then my company would most definitely benefit from the change.

Granted all change is not for the positive. If I was to change negatively, then that would indeed negatively affect my peers, family and friends. Let's just hope that I never change for the worse, and let's keep on thinking of being a positive agent for change and leadership!!

668 Blog for Week of 5/10/2010

2010-05-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Identifying opportunities for change. How do you know when change is needed? How do people become passionate about change?

There are a couple of ways someone would know when change is needed. Personally, when they get to a point where something is detrimental to their personal lives. Perhaps when a smoker/gambler/overeater reaches a point where they would perhaps die, or strain their relationships with their loved ones is when they reach that melting point or what I call the 'defining moment' It could be a positive moment or a negative moment. Regardless, it's a moment where this person HAS to change or something detrimental will happen, OR that detrimental moment DID occur and that person now looks to change their lifestyle.

From a business perspective I view change as necessary when the same process and procedures yield no profit/effectiveness or efficiency. Perhaps that's the point of equilibrium. In order to improve upon the satisfactory results, the company/group/team must make a change in their way of doing things in order to spice things up or ruffle some feathers so to speak. (same with a workout, the more routine it is, the less results you'll see)

I can speak of my passion for change and hope that it's the same driver as others, but there are plenty of motivations out there for change. You can see a homeless person and would help that person to go home and make a better person of yourself, be a better father, husband etc. You can feel that you are overweight and it's affecting your lifestyle and you become passionate about losing weight in order to stay healthier so that you can see your kids grow up. You can view a defeat as a victory in some cases by further improving yourself now that you have free time. Being passionate about something is different to me than it is to others, but everyone is passionate about change because they may view that change as imperative to their lives. You MUST enjoy what the cause is, why you're changing and for what good that change serves you or people. If you don't enjoy it, you will not be passionate about administering that change, at work or at home personally.

Break!

2010-04-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Great break! now it's time to start focusing on next semester and Action Research.. I need to do more focusing on my writing.

639 Reflection Blog #6

2010-04-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

My mentee missed my meeting this past Monday because he was sick, but he did however attend our Friday CISSP meeting for the first time in over a month. This was good news to me. I invited him over the day before @ my place for a bbq. We watched the Laker game with a few of my co-workers. I wanted him to feel at 'home' and although i'm his mentor, I'm a friend first. I didn't have the 'official' sit down with him that day, but I did sense a feeling of 'i'm moving' on from him. He did seem a little happier and upbeat.

The following day was his regular telecommute day, so he dialed into our meeting along with another co-worker for the CISSP call. We went through some q/a and then I think he felt good about the questions. I really need to push them into their readings more now though. He needs to get his book from his fellow co-worker so that he can read up on the same chapters. It does not help that they are both falling behind in their readings.

Reflecting back, did I fail my mentee by having the study group done as a group? Initially I was thinking that they could help each other by being on the same schedule, but now that i've looked back and am in reality, one person lags, perhaps this gives the other person a feeling of lagability? A big sigh for me. Well, out of the 5 that initially started, we still have 3 participants. That's not so bad, but I don't think we'll hit our end date. I will keep on holding the meetings and q/a for the remainder staff. I think not only will this create a 'support' group, it will also create our 'community of practice' internally. This will help us network in the future.

I will approach my mentee this week and ask him about the closure of our relationship. I wanted our closure to be hitting our end goal of his CISSP certification, but now I don't think we'll ever hit that goal. Eventually, I must draw the line somewhere so that he can be on his own. Does this mean i've failed him?

To be continued...

639 Reflection Blog #5

2010-04-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

After missing a couple of meetings, I saw my mentee this past Monday 3/29/2010. We had our weekly 1 hour talk and caught up on the events occurring in his life. We spoke about his troubles @ the home front, his emotional roller-coaster with his Grandmother passing away and his potential loss of his job in his professional life. It was a real 'tear-jerker' of a situation.

So I led the discussion in the beginning. I was empathetic of his situation and so It seemed that his life was indeed looking up. He has since been back to his 'normal' living situation with his family. He just completed the funeral services for his grandma. The only other item that I wanted to talk to him about was his professional life. I asked him about his plans for the future and his plans immediately. I wanted him to still pursue the CISSP certification so that he would be more marketable if he was laid off here @ work. So, he agreed, I also wanted him to spend more time 'reading' and less time 'mucking' around. He needs to be more responsible for his time and accountable for his time. I understood that he has 4 kids, but during the time when he is home, his wife could be more supportive since she knows of his current professional situation.

As for him, I do see that he's trying and I do see that he has a better outlook now than he did the past couple of weeks ago. I just still need to be there for him when he's in need. I will also keep track of his progress on the CISSP, but as I've reflected in my A6, I believe that we will not achieve that goal that we set out in the beginning. I will however 'coach' him in making it the best possible scenario for himself when he leaves (involuntarily) from the company.

MT

639 blog Reflection 4

2010-03-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

My mentee missed my weekly call last Friday 3/12 and then missed my Monday F2F meeting on 3/15. I am a little disappointed in this, but again, he has personal issues right now with his family so I can't really blame him. We do talk on IM, but it's not the same. I would like him to at least call me, or email me to cancel our call, or meeting. I'm VERY worried that we will not meet our goal, but again, I really need to think of it as me being his 'therapist'. So today was a very 'bad' day at work for our group. Our immediate manager was being 'reassigned' so now I will report to someone else. We also had alot of layoffs at work today so it was very stressful. One of the reason why I made a curriculum that my mentee and a few of my co-workers could participate in is because of the recent layoffs. I wanted the team to be CISSP certified so that IF they got laid off, they would be 'marketable' when they are looking for a new job. Reflecting back to the readings that we've done (which i've completed), I now see the battles and hills in front of me. I see that there are so many intangibles out there that would make our mentor/mentee relationship 'skew' away from where we'd like it to go. BUT life is about 'possibilities' right? =)

MT OUT!

639 Reflection 3 Post for Mentoring

2010-03-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

I had my one on one with my mentee this past Monday. (3/1/2010) I was asking him why he was behind in his readings and why he didn't show up to the 'kick off meeting' the past Friday. Little did I know, my mentee was experiencing some personal issues as of late. This new information made me decellerate my stance. I now know that I will have to 'support' him and I offered him my 'ear' so that being the mentor, I am really here to 'listen' to him and offer him any assistance that he needs. We are definitely going to have challenges meeting our goal that we made for him. Basically, our curriculum that we set out for him to have all of his readings and for him to take his CISSP test in June will be at risk. He has a family of 6 (including himself and wife) and they are going through a rough patch right now. Now I have to shift my focus on the set goal that we had, to more of a passive listener and more of a 'friend' than a mentor that is helping him focus on his career. The next day (Tuesday) we were 'back to normal' as a co-worker/friend but I now know his personal issues and it's a little strange for me, but I will try to still help him out as much as I possibly can.

Reflection 2 for 639

2010-02-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

Well, we had our first kick off meeting for the CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional) course work for my mentee. The quick lowdown is that I created this 'curriculum' for my mentee (3 month program to study and accomplish the certification) Once I created that, I came up with a timeline for each week, readings and the whole Google Groups for him and an Etherpad for taking notes. SO...I also invited a couple of his co-workers in joining in to participate as a collaborative group. I also invited 3 other security professionals on the side to (CISSP Certified) assist in answering questions for the study group.

Needless to say, the first meeting was Last Friday, 2/26/2010 and 3 of the 5 participants showed up. The goal of the meeting was to describe the google groups, the etherpad and the support that the security groups will provide the study group. My mentee didn't show up. I texted him to see where he was and to no avail, no response. My mentee is a co-worker of mines and I am trying to block it off. I do have a 'recurring' Monday meeting with him and i'll need to reflect on what I'll need to do to 'motivate' him. But I am beginning to feel that he's not as motivated, or driving as I want him to be. We just had this conversation last Thursday in class as well and I feel that I push hard for myself and get annoyed to see that others do not do the same for themselves. I know he has 4 kids but hey, it's his career we're talking about. With all the fears of layoffs this was one of the items he wanted to work on and we 'signed' up for it together...with me helping him.

I am hoping for the best for him. Praying even. =)

Reflection 1 for 639 Spring 2010

2010-02-23T20:49:00.000-08:00

So i've gone ahead and decided to take one of my co-workers on as a Mentee. He's a pretty good candidate, and to give some background, he's in a different 'security' group as I am. So he's been with the company for over 10 years and with recent 'layoffs' happening, he's getting worried. I've been on his case for a long time now. I've always wanted him to get his Security certification and so now is perhaps the time he went ahead and did so, with my help of course.

I already have a curriculum for him and went ahead and got him a book to read. With all the reading that I've already done, I will try to play a 'passive' role, and not be on his case all the time, but somehow I feel that he might be 'slacking' a bit. So, i went ahead and recruited a couple of others (employees) into the loop to do the same certification. This will help all of them out. So here's the scenario. 4 candidates (students) and there's 4 'certified' helpers including myself. We have a set timeframe of 3 months to complete the reading, and then the test will be June 27th. We have set up weekly Friday meetings @ 2PM so that we can talk together about the readings and answer any questions that may come up. I've also set up a google group for the group, and an etherpad to take notes. I feel that I've done ALOT to help these guys out. (Mind you I didn't get this type of help when I was studying) so i really do have high expectations. Now, I will lay low and have them seek me out instead of me doing 'too' much to be in their faces. We will have a 'kick off' meeting this Friday (2/26/2010) and from there i'll lay out the ground rules and let them 'flap' their wings.

MT out for now.

Update!

2010-01-30T15:03:00.001-08:00

I find myself in the Pepperdine library alot nowadays. I'm catching up on Power Mentoring and Understanding by Design. (Spring 2010 courses) I've just updated my Webpage so check it out!
http://students.pepperdine.edu/mptruong/

More specifically, my Action Research site.

Bye for now!

2010 Starts!

2010-01-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

Welcoming myself to the Spring 2010 semester. Oh gosh how I didn't miss it. Oh well lets fire on all cylinders and get this over with. Hope that my professors are really chill like last semester. BUT you never know. Sounds like they are so far online. We get to meet them next week in Orlando. Looking forward to it, and I also miss my Cadremates. It's even better when you get along with the folks you're suffering with. They are my second online family. (Online stores are my first! haha)

MT out for now.

633 Learning Theory Blog for 12/10/2009

2009-12-10T21:06:00.000-08:00

My final project will be in Second Life. I've decided to create something that would depict my Learning Theorist. I was trying to make a 'Targetesque" object in Second Life and found it hard to align the rings. Nick M and I was trying to tweak it, but ultimately, if I changed locations, or camera angles, the object would be all misaligned. Although it's a 3d object, I can not make it right. Perhaps I need to upload a picture of the object or "Target" and then "play" with it as Vygotsky would say. I did take a snapshot of what it looked like (or should look like) from the frontal angle. So it was supposed to represent the 4 stages of the Zones of Proximal Development.

Stage 1, children rely on others for outside regulation of task performance.

In stage 2, the learner takes over the rules and responisbilities of both mediator and learner, and the tasks are carried out without assistance.

Stage 3 internalizes and automatizes the task, and performance is "fossilized", according to Vygotsky. This is the "once you know it, you know it forever" stage.

Stage 4 addresses de-automatization and recursion, These occur so regularly, that they need to be incorporated into the developmental process.

To be continued this weekend...

633 Blog for 12/3/2009

2009-12-03T07:57:00.000-08:00

I've given some thought to my project and am a little stumped on what to do. I do want to either do 1. ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) or Vygotsky's other (amongst many) theory of Play. The ZPD I could creat an action plan of (something) and then have a person look by the plan and do the work by themselves, and note how they perform the plan without assistance from anyone. Perhaps I can do this with Volleyball? Write down how to play, and give the person instructions on how to do so? Record them? Then with my help, see how the learner do with my specific help.

Secondly, the Psychology of play. Less known is Vygotsky's research on play, or children's games, as a psychological phenomenon and its role in the child's development. Through play the child develops abstract meaning separate from the objects in the world, which is a critical feature in the development of higher mental functions. I was hoping to do the project and use this theory of 'play' so that I can record this somehow (my niece?)

I am leaning towards the ZPD. I need to figure this out soon!

MT

633 Post for 11/26/2009

2009-11-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving first of all...and Yes, I am doing school work on Thanksgiving. 633 has a new question as well as assignment.

Make a connection between learning theory and your action research. How will (or can) your AR be guided by the theories we have studied in this class? Make specific connections, where you can.

Final Project

Ok, the SL project is off (unless you really wanted to do it - then go ahead)

Here is the alternate:

1. Choose something that people learn how to do. Could be anything, from baking a cake to snow skiing. Something you know how to do, to something you know little about.

2. Create a lesson or lesson plan for learning to do the thing from #1 that represents how your theorist would teach someone to do it.

3. You will be graded on the following:

How well does it reflect the theory?
How creative is it?
How cool is it?
Does it represent your best effort for a class at this level, given the number of days you have to invest?

4. I'll leave it to you as to how to present to everyone. Please let me know how I can be of assistance.

I will answer the first set of questions on the Moodle by this weekend, but I wanted to reflect on my AR and Learning Theory first. Definitly have some ideas of how to respond to the question. (Individual learning vs. social) Why people don't collaborate at work. Vygotsky? Piaget? not only on the 'kids' development sense...but for adults too.

As for the Final Project, the SL looked 'easier' to do, (harder to code) now Let me think first of what I can do now...I might still do the SL object....

To be continued...

MT

633 Blog for 11/18/2009

2009-11-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

Today is a good day, let's start with 633 first. I am currently looking and thinking of ideas with Scott Mortensen on how we can create and Item in Second Life that would represent Lev Vygotsky. I was initially thinking of some sort of hammer, or Vodka bottle, or something. That might be too stereotypical so, perhaps we'll make a *target* symbol, and make that represent the (Zone of Proximal Development)...I like that Idea. I'll run it by Scott. Next is to spend some time to read up on how to do such a thing. I would like to get it out of the way, so that I can focus on the next project!

As for Junior Achievement, I had a GREAT time, I love my 3rd Graders (most of them) their innocence, their curiosity and just their enthusiasm for me being there. It's so nice to see that. (Unlike work)

I also like the way the classes are relational to each other. Papert, Piaget, Vygotsky et. al..

633 Post for 11/11/2009

2009-11-11T21:47:00.000-08:00

This week has been interesting to say the least. We did however have class for 633 so that was a nice break from the other 2 classes. Second Life is fun to be in. Malibu Island is still interesting, but yet 'strange' somehow. The whole concept is really strange somehow. LOL.. Anyways, we are now tasked to create an "item" that resembles our Theorist. I think I will somehow relate Vygotsky's image/item to something 'Russian' ooo so creative. Perhaps something 'hoovering' in a circle...similar to Vygotsky's ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) hmm...I think that's a GREAT Idea. I'll need to collaborate with Scott and see what he thinks...We now have to 'link' our theorist to another theorist..Not too sure what that means..perhaps it's linking the same thoughts/teachings and also linking UNRELATED items too? I know Piaget and Vygotsky saw some similar things, but they also saw things differently as well.

633 Blog for 11/5/2009

2009-11-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

what a week. Lit review was due last Friday, and finally got a breather from that beast. I was definitely behind because it's been years since I had to do such a thing. Good thing for Dan Wood, and DJ Benjamin. I took a look at their work and it helped me move forward with mines. (Also thanks Bill Moseley for giving us some breather room)

I just completed my Vygotsky Essential questions and sent them to Scott Mortensen. We will both combine our 'findings' and answers so that we can submit them to Moodle. I found Vygotsky extremely interesting, smart and powerful. I would have loved to meet him, but unfortunately he died at such a young age, and lived long ago. I believe that I am 'somewhat' caught up with Learning Theory, but you never know. I need to get back in the grooove of things. (not that I was ever out of it) but when you have these online courses, it tends to Creep up on you FAST if you are behind a little. I just hope I can keep this up for a prolonged period of time. heck it IS November, just another month and a half and I get xmas break!

MT OUT!

633 Post for 10-28-2009

2009-10-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

All I can think of is Vygotsky and how much of a genius he is. I have been reading his work more closely now, and with the assignment at hand, I will have to be "Vygotsky" himself in answering the Four essential questions, and looking at my classmate's answers to reply to their answers with "Vygotsky" in mind.

On the other hand, we just got our first taste of the 'wave' and have started talking amongst each other. It's pretty cool, but i feel that it's just another 'email' client. It is however cool to see people type in real time. Other than that, I really don't see much hype about Google Wave. Oh well, lets go as far to say that no one else is doing anything like it, so BAM! haha..

More to come once I start answering the Essential questions.

633 Post for 10-21-2009

2009-10-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

This will be the first time i'm using my Amazon Kindle for school reading. Vygotsky and the Social Formation. So far so good, just getting through the introductory stuff. it's crazy that he died @ such a young age of 38.

Although his main work was the Zone of Proximal Development, he also did alot in his studies of cognitive development, child 'play' which was a critical feature in the development of higher mental functions.

Perhaps Vygotsky's most important contribution concerns the inter-relationship of language development and thought.

I'm getting very interested in Vygotsky. More to come next week!

633 Post for 10-15-2009

2009-10-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

For my learning theorist, I choose Lev Vygotsky. His major work included the Zone of Proximal Development. (I will have to go into further details later, not in my post!) Initially, after choosing Vygotsky, his name was thrown out in all of our books. Apparently his Zone of Proximal Development is a major theory for learning development. For now, we are going through all types of learning theories. Is it me or do they all say the similar things? I guess I will soon 'filter' out the different types of theories and that will clarify my understandings better. I'll need to buy another book to start reading it.

633 10-8-2009 Blog

2009-10-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

So after all the headaches, I finally posted my 'Community of Practice' (CoP) project online. I lost the last slide, but i'll keep on plugging so I can do it 'right' Working with the volunteers was fun, and it was for a great cause. (South Coast Children's Society) We gardened, and painted the exterior and interior of the home. The children were taken to 'Raging Waters' (a waterpark) while the volunteers did their work.

It was a great experience for me. I realized that people that have nothing in common can come together for 1 cause, and then help each other out. They plowed, shoveled, painted, weeded etc. Sometimes you can't even get that participation from your own Family or Friends!! Strange....why is that? =) Besides that point, I felt that even without a supervisor, teacher, head honcho, people with experience were leading those without much experience, and those who were handy in other areas helped all those who weren't so handy. Even the younger children came out not really knowing why they were there, but knew that it was for somewhat of a good cause. The indirect learning and direct learning was evident. Everyone helped each other out, instructed each other and made it a successful morning of comeing together as a whole community, and making it better for those who were not so fortunate.

MT

10-1-2009 633 Blog

2009-10-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

We are now tasked with Ethnography of a CoP (Community of Practice) I need to figure out where to go, how to observe, and what notes to take! I had a couple of ideas, but they are 'grey'. I initially wanted to go out the driving range (golf) I also wanted to hit the 'firing range' to see if we had some 'communities of practice' going on. I think i'll focus on some sort of club activity. I need to research some area Volunteer places where I helped out earlier in September. I know they have some CoP there. Going to look to 'team' up with a Cadre mate. Looking like i'll have to be a little 'more' creative this time around! =)

9-23-2009 633 Blog

2009-09-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

So now i've 'fudged' around with Second Life a little bit, and we've talked about WWFSS? (What would Frank Smith Say?) about the first and second essential question. I would like to think more of the NOW aspects and how to move forward with my life. How do I learn NOW? At work, I learn from my co-workers, what they have to say, and how they do things. We are independent for the most part and do not share the same projects, but however we interpret the same Corporate Policies and Procedures. (Same but different) How do I learn from school? Well, our cadre is almost self run, with input from our professors. They 'stimulate' or stir the pot, and then the ingredients 'naturally' co-mingle and do their little chemical reactions then whoa-la...we have a dish. We generally try to cook at least once or twice a week. =)

We also learn from the environment, who we run into, what we see, how we interpret certain stimuli. So we do learn from each other, as well as learn from ourselves. I can sit here and 'browse' the web all by myself and learn from it. I can pick up a book, read it and learn from 'it'. Now we can say that SOMEONE wrote the book, so i'm learning from someone else...(fair to say) I guess I can 'read' instructions on how to make a paper airplane, and then eventually make one myself..or just experiment with a piece of paper, and make an airplane by myself..it's the NOW aspect of learning im interested in remember? I've learned what an airplane is, so I can 'improvise' on it.

I hope to see things in the gray, but sometimes it's not a 'bad' thing to see things as black or white. I just need to figure out when to do this and when not to.

638B Blog 9-18-2009

2009-09-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

So with all that's going on right now in the other classes, we've finally set up a time to meet with our learning circle. Tuesdays 5:30Pm PST. I will now take a look at other's Action Research work and for now, i'll be collaborating with Scott Mortensen and Juan Flowers.

I have kept in contact with Dan Wood, from Cadre 11, so I will be taking a look at his AR project. "Building Thriving Communities of Practice with Social Learning Technologies" (http://danieljwood.com/action-research) I'll need to focus on outlining a plan for my AR Project. I have an idea of what topic of interest I have, (Utilizing Wikis in the workplace to further advance collaboration) of such...

The first step is for me to develop this outline, and then the other pieces should fall into place, although I will still need to keep those objectives in the rear view mirror because it's coming up soon as well...gosh how time flies.

633 Learning Technology Blog 9/16

2009-09-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

I will try to create my blogs on a weekly schedule. I'll promise to make it as reflective as possible so that it's 'educational' or at least somewhat enjoyable! We just had our first meeting this past Monday. I completed 'Situated learning Legitimate peripheral participation' by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. I wasn't too impressed initially, but then after reading more into the experiences of the Midwives, Tailors, Quartermasters, Butchers, and Nondrinking Alcoholics, I started to understand a little more on what Lave and Wegner was talking about. By definition, (authors) they mean to draw attention to the point that learners inevitably participate in the sociocultural practices of a community. "LPP" provides a way to speak about the relations between newcomers and old-timers, and about activities, identities, artifacts, and communities of knowledge and practice.

What I got out of it was we all learn differently. Why is this important? Does this relate? Well, we talked alot this past Monday 9/14/2009 about THEORY. What is Theory? What is MY definition of theory? What is my style of learning theory. I must admit, I was using the word in a different manner than what it was supposed to be....When I say, well, in THEORY if you put gas into an automobile, it SHOULD work. Or the Cause and Effect method, etc.

Why is it called Situated learning? Is it because we learn in different situations? Like the Midwives, Butchers etc? That finally made sense to me. Each learning opportunity is unique. It's how we make the best of the opportunities. We need to be observant in different scenarios in order to 'take away' the most out of the situation. Midwives had to learn by watching, apprentices to tailors had to start out cutting templates, Quartermasters had to go step by step in their training, Butchers had to do the 'grunt' work prior to doing anything significant and finally Non-drinking alcoholics had to go through a process of telling stories, receiving support etc in order to move forward as well.

This was what I've learned this week... Do what it takes and learn from all situations, whether it's from reading a book, listening to people, reading someone's texting, responding to online posts/forums and so on and so forth. I am beginning to believe in the 'process' of reflection. As I read today: John Dewey says: ''To reflect is to look back over what has been done so as to extract the net meanings which are the capital stock for intelligent dealing with further experiences. It is the heart of intellectual organization and of the disciplined mind'' Experience and Education Pg. 87

Amen

2009-08-25T17:54:00.001-07:00

Force Field analysis???

2009-08-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

That's what i said before I really put it down on paper. Here are the things i'll need to keep in mind...

The Force Field Analysis is a method to:
- investigate the balance of power involved in an issue
- identify the most important players (stakeholders) and target groups for a campaign on the issue
- identify opponents and allies
- identify how to influence each target group

I'll be attempting to implement a WIKI in my work, and will also need to induce participation somehow. I'll need prayers from all my Cadremates... =) I have a plan of action, so let's try to get this party started! One more week of Summer School...lets go!

MT

2009-08-23T08:50:00.001-07:00

8/17/2009

2009-08-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

Starting a headache...there's alot to read, and alot to do. Who says this was easy? ? ? anyways, I'm happy to report that things have been busy, but manageable. I hope to start doing more 'reflective' work. I really need to put some thought into what i'm doing so that the end product will be solid. I don't want to just 'reply' anymore without first taking a step back to realize what was said previously, and what I can contribute that's worthwhile.

MT

Class day

2009-07-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Today starts our first synchronous meeting. I'm excited! I've completed my Action Research readings for the week, and have an idea of what I want to do it on, just need to 'fine' tune it to address all the necessary components that make up the AR. I'm still wondering how we'll be 'graded' upon...I guess that's the ultimate question! Checkin in for now! MT

Tuesday Thoughts

2009-07-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

did i say my head hurts?? anyhow, i hope i'm heading in the right direction with my Action Research topic. I'll need to read up more on what makes this a good topic/or not...Having my classmates collaborate on our assignments are very helpful. (grammar) This bunch doesn't miss a beat! yay!! anyhow, i'm just focusing on the week ahead, trying to 'read' and grasp the 'main' points of all the readings. MT checking in..

Getting ready for Launch!

2009-07-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

As I sit here pondering what i've gotten myself into, i've just completed lunch, and my first webpage (for school). It's nothing fancy, nor 'high tech', but it represents me in some ways. Cutting and pasting stuff together, making it easier for myself, and along the road, learning a thing or two. =) I've been receiving alot of emails lately, and as I stand, i'm actually trying to lean on a pole or something to keep me from falling. It's a little overwhelming, but I think this is where i need to shake it off and focus on the immediate, and not the future. What do i need to do now to get to the later? What's due soon? What do we have to read now? What do we need to complete by mid august? end of august? wow...buffer overload. I think i'll need to start staying up later...or something in order to complete what I need to do. All I know is that we are having discussions about a shared calendar, aggregating emails, phone numbers, and all the other fluff. NOW---> Webpage in launch mode, but continuously improving...

Michael checkin in...

Final Virtcamp reflections

2009-07-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

we've finally finished our last day at Pepperdine. i got alot more out of this than i've ever thought i would. i've learned about the 'whys' of all the activities that we've participated in. i can honestly state that i've learned so much more about my classmates in 4 days than i would have hypothetically in a semester. it also seemed like all of my classmates also felt the same way as i did. they were appreciative, trusting of one another, had confidence and was comfortable with one another. this would make it easier to open up, collaborate and ask questions of one another. as Tanner told us, this experience is like his skydiving experience...scary, fast, but at the end there's a soft landing...i will utilize the contacts that i've made to make this a successful year. Michael checking in...

Friday Relection Blog...

2009-07-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Its friday and we are still here trying to get our Legos to work! what did i learn today? Trust is critical in the development of social networks. i've realized that once you trust the members in your social group, it makes it easier to get things accomplished, and learning, collaborating occurs voluntarily. I would normally do things that would be more beneficial to only me. I'd help out as much as i could as long as it did not get in the way of my own personal time. but now, i'd keep on working with my social network, cadre, learning circle and cohort.
i'm trying hard to put thoughtful thoughts on here, but i presume i'll 'get better' at it in a bit...(days weeks?) I did feel the 'stages' of learning...in the beginning, it's the 'omg' how do i do this? Then it goes to ok, it's not THAT bad...Then comes the failure, and fixing of the failure and then relearning. this process seems to be part of life, it's just emphasized more that i'm here now at Pepperdine. it feels great...we feel like a team, a family, and most importantly, leaders of the future...people that WILL change the world...even if it takes days, months, years!!
I'm michael, i'm checking IN!!

reflection 7-16

2009-07-17T01:09:00.000-07:00

its late, but time to blog....who controls a discussion? I think YOU do! as disussed about the topic in 'refelections', i felt like yes, anyone could talk about whatever they wanted to talk about, (in the group setting)

something also on my mind...designs of other group's before and after you determines what YOU have to do. so really, do i need to design my robot yet? i guess the moral of the story is that you MUST collaborate with your community...thanks Pepperdine for the guidance... =) GOOD NITE...

Reflection Wed July 15th

2009-07-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

as my cpu utilization dwindles down (my brain) for the day, I find myself mentally exhausted. my view on the 'community' has changed somewhat. From Jonathan Harris's video to creating a 4-step Lego drop off, to Iron Chef'ing...

I find myself relying alot on my community of cadremates. Today was a mentally challenging day. There were so many things that I needed to co-ordinate with my peers, tasks to be performed and processes to follow. Not everything is 'cookie cutter' or 'templated' in these exercises as some of life is. I think i've learned to 'trust' more on other people's ability so that I could do the things I need to do for the team to succeed. (Vice versa)

Last thoughts: I hope tomorrow is just as challenging if not MORE!! I LOVE IT!! =) (after some sleep that is...)

Reflection 1.0

2009-07-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Instead of thinking of ways to earn more money when i initially journeyed to Malibu, i am thinking of ways that our cadre can change the world!!! when i was asked initially of why i wanted to do MALT it, my answer was for 1.the degree, 2. the experience 3. money?
Now my answer would be "to learn, learn, and eventually do good for the world!" Also all the FRIENDLY CADRE'mates...LOVE IT...