Happy Friday. A few more links for you.

Psychology Today – Coffee Vs. Energy Drinks: Caffeine Wars

How much do you know about the caffeine you consume? And what can you do to fix the caffeine fix?

Speak Schmeak – Yes, you are being judged

When you speak and when you’re presenting yourself, it’s common to worry about what people think.  But your audience is not looking for you to slip up.  They are paying attention, but not how you think:

“The audience is trying to determine what their relationship is with you. Can they trust you? Will you listen to them and understand where they’re coming from? Is this relationship worth their time and money?

“Your job on stage is to connect, relate, and deliver. You don’t have to be like your audience to do so, but you do have to be compatible with what your audience expects from a speaker in the general sense, and with what the audience is looking for specific to your topic.”

I think the same can be said when you meet new people.  You may not be up on stage, but people are trying to fit you in to their lives.

From James Dunn – Why a university degree is still worth its weight in debt

“My degree in archaeology from Durham University seems unimpressive on paper, three years with a mountain of debt snowballing out of control and a degree that was not conducive to employment in journalism, a market that is furiously competitive out of recession let alone in it. This, however, is a gross misinterpretation as the common saying ‘Don’t let your degree get in the way of your education’ rings very true in my case.”

Harvard Magazine – Are final exams on the way out?

A lengthy exam at the end of a module?  That may well be falling out of fashion.

Learning by doing, not by listening

A great little piece well worth spending 3 minutes on.  You’ll be respected not for the answers you give, but for the questions you ask…

JP Rangaswami’s life was turned around when a teacher told him that he would be respected not for the answers he gave, but for the questions he asked.  Rangaswami suggests, “An intelligent answer you can give half-asleep. An intelligent question requires at least one eye open”.  He also says that “Words like ‘success’ and ‘failure’ are wasting time”.

More info at JP Rangaswami’s site, Confused of Calcutta [link thanks to @nlafferty]

To Do: Dissertation

Just found this site.  The tagline is: “Motivation and Encouragement for Dissertation Writers Across Disciplines”

In other words, get reading this site when you start working on your dissertation.  You’ll be happier for it!

Awesome Highlighter

Enjoy highlighting in your books and course guides?  Now you can use a highlighter on web pages, make notes, send your annotated pages to classmates, and all sorts.  There’s even a helpful bookmarklet for instant access and a Firefox addon for even more functionality. Hat tip to @jennifermjones for this EduLink.