Last Lecture......

Wow! Randy Pausch was truly an inspirational man. When I first read what our blog assignment was this week, I thought "Geeze, listening to this video, which is over an hour long, is going to be so boring." Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! It's one of the best videos I've watched so far. The way he has lived his life is just amazing. Even as a dying cancer patient, he was full of hope and a determination for future generations to continue to learn while achieving their dreams.

Throughout his speech, Pausch refers to a "brick wall" that everyone encounters at some point in life. The key is to not let this wall discourage you. "Brick walls let us show our dedication." His words really hit home with me because I have a few personal "brick walls" in my life right now. I've been really discouraged lately, but after watching this video I realize that I have to keep pressing on. I can't just give up because the wall has knocked me down a few times. Pausch didn't just say these words, he lived them. His whole life was about getting around those walls, and too never give up.

One of the things I noticed about his teaching style is that he loved hand's on projects. He wanted his students to actually experience what they were learning. There's a big difference in reading about something in a textbook, and actually going/experiencing first hand. Also, he encouraged collaboration between all his students. He even went as far as taking a survey on who was easier to work with. This taught the students to do some self reflection about their ability to work with others.

Pausch also focused on a "head fake"teaching style. He wanted to take subjects that are hard to learn, and turn it into something fun. It's so cool how he was able to take a computer software class, and turn it into a way of making virtual world games. The students were developing games without thinking about the fact that they were learning how to program software. Also, he never limited his student's abilities. He was constantly pushing them to be better, and do more. This encouragement lead his students to be more creative than he ever imagined possible.