Truth really can be stranger than fiction.

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La verdad puede ser más extraña que la ficción.

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Manna Minutes Podcast: Eye-opening Bible study in less than five minutes! Access all episodes here.

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Estudio bíblico que nos hace abrir los ojos en menos de cinco minutos! Acceda a todos los episodios aquí.

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Was There A Curse On Helen's Romantic Life?

The Third Man by Angela Sheffield is based on a true story. Read chapter one now!

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¿Qué tiene que ver conmigo? por Teófila Gottfried

Lo que leemos en la Biblia tiene que ver con todos los seres humanos, sean cristianos o judíos, ateos o agnósticos, budistas, musulmanes o adherentes a alguna de las filosofías o nuevas religiones que surgen en el mundo. ¿Por qué? Ver mayor información sobre este interesante libro.

Scripture of The Day - St. John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Escritura del día - San Juan 14,6

Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí.

Bibelstelle des Tages - Johannes 14,6

Jesus spricht zu ihm: Ich bin der Weg und die Wahrheit und das Leben; niemand kommt zum Vater, denn durch mich!

Computer Science Major: How To Prepare For Success

The vast majority of colleges and universities in the United States offer degrees in Computer Science, Computer Programming, Information Technology, and Web Design and Development. When a prospective student reviews the promotional materials of institutions of higher education, they're usually informed that no prior knowledge or experience in the aforementioned fields is required as students will received quality instruction and hands-on opportunities to practice the principles taught. While such a statement certainly is true, it's somewhat deceiving. Some students who enrolled into colleges and universities with the intention of earning an A.A.S or B.S. in Computer Science to someday be able to earn a very good living for themselves and their families, have been sorely disappointed. What went wrong? Did they not apply themselves to their studies or did their school not fail to give them the instruction promised in their catalogs and on their websites?

Although each situation is different meaning that failure could be attributed to the institution and/or the student, there are some patterns that have been observed in students who never achieve a degree in the science of computers. If these patterns can be known before declaring a major in any branch of Information Technology, Web Design and Development, Computer programming or computer science, chances of success will be greatly increased.

Most students who fail in their pursuit of a degree in these fields, enter college thinking that they will be taught the basics. They don't realize how much they are expected to already know about the careers for which they are training. A gentleman in his fifties enrolled in the Web Design and Development program of a two-year college, eager to begin learning how to construct web pages. He realized after approximately two weeks that his expectations were not going to be met.

The first day of class the professor began speaking to the students about the various text editors that are available for writing code in various mark-up, scripting, and programming languages. She then proceeded to speak of how she always chose to use freeware whenever possible so students may have the convenience of doing their homework at home. Such statements led to the brief mention of some of the languages that would be taught and used throughout the Web Design and Development course. The languages the students could look forward to learning included: XHTML, XML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, Java, Perl, and ASP. She informed her class that her choice of editor was Microsoft's Notepad++, an enhanced version of Notepad.

The real-life scenario above demonstrates just how much educators in the computer science industry expect even first-year students majoring in computer science to know. While the majority of the small class actually understood her introduction and could look forward to learning the technologies enumerated, others who were not as computer savvy as they were expected to be, found themselves confused before instruction even began.

Why is this? Those students had made the error of believing the college's promotional materials which stated that no previous knowledge of information technology was assumed or required to enroll in the Web Design and Development course. Such statements are only half truths. Professors assume that students majoring in any branch of computer science has previous knowledge and experience even if it's only on the amateur level.

It was obvious that the professor not only assumed, but also expected her new class to know to what she was referring when she used terms such as: text editor; scripting language; mark-up, freeware, XML, etc. Similar scenarios can be seen when considering students who are majoring in other areas of Information Systems Technology such as networking. Again, educators expect students majoring in Network Administration/Engineering to know what a "router" and a "switch" does, to know what "bandwidth" is and the difference between IPV4 and IPV6.

Another advantage to learning all one can learn in his field before officially declaring a major is the ability to more easily keep up with the mounds of homework that will be assigned. Information technology advances at an incredible rate placing more and more pressure on those in the field to learn new programming languages and standards for assuring and maintaining security of sensitive data. This, in turn, increases the number of credits to qualify for a degree resulting in four-year universities outlining programs requiring five or more years to complete. Likewise, two-year institutions outline programs requiring three plus years to successfully complete. Unfortunately, quality has lost importance to quantity to the point that it's very possible to graduate with above average grades and yet not know half of what many amateurs who've not spent a day in college know.

While the expectation of students to teach themselves in the field in which they will major is unfair and harmful to America's educational system which is inferior to that of many other nations, it's, nevertheless, reality. Individuals considering majors in any branch of Computer Science or Information Technology would do well to instruct themselves as thoroughly as possible before actually enrolling in the desired degree program. Sadly, the more college attendance and the declaration of a major is thought of merely as steps to attain a piece of paper that puts a professional stamp on their amateur skill, the less disappointment and failure will occur.

Based on true events, The Third Man by Angela Sheffield, brings the Bible up close and personal as the characters face real issues of life: Betrayal, deceit, romance, bitterness, anger against God, hopelessness, will power, perplexity, triumph, unforgiveness, mental illness, and the "Alcohol made me do it" excuse. Read chapter one FREE now.

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