Personal curriculum for 2013
It's getting towards the end of yet another year, and as always, that's made me kind of introspective. And because I'm me, my mind has trended towards the idea of learning. I'm working full time, which means that I'm no longer in school. That makes me sad. But on the flip side, internet resources for learning are becoming more and more plentiful, such that I can learn pretty much anything I want in my own time, at my own pace, to whatever level I desire. That's the good thing. The bad thing is that I've never really had that level of discipline.
BUT! What if I could design myself a curriculum for 2013? What would it include? Roleplaying 401 probably isn't necessary (though I can imagine all sorts of cool topics, like, "How to design a GM-proof wish spell," "Min-maxing with classes you never knew existed," and "Statistics and dice: how to cheat believably"). But there are plenty of other things I'd like to learn, and here are some of them:
Cooking 101: The Basics and Beyond
Resources: Rouxbe life membership and Cook's Roadmap courses; The 4-Hour Chef, by Tim Ferriss
Starting from basic knife skills, this course will develop fundamental skills to make cooking easier, healthier, and more pleasurable.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Handle a chef's knife
- Cook 1-2 meals per week without stress
- Host at least 1 informal dinner party per month
- Choose 7-15 "default" meals
- Improvise with ingredients on hand
SCA Life 103: Persona Research
Resources: TBD
Starting from the fundamentals, this course will involve independent research to build a high-period English persona for use at SCA events and demos.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Discuss the basics of their persona's life story
- Dress appropriately for 1 weekend event
- Speak in-persona for brief conversations
- Recognize persona-appropriate accessories and "kit"
SCA Sources 302: The Golden Legend, Volume II
Resources: The Golden Legend, Volume II, by Jacobus de Voragine, translated by William Granger Ryan
A continuation of last year's "Golden Legend, Volume I," this course will involve a complete reading of Volume II of The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine, dissemination of interesting stories to a personal website, and the composition of 5-10 short performance pieces appropriate for SCA bardic circles.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Perform 5-10 new bardic pieces based on stories from The Golden Legend, Volume II
- Present a course at Pennsic based on stories learned
- Include adapted stories on their website
Bardic Performance 211: Songwriting
Resources: Songwriting course from Coursera, instructed by Pat Pattison
Students in this class will focus on composing melodies to accompany previous-written and newly-written lyrics.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Compose melodies for new bardic pieces
- Set previously-written poems to new melodies
- Perform new songs confidently
Bardic Performance 221: Harominizing
Resources: TBD
This course will teach extemporaneous harmonization methods, including singing on the 3rd, 4th, or 5th compared to the melody and singing improvised harmony lines during live group performances.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Sing a set interval apart from a melody line
- Improvise a harmony line in live-group performance
Bardic Performance 231: Guitar Basics
Resources: Introduction to Guitar course from Coursera, instructed by Thaddeus Hogarth
A refresher course, students will focus on re-learning key chords, improving strumming/picking, and tuning by ear, with an end goal of self-accompaniment at SCA bardic circles.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- String a guitar
- Change a popped string
- Tune accurately
- Comfortably strum the most popular guitar chords
- Accompany themselves while singing
French 356: Intermediate Written French
Resources: Duolingo.com
Having progressed to a high-intermediate level in spoken French, this course will assist students in improving their written French to attain a level appropriate for business communications.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Write a short business memo or email without errors
- Read online articles in French without translation services like Google Translate
Physical Fitness 102: Conditioning
Resources: Zombies, Run!, TBD
This course aims to improve general physical fitness, using body-weight exercises, martial arts training, and cardio (walking) regimens.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Complete 75 minutes of karate training per week
- Walk 5 km, 2-3 times per week
- Complete a set of 20 push-ups without stopping
- Perform at least 1 chin-up
Science 101: Introductory Science Overview
Resources: Science from Superheroes to Global Warming course from Coursera, instructed by Michael Dennin; How Things Work 1 course from Coursera, instructed by Louis A. Bloomfield; Climate Literacy course from Coursera, instructed by Sarah Burch and Sara Harris; Useful Genetics course from Coursera, instructed by Rosemary Redfield; TechniCity course from Coursera, instructed by Jennifer Evans-Cowley and Tom Sanchez
This overview course will discuss basic science in a variety of fields, with an aim of improving science literacy and critical thinking on many topics of current interest.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Speak knowledgeably about current scientific issues
- Identify pseudo-science and bunk science
Math 251: Introduction to Statistics
Resources: Statistics videos and exercises from Khan Academy
This course will give an overview of basic statistics, with an aim to better understand probability as it applies to the news and social sciences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Speak comfortably on basic statistical methods and calculations
- Identify faulty use of statistics in news articles
- Calculate the probability of various dice rolls and cheat believably in roleplaying games
Yeah, see what I did with that last one, there? Tied the whole thing together. 'Cause I'm just that good. (HA!)
In any case, if I had all the time in the world, that's what I'd do this year. As it is, I'll try to do as many of them as possible. At least I know I'll always have something to do if I'm bored.
BUT! What if I could design myself a curriculum for 2013? What would it include? Roleplaying 401 probably isn't necessary (though I can imagine all sorts of cool topics, like, "How to design a GM-proof wish spell," "Min-maxing with classes you never knew existed," and "Statistics and dice: how to cheat believably"). But there are plenty of other things I'd like to learn, and here are some of them:
Cooking 101: The Basics and Beyond
Resources: Rouxbe life membership and Cook's Roadmap courses; The 4-Hour Chef, by Tim Ferriss
Starting from basic knife skills, this course will develop fundamental skills to make cooking easier, healthier, and more pleasurable.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Handle a chef's knife
- Cook 1-2 meals per week without stress
- Host at least 1 informal dinner party per month
- Choose 7-15 "default" meals
- Improvise with ingredients on hand
SCA Life 103: Persona Research
Resources: TBD
Starting from the fundamentals, this course will involve independent research to build a high-period English persona for use at SCA events and demos.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Discuss the basics of their persona's life story
- Dress appropriately for 1 weekend event
- Speak in-persona for brief conversations
- Recognize persona-appropriate accessories and "kit"
SCA Sources 302: The Golden Legend, Volume II
Resources: The Golden Legend, Volume II, by Jacobus de Voragine, translated by William Granger Ryan
A continuation of last year's "Golden Legend, Volume I," this course will involve a complete reading of Volume II of The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine, dissemination of interesting stories to a personal website, and the composition of 5-10 short performance pieces appropriate for SCA bardic circles.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Perform 5-10 new bardic pieces based on stories from The Golden Legend, Volume II
- Present a course at Pennsic based on stories learned
- Include adapted stories on their website
Bardic Performance 211: Songwriting
Resources: Songwriting course from Coursera, instructed by Pat Pattison
Students in this class will focus on composing melodies to accompany previous-written and newly-written lyrics.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Compose melodies for new bardic pieces
- Set previously-written poems to new melodies
- Perform new songs confidently
Bardic Performance 221: Harominizing
Resources: TBD
This course will teach extemporaneous harmonization methods, including singing on the 3rd, 4th, or 5th compared to the melody and singing improvised harmony lines during live group performances.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Sing a set interval apart from a melody line
- Improvise a harmony line in live-group performance
Bardic Performance 231: Guitar Basics
Resources: Introduction to Guitar course from Coursera, instructed by Thaddeus Hogarth
A refresher course, students will focus on re-learning key chords, improving strumming/picking, and tuning by ear, with an end goal of self-accompaniment at SCA bardic circles.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- String a guitar
- Change a popped string
- Tune accurately
- Comfortably strum the most popular guitar chords
- Accompany themselves while singing
French 356: Intermediate Written French
Resources: Duolingo.com
Having progressed to a high-intermediate level in spoken French, this course will assist students in improving their written French to attain a level appropriate for business communications.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Write a short business memo or email without errors
- Read online articles in French without translation services like Google Translate
Physical Fitness 102: Conditioning
Resources: Zombies, Run!, TBD
This course aims to improve general physical fitness, using body-weight exercises, martial arts training, and cardio (walking) regimens.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Complete 75 minutes of karate training per week
- Walk 5 km, 2-3 times per week
- Complete a set of 20 push-ups without stopping
- Perform at least 1 chin-up
Science 101: Introductory Science Overview
Resources: Science from Superheroes to Global Warming course from Coursera, instructed by Michael Dennin; How Things Work 1 course from Coursera, instructed by Louis A. Bloomfield; Climate Literacy course from Coursera, instructed by Sarah Burch and Sara Harris; Useful Genetics course from Coursera, instructed by Rosemary Redfield; TechniCity course from Coursera, instructed by Jennifer Evans-Cowley and Tom Sanchez
This overview course will discuss basic science in a variety of fields, with an aim of improving science literacy and critical thinking on many topics of current interest.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Speak knowledgeably about current scientific issues
- Identify pseudo-science and bunk science
Math 251: Introduction to Statistics
Resources: Statistics videos and exercises from Khan Academy
This course will give an overview of basic statistics, with an aim to better understand probability as it applies to the news and social sciences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Speak comfortably on basic statistical methods and calculations
- Identify faulty use of statistics in news articles
- Calculate the probability of various dice rolls and cheat believably in roleplaying games
Yeah, see what I did with that last one, there? Tied the whole thing together. 'Cause I'm just that good. (HA!)
In any case, if I had all the time in the world, that's what I'd do this year. As it is, I'll try to do as many of them as possible. At least I know I'll always have something to do if I'm bored.