Free tuition
Wong
February 15, 2020
There is a Chinese proverb that says “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” But not everyone can access this treasure because of the high price tag that comes with learning. Free tuition is good because it would reduce financial stress for students and allow for more opportunities for people to get an education.
According to Statistics Canada, the average annual tuition in 2018/2019 for undergraduate students is $6838, and for graduate programs it is $7086. Not having the ability to pay for tuition takes away education opportunities for lower-income people, and can also lead to students dropping out because they can’t afford to finish school. The Ontario Student Assistance Program reports that it takes about nine and a half years for new graduates to repay their loans. The financial burden of repaying students loans on top of living expenses for new grads with only a starter salary can be difficult.
“I worry about the money I owe today because it's overwhelming. I'm in my mid-20s, and I want to think about having a house, having a steady income, a steady lifestyle. And I feel like that's still very far off for me,” says Lauren Paulson, student at Algonquin College. “When I sit down and think about what's going to happen in the future, I don't have anything mapped out. And I think that's because of how much debt I have.”
If tuition was free, graduates would not have to worry about student debt when making decisions on things such as marriage, buying a house or starting a family. They would be financially stable earlier in life and therefore be able to contribute to the economy earlier. Graduates would also be able to volunteer or travel more to broaden their experiences and knowledge instead of making employment choices that would help them best repay their loans.
“There are a lot of ventures I want to take on to broaden my CV, to gain experience to show future employers,” says Troy Curtis, student at Carleton University. “But it's difficult to do that when I have to spend most of my day-to-day life, figuring out how I can pay for rent, for food and for tuition payments.”
Tuition-free post-secondary would also allow more people to receive an education and it would also allow for students to study in different areas that interest them. With a well-educated population, employers are less likely to hire someone from overseas, which leads to a lower unemployment rate.
Education becomes an asset that one can use in life, but not everyone can afford it. If tuition was free, more people would be able to get an education without having to worry about student debt. Graduates could contribute to the economy more, and it would lower unemployment rate because employers can hire more local people.
Reference
Tuition fees for degree programs, 2018/2019
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/180905/dq180905b-eng.htm
Students graduating with debt say recent budget changes amount to ‘a tiny band-aid’ on a ‘gushing wound’
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/gen-y-money/article-recent-federal-budget-will-help-indebted-students-but-experts-say-its/
How 5 Ottawans are dealing with crushing student debt
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/university-student-debt-photo-essay-1.4305589
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Analyzing a blog
Reading is fundamental
Wong
Jan 14, 2020
The audience for this blog post would be people in their teens to mid thirties, with at least a high school level of education. The post is written in a way that is easy to understand and most online users that leave comments would be in that age group. People with an occupation that creates written online content may be interested in this post as it shares information on what most online users do when visiting a web page.
Jeff Atwood introduces the blog post by showing a picture of what information most discussions have beside a person's username, and how this will encourage users to post more because they can control the post count to make it bigger.
Atwood's main argument is that people need to spend less time talking and more time listening. He says that too much talking has a negative effect on the value of the conversation because no one is listening, they are just waiting for their turn to talk.
He cites two pieces of research to support his argument. The first is the Ars Banana Experiment. In this experiment, there was an article about how guns at home are more likely to be used stupidly rather than for self defense. Partway through the article, it asked people to mention “bananas” in their comment. It wasn’t until on page 3, the 93rd comment, that someone mentioned bananas. This shows that most people did not read the article completely before leaving a comment. The second is the Slate Experiment, which shares collected analytic data based on real usage, shows that most people won't read the entire article before leaving a comment. The data shows that most visitors only read about 50% of the article. Both of the cited research pieces show that most people are more eager to talk than to listen.
Atwood says that there is too much talking, and that we need to encourage listening. Some of his proposed solutions are to remove interruptions to reading, measure and display read times, give rewards for reading and update in real time. He says the main interruption to change is pagination as it is a barrier to reading and updating conversations in real time allows people to read conversations as if they are engaged in a live conversation. Measuring and displaying read times and giving rewards for reading times lets other readers know which users actually took the time to read the article before leaving a comment.
Wong
Jan 14, 2020
The audience for this blog post would be people in their teens to mid thirties, with at least a high school level of education. The post is written in a way that is easy to understand and most online users that leave comments would be in that age group. People with an occupation that creates written online content may be interested in this post as it shares information on what most online users do when visiting a web page.
Jeff Atwood introduces the blog post by showing a picture of what information most discussions have beside a person's username, and how this will encourage users to post more because they can control the post count to make it bigger.
Atwood's main argument is that people need to spend less time talking and more time listening. He says that too much talking has a negative effect on the value of the conversation because no one is listening, they are just waiting for their turn to talk.
He cites two pieces of research to support his argument. The first is the Ars Banana Experiment. In this experiment, there was an article about how guns at home are more likely to be used stupidly rather than for self defense. Partway through the article, it asked people to mention “bananas” in their comment. It wasn’t until on page 3, the 93rd comment, that someone mentioned bananas. This shows that most people did not read the article completely before leaving a comment. The second is the Slate Experiment, which shares collected analytic data based on real usage, shows that most people won't read the entire article before leaving a comment. The data shows that most visitors only read about 50% of the article. Both of the cited research pieces show that most people are more eager to talk than to listen.
Atwood says that there is too much talking, and that we need to encourage listening. Some of his proposed solutions are to remove interruptions to reading, measure and display read times, give rewards for reading and update in real time. He says the main interruption to change is pagination as it is a barrier to reading and updating conversations in real time allows people to read conversations as if they are engaged in a live conversation. Measuring and displaying read times and giving rewards for reading times lets other readers know which users actually took the time to read the article before leaving a comment.
Palliser Presentation
Palliser Presentation
Wong
February 6, 2020 2:45pm
“If there’s an angle we try to apply to everything we talk about, for sure it's ‘We’re from here, we get it!’ “ says Chris Palliser, co-host of the morning show at Virgin Radio 107.3. He says that the hosts try to add their own personality and life experiences to whatever topic they are talking about. “100% we want to be local.”
Palliser started his radio journey at Camosun College, where he originally studied history. “I had a great history PE teacher at Mount Douglas. So I took a few history classes at Camosun.” But he admits that his outgoing personality and love of talking has gotten him in trouble.
“I think I'm the only Camosun student ever to get a detention for talking,” says Palliser. “Then I was walking and I saw a pamphlet for the Applied Communications Program, and I remember it said ‘You can talk on the radio for one shift a month’ and thought I want to do that.”
After graduating, Palliser left for broadcasting opportunities in Fort McMurray, Edmonton, and Vancouver before finally returning home to Victoria after the birth of his two daughters. “I said if any opportunities come in Victoria, I’d love to get home and raise my daughters with my wife in Victoria. An opportunity came up just over a year ago, and I got to be a co-host with Brittany at Virgin Radio.”
To prepare for his morning shows, Palliser frequently brainstorms with his partner Brittany, who is also from Victoria. They try to put a local twist on their topics to be different and stand out from other radio stations in Victoria.
When writing topics, he says that he writes how he speaks. He hopes that the show can be more like a conversation with its listeners. Palliser says that they would start the show on a topic and try to get people to call in so that they can connect with their listeners. “When you’re driving it’s not just us talking to each other. You hear another voice and think oh there’s a conversation happening.”
With a company that always tells them to keep topics with a local focus, and hosts that like to keep the conversations casual and connecting with their listeners, Virgin Radio will be sure to appeal to many people in Victoria.
Wong
February 6, 2020 2:45pm
“If there’s an angle we try to apply to everything we talk about, for sure it's ‘We’re from here, we get it!’ “ says Chris Palliser, co-host of the morning show at Virgin Radio 107.3. He says that the hosts try to add their own personality and life experiences to whatever topic they are talking about. “100% we want to be local.”
Palliser started his radio journey at Camosun College, where he originally studied history. “I had a great history PE teacher at Mount Douglas. So I took a few history classes at Camosun.” But he admits that his outgoing personality and love of talking has gotten him in trouble.
“I think I'm the only Camosun student ever to get a detention for talking,” says Palliser. “Then I was walking and I saw a pamphlet for the Applied Communications Program, and I remember it said ‘You can talk on the radio for one shift a month’ and thought I want to do that.”
After graduating, Palliser left for broadcasting opportunities in Fort McMurray, Edmonton, and Vancouver before finally returning home to Victoria after the birth of his two daughters. “I said if any opportunities come in Victoria, I’d love to get home and raise my daughters with my wife in Victoria. An opportunity came up just over a year ago, and I got to be a co-host with Brittany at Virgin Radio.”
To prepare for his morning shows, Palliser frequently brainstorms with his partner Brittany, who is also from Victoria. They try to put a local twist on their topics to be different and stand out from other radio stations in Victoria.
When writing topics, he says that he writes how he speaks. He hopes that the show can be more like a conversation with its listeners. Palliser says that they would start the show on a topic and try to get people to call in so that they can connect with their listeners. “When you’re driving it’s not just us talking to each other. You hear another voice and think oh there’s a conversation happening.”
With a company that always tells them to keep topics with a local focus, and hosts that like to keep the conversations casual and connecting with their listeners, Virgin Radio will be sure to appeal to many people in Victoria.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
News release assignment
NEWS RELEASE
For release January 16, 2020, 8:00 am
National Widget Company re-hires 200 employees across Canada
National Widget Company announces today that they will be re-hiring all 200 previously laid off employees across Canada. This re-hiring will include the 50 employees in Victoria's head office and main plant.
“We have sent recall notices to all employees who were laid off in June," says National Widget Company President Andrew Bryce. "As a family-owned company, it was heartbreaking to lay off so many loyal people so we are thrilled to be offering employment to people we consider part of the family.”
NWC's widgets sales had been steadily increasing over the last few months. In addition to the traditional markets for widgets in the Middle East and in the oil business, NWC has found new markets by incorporating widgets into residential construction. The company has also reached out to China with their widgets, making them the first company in the world to make a deal with the Chinese.
“The increase in sales has been unprecedented. We think this opportunity opens up enormous markets which will last for years,” says Bryce.
-30-
For more information, contact Jo Bee at 555-123-4567
For release January 16, 2020, 8:00 am
National Widget Company re-hires 200 employees across Canada
National Widget Company announces today that they will be re-hiring all 200 previously laid off employees across Canada. This re-hiring will include the 50 employees in Victoria's head office and main plant.
“We have sent recall notices to all employees who were laid off in June," says National Widget Company President Andrew Bryce. "As a family-owned company, it was heartbreaking to lay off so many loyal people so we are thrilled to be offering employment to people we consider part of the family.”
NWC's widgets sales had been steadily increasing over the last few months. In addition to the traditional markets for widgets in the Middle East and in the oil business, NWC has found new markets by incorporating widgets into residential construction. The company has also reached out to China with their widgets, making them the first company in the world to make a deal with the Chinese.
“The increase in sales has been unprecedented. We think this opportunity opens up enormous markets which will last for years,” says Bryce.
-30-
For more information, contact Jo Bee at 555-123-4567
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