Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Reflection:

Confidence is that feeling of certainty that something is going to happen. Some people have lots of confidence, while some have seemingly little. We tend to base our confidence on our capability, understanding, or right living. Many times, we approach God with that kind of confidence. But will that kind of prayer be accepted? We are to approach God humbly (because He is God) and we are to approach God based on confidence in Jesus Christ. He is our high priest who prays for us. He has experienced human weakness and understands what we are going through; however, the major difference being that He did not sin in that weakness. Jesus is the only true confidence, so let’s rely on Him!

Responding to the Transmission:

What are we hoping for as we pray? Let us realize that what we need is mercy for ourselves and grace to help us in our time of need. As we are thinking about different topics we pray for, let us pray for mercy (not treating us as our sins deserve) and grace (undeserved favor). And let us place our confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ, holding firmly to the faith that we profess.

UMBC is a host for the 2012 Global Game Jam which takes place this coming weekend, January 27-29. This is a 48 hour event, where teams from around the world work to develop a complete game over one weekend. The first year had 54 sites in 23 countries. The second year had 124 sites in 34 countries. Last year was up to 169 sites. The UMBC site is open to participants at all skill levels and affiliations. Thanks to generous sponsorship by Next Century, there's no registration fee and food will be provided all weekend. However, you DO need to sign up in advance, just log into globalgamejam.org and select UMBC as your site.

The jam will start at 3:00pm on Friday, January 27th in the UMBC GAIM lab, room 005 in the ECS building with presentations by Microsoft about developing for the Windows Phone.  There will be some spiffy giveaways at the end of the weekend for teams that choose make a Windows Phone game.  The main event starts at 5:00pm with video keynote talks by Will Wright, Baiyon, Gonzalo Frasca, Brenda Garno Brathwaite and John Romero.  After these presentations, the theme for this year’s games will be announced, and participants will brainstorm game ideas and form into teams. For the rest of the weekend, each team will work to build a brand new computer game around the theme. At 3:00pm on Sunday, the final games must be uploaded and from 3-5, the group will review what was accomplished over the weekend.

For more information on the jam and how to participate, see the UMBC GAIM site.

Classes at universities in Maryland begin in a few days. Over the past few weeks, there have been questions concerning what can be done to adequately prepare for a new semester of graduate courses.  Part of the answer is in the question itself:  one must “prepare” for the new semester before classes begin.  There are several things that can be done to prepare.  Here are a few suggestions:

1) Remind yourself that you really want this degree.  Think about your career goals. Review job opportunities in the field of your choice so that you’ll know what kinds of credentials you’re working toward.

2) Get your house in order.  Move close to campus, plan your travel times and routes, think about how life at home will run while you’re in school. If you have a family, make a plan for quality time, pick-up times for children, and other items like sharing duties with other family members or friends. If you work while attending school, plan ahead so that you have solid times for work responsibilities, travel between work and school, time in class, and study time.

 
3)  Have a plan for strong performance.  For example, you can re-read the Guaranteed 4.0 book (also available on Amazon) which discusses re-writing notes, talking with professors, and reading chapters before class. During the PROMISE Summer Success Institute, we provided a free copy of this book to all new students. If you have another system, review that system and plan to follow the tips.  Identify what you did correctly last semester and where you might have fallen short according to that plan. Once you identify gaps are, address how you will make changes for the upcoming semester.

 
4) Prepare all of your materials in advance.   Get copies of all of the syllabi. Even if the syllabi online are from previous semesters, they will give you an idea of the load and expectations for the course.  Get all of your books. These days, with Amazon, you can get almost any book without having to wait for materials to be available in the bookstores.

5) Make outlines and timelines. Include a timeline for your classes and study times.  In your timeline, include time for professors’ office hours. Think about the times that you can make yourself available for study groups.  Some courses may require projects and you may need to be flexible. Think, in advance, about your flexible times. Begin an outline for each course now, before the start of class.  Make a list of the concepts that you need to learn by the end of the course, and begin to familiarize yourself with some of the terms and concepts.

This is a short list, and you may have other things that you like to do to prepare. We don’t want students to go into class with a notebook and simply wait for the professor to provide all of the information. That method may have worked throughout undergraduate studies, but in graduate school, one must be a proactive learner. In graduate school, the professor will introduce the concept and will present the material, but you will be expected to analyze and synthesize information outside of the classroom. Employ whatever method works for you. Prepare, be productive, and be consistent throughout the semester.  Good luck and have a great year!

__________________________________________________________

The text content of this post was compiled and written by the staff of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP

and may not be copied without referencing the PROMISE organization, as “PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP”.

PROMISE AGEP Online Information by PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Classes at universities in Maryland begin in a few days. Over the past few weeks, there have been questions concerning what can be done to adequately prepare for a new semester of graduate courses.  Part of the answer is in the question itself:  one must “prepare” for the new semester before classes begin.  There are several things that can be done to prepare.  Here are a few suggestions:

1) Remind yourself that you really want this degree.  Think about your career goals. Review job opportunities in the field of your choice so that you’ll know what kinds of credentials you’re working toward.

2) Get your house in order.  Move close to campus, plan your travel times and routes, think about how life at home will run while you’re in school. If you have a family, make a plan for quality time, pick-up times for children, and other items like sharing duties with other family members or friends. If you work while attending school, plan ahead so that you have solid times for work responsibilities, travel between work and school, time in class, and study time.

 
3)  Have a plan for strong performance.  For example, you can re-read the Guaranteed 4.0 book (also available on Amazon) which discusses re-writing notes, talking with professors, and reading chapters before class. During the PROMISE Summer Success Institute, we provided a free copy of this book to all new students. If you have another system, review that system and plan to follow the tips.  Identify what you did correctly last semester and where you might have fallen short according to that plan. Once you identify gaps are, address how you will make changes for the upcoming semester.

 
4) Prepare all of your materials in advance.   Get copies of all of the syllabi. Even if the syllabi online are from previous semesters, they will give you an idea of the load and expectations for the course.  Get all of your books. These days, with Amazon, you can get almost any book without having to wait for materials to be available in the bookstores.

5) Make outlines and timelines. Include a timeline for your classes and study times.  In your timeline, include time for professors’ office hours. Think about the times that you can make yourself available for study groups.  Some courses may require projects and you may need to be flexible. Think, in advance, about your flexible times. Begin an outline for each course now, before the start of class.  Make a list of the concepts that you need to learn by the end of the course, and begin to familiarize yourself with some of the terms and concepts.

This is a short list, and you may have other things that you like to do to prepare. We don’t want students to go into class with a notebook and simply wait for the professor to provide all of the information. That method may have worked throughout undergraduate studies, but in graduate school, one must be a proactive learner. In graduate school, the professor will introduce the concept and will present the material, but you will be expected to analyze and synthesize information outside of the classroom. Employ whatever method works for you. Prepare, be productive, and be consistent throughout the semester.  Good luck and have a great year!

__________________________________________________________

The text content of this post was compiled and written by the staff of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP

and may not be copied without referencing the PROMISE organization, as “PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP”.

PROMISE AGEP Online Information by PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.