I love this. Making education more accessible is something that can help to create more jobs, new research, better living situations, etc. The cost of college is astronomical, there are brilliant minds out there in this country that do not have the ability to pay for college. With tuition costs rising and student loan availability declining, education is growing further out of reach for some populations

Easily one of the best parts of #IDSintro was not having to purchase a textbook. As students we are hung out to dry while trying to buy textbooks. We already pay so much money to the university for housing, tuition, parking passes, fees, etc. One would think text book prices wouldn't be absolutely through the roof. It's hard especially when you support yourself to afford all the textbooks that are required. Having more classes with open textbooks would allow students to have money for things such as groceries or a new pair of boots or a jacket....things that are essential while living in the mountains.

When I first started this class I was like "oh dear lord I hate technology, why do I have to have a Twitter Account, how in the world am I going to make my own website." Now that I am nearing the end of the semester I couldn't imagine NOT having those things. The way this program has been developed and the way Robin teaches is truly something that should be adopted by more teachers. Giving us more sovereignty over our education, allowing us to post articles in our own voices, building a PLN that provides viable information for future careers, all of these things have contributed to my love of learning and has allowed my passion for being a student to flourish. I feel as though I've had the opportunity to add to other students knowledge by writing in my own voice and publishing articles to my ePort that I think actually matter to the field I'll be joining after graduation.

Reading this makes me realize how hard I worked on my program at the beginning of the semester. It was my goal to have my program accepted on the first try, and I was going to do whatever it took to get it there. All the effort I put in did not go unnoticed. All three of my advisors (Robin, Dr. Levy & Dr. McCahan who all happen to be on the IDS council) were impressed with my essay ideas in the early stages of development. I was dead set on calling my program Sports Medicine and I did everything to prove to the council members it was an appropriate title. Having to put all this work and effort into making a program really makes you appreciate what kind of student you have become and how YOU are impacting YOUR education: as an older student it is important to me to have as much control over my education as possible. Being successful on my first try of getting my program approved strengthened my confidence as a student and also helped develop a deeper passion for the disciplines I included.

Enrolling in the IDS program was the smartest decision I have made in my five years of college. I spent one year out of school thinking every day about what I was going to do with my life, knowing two associates degrees were not going to get me very far. I knew about the IDS program from being a student here my freshman year in 2012, but I wasn't really sure what it was or how it worked. Upon discussions with my advisor we decided IDS was the best and fastest way to get me a bachelors degree. Without #PlymouthIDS I'm not sure I would have ever finished my education, which would have been a damn shame because I know how strong of a student I am and what an impact I'm going to make in my graduate degree program and my future career.

IDS here at PSU has let my own creativity and passions flourish by building my very own program. I am a transfer student that has always been very highly self motivated and passionate about learning. Combining all the courses I've taken between two institutions, and through various different majors to create a degree program that serves the purpose of getting me to the next step in my education: Graduate School. Not only does my program lay the foundation of knowledge to be successful in graduate school, it also satisfies all the prerequisite courses needed for the specific program I have chosen.

great articulation of how IDS can benefit individual disciplines

i love these sentences. this should be a wide spread idea. when there are gaps in knowledge, take things from other areas to fill the gaps.

its interesting when you really think about how many different projects are interdisciplinary and or multidisciplinary. Once we started learning more about it, its easy to see why people say that the world and life is interidisciplinary.

physics, engineering, communications, etc. great article about how simple it is to break every day life down into disciplines and show interdisciplinarity

i feel like most people may know this.... there is much behind the scenes work in almost every aspect of commercial businesses.

this could apply to anything. there are tons of details involved in just about everything we do that most people don't realize. making us really think, life is interdisciplinary

this is great. this student is like reading my mind or something. this piece was a great representation of what IDS is

thankfully this concept is not new to me. I have always been very in touch with my education and being an IDS major now is just helping that grow exponentially.

LOVE THIS. its so true. not every student has the ability to think so creatively to bring different disciplines together. it continues to expand our ability think creatively and abstractly making IDS majors well rounded students and more marketable overall.

I love this opening, i totally connect with the love of learning part. I have never enjoyed classes as much as this year after creating my own program

in some cases this could be true but in others it is not because some students may be using their IDS knowledge to take them to grad school where they will be focusing on one major discipline. But they will have the ability to draw on their knowledge from studying IDS for problem solving etc.

common language is helpful but not necessarily needed if those involved are well versed in their disciplines there are ways to communicate.

attitude is everything. ypu get out what you put into things and if you choose to put a bad attitude into something, you won't get anything good out of it

i agree whole heartedly with this. collaboration is so important, not only the ability to work with a team but to weave within disciplines is a skill that is needed for success in most settings.

my best decision in five years of college was to return to PSU as an interdisciplinary studies major. I honestly do not think I would have returned if my advisor hadn't put this idea in my head. the ability to have educational freedom before i head to grad school is rivaled by close to nothing. as an older student i know what i want from my classes and my education and I know how to get it and IDS has helped me accomplish that

your education is what YOU make it. no one can change that or take it away from you. If you want education to be about personal growth than you better make sure thats what you make it about.

ive heard this too many times in the past few years it hurts me to read it on a screen

i love this. some people think this is what college does. preps you for this imaginary goal career.

currently in my fifth year of education I can say the way I have approached learning has created a side of me that not many students will have the opportunity to develop. Changing majors so many times, transferring, and taking a year off completed focused my attention on how i was going to achieve what i needed to do and really developed a sense of myself and my learning style along with my ability to reason and critically think.

while this may be true it is quite simple to integrate ones self into the 'common core' of multiple disciplines included in ones personal education layout. Other than that there is opportunity for a strong development of a 'common core' amount IDS students regardless of what their programs entail.

really all students should get a chance to experience what interdisciplinarity is like. Its refreshing when I can say that I tailor made my bachelors degree to meet my needs in my future education. When you can take control of something like your education that your spending thousands of dolars on every year it changes your perspective on learning and its importance.

to me this concept is common sense. You cannot simply rely on one skill for pretty much anything. Just like when you were applying for colleges, they are looking for well rounded applicants. Involvement in sports, academic clubs, honor societies, volunteer projects etc increase your chances of being admitted to a school. Just like the knowledge you gain and can apply to real life situations makes you more appealing on the job market

considering the students are the ones paying for said education if they want to wander and finish with incomplete knowledge it should be their choice. professors and educators should be there to do just that, educate. Students should be their own guiding forces of knowledge especially in higher education after twelve years of very rigidly guided academics.

crazy to think that wanting to take students interests into account was considered radical

i feel as though i didn't see this much in my high school. We had a lot of teachers that taught multiple subjects for instance my favorite teacher taught US history, ecociv and psychology.

it seems as though it is harder to solve in an interdisciplinary approach because ideas have to come together and create something entirely new

calling specialists 'narrow-minded' isnt really fair in my book. They may not be narrow minded they may have just developed a strong passion for the discipline or sub discipline they have chosen.

interdisciplinarity should be a requirement at some point of higher education. A student cannot be successful with a pure disciplinary approach any longer

it basically feels like unless you have found a trade a college education is a necessity in todays society. i feel as though it is starting to lean more towards needing a master degree rather than a bahelors for a lot of careers which put more pressure on students to figure out how they will pay for their thousands of dollars worth of education.

why technology based classes are on the rise and integrated into general education requirements at most universities.

interesting that academics are based on what society feels is important instead of what students feel is important.

worries me slightly that my peers may not know what a discipline is, that's a troubling thought

I had no idea online learning evolved from such a simple concept of mailing books and materials around the country and radio/tv broadcasts very fascinating.

I love the idea that even in the past there was a craving for knowledge among the intellectual population.

the oldest operating degree granting institution was founded by a woman!?!?!? would ya look at that; thats fricken awesome!

love this! makes sense, do not have to be the master of something to have a lot of knowledge about it, i feel it is more important to know a lot of things about a lot of things rather than know everything about one thing.

i love this, its true when an interdisciplinary approach is used you can dip into the most interesting facets of each discipline.

love this!

puts into perspective how much more informed and knowledgeable an interdisciplinary approach to research can be.

understanding that most topics include many, many different disciplines and theories and parts is a huge part of interdisciplinary work.

this quote relates to what I want to bring to my career. As an athletic trainer I want to focus not only on the physical health of athletes but also the mental health of athletes. Not that this is a forgotten idea but it is extremely important.

the implication that those who are open to interdisciplinary work are great thinkers is cool, because its right. We definitely learned that in class trying to put together out programs.

its like when youre too close to the situation you can't see the simple answer, a fresh pair of eyes, or an outsider, can see things more clearly and help find the solution with ease

i like how he refers to people changing disciplines as immigrants.

GREAT QUOTE

i feel as though in a lot of IDS programs the disciplines we bring together aren't always completely unrelated.

within specialization there should be knowledge across the entirety of the subject with all subdivisions included.

culminating the why how and what of a discipline is the first step to understanding the type of work that will be done. without understanding these concepts and how they relate there is no way to be successful.

in some ways every problem we come across could fit into these different categories.

being taught from a young age to break down complex problems into smaller more solvable ones has given me the upper hand in understanding how different disciplines can be applied to one issue.

this is why I feel I have constructed a strong interdisciplinary program, even the title 'Sports Medicine' is an umbrella term that encompasses many disciplines and professions all working together to solve problems and gather knowledge.

Shaylah Kelly described interdisciplinary work to me like this a few weeks ago and it honestly made so much more sense and helped me build my contract with ease.

it is true that the entire US education system needs to be re evaluated. We need the focus to shift from general education all through secondary school to letting students find their passions before reaching college.

I do not agree with this statement because it is not just in four years where students take in all this information. Since the beginning of our educations in elementary school we have been building a foundation of knowledge by the time we reach college, most of those topics should have already been discussed in length. Therefore it would be up to the students to stay on top of these things that are going on in the world around them, not just simply informing themselves.

this is exactly why as a student I am so on the fence about technology in the classroom. While it has obvious benefits, it is not an end all be all.

Just like in sports, specialization can be detrimental. to be successful in any career, or life in general knowledge must be well rounded.

overlapping of disciplines is easily one of the most important ways to gain the knowledge you need to be successful in your professional life. Knowledge is power and the more knowledge you have that isn't specific to your field, the better in my opinion.

This is the most fantastic sentence about higher education I've ever read. I feel as though because of the path of my education I find this to be exceptionally true. Curriculums in higher education need to be revamped across the board to ensure students are getting the most out of the education they are paying so much money for.

i'm hoping intro to IDS will give me a little bit of insight into this statement... it's an interesting concept wondering if we're on the right track in this course.

This is why I'm sort of confused with universities and colleges pushing for students to have their own domains when the assignments are going to be the same old same old. Whats the point in going through 17 steps to build my own eport when the discussion assignments and posts would be the exact same in a place like moodle

it should be up to the student if they so choose to be fluid in this digital medium. giving students a voice in their education should be in the forefront of every conversation about education.

This sounds like a great idea but just me personally if I was forced to learn things about servers and processors that I've never heard of or never plan to use ever again that would make me frustrated and annoyed.

I firmly believe higher education still isn't at this point where its pushing students to create their own space to show their work. everything is done on internal university systems and all of our best work is lost in discussion posts and other garbage assignments. While I'm definitely more of a hands on type of student and would prefer not being forced to do everything online there are lost of students pushing for more ability to work in the open net

when I was in high school we just started getting 'smart boards' in some of our classrooms and not only were our teachers embarrassed that they hadn't had the proper training on how to use them, we as students were also embarrassed because we technologically savvy students couldn't figure them out

PREACH this is such a great point! I've had a facebook since 2009 and not once has anyone said 'hey even if your profile is completely private they can still use your information for x, y, and z'

if they're so concerned about what students are putting online why is there such a push to gravitate towards more and more online learning and posting. academic work that students do should belong to that student, social media and academic web domains and sights shouldn't be closely related at all. Social media to me is for sharing things with friends. web domains and e portfolios are for scholarly work. period end of story

something like this wouldn't be referring to an academic platform. it is generally implied that what you put on the internet is there forever so why should students in this day and age have to be cautioned about something that seems like common knowledge to me.

Personally, this is one of the best concepts I've ever seen. While again I prefer an old fashion style of learning...taking notes on paper, printing out essays and handing them in, seeing teacher corrections in red ink.....the internet is an integral part of this generations learning style. The ability to access your own scholarly work is something that I'm sure students want and definitely need especially those moving on to higher education such as Master's degrees and PhD's

While I am not a huge fan of technology as a fifth year college student, I know the value of creating a space for students to express themselves, scholarly, professionally and personally. It's nice to see that students out there got out and did something that is changing education for the rest of us.