• abolition movement
• William lloyd garrison
• Frederick Douglas
• Women's movement
• Declaration of sentiments
• The effects of the early industrial revolution and factory conditions
• Manifest destiny
• James Polk
• Mexican American war
• Uncle Tom's Cabin
• Harriet Tubman
• Wilmot proviso
• Secession
• Compromise of 1850
• Henry Clay
• Daniel Webster
• John C. Calhoun
• Stephen Douglass
• Kansas-Nebraska Act
• Popular Sovereignty
• Bleeding Kansas
• John Brown
• Whig Party
• Republican party
• Underground Railroad
• Lincoln-Douglass debates
• Dred Scott Decision
• Slave states not joining the confederacy
• Election of 1860
• Abraham Lincoln
• Causes of the civil war
• Anaconda Plan
• Sherman's march to the sea
• Advantages of each side in the civil war
• Emancipation Proclamation
• Lincoln's play for reconstruction
• problems faced with reconstruction
• Carpetbaggers
• scalawags
• Andrew Johnson's impeachment
• 13th,14th,15th amendments
• Reconstruction act of 1867
• Civil rights act of 1866
• compare & contrast Sharecropping/tenant farming
• KuKluxKlan
• Goals of radical republicans
• Timeline of events in indian relations
• lifestyle of plains indians
• exodusters
• Wounded Knee
• Homestead Act
• McCormick Reaper
• Transcontinental Railroads
• Custer's last stand
• Dawes Act
• Influence of vaquero's on cowboys
• Morril act
• populism

• What does Paul's conversion have to teach me about how power is perfected through my weaknesses?
• How does his experience as an apostle of Christ teach me about responding to my own vocation in life?
• How might I apply St. Paul's bold and creative approach to challenging today's cultural and social status quo?
• In what ways might I imitate his care and concern for the world?

Whether you use this guide for personal study, interactive journaling, or study with a group, you will find its format concise and easy to follow. Self-assessment charts invite you to test your knowledge of biblical passages, helping you retain what you learn.

Enjoy!

Today I'd like to introduce some small group resources that I think break the mould. There are others, of course: these are simply a few that stand out and have been featured in the Small Group Resources  pages of the UKCBD Reviews Section. The first two series have links with London School of Theology (LST), and I make no apology for that: LST is far more than an educational institution for its own students, it's a resource centre for the entire church. I invite you to consider these, just some of the resources that have emerged from LST in recent years... and to post your own suggestions below.

Scripture Union's Deeper Encounter Study Series — written by John Wilks, Director of Open Learning at LST — was launched with the four volumes shown on the right in 2006. Each volume includes an audio CD and photocopiable worksheets. Originally priced at £12.99 per volume, the price has now dropped to a much more affordable £4.99.

Dianne Tidball — at the time of writing her review minister at North Bushey Free Church but now a Regional Minister for the East Midlands Baptist Association — commented:

John Wilks is stimulating and provocative and yet there is a pastoral concern to build people up and encourage them even when the teaching of the Bible is demanding and makes us only too aware of our weaknesses. There is a breadth to the illustrations used – from classical music and literary allusions to Star Trek and other films.

Next up I'd like to highlight the Christian Life &... Series, a DVD/Video series produced by LST's own Productions Department, LBC Productions. The first title, Christian Life & Work, was produced some years ago but is still in demand and widely appreciated for its insights into what it means to be a Christian in the workplace. Normally priced at £25, it's now featured in Scripture Union's 'Church Resources 2008' catalogue at £20.

Clem Jackson reviewed Christian Life & Why It Makes Sense in Christian Marketplace magazine last year, describing it as "One of the best teaching/training resources for ordinary church members I've seen."

Other titles include Christian Life & the Bible and Christian Life & Global Mission: all have been well received — follow the links through for more information, reviews and video excerpts.

For any groups wanting to move to a level beyond Bible studies I'd wholeheartedly recommend the Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton series. The aim of the series is to lead participants "on a journey toward personal spiritual transformation and a more contemplative and peace-filled life" and I dare say that anyone taking the plunge will indeed find that transformation taking place. I reviewed the first volume, Entering the School of Your Experience last year:

In a marketplace flooded with Bible study materials, this series stands out as a radical alternative, a much-needed and valuable opportunity to focus on spiritual formation — not, it must be said, in any disconnected sense of spirituality but firmly rooted in reality. Merton's writings, we're told, "take people into deep places within themselves and offer insights into the paradoxes of life. They wrestle with how to be contemplative in a world of action" (p.8).

This is by no means a comprehensive round-up: as I said earlier, please do feel free to post your own ideas and suggestions below...

In a slightly hidden section on the PartnerSource website are links to download the Student Manuals for the CRM 4.0 certification exams. Obviously they don't give any questions away, but they do provide good guidelines on what to expect. Unfortunately, you will need a PartnerSource login to access these links.

Good luck on your exam!

Links to the downloads in PartnerSource (login required)

• MB2-632: Applications in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - Student Manual (PDF, 2.3MB)
  
• MB2-631: Customization and Configuration for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Exam - Student Manual (PDF, 7.3MB)
  
• MB2-633: Installation and Deployment for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Exam - Student Manual (PDF, 3.6MB)
  

So has anyone used this website before? What do you think? The commercials are a bit strange, but that makes it free. I wonder if the commercials fit the book (like clothing commercials with The Scarlett Letter).

Luckily, there are several reputable study guides available online for the texts you will likely encounter in school.  This lesson will help you investigate them, and show you some of their benefits, as well as some of the negative aspects of study guides.

Some key benefits of online study guides:

• They're generally pretty accurate.  When SparkNotes first began publishing in the late 1990s, the company employed freelance writers and college students to write their guides.  There were mistakes in some of their guides, which at the time I exploited.  I taught a lesson several times where we as a class "corrected" a section of one of the notes.  However, since then the guides have been revised numerous times, and obvious mistakes such as this are pretty much a thing of the past.
• They're available when you want them.  If you have a question about something in a book, you can't always ask a friend.  But you can generally get a basic answer in a guide like SparkNotes.
• They summarize the important points.  If you're reviewing in preparation for a test or a major exam, you may not have time to review the full text.
• They go into more detail, providing context that is sometimes necessary to understand a major text.

However, relying too heavily on study guides alone will inevitably get you into trouble.  For example, read the following excerpt from SparkNotes' summary of Chapter 20 of Great Expectations:

Jaggers takes Pip to London, where the country boy is amazed and displeased by the stench and the thronging crowds in such areas as Smithfield. Jaggers seems to be an important and powerful man: hordes of people wait outside his office, muttering his name among themselves. Pip meets Jaggers’s cynical, wry clerk, Wemmick. (Link)

This is all Spark Notes gives you of Pip's first impression of London.  It's a good summary.  It serves its purpose.  But it lacks the rich detail of the character descriptions Dickens gives the reader.  If you're asked to provide a specific example of the type of person waiting for Jaggers, you're done for.  Plus you miss the humor of this scene.

Your assignment: Take a few minutes to browse one or both of the following sites.  Then answer the following questions in the "Leave a Reply" section below.  Your comments will be sent to me, but not displayed.

Spoiler Alert: In going through these sites, it's possible you may encounter information about the book you didn't want to know -- such as what happens to a character in the end of the book.  In particular, you're likely to find this sort of information when reading the "Character Analysis" sections.  Browse with a careful eye.  If you truly don't want to encounter any information that might "spoil" the ending, this section of the Spark Note on Great Expectations discusses Chapters 20-26 without ruining any of the surprises.

Link to Spark Notes

Link to Cliffs Notes

Questions

1. Identify one thing you learned or understand more clearly about Great Expectations from reviewing the study guides that you didn't know before.  Be sure to note where you got your information.
2. In your opinion, was this activity a good idea or not?  Explain.

One thing that I understand more clearly about Great Expectations is the scene when Wemmick takes Pip back to his “castle” for dinner. I had a hard time understanding what was going on, and how to picture everything that was happening. After I checked out Spark Notes, it became much clearer to me.

The analysis of Pip’s first impressions of his aquantinces in London, helped me understand the contrast of his new and old lifestyle. Jaggers is the most powerful man he’s ever met, Herbert has knowledge of how to be a gentleman, and Bentley Drummle is an oaf.

By reviewing the study guide I learned that in Great Expectations the characters contrast each other in not so obvious ways. For example, Herbert is the contrast to Mr. Jaggers( a foil character). Herbert’s open personality towards Pip makes the relationship between Mr. Jaggers and Pip seem even more closed in and secretive.

Everyone seemed to like the activity as well.  This is a representative comment:

In my opinion this activity was a good idea because it showed us a different side to learning. Instead of learning from the book and sitting in class, we got a change.

Hopefully we'll be able to do more things like this in the near future.

With the way work has been going, I haven't had as much time to study at work, and I don't have the office space/time to study at home.  I live in a small apartment, and my rack is sitting in my living room.  I may need to bit the bullet and pay for the power consumption to leave the rack running at night.  I can stay an extra hour or so at work after hours to study quietly and access the rack from work.

Either way, I AM going to go for the NP.  I'm spending the next week or so going back through my written notes, watching videos again, and reading chapters in the BSCI book over the next week or so.  I bought the BSCI Lab Portfolio a month or so ago, so I'll spend the next week going through those labs at night.

The physical topology for the bulk of the labs has four routers and one switch.

These are the routers and switch that I've added to the mix.  At some point, I know the lab guide will add the frame switch and possibly another router.  I need to pick up a few extra WIC-1T cards soon.

I made it through the first few EIGRP labs, tonight.  The objectives were pretty basic...

1.  Configure EIGRP on an interface.  simple

r1# configure terminal

r1(config)# int eth fa 0/0

r1(config-if)# ip addr 10.1.100.1 255.255.255.0

r1(config-if)# router eigrp 1

r1(config-router)# network 10.0.0.0

2.  Configure the bandwidth command to limit EIGRP bandwidth

r1(config-if)# bandwidth 64 ! bandwidth in kbps

3.  Verify EIGRP adjacencies

r1# show ip eigrp neighbors

or the alternative and more verbose

r1# show ip eigrp neighbors detail

4.  Utilize debugging commands for troubleshooting EIGRP

r1#  debug eigrp packets ! don't forget to issue no debug all afterwords.

5.  Challenge:  test convergence for EIGRP when a topology change occurs.

This one was kinda weird.  The preferred path from R3 to a loopback on R1 is going to be via fast ethernet.  The lab has you ping from R3 to lo 3 on R1 with 100,000 pings(this is done using the ping $ip repeat 100000 command).  During these pings, you are to kill R1's FA interface.  We haven't modified the variance in EIGRP, and the AD through R2's serial interface to R1 is more than the FD to lo 3, so the route doesn't exist in the topology table.

When we killed FA 0/0 on R1, we obviously lost six pings while EIGRP discovered the new route through R2.  What confused me, was when I brought FA 0/0 back up on R1, we lost 33 or 34 pings while while the route through R1's FA port came back up.

I'll make it through the remaining EIGRP labs tomorrow night, and hopefully I'll get through the OSPF labs.  I know there is going to be some slight re-cabling to bring the frame switch back into the mix.  I just hope I have enough WIC-1T interfaces to cover the physical topology change.

I've seen both terms used. When I renewed my CCNA in 2006, I had a CCSI tell me specifically that is was VLAN TRUNK protocol. He emphasized that point a few times.

As I've started working through the BCMSN study materials and the CCIE Routing and Switching Exam Cert Guide, I'm seeing VLAN TRUNKING protocol. So which is it?

Here are two links with an argument for either side...

"Trunk"

"Trunking"

I started this blog after reading CCIE Pursuit, Ethan Banks, Bit Bucket, and a few other blogs on a regular basis.  It was cool to see the progress these candidates were making, and to see some of the technical information they provide in their blogs.  I don't think my friends list on my personal journal at livejournal.com are really interested in my trials and tribulations on this journey, and I figured I would get more feedback and comments by taking this route.

Shortly after staring this blog, Alex and Scott Skinger from Trainsignal contacted me and asked if I would be interested in checking out some of their training materials for the CCNA/NP exams.  I don't know if I'm the best candidate to be reviewing these materials, but since I'm really just getting started on my path, it seemed like a really good idea.  As it turns out, I've learned a lot from the BSCI materials already.

Below is my review of the Trainsignal BSCI VBT training materials:

This was my first experience with any video/computer based training.  For previous certifications, including the CCNA in 2006 I have primarily relied on book study and lab time.  In 2001, I spent a year and a half in network academy, but that's a long time to work towards a cert.  I've now watched the BSCI videos twice, and I've come to find that I really enjoy the VBT/CBT and I will continue using this type of training material to prepare for exams in the future.

Prior to receiving the videos, I used the "Authorized Self Study Guide" and the "Official Exam Certification Guide" from Cisco Press.  Both were written for the current 901 exam.  I found both to be lacking in areas and key concepts, and the end of chapter labs were lacking.  They don't provide enough configuration examples for users to gain true understanding of the topics.  

A few of key improvements with the VBT, has been my ability to take notes without having to stop mid paragraph to write.  I can continue to listen and look up as a lecture progresses.  Chris Bryant also brings up his racks and works through configurations in various topologies throughout.  This goes an extra mile in helping to solidify what we are learning.  I have definitely had a much easier time retaining information since watching the videos.

The videos also went into greater depth on BGP, IPv6, Multicast, and other routing concepts.  IPv6 was the death of my first attempt at BSCI in February.  I got nailed on questions that I hadn't seen information on prior.  Chris made sure to cover everything I had missed and made sure to point out specifics that could be tested. 

In closing, I feel that these videos would be a tremendous asset to ANYONE preparing for the CCNA/CCNP exams.  Chris Bryant knows the material inside and out, and does a tremendous job of teaching the material.  He relays real world experience and covers commands that, while maybe not relevant to the CCNP, are beneficial in the wild.  I have learned a lot from this series, and I feel that I am a better engineer in the last two months because of it. 

If anyone has anything to add or has any questions, feel free to leave me any comments.

I think I may have a week to sit back and recover from all of the stuff we've been doing at work.  Consider this the calm before the rest of the storm.  We're cutting over our corporate campus (including new gear AND IP addressing) the first weekend of June.  There is a ton of prep work that needs to be completed, but I am running on empy and need a small break.

I'm taking off early every day this week to be home with my daughters while my wife goes back to work in the evenings.  I was hoping to be able to study a bit at home, but things haven't panned out that way.

I've been sitting here staring at my monitor, trying to get motivated to watch some additional videos this morning, and it's not working out very well, either.  STP is just SOOOOO boring to me.  Unfortunately, I know the basic concepts behind it.  I just need specifics, and sifting through videos and text chapters to get the info I need is a bit difficult.  I'm going to have to suck it up. 

As a distraction, I was going to work on putting my BGP, Multicast, and IPv6 notes into word docs.  I just opened up my notebook and it's ALL gone.  I'm hoping the stack is at home next to my rack.  If not, then I have something to work on for the rest of this week.

I currently work in a Foundry shop, but with our recent acquisition, we are in the process of plannning our migration to Cisco.  By August, our entire corporate network will have been re-IP'd and all gear will be standardized on 6500's, 3750's, 3800's, and a few 7200's.  I'm excited about the transition, but it's a lot of work.

Because of everything going on, I haven't had any time to really study or focus on labs.  The Skingers at Trainsignal were very cool in hooking me up with training materials for BSCI, BCMSN, and asked me to review the CCNA materials.  I've been through the BSCI videos twice, and they were awesome.  After failing the exam in february, I went back through the videos and paid attention to the sections where I was weak.  Chris Bryant had a way of explaining things so that they make sense, and he was very thorough with the material.  For some reason, I missed some topics in the books that he made sure to touch upon.  I've been really impressed with the VBT.  They've allowed me to take as many notes as I want without having to stop mid page to write, then continue.  Things seem to flow much better.  Also, having Chris pull up the racks with different topologies to demonstrate configurations and what he's teaching is awesome. 

I'm also considering selling off some of the gear in my rack to make room for a mac mini and/or iMac.  I figure by the time I put money into RAM and flash upgrades for some of the 2600XM's, I can get a mini, anyway.  Add a few USB nics to the mix, and I'd be set.

BTW, what's with this new dashboard look on wordpress?  I don't think I care for it very much.

The following tools were developed by the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) to help with the process of critically appraising articles of the following types of research:

• Systematic Reviews

• Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs)

• Qualitative Research

• Economic Evaluation Studies

• Cohort Studies

• Case Control Studies

• Diagnostic Test Studies

All of the above are available and free to download for personal use.

Abstract: Writing academic essays can be a major hurdle and source of anxiety for many students. Fears and misconceptions relating to this kind of writing can be dispelled if the task is approached in a logical and systematic manner. This article outlines the key steps involved in successfully completing an essay and provides some practical tips to facilitate critical and analytical writing. Although this process is challenging, academic writing is a means of developing both personally and professionally. It is important to note that the principles discussed in this article apply equally to all professions allied to medicine.

For the full-text of this article please email susan.jennings@lancashirecare.nhs.uk

  Study Guide - What is Research and Why Should We Use It?

Abstract: Do you know if the care that you are providing for your patients is based upon up-to-date research evidence? This article provides a starting point for understanding research evidence - what is it and where does it come from? Also, how can research evidence be applied in practice? Finally it considers ways in which healthcare practitioners can remain up-to-date and ensure their practice is evidence-based.

For the full-text of this article please email: susan.jennings@lancashirecare.nhs.uk

  Synthesis of qualitative research and evidence-based nursing,

Abstract: Evidence-based nursing is central to nursing practice. Systematic reviews have played a key part in providing evidence for decision making in nursing. Traditionally, these have consisted of syntheses of randomized controlled trials. New approaches to combining research include the synthesis of qualitative research. This article discusses the development of research synthesis as a method for creating evidence for nursing practice. It focuses on how the new approach of synthesizing qualitative research may contribute to nursing and its evidence base by examining practical examples. It concludes that qualitative synthesis may contribute to: the development of nursing theory; providing context and meaning to evidence of effectiveness identified in quantitative research; more effective use of primary data; enhancing the generalizability of qualitative research; the identification of future nursing research topics.

For the full-text of this article please email: susan.jennings@lancashirecare.nhs.uk

  Study Guide - Thinking and writing at Masters level: a reflective passage,

Abstract:

This article identifies key characteristics of Masters level writing and the underpinning relationship of these characteristics to reflective thought. Classical models of reflective writing are reviewed and their focus on reflection as a progressive process is debated. A linear model of reflection is proposed and its application to reflective writing for Masters level assessments is examined. The classical authors tend to present reflection as a process in which the outcomes of reflection becomes deeper at advanced levels. While this is an appropriate application of the concept of reflection for the traditional academic essay, it might not always be so appropriate for other more applied aspects of thinking and writing particularly in the development of advanced nursing practice. A linear model of reflective writing which offers a more pragmatic perspective on reflection is developed.

For the full-text of this article please email: susan.jennings@lancashirecare.nsh.uk

With any site that depends on user-generate content, attracting contributors is always a worry. But CourseHero boasts over 500,000 uploaded documents from more than 6,000 schools. The sites strength is that it combines concepts from popular doc-sharing sites such as Docstoc and Box.net.

Academic integrity is of course an issue for institutions, but Grauer has made a point of denying the site's complicity in cheating. In The Cornell Daily Sun, he was quoted as saying, “We don’t want to promote cheating. We’re not going to be naïve about it.” I personally believe that it should be the responsibility of the professor to recreate exams and that students should have access to old tests in order to prepare.

CourseHero is by no means pretty, but it is easy to navigate. Popular items, tags and solid search functions make document discovery relatively intuitive if you are familiar with Web 2.0 standards. However, give yourself a little bit of time if you are looking to find exact documents, as tags are not always entirely accurate or reliable. Sifting through search results is necessary. Nonetheless, generic searches for particular subject matter (similar to a Wikipedia search) are recommended.

Egalitarian access to academic resources is not the only thing Grauer is after. The site is already beginning to monetize with targeted banner advertisements, some of which feature universities, suggesting that administrators may be warming up to CourseHero. If used properly and if integrity is maintained, administrations should continue to avoid resistance to online collaboration as sites like CouseHero could contribute heavily to universal education and increased student engagement.

When I got to multicast, I ended up taking a 15-20 minute breather to find a multicast traffic generator for Windows. After a quick google search, I settled on LiveCaster. It's an MP3 streaming utility, and gives you some decent options for configuring your streams, and advertising with SDP/SAP. I'm still shaky on multicast, but getting to actually work through the labs today helped solidify a few things.

I am going to finish putting the rest of my section notes into word docs this week, go back over the multicast videos from trainsignal, and try to sit the exam again by thursday/friday.

I am attaching my isis notes to this post. At some point, I'll probably create a single post that I will attach all of my notes to. I'd like to take some time to add some small lab scenarios to my notes with config snippets, as well. I think that helps to solidify things and gives me additional visio/configuration practice.

isis1.doc

The outlines are based on the 1692 version published by Sovereign Grace Publishers, Inc. (2001) and the modern English version, edited by Bruce McRae along with my own editorial insertions.

In Marshall's original version, he did not use a refined style of writing and at times his prose can be difficult for the modern reader to follow. The goal of these outlines is to help make Marshall's book more accessible to the Evangelical world and to aid readers to a better understanding of his work. They can be used in conjunction with one's own personal reading or in a Sunday School or small group Bible study discussion.

The great theme of Marshall's book is to help Christians grow in obedience by the power of the Gospel and not in their own strength. Because believers are in union with Christ, their sanctification flows from this union, not from their own efforts. Thus, the Gospel is essential for growth in holiness.

In Direction 12, Marshall writes,

"Right now I want to tell you how to live by faith so you can keep the law of God. This is the whole purpose of my book, to show you how God has told you to live by faith to live a holy life...I am telling you to act according to your state in Christ. Obey God and do the works of the law by gospel principles and means. This is the rare and excellent art of godliness, in which every Christian should be a skilled expert," (p. 167).

The message of Marshall's book desperately needs to be heralded and heard in Evangelicalism today. May the Lord use the Gospel message of Marshall's book to awaken a new generation of Gospel-Driven believers who long to see Christ and His Good News reign in all the earth!