I’d never forget you, Internet…

I admit I have sinned. I haven’t blogged much in the past year. Most of my social media interaction has been on Facebook and Twitter and even LinkedIn. Mea Culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

I do have an excuse though! I’ve been doing penance in the form of writing five cybersecurity courses for Laureate/Walden University and Excelsior College. I am excited about the new cybersecurity program I’ve helped develop for Excelsior College. They reached out to me in 2011, after I met the associate dean at a conference in Washington, DC. Check out their course offerings, here.

The thing about Excelsior College is, when you write a course for them, they make you teach it! So, while I have pushed myself to write meaningful courses, I’ve also been teaching them. Despite the pain and agony of long nights and short deadlines, it’s worth it in the end. I feel it’s helped me improve my own security skills. If you have an opportunity to write courses, books, speak or teach, do it! It will be a lot of extra work, when you probably already have a full schedule, but in the end you will find it beneficial.
I’m a proponent of lifelong-learning, and personal/professional development, so as a recovering physicist, I really love the privilege of being allowed to teach physics and astronomy. It’s been ten years since I started teaching astronomy (and ethics) at a local university, and I now teach intro astronomy every semester at local colleges. It’s motivating and rewarding to be allowed to teach others about something you love.
This last year, my company asked me to represent them in the capacity of “industry representative”, developing the Next Generation Science Standards. This is an organized effort by 48 leading states to develop K-12 science standards. This is another very rewarding opportunity, and it allows me to meet educators from across the country and learn about the issues they face as they teach our children. 
So, don’t hate me Internet. I haven’t ignored you, I’ve just been busy. I promise to write more often in the future. Please don’t give up on me. Be my Valentine! 😉

February 12th, 2013 by