The Last Lecture

1. The Last Lecture some things that can be learned from it

2. Dr. Randy Pausch • died July 25, 2008 of pancreatic cancer • taught Computer Science at CMU • Specialty Virtual Reality • Taught a course on Building Virtual Worlds • Created Alice

3. Where to see it • www.thelastlecture.com • The title is “Really Achieving your Childhood Dreams” • There is also a book published by Hyperion

4. “Enabling the dreams of others” • How does it apply to me? It is very good advice • For teaching • For living

5. Tell the truth • Tell yourself the truth about the quality of your work • Tell your students the truth about their work

6. Feedback is a gift • Establish a feedback loop and listen to it • TA evaluations • TA observations • TCE • Your supervisor owes it to you! • You owe it to your students also

7. Work Hard and Be Prepared • Luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity • Be prepared for your classes • Be prepared for your students

8. Help Others • A mentor is very important to every student • try to be one • Show your excitement • Be a salesman • Have fun!

9. Find the best in everybody • Hard! but can be done if you wait long enough

10. Show gratitude • You never know what it means to the other person • Thank your students for coming to lab, for asking questions, for trying

11. Brick walls • Brick walls are meant as a way to see how much you want something • Brick walls are meant for the other people who don't want it as much as you do • Perseverance is needed for anything important in life • your goals • your students' goals

12. Ask! • It never hurts to ask for what you want • In your own classes • What you want your students to do