Articles

Fly on the Wall – This Thing Called Boredom

Boredom: what is its substance? Poring over schoolwork on dark January days can easily bring about this question. Last decade one answer presented itself as I was visiting some relatives out in the Maritimes. While they discussed their newly-acquired farmhouse I sat sequestered in a corner with my binder full of readings for SOCI335. “That… Read more »

Why The Voice Matters

Just as Athabasca University is unique among Canadian universities because of its distance learning format, The Voice is unique among university publications. There is no reporting of campus concerts or sports teams, and no opportunities to take photos of students just hanging out in campus gathering spaces because those just don’t exist with the AU… Read more »

Insights on AU

When I originally came into AU, I expected a moderate-involvement university and a distance-based online community. I had false premises for my inferences about the nature of online education. I derived false conclusions in the tacit argument. At the time, two important questions to me were “what provisions exist in contrast to in-class universities?” and… Read more »

Editorial – Survey Asks!

Excuse me if this seems terse this week, there’s currently a chinook coming into Calgary, and, like almost every time there’s a chinook, It’s accompanied by a nasty head-ache. Every year, I try to get out at least one survey so that I have a little guidance as to what you, the students, think of… Read more »

Editorial – World’s Fasted Editorial

Why do I keep doing this to myself? This week, we have some 35 pages of content in The Voice Magazine. It could have been shorter, I technically could have left out one or two of the regular columns that arrived late, but it was just good stuff and I always feel like I should… Read more »

Reading Globally

When writer Ann Morgan examined the contents of her bookshelf a few years ago, she made what she calls an “alarming discovery.” The books on her shelves were mostly English works written by British and North American authors. Considering that Morgan is British and English is her mother tongue, her reading material isn’t that surprising…. Read more »

Examining the AU Exam Experience

Writing a mid-term or final exam is a necessary though stressful aspect of any university experience, but for AU students, writing an exam requires a bit more effort than for students studying at traditional universities. AU students have several options when it comes to writing exams. Many students are able to write at one of… Read more »

Course Exam – Religious Studies (RELS) 211

One of the newest courses at Athabasca University is Religious Studies 211 ? Death and Dying in World Religions. Marie Well spoke with the course designer to get a little more insight into this course for students who might be considering taking it. The course designer, Dr. Shandip Saha, completed his master’s degree at Harvard… Read more »