Separate paragraph, and maybe an added picture of a landfill?

In your next paragraph you also mentioned Molecular Weight as well as gigawatts. For a person unaware of what these number mean, I would suggest putting in a paragraph earlier that briefly explains GW and MW and what it means.

I'm not sure if you have to add this source at the end if you previously mentioned him saying this quote.

Also with a quote this long, put it into a separate paragraph.

Separate paragraph; beginning of new one for China.

The sentence seems a little long, which makes it feel awkward when read. I would suggest splitting this particular sentence into two, giving it more depth and understand.

I think it's supposed to be to instead of the

Experience is highly valued when looking at a potential employee, being able to get that experience from a scholarly community is a necessity. Open scholarship allows for this to happen, amongst other things.

Higher education, throughout history, has always been seen as the highest value, especially in the work force. Today, Higher education is more accessible than ever; the money to go there... not so much. The value of education has increased through the years due to the expanding cost to attend University.

This simple sentence brings up so many different meanings depending on who's reading it. But no doubt, it is all based on equality and how we were individually raised.<br> Higher education used to be pursued sole by white men, as they were the only ones who were even allowed to apply. Race, socioeconomic class, ethnic background, etc. has been the reason why they were not able to achieve higher education. Today, it is illegal to discriminate in any way, shape, or form. The money each student receives should also be free of discrimination and injustices.

Being in college for four years, seriously, I would not have survived without these! Google is a great way to find these articles.

I can see the OER being a huge factor in a (future) professors teachings. So many students aren't able to buy an $85 textbook, while other students don't think twice about it. This huge factor that doesn't seem so big to the outside world is the gap between a student getting an A and a student getting a B. How much money you have shouldn't determine the education you receive, especially when going to the same school.

As mentioned in the previously annotated section: access to certain materials online is of the utmost importance in education for todays new generation. "The Founders", the newest generation, grew up/are continuing to grow up in a society that revolves around the access to knowledge and technology. Those who have easy access to online materials strive far more in school settings than children without the access.

I think that continuous learning throughout a persons lifetime is essential. In todays day and age, with education being so easily and readily accessed (even online), having just one degree, Bachelors or Associates, is not enough. An entry-level position requires this type of degree. But the real money and the real jobs for adults are for those who went back to school and continued their higher education. Being able to access this knowledge freely online would be extremely beneficial because in the generation of knowledge it is important that this knowledge is accurate and available.

Another good word for this is "collaboration". In most classes in college there is a project or two that students will have to do with a group of students. Most students will choose those closest to them, usually people they are acquaintances with. This is not an uncommon thing, as it is what most are comfortable with. Regardless though, the sharing of knowledge is what education as a whole is all about.

In a way, it is possible to achieve this, though I believe it to be the most difficult out of the the three to accomplish.

I remember watching an educational video in H.S. that emphasized the question: "why are we still separating classrooms based on age?" Not all students are prepared to learn in the school environment offered today. This isn't even to mention the fact that the basic public school system needs a drastic change in order to work more effectively. Changing the system to orient around the way education works in todays society as well as finding a fair way to separate or bring together different students, would make this possible.

In todays day in age, I believe that access to literature, online social environments, and basic knowledge is crucial. The needs for a child growing up has changed from generation to generation, and the newest generation, newly called the "Founders" generation will find themselves in a world that is solely focused around what can be found online.

It is important for each person to be able to access this information to grow and become an educated adult. Being educated has never been more important; this is something that must be focused on.

Academically oriented: "...social engagement to academic studies, civic engagement, and career opportunity."

This is a good explanation of IDS; In the past two decades, many jobs people hold have been created. Social Media Marketing is probably one of the most valuable skills to have while a business major, but yet this is something brand new to the professional field. IDS helps connect the need for newly created jobs and majors that correspond to them.

I feel like in the times that were described previously, Interdisciplinary studies was almost unnecessary. In order to blend studies, one must have extensive hard facts, concepts, and philosophical questions; if you don't, then you don't have a subject, just a broad outline of a topic. Interdisciplinary studies is a relatively new major of study in Universities because it wasn't until recently students were given the opportunity to learn both, or students been given the opportunity in real life to integrate subjects.

Astronomy seemed, at that time, a way to describe not only where we were according to space, but also our future. Many Greeks and Romans believed our fate was held in the stars; my guess as to why this became a popular subject of study in the middle ages of Europe.

It is crazy to think of how many dynasties, religions, royalties, and nations have come and gone throughout time. Specific countries would excel in certain topics, making them what history calls "experts" in their fields.

Founded by a woman?? Heck yes! I have always loved the idea of going to another country to get a degree, and attending Al-Azhar University in Egypt would be a dream come true. If you were to take away the political civil unrest in Egypt (especially in and around Cairo) as well as the Arab Spring, then I would be doing at least a semester abroad in that country. I love the history of the Egyptians, and since this University is in Egypt and has been there for so long, it must be a good one.

The history behind Plato and Socrates has always amazed me and forced me to think deeper about people's basic want and need to learn. I love school and education, but I question if I was in the "dark ages" would I have sought out information the way Plato did? Could I have taught the way Socrates did? Would I have been a good student? Or even was there such thing as good and bad students? The history of education starts with the story of two incredibly smart men; both of whom have done numerous things for our society today.

My nursing discipline varies drastically than my social work study! Social work is facts about families, adolescents, mental health issues, etc. and problems with society. Then my Nursing is the hard-core scientific facts that is backed up by evidence-based practices.

Love how this describes the methods (qualitative/quantitative) and epistemology!

Drilling down reminds me of a puzzle: breaking down a large problem into smaller ones (which is what you do AFTER you finish a puzzle but regardless)

Contextualizing reminds me of cities and buildings you can see on the skyline. Each building is much different close up than it does on the skyline.

This is the reason why I got into Interdisciplinary studies. I find that excelling and succeeding in more majors and topics are better. An example of my life in how this was affected was in my college class Medical Ethics. Half the students were medical students while the other half were philosophy majors. Anytime there was a discussion on an idea that had two clear opposing sides, it was nearly impossible for a single student to fully understand the medical ethic issue at hand. If someone was familiar with philosophy and medical things extensively, it would have been a much for effective student.

I love this because it helps make sense of interdisciplinary studies as a whole, but it explains it with a clear, understandable metaphor. Picture was perfect as well.

So true!: "Social science professionals are complex in their own right. They are effective communicators, team players, critical thinkers, and problem solvers who can apply research and theory to understand a variety of societal issues. Since it takes a unique skill set to excel in the social sciences, we’ve designed our major to be highly customizable and multidisciplinary so you have the necessary skills to meet your specific career goals."

"Individuals who work in the fields of social sciences aren’t just people watchers. They observe, question, predict, test and revise. And what they learn is used to identify opportunities and improve the quality of life for individuals, groups, communities, and society as a whole."

"Duration of Training" This reminded me of a thought I had the other night: Can Interdisciplinary majors do a Masters program? Imagine someone having a Masters degree in IDS? I feel l like that would be so very useful and would make a degree worth more. It takes time to become an expert in a field, but it takes more than just labs and lectures to become an "expert". It takes experience and real world situations in order for someone to be in control.

I think a Masters program would help with that.

"Some have suggested that the best persons to direct interdisciplinary teams are mature scientists with well-established research careers who have conducted interdisciplinary research of their own."

I feel that I am a very science-based person: I am all about the facts and organization of such. After joining IDS major, i realized how much power I had over my education and future. In my future career I know for a fact that I will be pulling information from numerous different fields, and as the modern world grows, everyone will also be pulling different fields together.

An example in the text was Washington University investing $28 million dollars to build new laboratories in buildings that will incorporate interdisciplinary collaboration among psychology labs, animal labs, imaging facilities, and more. I find that If I go back to get another degree in a science (IE Biology, Chemistry, etc) I would love to work in a building that has different scientists. I like the collaboration of all scientific fields especially if the situation in nature calls for it.

Under the headline "Team Building" it says that professionals have a difficult time communicating because they were not trained to do it: if people were to be more interdisciplinary I see this not being a problem. Those who have the major Communications, their degree would be worth more if they were to have a minor or double major because Communications is a great skill to have, but its important to be more proficient in another topic as well.

"By definition, interdisciplinary efforts bring together researchers who have different expertise." Thank the lord I found the best definition in the world for my major! This is a great start to the paragraph.