Category: Academic

I am becoming more and more frustrated with my Art History instructor. I have emailed him and posted a forum discussion about a problem I am having with the course. The particular problem is that the instructor has not released the full details of quizzes once they are complete. In a standard classroom course, once everyone has taken a quiz, it is possible to obtain the hard copy of the quiz to determine what you got wrong, well, that’s supposed to be the case online as well. I haven’t been told that my request for release of the full quiz is inappropriate, and I haven’t been told that it would be handled either, the instructor has ignored all attempts at being contacted about the issue, which greatly pisses me off.

I have now added the Associate of Fine Arts to my program at Gaston College. I don’t know if this will lead to a BFA, or not, but its at least a start and I am admitting that Art  is an interest I have.

Presently I have classes that feel a bit like they are in very different conditions. I am feeling very good about American History  1, Art History  II, and Ceramics Studio. I am feeling more shaky with Intro to Literature as well as Sculpture. Literature is a bit misguided and in Sculpture I am just not very motivated. I get no sense of direction in Sculpture, and the course is starting to seem more pointless to me every day.

C# is in a class by itself, its self paced, and I am keeping up with the deadlines. I think it will work out fine.

I am on course for an A in American History, and at present, a B in Art history, but that can change any moment, there are a lot of assignments left. I feel like I can get back into the flow of things with Literature, I am just not presently very comfortable with the course and its delivery method. Sculpture is feeling more  lost, or more accurately I am feeling lost in it. The only course I am considering dropping is Sculpture, but I don’t like the idea of giving up like that. Its one of those things where if I keep the course I might not have a 4.0 GPA anymore, or if I withdraw I certainly won’t be on the President’s list for the semester. I feel like my only option is to fight it out and try to make it work.

I thought my C# course was going pretty well, being self-paced and with minimal assignments to work towards. Yesterday there was an email sent from the instructor, apparently now we have a load of stuff to do through the Microsoft IT Academy, woohoo! I remember Microsoft IT Academy from when I had to use it to prepare for my certifications a long long time ago. I hated it then, and it is even worse now. There are now interact lab things to do, oh so much fun.

ART115 – Art History II – Got through the first module with no problems. I got an 80 on the quiz, but got 100 on both of the discussion assignments, so I’m happy for that. It seems like it is going to be a very fun course. I am still learning how to prepare for this course.

ART281 – Sculpture I – I am working very hard on my first project. My personal staff is coming along nicely in concept, but I haven’t really spent much time working on it physically. I’m thinking of going fairly simple with it.

ART288C – Ceramics Studio – This course is moving a little faster than sculpture, even though it is the same instructor. I am mostly finished with my garden "totem", I just have to fire it and then glaze it. I might do a few more spare parts for it, but I am overall happy with it. This is easier than the staff, this is just simple shapes that I like.

CSC153 – C# Programming – This course seems to have been designed for a 10 week schedule. Nothing was officially due until yesterday. I have gotten that work done, as well as some other work. I am making good progress towards the next deadline of September 27th. The course is self-driven, which is a new concept to me in this type of course. It is almost like an independent study attempt at the subject. The course fits into my schedule very nicely, because it really has no schedule of its own.

ENG131 – Introduction to Literature – Lit is going as Lit goes, slow and boring. I am not sure I understand where the course is going, we are reading a really weird comic book that reminds me a little of the diary of Anne Frank, except a lot less coherent and with a lot more opinion. I don’t like the book, or its "comic" approach to the topic. http://introduction2literature.wikispaces.com/Maus+Discussion

HIS131 – American History I – History is going VERY well. I have gotten through the first module, did the first quiz (twice), got 90% on the quiz, and will have an opportunity to earn the other 10% back.  I am getting a hold on the material fairly well. I am enjoying myself, which has completely shocked me. I do like history, I guess I just have to be able to do it at my own pace, and not at 9am.

Overall I am happy, except for the 9am ceramics class, which I am adapting to.

http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/09/open-source-tex.html

While the idea is founded in solid ideas and overall good marketing, there is one factor being missed here, departmental textbook adoption. Colleges get a lot of "incentives" from publishers to use texts, often in the form of additional "resources", such as classroom aids and instructional equipment. In some cases, schools even get paid to select a certain book. The entire thing is very corrupt, and as a result, open source will not work. If you don’t believe me, take a look at online learning environments. Moodle is free and open source, Blackboard is thousands per semester. Every school in North Carolina uses Blackboard, if not primarily, then somewhere, but very few use Moodle or any other free platform.

What would a person do with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Humanities? I’ve been looking at the degree from UNC-Greensboro because it seems interesting, but I can’t really see it being useful. Anyone have any ideas on jobs where this could be a useful degree?

http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/web/bls/default.asp

This evening I was reviewing the syllabus for my literature course, trying to get an idea about due dates and what type of work load I should be prepared for. When I opened the syllabus, I looked for the "Evaluation" section, the standard place for finding such information. I found no such section of the syllabus, and the information is no where else on the syllabus. I am now in a slight worry, since the syllabus is essentially the contract on which a college course operates.  Why would an instructor not include it? I have too much active course work for this one instructor to throw unexpected variables into things because of a lack of information on the syllabus.

I just took my first attempt at the first quiz in American History. It didn’t take me long, about 25 minutes for 20 questions  (out of 30 minutes allowed). I was a little uncertain about it going in, but I did relatively well. I don’t really love history, but don’t hate it either. I got an 16/20 on the first attempt. I get to try once more, and then two scores get averaged. Maybe I will get them all correct and still manage to get an A on the first quiz. On the more positive side of things, I have earned 1.5 points of extra credit (on a 200 pt scale).

A quick email to Dr. Dellinger this morning fixed all of my problems. Proper forms are on file with the registrar to recognize my HIS-131 as "in progress", and Dr. Dellinger defended my change of course for the literature course to the registrar.