Hey again all.
So...once again plenty of updates here. :) Life has been crazy busy and also very stagnant and limbo-like at the same time. Because of my PTK status, I got a lot of schools e-mailing me information and inviting me to apply. Some of these schools are very, very good schools - like Columbia in New York (which was my dream school when I was 16), and also DePaul University in Chicago, which I'd never thought about but promptly fell in love with when I checked into their programming.
However, love is all well and good, but as DePaul is a private university, it's also mega expensive. And I have not been able to find work anywhere in Chicago to be able to facilitate a move. As such, while I applied and was accepted, there just isn't enough financial aid available and/or a job there to be able to make that dream come true, which is very sad. But, sometimes where you are is where you are and you just have to suck it up and deal, make the best of the situation, lemonade from lemons, etc. Considering I haven't won the lottery, I'm taking the present state of things as a sign and making due with what I have where I am.
To that end, I went earlier this month to the big orientation at UCF. And I mean BIG. SO. MANY. PEOPLE. o.O And, honestly, their staff? Not the nicest folks on the planet. The free lunch was garbage and....well....I'm just not in love with that school or the programming. But, it is what it is and so I am moving forward. I got through the orientation and got classes scheduled, but I have had to re-work that schedule into all online classes for this first semester. Like with Chicago, I still am unable to find any employment in Orlando that can facilitate a move. As such, I can't commute 4 hours each day trying to get back and forth while staying here in Ocala so....online classes it is. Which is fine with me because I'm a Technical Writing major and I actually prefer my writing classes online.
As such, here is my schedule for this first semester of classes at UCF:
American Literature II
Writing for the Technical Professional
Theories and Tech of Lit Study
World Literature I
Looks like a lot of reading and writing which are my two favorite things. Every time I have had online writing classes I have enjoyed them so I'm looking forward to this semester. Classes start August 22nd and I'm ready to get back to the studying.
As for the educational future, I do still long for DePaul, and maybe some time I can either transfer or head there for graduate work, but for right now I must make due with the options available to me. Once upon a time, when I was young, reckless, and stupid, I would have taken off and lived out of my car or something just to get the experience I was dying for. Now, older, wiser, and much more cautious, I'm hoping to do things the smart way. I'm either maturing or getting soft in my old age - some days that feels like a judgment call either way.
So....I will be back later next month to relay the fun and excitement of new classes at a new school with a new major and lots and lots of....newness. Until then - stay cool all! Cheers!
P.S. - before y'all say anything - yeah, scholarships, I know. Only problem is they contacted me with the invite to apply after the deadline for scholarship applications. It blows, but there it is. But - hey - maybe it might work out later? Who knows. We'll see. :)
Showing posts with label schedules. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schedules. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Who Says You Can't Go Home Again?
Greetings all. :)
Hope everyone had good Turkey Days. Mine was filled with homework, homework, and then, for a change of pace, some homework. :) Finals time is upon us. This upcoming week is the last of regular classes, then it's finals week, then a nice winter break until classes start again on the 5th of January. The workload is crazy and I'm pretty much just focusing on Spanish. I feel very confident in my Microcomputer Applications class so....that's kind of a gimme grade. :) It's always nice to have one of those every semester. Comp II is going well, I think, but I have not as yet received my research paper grade. I do know that my group got the highest score on our poetry unit test so...that's all going well. I'm not worried about passing that class. I'm currently putting the finishing touches on my Humanities paper on Hannah Senesh. Then it's just a matter of studying for that final. Luckily, some of it will come from the mid-term so that helps. I feel fairly confident about that test and class. Spanish is my trouble spot. Our recent three-unit test really kicked my ass. I'm having so much trouble with the uses of ser and estar and the preterite tenses....woe is me. I did have an A in the class before that test, which I got a 74 on. Happily, she graded on a curve and I noticed much, much worse grades than mine so....hope springs eternal. We have one last vocab test on Tuesday that can help bolster a grade, and I'm getting 100's on all of my homework so....keep your fingers crossed on that for me.
My classes for next semester are already scheduled and then sometime mid-January I will fill out the paperwork to graduate and will then have an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts in May. :) My diploma I got in Business Computer Applications back in '90 does not seem like a real college degree of any kind (and isn't counted as one either), so this will be my first real college degree and I'm very excited. This experience at CF has been really good. I'm looking forward to next semester and the classes. Liberal Arts Math....maybe not so much. Nor their "Personal Wellness" class. But I always enjoyed science classes in lower school years, so I'm looking forward to Biology and the lab. I'm also curious to see how my Acting class goes. I'm hoping that class will be fun.
As for the future, there have been more developments in that department. Truth be told, I have never had any desire, whatsoever, to live in Orlando. I don't even like driving down there. But for the purpose of the future, I resigned myself to Orlando and UCF because I am determined to complete my education and get into animated film. However, like Rasmussen (grrr!), UCF's programming is not animation specific. It is a digital media program that employs aspects like web design (which I hate), and regular design classes which do not interest me. So....I've been not exactly excited about the future of my education, but more accepting that UCF would be a better fit than UF or any of the other schools here. I had checked out programming back in Seattle (home! I miss you!!) and other parts of the country, and UCF seemed to be the better deal. UNTIL....I had a discussion with my mother. I don't know what prompted it, but we were discussing education and the subject of SMSU came up. That is the university she went to in Springfield, Missouri and she enjoyed going there. It has recently come to my attention that the education I received in the Springfield public school system was exemplary and head and shoulders above anything offered here in Florida by far. Anyhow, when she mentioned SMS (now MSU) I decided to check them out online. WHAT A STROKE OF LUCK!!!! For a small-town school, they have an AMAZING program for Computer Animation that is just about computer animation. Capstone projects that are computer animation. AND they offer a Screenwriting minor! The course descriptions and coursework are so exciting and so much better than UCF! Plus, honestly, I hate Florida, I always have. It's simply where I've ended up at this point in life, but it's certainly not somewhere I have any desire to remain. But I am an Ozark Mountain girl at heart and would like to live somewhere with four real seasons again.
So....instead of heading to UCF next fall, I will be moving back to mighty MO and starting classes at MSU. They, like UCF, give priority admission to those transfer students with a completed Associates degree so I feel fairly confident about admission. I'm excited to head to a school with better educational opportunity and a program more tailored to exactly the type of work I want to be doing upon graduation. So....we'll see if it's true that you can't go home again. :) I have not been back to Springfield in well over 20 years so it will be interesting so see how things have changed. But the eye is still on the prize - - completing my degree and then hopefully interning somewhere like Pixar, then eventually moving on to completing my own animated films and living back in my beloved Seattle. So...changes are afoot as always.
Wish me luck with these finals y'all - I need it! Cheers!
Hope everyone had good Turkey Days. Mine was filled with homework, homework, and then, for a change of pace, some homework. :) Finals time is upon us. This upcoming week is the last of regular classes, then it's finals week, then a nice winter break until classes start again on the 5th of January. The workload is crazy and I'm pretty much just focusing on Spanish. I feel very confident in my Microcomputer Applications class so....that's kind of a gimme grade. :) It's always nice to have one of those every semester. Comp II is going well, I think, but I have not as yet received my research paper grade. I do know that my group got the highest score on our poetry unit test so...that's all going well. I'm not worried about passing that class. I'm currently putting the finishing touches on my Humanities paper on Hannah Senesh. Then it's just a matter of studying for that final. Luckily, some of it will come from the mid-term so that helps. I feel fairly confident about that test and class. Spanish is my trouble spot. Our recent three-unit test really kicked my ass. I'm having so much trouble with the uses of ser and estar and the preterite tenses....woe is me. I did have an A in the class before that test, which I got a 74 on. Happily, she graded on a curve and I noticed much, much worse grades than mine so....hope springs eternal. We have one last vocab test on Tuesday that can help bolster a grade, and I'm getting 100's on all of my homework so....keep your fingers crossed on that for me.
My classes for next semester are already scheduled and then sometime mid-January I will fill out the paperwork to graduate and will then have an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts in May. :) My diploma I got in Business Computer Applications back in '90 does not seem like a real college degree of any kind (and isn't counted as one either), so this will be my first real college degree and I'm very excited. This experience at CF has been really good. I'm looking forward to next semester and the classes. Liberal Arts Math....maybe not so much. Nor their "Personal Wellness" class. But I always enjoyed science classes in lower school years, so I'm looking forward to Biology and the lab. I'm also curious to see how my Acting class goes. I'm hoping that class will be fun.
As for the future, there have been more developments in that department. Truth be told, I have never had any desire, whatsoever, to live in Orlando. I don't even like driving down there. But for the purpose of the future, I resigned myself to Orlando and UCF because I am determined to complete my education and get into animated film. However, like Rasmussen (grrr!), UCF's programming is not animation specific. It is a digital media program that employs aspects like web design (which I hate), and regular design classes which do not interest me. So....I've been not exactly excited about the future of my education, but more accepting that UCF would be a better fit than UF or any of the other schools here. I had checked out programming back in Seattle (home! I miss you!!) and other parts of the country, and UCF seemed to be the better deal. UNTIL....I had a discussion with my mother. I don't know what prompted it, but we were discussing education and the subject of SMSU came up. That is the university she went to in Springfield, Missouri and she enjoyed going there. It has recently come to my attention that the education I received in the Springfield public school system was exemplary and head and shoulders above anything offered here in Florida by far. Anyhow, when she mentioned SMS (now MSU) I decided to check them out online. WHAT A STROKE OF LUCK!!!! For a small-town school, they have an AMAZING program for Computer Animation that is just about computer animation. Capstone projects that are computer animation. AND they offer a Screenwriting minor! The course descriptions and coursework are so exciting and so much better than UCF! Plus, honestly, I hate Florida, I always have. It's simply where I've ended up at this point in life, but it's certainly not somewhere I have any desire to remain. But I am an Ozark Mountain girl at heart and would like to live somewhere with four real seasons again.
So....instead of heading to UCF next fall, I will be moving back to mighty MO and starting classes at MSU. They, like UCF, give priority admission to those transfer students with a completed Associates degree so I feel fairly confident about admission. I'm excited to head to a school with better educational opportunity and a program more tailored to exactly the type of work I want to be doing upon graduation. So....we'll see if it's true that you can't go home again. :) I have not been back to Springfield in well over 20 years so it will be interesting so see how things have changed. But the eye is still on the prize - - completing my degree and then hopefully interning somewhere like Pixar, then eventually moving on to completing my own animated films and living back in my beloved Seattle. So...changes are afoot as always.
Wish me luck with these finals y'all - I need it! Cheers!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Educational Update
So....it has once again been a considerable time since my last posting. There's a lot to go over so....let's get to it.
My meeting with CFCC, which is now CCF (College of Central Florida) went well and I was admitted for the summer semester. I managed to get the Statistics class I wanted and also registered for Elementary Spanish II. The semester was just a six week semester and has just come to a close for me today.
As anyone who follows this blog knows, math is not my strong suit so I was very worried about the Statistics course. However, it turned out to be a great experience. The instructor was fabulous and the material was similar to things I did doing data analysis at various jobs. As such, I managed to complete the course with a B+. Not too shabby at all and I'm proud of myself for that accomplishment.
I wish I could say that things with my Spanish II class went as well. Unfortunately, they did not. I had the sinking feeling that my Conversational Spanish class at Rasmussen had not properly prepared me for anything, but since CCF offers Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced Spanish classes, I thought I might be in pretty good standing for Elementary Spanish II considering I got an A in my Conversational Spanish class. I thought wrong. The Conversational Spanish class at Rasmussen was a joke and did not give me anywhere near the foundation I needed for Elementary Spanish II. The class workload was insane and EVERYTHING, the book, the instructions, EVERYTHING was in Spanish. I only took the two classes this semester, but the workload ended up being like the quarter I took six classes at Rasmussen.
Despite constantly working my ass off in the class, I ended up failing it. I did the best work I could and everything I could, but without the proper foundation from the first class, I was always three steps behind. It took forever to translate the instructions, then to do the work. The workload was also rather ridiculous really and the instructor seemed to think that the students had nothing else going on but that class for six weeks. There were four websites with work you had to do on them, and every week covered two chapters. I did well on the discussion posts and the vocabulary quizzes, but the verb tenses and changes, as well as the workbook and audio work, completely threw me and I never got above a 53% on any of it. Add to that the fact that I only got a 52% on the final, and my final overall percentage was 59.61%. So....F. I failed. Which sucks and makes me feel about 2 inches tall.
As such, I'm pretty much screwed. I will still submit the transcript to UCF, but without the second foreign language requirement being satisfactorily completed, I doubt they will allow me admission. :(
My next problem, however, is that I cannot move forward with taking any classes at CCF right now. Though I was fully packaged with financial aid at Rasmussen for summer, and for a great deal more than CCF charges, CCF is still dragging their feet on getting any financial aid awarded, so I still have a balance on my account for this summer semester. That, coupled with no financial aid awarded for fall yet, means that I cannot register for any classes. I have been round and round with them about this, submitted all the transcripts and paperwork they wanted, and now they are telling me that they need all of my transcripts entered into their system before they can award anything, and the girl doing it is 2-3 weeks behind. So....I'm screwed.
I don't know what is going to happen now. Monday I will go back to CCF's financial aid office and try to get someone to get something happening with awards. If that is accomplished, I will then move forward with trying to find some classes to take and hopefully find a place in their Elementary Spanish I class so I can get the proper foundation I should have had. I now completely hate the Spanish language by the way.
As I say, I will continue on with submitting my CCF transcript to UCF, but I don't think they'll let me in without that other foreign language requirement. So....I'll just have to do what I can to get it. If CCF cannot get my aid squared away in time for fall semester, however, I have no idea what I am going to do.
So....things are in limbo right now. UCF is still the goal, but some roadblocks have been thrown in my way. I feel like complete and utter shit right now, a real total loser because of failing that class. But at the same time, what more could I do? I did everything I could and worked as hard as I could. I just didn't have the foundation I needed to understand it. Live and learn I guess.
So that is my current status. I will keep y'all apprised of any forward movement. Any good thoughts or energy that could be sent in my general direction would be greatly appreciated. Cheers all!
My meeting with CFCC, which is now CCF (College of Central Florida) went well and I was admitted for the summer semester. I managed to get the Statistics class I wanted and also registered for Elementary Spanish II. The semester was just a six week semester and has just come to a close for me today.
As anyone who follows this blog knows, math is not my strong suit so I was very worried about the Statistics course. However, it turned out to be a great experience. The instructor was fabulous and the material was similar to things I did doing data analysis at various jobs. As such, I managed to complete the course with a B+. Not too shabby at all and I'm proud of myself for that accomplishment.
I wish I could say that things with my Spanish II class went as well. Unfortunately, they did not. I had the sinking feeling that my Conversational Spanish class at Rasmussen had not properly prepared me for anything, but since CCF offers Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced Spanish classes, I thought I might be in pretty good standing for Elementary Spanish II considering I got an A in my Conversational Spanish class. I thought wrong. The Conversational Spanish class at Rasmussen was a joke and did not give me anywhere near the foundation I needed for Elementary Spanish II. The class workload was insane and EVERYTHING, the book, the instructions, EVERYTHING was in Spanish. I only took the two classes this semester, but the workload ended up being like the quarter I took six classes at Rasmussen.
Despite constantly working my ass off in the class, I ended up failing it. I did the best work I could and everything I could, but without the proper foundation from the first class, I was always three steps behind. It took forever to translate the instructions, then to do the work. The workload was also rather ridiculous really and the instructor seemed to think that the students had nothing else going on but that class for six weeks. There were four websites with work you had to do on them, and every week covered two chapters. I did well on the discussion posts and the vocabulary quizzes, but the verb tenses and changes, as well as the workbook and audio work, completely threw me and I never got above a 53% on any of it. Add to that the fact that I only got a 52% on the final, and my final overall percentage was 59.61%. So....F. I failed. Which sucks and makes me feel about 2 inches tall.
As such, I'm pretty much screwed. I will still submit the transcript to UCF, but without the second foreign language requirement being satisfactorily completed, I doubt they will allow me admission. :(
My next problem, however, is that I cannot move forward with taking any classes at CCF right now. Though I was fully packaged with financial aid at Rasmussen for summer, and for a great deal more than CCF charges, CCF is still dragging their feet on getting any financial aid awarded, so I still have a balance on my account for this summer semester. That, coupled with no financial aid awarded for fall yet, means that I cannot register for any classes. I have been round and round with them about this, submitted all the transcripts and paperwork they wanted, and now they are telling me that they need all of my transcripts entered into their system before they can award anything, and the girl doing it is 2-3 weeks behind. So....I'm screwed.
I don't know what is going to happen now. Monday I will go back to CCF's financial aid office and try to get someone to get something happening with awards. If that is accomplished, I will then move forward with trying to find some classes to take and hopefully find a place in their Elementary Spanish I class so I can get the proper foundation I should have had. I now completely hate the Spanish language by the way.
As I say, I will continue on with submitting my CCF transcript to UCF, but I don't think they'll let me in without that other foreign language requirement. So....I'll just have to do what I can to get it. If CCF cannot get my aid squared away in time for fall semester, however, I have no idea what I am going to do.
So....things are in limbo right now. UCF is still the goal, but some roadblocks have been thrown in my way. I feel like complete and utter shit right now, a real total loser because of failing that class. But at the same time, what more could I do? I did everything I could and worked as hard as I could. I just didn't have the foundation I needed to understand it. Live and learn I guess.
So that is my current status. I will keep y'all apprised of any forward movement. Any good thoughts or energy that could be sent in my general direction would be greatly appreciated. Cheers all!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
End of Third Quarter Final
Hi all.
So....hope everyone had great holidays. Mine was pretty okay. :) My new books for next quarter have arrived and they look pretty interesting. I am, however, currently wrangling with the Sallie Mae people about loan funding. They have, for some inexplicable reason, done away with the Signature Student Loan that was an alternative loan funding source allowing you to borrow the remainder of what you need for school plus extra for expenses like room and board, etc. With that loan, repayment is made starting 6 months after graduation. The interest rate is ridiculous, but it was a great source of funding, especially being able to borrow extra for living expenses seeing as I am still (grrr!) unemployed. Now, the only loans they are offering require you to make payments on the interest while going to school. Ummm...hello? Are they high? I'm not working, I have no income, how the hell am I supposed to make payments on a loan? So....I called them and they said that I did not qualify for grandfathering for the Signature Loan program and that the interest payment option was the only one left to me. This....pissed me off, so I wrote all my state and federal senators and congresspeople and also the President and basically said "WTF?" I've heard back from one state representative's office, but we're playing phone tag. I dunno. What I do know is that employers are now requiring a freaking Bachelor's degree for a damn secretarial position. Supposedly there are all these displaced worker programs going on to help people become more employable - - well...I'm trying to do that, but without the Signature Loan program, wtf am I supposed to do? If I can't get that, I can't go to school full-time because I can't afford it. If I'm not attending full-time I lose most of the rest of my governmental funding and grants, plus the on-time graduation scholarship from my school. So...not surprisingly, the saga continues....I'll keep you posted.
At any rate, my final progress report is out and my overall GPA remains 3.84. Yay me! My last grades were all A's and I got 100's on my final World Geography paper and my final fiction project for Creative Writing. Pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself. So....for taking 6 classes this last quarter, I received 4 A's, 1 B, and 1 C - I'm thinking I did pretty good all things considered. :)
So....classes resume next Monday. So far, we're still on the fence about funding so while I have looked at my books, I have not removed the shrink wrap or anything until we have some final determination and I know I can afford to stay in school and take all of my classes. But....so far everything looks really interesting. The last time I went through college I never got to take real writing and literature courses and stuff so I'm really, really enjoying those. If everything goes as planned, I will be taking Introduction to Literature and Visual Communication in the Media online and Figure Drawing and Digital Media Production on campus. Visual Communication in the Media reminds me of a Mass Media class I took in the 10th grade that I liked. Anything having to do with literature is right up my alley. Figure Drawing would be this quarter's torture class and Digital Media Production just looks exceptionally cool.
Until I hear more, things are kind of in limbo. Hopefully some resolution can be worked out over the next couple of days. I love school and learning, I always have, and having the opportunity to learn new things that interest and fascinate me (even when some aspects piss me off) is about my idea of bliss on Earth so....we shall see. Keep a good thought if you will folks.
Cheers!
So....hope everyone had great holidays. Mine was pretty okay. :) My new books for next quarter have arrived and they look pretty interesting. I am, however, currently wrangling with the Sallie Mae people about loan funding. They have, for some inexplicable reason, done away with the Signature Student Loan that was an alternative loan funding source allowing you to borrow the remainder of what you need for school plus extra for expenses like room and board, etc. With that loan, repayment is made starting 6 months after graduation. The interest rate is ridiculous, but it was a great source of funding, especially being able to borrow extra for living expenses seeing as I am still (grrr!) unemployed. Now, the only loans they are offering require you to make payments on the interest while going to school. Ummm...hello? Are they high? I'm not working, I have no income, how the hell am I supposed to make payments on a loan? So....I called them and they said that I did not qualify for grandfathering for the Signature Loan program and that the interest payment option was the only one left to me. This....pissed me off, so I wrote all my state and federal senators and congresspeople and also the President and basically said "WTF?" I've heard back from one state representative's office, but we're playing phone tag. I dunno. What I do know is that employers are now requiring a freaking Bachelor's degree for a damn secretarial position. Supposedly there are all these displaced worker programs going on to help people become more employable - - well...I'm trying to do that, but without the Signature Loan program, wtf am I supposed to do? If I can't get that, I can't go to school full-time because I can't afford it. If I'm not attending full-time I lose most of the rest of my governmental funding and grants, plus the on-time graduation scholarship from my school. So...not surprisingly, the saga continues....I'll keep you posted.
At any rate, my final progress report is out and my overall GPA remains 3.84. Yay me! My last grades were all A's and I got 100's on my final World Geography paper and my final fiction project for Creative Writing. Pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself. So....for taking 6 classes this last quarter, I received 4 A's, 1 B, and 1 C - I'm thinking I did pretty good all things considered. :)
So....classes resume next Monday. So far, we're still on the fence about funding so while I have looked at my books, I have not removed the shrink wrap or anything until we have some final determination and I know I can afford to stay in school and take all of my classes. But....so far everything looks really interesting. The last time I went through college I never got to take real writing and literature courses and stuff so I'm really, really enjoying those. If everything goes as planned, I will be taking Introduction to Literature and Visual Communication in the Media online and Figure Drawing and Digital Media Production on campus. Visual Communication in the Media reminds me of a Mass Media class I took in the 10th grade that I liked. Anything having to do with literature is right up my alley. Figure Drawing would be this quarter's torture class and Digital Media Production just looks exceptionally cool.
Until I hear more, things are kind of in limbo. Hopefully some resolution can be worked out over the next couple of days. I love school and learning, I always have, and having the opportunity to learn new things that interest and fascinate me (even when some aspects piss me off) is about my idea of bliss on Earth so....we shall see. Keep a good thought if you will folks.
Cheers!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
End of the Quarter and All That Jazz
Hey again all.
So....this quarter has not been very conducive to the blogging, that's for sure. Six classes is a crazy lot and leaves no time for any kind of life; especially not when College Algebra is part of the schedule. So....sorry I've been so lax here as of late. First and foremost, let me say that I am extremely glad this quarter is over. It was long and hard and fast and crazy, all at the same time. It definitely felt different than my previous two quarters. I did not have nearly enough time to fully concentrate on everything I wanted to, and I had a great deal of frustration this quarter. I also was very sick twice this quarter, plus had a great deal of family and personal life drama going on so....yeah....it's been a wild and weird 11 weeks. But, it is over! Huzzah!! I have determined that I am going back to a regular four class schedule and told all of my nearest and dearest that if they ever hear me mention increasing my courseload again, they have my permission to slap me completely senseless. So....there's that.
Final grades are still coming in, but I have three I can share with you and some projects from all of them. As more come online, I'll be back to update you.
First, let's go ahead and discuss algebra. This class was the bane of my existence this quarter. I am not a math person - at all. I can spell anything you want me to, and I'm a pretty good writer, but math is not my thing. Oddly enough, I can program mathematical calculations in programs like Excel and make wonderful things result, but your basic mathematics is not for me. It took about two weeks of me trying to get through all that nonsense on my own to realize that I couldn't and needed some serious help. Luckily, the tutor center at school had someone on staff who was awesome and got me through the quarter. It was also a very, very difficult class to take online. In a classroom setting, if you have questions you can ask the instructor right then and get the concepts explained to you. Online, you're at the liberty of your instructor's life schedule and ours admitted that we were her third job, and she had a family so....guess where we came in? She did the best she could and was very helpful and understanding, but it was a really difficult class to take online.
Almost as difficult as actually working out the problems was entering them in the Word document using Equation Editor and Graph Editor for submissions. The graphing part was an absolute nightmare and I kept getting things lost in the translation. Another really difficult part for me was all of the online quizzes. It's really hard to work off of the computer screen like that for me. I also had serious problems with the quizzes timing out on me and eating all of my work while I was taking the time to work the problems out on paper. So....about halfway through the quarter I started writing out the quizzes, then going back and entering the answers after I'd worked the problems out. It improved my grade immensely and kept the system from booting me so much. I had similar booting problems with other quizzes in my other classes, no matter which browser I tried to use. Since I've yet to have a quiz that is not open book, I really wish the quizzes came with a print option so you could print them out and work them on paper and then submit the answers. None of them are timed either so....I don't see why that can't be added it. But, whatever. Either way, thanks to writing those out, getting tutoring help from tutor girl and the SmarThinking online tutoring, I managed to get a solid C in that class. I passed and never have to take that again! And there was much rejoicing!!! :)
Second class to discuss - Fundamentals of Web Authoring and Design. This class was the class that put the nail in the coffin of me ever taking design classes online ever again. I thought no instructor could be worse than my Typography instructor from my first quarter - I was so wrong. This guy was just....where to begin? Unprofessional does not seem a strong enough word. His version of feedback on something was "ok, looks good". WTH is that??!! He would say "great job!" on a discussion grade, but only give 95% with no explanation of why there were percentage points taken off. When he did post in the forums, which was rare, it was usually some snotty comment. There was a big issue with an assignment that in his mind was a big research paper but read as a regular written assignment and he couldn't understand why us stupid students couldn't figure it out. He asked me for clarification, which I gave (and very politely too tyvm - I want a cookie and a gold star for that) and he still wanted to argue the point and then just said "I don't get it but, whatever." He gave no lecture notes and only linked Adobe tutorials which you can find on your own. Our book was Teach Yourself Dreamweaver in 24 Hours, and that's what we did. We taught ourselves and he dialed it in and did the least amount possible to pull down the paycheck. For less than I paid for this class, I could have bought the damn book myself and gotten the same experience, but without the snotty commentary from the instructor. And when we had a problem with linking our final projects and were told to contact our instructor, what did he say? Pay $4 on our own for some web space cuz he didn't know either. And who was his favorite student? The guy who used sexist female imagery on his final project of course! Is there something I'm missing here about graphic design? Is every guy in graphic design a sexist asshat or am I just getting lucky here with these instructors?
Either way, I have made it very clear I will not pay for anymore classes with this instructor and I will not take anymore design classes online. They are completely ineffectual and the instructors do not do the job when it comes to helping students to understand the concepts; it was just utterly useless. However, I do have a final project to link and for never having done anything in web design and teaching myself, I'm pretty proud of it. Naturally, the instructor hated it. According to him:
"Not bad, Amy. Your navigation works. Your external link works. I'll count your order form as a feedback form, though they aren't the same thing. Your layout and design is weaker than I'd like though. The overall look of your site isn't quite professional yet. Your buttons are HUGE and your layout is just blog style which is all dead giveaways for amateur web design. Work on that and you'll go far."
Huh - maybe if I'd had a decent instructor to, oh, I dunno, EXPLAIN some things, I might have been able to do better. Anyhow....I got a B in that class. Here is my final project: http://sotd.us/amyburns/HomePage.html
And here is the project by the class star pupil: http://www.ocalanightlife.com/
Now, personally, living in this town, I know this Ocala Nightlife thing has been around for years. I'm not sure how much of this he actually did himself and how much he took from what already existed, but....whatever. Don't you love the images? (puke, gag, retch) I'll give him that it looks professional, but it's also incredibly offensive and pedestrian. But he's got an A for sure cuz all those male instructors seem to just love to objectify women. }:(
Last of the three classes I have a final grade for is 3D Animation. My grade is an A. I still love this stuff so much. However, this quarter was really difficult. Unlike last quarter when there was no one in the computer lab and there was plenty of time to get in there and work, including on the weekends, this quarter it seemed like every person in every other major decided the computer lab was an extension of the student lounge where they could come in there and play on MySpace and Facebook and blare music out of headphones and talk and horse around and act like idiots. When that wasn't happening, the computers were glitching. It made working on my project really, really difficult. The weekends unfortunately were not any better as there were continually people bringing their kids in and having loud conversations, letting their kids on the computers (which they aren't supposed to do) and being disruptive. For the amount of money I'm paying for these classes y'all, I think the computer lab should be off limits to anyone not in the Design program so we have a place to go and work. I would have loved to have had the 3DS Max software at home this quarter so I could work in peace and quiet and on my hours. But....didn't happen. So....with all that, I still managed. Yay me. I'm actually pretty proud of my final projects. Or I was until I went and saw Avatar and now they just look really amateur and stupid. But, I just remind myself that this is only my second animation-type class and that I'm only in my third quarter of my first year so....give myself a break. So....first project was our Course Assessment. We had to design a solar system, make the light source come from the sun, apply materials to our planets, make them rotate around the sun, and add in a flythrough camera path. So....here it is:
Our final project was an animation of our own creation. I went through a lot of different ideas and storyboards, but finally came up with this. I call it Snow Shock. See what you think:
We also had a final paper to complete, but it's not worth posting. We simply had to choose a kind of animation to discuss and write a paper about it. I chose claymation. It was just your basic research paper, blah, blah, blah.
So....that's all I have so far for grades. Still waiting for final grades from World Geography, Creative Writing, and Astronomy. As they come online I will be back with more to share with you.
Next quarter should be interesting and quieter, I hope. I'm taking two on campus classes and two online classes. Monday nights on campus is Figure Drawing, which will be with the same instructor who I had Drawing Design and Art Theory with, so I will get a chance to ask him wth happened with my final grade there. Wednesday nights is Digital Media Production which should be with my same instructor from my two 3D Animation classes and a lot of those classmates so....that should be good. A lot of my classmates from 3D Animation should be in Figure Drawing too so it'll be nice to know some people. Online I will be taking Introduction to Literature and Visual Communication in the Media. Those should hopefully be easy classes. We shall see.
Aside from that, I'm just enjoying the downtime from this quarter and the break before next. Next quarter starts my sophomore year so I'm making progress and school seems to be going by pretty quickly. I'm hoping that this next quarter kind of renews my warm fuzzy feeling toward my school. I've had a lot of concerns about things here lately, not the least of which is whether or not they are fully accredited, whether or not potential employers will consider it a "real" degree or an online degree, and whether or not I am getting the best educational experience for my dollar. I went online to the Pixar site to check things out and they use a completely different software called Maya that according to all my reading in the course catalog, my school does not even have or teach so....looks like I'm headed to the Internet for info on that one. As I say, we shall see how this quarter works out. I've been researching other schools and if I don't feel like things are moving in the right direction, I'll transfer what I can somewhere else. But then, there's another concern - will any of these credits even transfer somewhere else? Suffice it to say that in my mind, Rasmussen is on probation with me right now. We'll see how next quarter and the future go.
So....that's it for now. More to come in follow-up as more grades come online. Also - on a non-school note - if you haven't seen Avatar yet - GO SEE IT!!! That is the most visually stunning and amazing film I've seen in a long time. It totally reminded me of why I returned to school and what I want to be able to do when I get out. I'm already working on a couple of screenplays and stories and have so much I want to do. I just need to get the skills and knowledge to do it. So....cheers for now all!
So....this quarter has not been very conducive to the blogging, that's for sure. Six classes is a crazy lot and leaves no time for any kind of life; especially not when College Algebra is part of the schedule. So....sorry I've been so lax here as of late. First and foremost, let me say that I am extremely glad this quarter is over. It was long and hard and fast and crazy, all at the same time. It definitely felt different than my previous two quarters. I did not have nearly enough time to fully concentrate on everything I wanted to, and I had a great deal of frustration this quarter. I also was very sick twice this quarter, plus had a great deal of family and personal life drama going on so....yeah....it's been a wild and weird 11 weeks. But, it is over! Huzzah!! I have determined that I am going back to a regular four class schedule and told all of my nearest and dearest that if they ever hear me mention increasing my courseload again, they have my permission to slap me completely senseless. So....there's that.
Final grades are still coming in, but I have three I can share with you and some projects from all of them. As more come online, I'll be back to update you.
First, let's go ahead and discuss algebra. This class was the bane of my existence this quarter. I am not a math person - at all. I can spell anything you want me to, and I'm a pretty good writer, but math is not my thing. Oddly enough, I can program mathematical calculations in programs like Excel and make wonderful things result, but your basic mathematics is not for me. It took about two weeks of me trying to get through all that nonsense on my own to realize that I couldn't and needed some serious help. Luckily, the tutor center at school had someone on staff who was awesome and got me through the quarter. It was also a very, very difficult class to take online. In a classroom setting, if you have questions you can ask the instructor right then and get the concepts explained to you. Online, you're at the liberty of your instructor's life schedule and ours admitted that we were her third job, and she had a family so....guess where we came in? She did the best she could and was very helpful and understanding, but it was a really difficult class to take online.
Almost as difficult as actually working out the problems was entering them in the Word document using Equation Editor and Graph Editor for submissions. The graphing part was an absolute nightmare and I kept getting things lost in the translation. Another really difficult part for me was all of the online quizzes. It's really hard to work off of the computer screen like that for me. I also had serious problems with the quizzes timing out on me and eating all of my work while I was taking the time to work the problems out on paper. So....about halfway through the quarter I started writing out the quizzes, then going back and entering the answers after I'd worked the problems out. It improved my grade immensely and kept the system from booting me so much. I had similar booting problems with other quizzes in my other classes, no matter which browser I tried to use. Since I've yet to have a quiz that is not open book, I really wish the quizzes came with a print option so you could print them out and work them on paper and then submit the answers. None of them are timed either so....I don't see why that can't be added it. But, whatever. Either way, thanks to writing those out, getting tutoring help from tutor girl and the SmarThinking online tutoring, I managed to get a solid C in that class. I passed and never have to take that again! And there was much rejoicing!!! :)
Second class to discuss - Fundamentals of Web Authoring and Design. This class was the class that put the nail in the coffin of me ever taking design classes online ever again. I thought no instructor could be worse than my Typography instructor from my first quarter - I was so wrong. This guy was just....where to begin? Unprofessional does not seem a strong enough word. His version of feedback on something was "ok, looks good". WTH is that??!! He would say "great job!" on a discussion grade, but only give 95% with no explanation of why there were percentage points taken off. When he did post in the forums, which was rare, it was usually some snotty comment. There was a big issue with an assignment that in his mind was a big research paper but read as a regular written assignment and he couldn't understand why us stupid students couldn't figure it out. He asked me for clarification, which I gave (and very politely too tyvm - I want a cookie and a gold star for that) and he still wanted to argue the point and then just said "I don't get it but, whatever." He gave no lecture notes and only linked Adobe tutorials which you can find on your own. Our book was Teach Yourself Dreamweaver in 24 Hours, and that's what we did. We taught ourselves and he dialed it in and did the least amount possible to pull down the paycheck. For less than I paid for this class, I could have bought the damn book myself and gotten the same experience, but without the snotty commentary from the instructor. And when we had a problem with linking our final projects and were told to contact our instructor, what did he say? Pay $4 on our own for some web space cuz he didn't know either. And who was his favorite student? The guy who used sexist female imagery on his final project of course! Is there something I'm missing here about graphic design? Is every guy in graphic design a sexist asshat or am I just getting lucky here with these instructors?
Either way, I have made it very clear I will not pay for anymore classes with this instructor and I will not take anymore design classes online. They are completely ineffectual and the instructors do not do the job when it comes to helping students to understand the concepts; it was just utterly useless. However, I do have a final project to link and for never having done anything in web design and teaching myself, I'm pretty proud of it. Naturally, the instructor hated it. According to him:
"Not bad, Amy. Your navigation works. Your external link works. I'll count your order form as a feedback form, though they aren't the same thing. Your layout and design is weaker than I'd like though. The overall look of your site isn't quite professional yet. Your buttons are HUGE and your layout is just blog style which is all dead giveaways for amateur web design. Work on that and you'll go far."
Huh - maybe if I'd had a decent instructor to, oh, I dunno, EXPLAIN some things, I might have been able to do better. Anyhow....I got a B in that class. Here is my final project: http://sotd.us/amyburns/HomePage.html
And here is the project by the class star pupil: http://www.ocalanightlife.com/
Now, personally, living in this town, I know this Ocala Nightlife thing has been around for years. I'm not sure how much of this he actually did himself and how much he took from what already existed, but....whatever. Don't you love the images? (puke, gag, retch) I'll give him that it looks professional, but it's also incredibly offensive and pedestrian. But he's got an A for sure cuz all those male instructors seem to just love to objectify women. }:(
Last of the three classes I have a final grade for is 3D Animation. My grade is an A. I still love this stuff so much. However, this quarter was really difficult. Unlike last quarter when there was no one in the computer lab and there was plenty of time to get in there and work, including on the weekends, this quarter it seemed like every person in every other major decided the computer lab was an extension of the student lounge where they could come in there and play on MySpace and Facebook and blare music out of headphones and talk and horse around and act like idiots. When that wasn't happening, the computers were glitching. It made working on my project really, really difficult. The weekends unfortunately were not any better as there were continually people bringing their kids in and having loud conversations, letting their kids on the computers (which they aren't supposed to do) and being disruptive. For the amount of money I'm paying for these classes y'all, I think the computer lab should be off limits to anyone not in the Design program so we have a place to go and work. I would have loved to have had the 3DS Max software at home this quarter so I could work in peace and quiet and on my hours. But....didn't happen. So....with all that, I still managed. Yay me. I'm actually pretty proud of my final projects. Or I was until I went and saw Avatar and now they just look really amateur and stupid. But, I just remind myself that this is only my second animation-type class and that I'm only in my third quarter of my first year so....give myself a break. So....first project was our Course Assessment. We had to design a solar system, make the light source come from the sun, apply materials to our planets, make them rotate around the sun, and add in a flythrough camera path. So....here it is:
Our final project was an animation of our own creation. I went through a lot of different ideas and storyboards, but finally came up with this. I call it Snow Shock. See what you think:
We also had a final paper to complete, but it's not worth posting. We simply had to choose a kind of animation to discuss and write a paper about it. I chose claymation. It was just your basic research paper, blah, blah, blah.
So....that's all I have so far for grades. Still waiting for final grades from World Geography, Creative Writing, and Astronomy. As they come online I will be back with more to share with you.
Next quarter should be interesting and quieter, I hope. I'm taking two on campus classes and two online classes. Monday nights on campus is Figure Drawing, which will be with the same instructor who I had Drawing Design and Art Theory with, so I will get a chance to ask him wth happened with my final grade there. Wednesday nights is Digital Media Production which should be with my same instructor from my two 3D Animation classes and a lot of those classmates so....that should be good. A lot of my classmates from 3D Animation should be in Figure Drawing too so it'll be nice to know some people. Online I will be taking Introduction to Literature and Visual Communication in the Media. Those should hopefully be easy classes. We shall see.
Aside from that, I'm just enjoying the downtime from this quarter and the break before next. Next quarter starts my sophomore year so I'm making progress and school seems to be going by pretty quickly. I'm hoping that this next quarter kind of renews my warm fuzzy feeling toward my school. I've had a lot of concerns about things here lately, not the least of which is whether or not they are fully accredited, whether or not potential employers will consider it a "real" degree or an online degree, and whether or not I am getting the best educational experience for my dollar. I went online to the Pixar site to check things out and they use a completely different software called Maya that according to all my reading in the course catalog, my school does not even have or teach so....looks like I'm headed to the Internet for info on that one. As I say, we shall see how this quarter works out. I've been researching other schools and if I don't feel like things are moving in the right direction, I'll transfer what I can somewhere else. But then, there's another concern - will any of these credits even transfer somewhere else? Suffice it to say that in my mind, Rasmussen is on probation with me right now. We'll see how next quarter and the future go.
So....that's it for now. More to come in follow-up as more grades come online. Also - on a non-school note - if you haven't seen Avatar yet - GO SEE IT!!! That is the most visually stunning and amazing film I've seen in a long time. It totally reminded me of why I returned to school and what I want to be able to do when I get out. I'm already working on a couple of screenplays and stories and have so much I want to do. I just need to get the skills and knowledge to do it. So....cheers for now all!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saying I'm Pissed is the Understatement of the Century!
Hi all.
Well....it's the beginning of the second week of break. Fall Quarter starts next Monday.
I have lots of news, but we'll start with what is making me see red this morning. They finally posted grades for the Summer Quarter and my Drawing Design and Art Theory grade went from a B at Mid-Term to a B- at the final. Basically, this has jacked my GPA to 3.84 overall. I am not a happy person right now. For one thing, I'd like to know why the hell the instructor never answered the two e-mails I sent asking for my final project and class grades. He said to send an e-mail and he would reply LAST MONDAY and never replied to anything. So that ticked me off from the start. Second, WTF is with my grade going DOWN when he and everyone else in the class said I'd made the most progress in the course???!!! I'm just.....uuuugggghhh! Grrrrrr!!! Not a happy person AT ALL!!! >:( So, needless to say, that's seriously got my back up this morning. Happy Monday to me. :( The rest of my grades for the quarter were as expected, A in E-Commerce, A in Intro to Business, A in Intro to 3D Arts and Animation. So....yeah....whatever.
Moving on.....I have received my books for next quarter and WOW! that's a lotta stuff! Breaking it down for ya:
College Algebra has a massive book, massive workbook, 9-disc tutorial and 5-disc problem thingy. Needless to say, this is going to be my rough class this quarter.
World Geography has a giant book and a giant atlas book that goes with it. Geography has always been something I have trouble with so....this will be a challenge as well.
Astronomy (which I keep confusing with Astrology), has just one book and it's mostly pictures. Very pretty pictures at that. I have a feeling that class will have lots of lecture, otherwise it's going to be hard to learn online. We shall see.
Creative Writing has one little book with it. I read the first chapter and it's okay. I just really wish that some of these writing books, specifically those written by women, would use more female writers than always falling back on the same male writers we've all read a million times before. Can't we move forward and realize women have been writing, and writing astounding works, just as long as men and try to highlight some of that? Is it asking too much? Apparently so. :( Ah well....we shall see. It's more of the same highbrow crap that drives me nuts too. I'm not much for the flowery writing, I like honest, straightforward, real prose. I dunno. It'll be interesting to see if that instructor is male or female.
Fundmentals of Web Authoring and Design has a Teach Yourself Dreamweaver in 24 Hours book that goes with it. Since the only web authoring I've ever done has been on Microsoft Front Page, and the only coding a severely basic smattering of HTML and then a ton of Visual Basic, suffice it to say that I've got some learning to do on this software. :)
Our book for our next level 3D Animation class is very interesting. It's an older book, but it does have more in it about stuff than our last book so....combined together and with the lecture and lab work, I think it'll be another fun class. I like working in 3DS Max and I like modeling - I could totally see myself doing that all day.
So....that's the latest. I am very, very, very unhappy about the grade I got in Drawing Design, but it's done and there's nothing I can do about it now. :( Time to move on to the next exciting quarter. In the meantime, I know I'll be spending a good portion of this week online playing Evony and Plants vs. Zombies, which I have gotten addicted to. I expect the intervention will commence any day now. "Amy, step away from the computer...." :)
I shall return next week with all the latest news from the new Fall Quarter. Cheers until then!
Well....it's the beginning of the second week of break. Fall Quarter starts next Monday.
I have lots of news, but we'll start with what is making me see red this morning. They finally posted grades for the Summer Quarter and my Drawing Design and Art Theory grade went from a B at Mid-Term to a B- at the final. Basically, this has jacked my GPA to 3.84 overall. I am not a happy person right now. For one thing, I'd like to know why the hell the instructor never answered the two e-mails I sent asking for my final project and class grades. He said to send an e-mail and he would reply LAST MONDAY and never replied to anything. So that ticked me off from the start. Second, WTF is with my grade going DOWN when he and everyone else in the class said I'd made the most progress in the course???!!! I'm just.....uuuugggghhh! Grrrrrr!!! Not a happy person AT ALL!!! >:( So, needless to say, that's seriously got my back up this morning. Happy Monday to me. :( The rest of my grades for the quarter were as expected, A in E-Commerce, A in Intro to Business, A in Intro to 3D Arts and Animation. So....yeah....whatever.
Moving on.....I have received my books for next quarter and WOW! that's a lotta stuff! Breaking it down for ya:
College Algebra has a massive book, massive workbook, 9-disc tutorial and 5-disc problem thingy. Needless to say, this is going to be my rough class this quarter.
World Geography has a giant book and a giant atlas book that goes with it. Geography has always been something I have trouble with so....this will be a challenge as well.
Astronomy (which I keep confusing with Astrology), has just one book and it's mostly pictures. Very pretty pictures at that. I have a feeling that class will have lots of lecture, otherwise it's going to be hard to learn online. We shall see.
Creative Writing has one little book with it. I read the first chapter and it's okay. I just really wish that some of these writing books, specifically those written by women, would use more female writers than always falling back on the same male writers we've all read a million times before. Can't we move forward and realize women have been writing, and writing astounding works, just as long as men and try to highlight some of that? Is it asking too much? Apparently so. :( Ah well....we shall see. It's more of the same highbrow crap that drives me nuts too. I'm not much for the flowery writing, I like honest, straightforward, real prose. I dunno. It'll be interesting to see if that instructor is male or female.
Fundmentals of Web Authoring and Design has a Teach Yourself Dreamweaver in 24 Hours book that goes with it. Since the only web authoring I've ever done has been on Microsoft Front Page, and the only coding a severely basic smattering of HTML and then a ton of Visual Basic, suffice it to say that I've got some learning to do on this software. :)
Our book for our next level 3D Animation class is very interesting. It's an older book, but it does have more in it about stuff than our last book so....combined together and with the lecture and lab work, I think it'll be another fun class. I like working in 3DS Max and I like modeling - I could totally see myself doing that all day.
So....that's the latest. I am very, very, very unhappy about the grade I got in Drawing Design, but it's done and there's nothing I can do about it now. :( Time to move on to the next exciting quarter. In the meantime, I know I'll be spending a good portion of this week online playing Evony and Plants vs. Zombies, which I have gotten addicted to. I expect the intervention will commence any day now. "Amy, step away from the computer...." :)
I shall return next week with all the latest news from the new Fall Quarter. Cheers until then!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Next Quarter's Finalized Schedule
Hi all.
Well....it's hard to believe it, but my second quarter here at Rasmussen is almost over. Seems like the time is flying! :) Things are going well. I think I will survive this quarter with 3 A's and one B. At least that's my hope. I can't see myself pulling off better than a B in my Drawing Design class. I'm lucky I've got the B I think. :)
So....came into school today and met with the registrar and financial aid (both a couple of times actually), and finally have my schedule for next quarter finalized. I started out with four design classes and two gen ed classes, but my financial aid wouldn't jive with that, so now it's four gen ed classes and two design. Five are online, only one on campus. This will indeed be an interesting quarter with taking 6 courses and 22 credit hours - wowza! I think I'm insane. We shall see. Anyhoo....here's how it's shaking out:
Fundamentals of Web Authoring and Design
Introduction to Astronomy
Creative Writing
World Geography
College Algebra
3-Dimensional Animation
Overall, I like this schedule and think it will be interesting. I know absolutely nothing about astronomy other than what the Big Dipper looks like in the sky so I'll be learning all new things there - cool!
Fundamentals of Web Authoring and Design should be interesting. All about setting up and coding web pages.
Creative Writing should be really fun and interesting. By the end of the class we have to have written a 6,000 word project.
World Geography should be interesting too. I'm a bit geography-challenged, so I'm excited to have a chance to really learn that stuff. I always miss the geography questions on Jeopardy!
College Algebra will more than likely kick my ass. Luckily, there is tutoring help here at school that I am sure I will utilize. I suck with numbers.
3-Dimensional Animation is the next step up from the Intro class I'm taking this quarter. I really love these Animation courses, so I'm stoked to get going with the next one. Also - a good portion of the people in my class this quarter will probably be in that class, so it will be nice to already know some people. It's my only on campus class next quarter.
I'll be almost out of lower level gen ed courses after this one, so I'm going to have to work with financial aid in squaring away enough aid to cover the design heavy quarters that will follow until I get to upper level classes. But, things should be interesting next quarter. I'll be excited to get my new books! I always am.
So...that's the latest. More to come later as things progress. Laters!
Well....it's hard to believe it, but my second quarter here at Rasmussen is almost over. Seems like the time is flying! :) Things are going well. I think I will survive this quarter with 3 A's and one B. At least that's my hope. I can't see myself pulling off better than a B in my Drawing Design class. I'm lucky I've got the B I think. :)
So....came into school today and met with the registrar and financial aid (both a couple of times actually), and finally have my schedule for next quarter finalized. I started out with four design classes and two gen ed classes, but my financial aid wouldn't jive with that, so now it's four gen ed classes and two design. Five are online, only one on campus. This will indeed be an interesting quarter with taking 6 courses and 22 credit hours - wowza! I think I'm insane. We shall see. Anyhoo....here's how it's shaking out:
Fundamentals of Web Authoring and Design
Introduction to Astronomy
Creative Writing
World Geography
College Algebra
3-Dimensional Animation
Overall, I like this schedule and think it will be interesting. I know absolutely nothing about astronomy other than what the Big Dipper looks like in the sky so I'll be learning all new things there - cool!
Fundamentals of Web Authoring and Design should be interesting. All about setting up and coding web pages.
Creative Writing should be really fun and interesting. By the end of the class we have to have written a 6,000 word project.
World Geography should be interesting too. I'm a bit geography-challenged, so I'm excited to have a chance to really learn that stuff. I always miss the geography questions on Jeopardy!
College Algebra will more than likely kick my ass. Luckily, there is tutoring help here at school that I am sure I will utilize. I suck with numbers.
3-Dimensional Animation is the next step up from the Intro class I'm taking this quarter. I really love these Animation courses, so I'm stoked to get going with the next one. Also - a good portion of the people in my class this quarter will probably be in that class, so it will be nice to already know some people. It's my only on campus class next quarter.
I'll be almost out of lower level gen ed courses after this one, so I'm going to have to work with financial aid in squaring away enough aid to cover the design heavy quarters that will follow until I get to upper level classes. But, things should be interesting next quarter. I'll be excited to get my new books! I always am.
So...that's the latest. More to come later as things progress. Laters!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Allow Me To Brag A Bit Please!!
Hey y'all
So....allow me a moment here to brag, if you will. Remember my beautiful bridge from my previous post? (if not, go look at it - I'll wait.....back? OK!)
Well....turns out that I'm the only one in the class that got it right! We went over the architectural project and the instructor is all:
"So....let's go over our architectural projects from last week - YOU!"
He points at me.
"Want to come up and tell us how you did it?"
Well...I didn't get up, 'cuz I hate being the center of attention, but I did explain how I did it.
"Well....first, I went online and searched for pictures of suspension bridges to get an idea of what I was trying to do..."
"PERFECT! YES! EXACTLY! I highly recommend this - it's always good to have some background - next?"
"Well...."
And then I went on to explain how I did it.
"Excellent! This is definitely an A, you got an A. A+ really. This is a perfect example - the exact way I would instruct anyone in building this particular project - WELL DONE!"
Yeah, it's okay to be a little impressed with me - I sure as hell am! God knows I'm the red-headed stepchild of my incredibly talented Drawing Design class so....I'll take the kudos where I can get 'em kiddies!
So....I had to share that with y'all. Really made my week, let me tell you. :)
Onward.....so.....finally got my new schedule. It needs some tweaking (which will happen Tuesday morning at 8 in the bright a.m.), but I'm definitely scheduled for the next 3D Animation class. AWESOME! I really am enjoying this stuff. I can totally see being happy being paid to sit and model shit all day. That would be hella cool! I'll wait to impart any other schedule knowledge until it's all worked out so....watch this space, as always.
Other grade situations - online classes = A's, Drawing Design - I still think I'm holding my B there (I hope). I have sketching to do later today and then will try to post some newness soon. Our assignment for this week is 2 pages of sketches without using lines - WTF is that about??!! Apparently we're supposed to only use shading and cross-hatching and shit. What. Ever. I'm really just trying to survive this class y'all, for real. Just please let me get to the end of the quarter without an F is all I'm asking. I just need to pass. I'll have one other drawing class for my major - Figure Drawing - at some point. Oy! That's all I can say about that.
So....that's the latest. I shall endeavor to get back with sketches soon but in the meantime, marvel at that bridge why don't ya - my bridge is FIERCE!!! Yes it is! ;) Laters all!
So....allow me a moment here to brag, if you will. Remember my beautiful bridge from my previous post? (if not, go look at it - I'll wait.....back? OK!)
Well....turns out that I'm the only one in the class that got it right! We went over the architectural project and the instructor is all:
"So....let's go over our architectural projects from last week - YOU!"
He points at me.
"Want to come up and tell us how you did it?"
Well...I didn't get up, 'cuz I hate being the center of attention, but I did explain how I did it.
"Well....first, I went online and searched for pictures of suspension bridges to get an idea of what I was trying to do..."
"PERFECT! YES! EXACTLY! I highly recommend this - it's always good to have some background - next?"
"Well...."
And then I went on to explain how I did it.
"Excellent! This is definitely an A, you got an A. A+ really. This is a perfect example - the exact way I would instruct anyone in building this particular project - WELL DONE!"
Yeah, it's okay to be a little impressed with me - I sure as hell am! God knows I'm the red-headed stepchild of my incredibly talented Drawing Design class so....I'll take the kudos where I can get 'em kiddies!
So....I had to share that with y'all. Really made my week, let me tell you. :)
Onward.....so.....finally got my new schedule. It needs some tweaking (which will happen Tuesday morning at 8 in the bright a.m.), but I'm definitely scheduled for the next 3D Animation class. AWESOME! I really am enjoying this stuff. I can totally see being happy being paid to sit and model shit all day. That would be hella cool! I'll wait to impart any other schedule knowledge until it's all worked out so....watch this space, as always.
Other grade situations - online classes = A's, Drawing Design - I still think I'm holding my B there (I hope). I have sketching to do later today and then will try to post some newness soon. Our assignment for this week is 2 pages of sketches without using lines - WTF is that about??!! Apparently we're supposed to only use shading and cross-hatching and shit. What. Ever. I'm really just trying to survive this class y'all, for real. Just please let me get to the end of the quarter without an F is all I'm asking. I just need to pass. I'll have one other drawing class for my major - Figure Drawing - at some point. Oy! That's all I can say about that.
So....that's the latest. I shall endeavor to get back with sketches soon but in the meantime, marvel at that bridge why don't ya - my bridge is FIERCE!!! Yes it is! ;) Laters all!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Welcome to the end of Week 7!
Hi all.
Wow - things have been really crazy busy here lately! My dog has been sick, I've been dealing with some work weirdness, and school is....school. :) On the plus side, I finally checked all of my mid-term grades and everything is A's except for my Drawing Design and Art Theory class, which is a B, which is better than I thought so - yay! If I turn in a really kick-ass final project, I may be able to salvage my GPA! Oh the joy!
Intro to Business and E-Commerce are pretty much dud courses. Incredibly boring and banal but....what are you going to do, right? It wouldn't be so bad if the books weren't so far behind the times. I think the E-Commerce one is from 2000 or 2001 - - don't they realize how much shit has gone down since then? Anyway, it makes reading them and juxtaposing all of that with the current state of things a little head-trippy.
In Drawing Design we have moved on to portraits and figure drawing. I need to take some pics of my new sketches and show y'all the mock-up of my final project but, honestly, it ain't gonna happen tonight. I'm about out of steam and still have homework to do. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow or Sunday.
On to 3D Animation, which is my favorite class this quarter. We've been doing so much cool stuff. We're still in modeling, but I like it. I definitely chose a good major for me, that's for sure. :) So - without further ado, more postings of the cool stuff we've been doing!
First off, we have a project called the Boolean Project, which was using Boolean Commands and Compound Objects. We had to build a claw-footed hammer, a mallet, a dagger, and a pillar. (yes - that's a dagger - shut up!)
Then we had an assignment to build a solar sytem:
Then our newest projects were using Edit Mesh commands. Here we had to make a flying saucer, a doorknob, and a lightbulb (yes - that's a lightbulb - shut up!)
Finally, our newest projects are to build a building like the Capitol in Washington, D.C. and a suspension bridge. I'm still working on the bridge, but here is my Capitol so far:
It's still a work in progress, but I like it so far.
Aside from all of that, it's just business as usual. Schedules for next quarter should go up any day now so I'm excited to see what I end up with. I'll be sure to let y'all know. So - - onward and upward. Again, I'll try to get some new sketches up tomorrow or Sunday for your amusement. Laters!
P.S. - we got sent an e-mail with a link to sign up for the Jeopardy College Tournament test online - I signed up. The test is Tuesday - this should be interesting! ;)
Wow - things have been really crazy busy here lately! My dog has been sick, I've been dealing with some work weirdness, and school is....school. :) On the plus side, I finally checked all of my mid-term grades and everything is A's except for my Drawing Design and Art Theory class, which is a B, which is better than I thought so - yay! If I turn in a really kick-ass final project, I may be able to salvage my GPA! Oh the joy!
Intro to Business and E-Commerce are pretty much dud courses. Incredibly boring and banal but....what are you going to do, right? It wouldn't be so bad if the books weren't so far behind the times. I think the E-Commerce one is from 2000 or 2001 - - don't they realize how much shit has gone down since then? Anyway, it makes reading them and juxtaposing all of that with the current state of things a little head-trippy.
In Drawing Design we have moved on to portraits and figure drawing. I need to take some pics of my new sketches and show y'all the mock-up of my final project but, honestly, it ain't gonna happen tonight. I'm about out of steam and still have homework to do. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow or Sunday.
On to 3D Animation, which is my favorite class this quarter. We've been doing so much cool stuff. We're still in modeling, but I like it. I definitely chose a good major for me, that's for sure. :) So - without further ado, more postings of the cool stuff we've been doing!
First off, we have a project called the Boolean Project, which was using Boolean Commands and Compound Objects. We had to build a claw-footed hammer, a mallet, a dagger, and a pillar. (yes - that's a dagger - shut up!)
Then we had an assignment to build a solar sytem:
Then our newest projects were using Edit Mesh commands. Here we had to make a flying saucer, a doorknob, and a lightbulb (yes - that's a lightbulb - shut up!)
Finally, our newest projects are to build a building like the Capitol in Washington, D.C. and a suspension bridge. I'm still working on the bridge, but here is my Capitol so far:
It's still a work in progress, but I like it so far.
Aside from all of that, it's just business as usual. Schedules for next quarter should go up any day now so I'm excited to see what I end up with. I'll be sure to let y'all know. So - - onward and upward. Again, I'll try to get some new sketches up tomorrow or Sunday for your amusement. Laters!
P.S. - we got sent an e-mail with a link to sign up for the Jeopardy College Tournament test online - I signed up. The test is Tuesday - this should be interesting! ;)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Final GPA
Well, my final GPA for the first quarter is officially 3.95. I'm bummed. I really wanted my 4.0. Stupid Typography instructor and his stupid A-!!! :( grrrrrr!! But, all in all, I should be happy, I know. School is difficult for perfectionists, let me tell you. :)
I received my books and they are really interesting! My two books for my Drawing Design and Art Theory class are cool and kind of Drawing for Dummies, so I know I'm in the right place! :) Then, in addition to the books we got a drawing kit that's a real Drawing for Dummies kit! :) Has a little wooden model in it and everything! So - that should be a really cool class.
For my Introduction to 3D Animation class, it's a new software program - 3ds Max. I downloaded the trial version of the software because to run the tutorial disc you have to have the software. My poor little computer just doesn't have enough memory to run it properly - I need an upgrade - but what I have been able to try is really cool. I'm looking forward to that class.
My Intro to Business class book is ginormous!! Seriously huge book with small print that fills up pages with really, really small margins - the text practically fills the entire page! Also came with 4 CDs containing chapter audio notes - that's going to be a serious class with serious tests and stuff - I can tell.
My E-Commerce book is also pretty detailed. It's another class that I think is going to be serious and have real tests and stuff.
So....I'm working and reading ahead for the second quarter. I'm excited!!
More to come later!
I received my books and they are really interesting! My two books for my Drawing Design and Art Theory class are cool and kind of Drawing for Dummies, so I know I'm in the right place! :) Then, in addition to the books we got a drawing kit that's a real Drawing for Dummies kit! :) Has a little wooden model in it and everything! So - that should be a really cool class.
For my Introduction to 3D Animation class, it's a new software program - 3ds Max. I downloaded the trial version of the software because to run the tutorial disc you have to have the software. My poor little computer just doesn't have enough memory to run it properly - I need an upgrade - but what I have been able to try is really cool. I'm looking forward to that class.
My Intro to Business class book is ginormous!! Seriously huge book with small print that fills up pages with really, really small margins - the text practically fills the entire page! Also came with 4 CDs containing chapter audio notes - that's going to be a serious class with serious tests and stuff - I can tell.
My E-Commerce book is also pretty detailed. It's another class that I think is going to be serious and have real tests and stuff.
So....I'm working and reading ahead for the second quarter. I'm excited!!
More to come later!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Summer Schedule Is Out!
Hey all!
Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend and thanked a vet! :)
Classes this week are pretty quiet. I guess the instructors decided to give themselves a quieter week with the holiday, so assignments are pretty light. Success Strategies had a dorky quiz and discussion. Intro to Computer Graphics is all about color this week and making up color palettes. Nothing worth posting. For English Composition this week, we have to go online and find two reviews for the same movie and evaluate them. Again, not really worth posting. Typography this week is the flyer that goes along with our Final Project. I will be completing that today or tomorrow and posting it. :) So....pretty quiet week school-wise.
New schedules for Summer Quarter came out today. I've already confirmed mine and new classes start July 6th. We have about three weeks off between quarters. That will give me time to play with these Adobe programs some more, and also to play around on a bunch of different design and tutorial sites that I've found through Twitter. There are some awesome design peeps on Twitter posting some great info!
So....my schedule for Summer Quarter includes my first campus classes. I decided not to take an extra class, but to stick with the standard full-time four-class schedule to evaluate how I do with it before adding anymore. Success Strategies wasn't really much of a class this quarter so....I want to make sure I can handle the real, full course load before adding anything to the mix. That said, my four classes for Summer are:
Drawing Design and Art Theory (campus class - 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays)
E-Commerce (online class)
Introduction to 3D Arts and Animation (campus class - 6:00 p.m. on Fridays)
Introduction to Business (online class)
I think the Intro to Business class will be a bit of a snoozer, as may E-Commerce. I do hope to get some extra ideas from both for help with my Etsy and Artfire businesses though. Drawing Design and Art Theory should be very challenging for me. I'm not a good freehand drawer so....we'll see how that one goes. :) Intro to 3D Arts and Animation is an integral course for my major so I'm very, very excited about that class!
So....Summer Quarter schedule looks good to me. I should be receiving my books for those classes shortly and will be spending my time between quarters studying them, working on learning my software better, and browsing all those good design sites.
I feel I made the right choice in choosing Digital Design and Animation for my major. It's interesting, challenging, and keeps me on my toes. I certainly haven't lost interest in my classes or become bored (Success Strategies notwithstanding). I have been frustrated and challenged, yes - but this is a good thing. School has always been easy for me, so having challenge involved has been excellent. I'm looking forward to moving on with my studies!
That's the latest from here. Back later to post my Typography Flyer. Cheers!
Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend and thanked a vet! :)
Classes this week are pretty quiet. I guess the instructors decided to give themselves a quieter week with the holiday, so assignments are pretty light. Success Strategies had a dorky quiz and discussion. Intro to Computer Graphics is all about color this week and making up color palettes. Nothing worth posting. For English Composition this week, we have to go online and find two reviews for the same movie and evaluate them. Again, not really worth posting. Typography this week is the flyer that goes along with our Final Project. I will be completing that today or tomorrow and posting it. :) So....pretty quiet week school-wise.
New schedules for Summer Quarter came out today. I've already confirmed mine and new classes start July 6th. We have about three weeks off between quarters. That will give me time to play with these Adobe programs some more, and also to play around on a bunch of different design and tutorial sites that I've found through Twitter. There are some awesome design peeps on Twitter posting some great info!
So....my schedule for Summer Quarter includes my first campus classes. I decided not to take an extra class, but to stick with the standard full-time four-class schedule to evaluate how I do with it before adding anymore. Success Strategies wasn't really much of a class this quarter so....I want to make sure I can handle the real, full course load before adding anything to the mix. That said, my four classes for Summer are:
Drawing Design and Art Theory (campus class - 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays)
E-Commerce (online class)
Introduction to 3D Arts and Animation (campus class - 6:00 p.m. on Fridays)
Introduction to Business (online class)
I think the Intro to Business class will be a bit of a snoozer, as may E-Commerce. I do hope to get some extra ideas from both for help with my Etsy and Artfire businesses though. Drawing Design and Art Theory should be very challenging for me. I'm not a good freehand drawer so....we'll see how that one goes. :) Intro to 3D Arts and Animation is an integral course for my major so I'm very, very excited about that class!
So....Summer Quarter schedule looks good to me. I should be receiving my books for those classes shortly and will be spending my time between quarters studying them, working on learning my software better, and browsing all those good design sites.
I feel I made the right choice in choosing Digital Design and Animation for my major. It's interesting, challenging, and keeps me on my toes. I certainly haven't lost interest in my classes or become bored (Success Strategies notwithstanding). I have been frustrated and challenged, yes - but this is a good thing. School has always been easy for me, so having challenge involved has been excellent. I'm looking forward to moving on with my studies!
That's the latest from here. Back later to post my Typography Flyer. Cheers!
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