Final Post

All assignments have been returned, all exams are finished, and now comes the time for calculating final grades in the course. As I mentioned yesterday, to calculate your grade, add up all of the points you have accumulated throughout the semester and divide that number by 1,050. Check the grade scale to see where you grade falls. Before you do that, keep reading.

Here's the part you are going to care about.........

For those of you that noticed the syllabus change from the beginning of the semester to the end, you probably observed that the point scale changed. At the start of the semester I calculated all assignments, discussion weeks, quizzes and tests and figured out that the class was out of 1,000 points total. My plan was, when I was writing assignments, discussion questions and quizzes, that the class would be out of 1,000 points, a nice round number. Well, as the semester drew to a close, I added up all of those lovely assignments and tests again and discovered that I made a mistake in calculations (I never claimed to be good at math, ahem, or simple math for that matter). The class is ACTUALLY OUT OF 1,050 points. I promptly corrected these changes (and let's be honest here, it was only after one of you colleagues pointed out the mistake to me that I noticed my blunder) upon realizing the HUGE mistake I had made.

So, to split the difference with the class, go ahead and add 25 points to your grade!!!

I have already calculated grades, and it looks like for most, your grade will be raised to either the next letter grade up, or the next partial grade. This means that for those that earned a C+, your grade will now be a B-. If it was previously a B+, you will now have an A- and so on. So go ahead and recalculate your grade to find your new grade.

I have had a great time with all of you this semester and I am sad the class is over already, but I am excited about a break as I am sure you are. If you would like to keep in contact with me, please use the following email address: commclass@gmail.com

I will be deleting my blog and email address in a few weeks. If possible, please wait a couple of weeks at least before you delete your blog. I will be evaluating the course and making changes for next semester. Part of this evaluation will be based on the discussion questions and the answers to those questions.

If you would be so kind, drop me a note (when you get a chance of course) and let me know what you liked about the course and what you would like to see changed or tweaked a bit. This of course will not help you any as the class is now over, but it will certainly help your colleagues next semester and for as long as this class is offered online. Pay it forward! Go ahead and post a message to this blog, but if you are not comfortable with that, shoot me an email. (Course evaluations will not be returned to me, as always, until next semester is in full swing so I will be unable to use those to revise this course for next semester.)

Again, I have had a great time with you all this semester and wish you well in your future endeavors at SJSU and beyond!!! :)

Final Grades Part #1

Hello Everyone!

The final exam is almost over. There are a couple of people who have yet to take the final exam. To calculate your grade, go ahead and add up all of the points you have accumulated throughout the semester and divide that number by 1,050. This will give you your points total for the course. The points breakdown versus grade is listed below:

997-1,050 points A
945-996 points A-
913-944 points B+
882-912 points B
840-881 points B-
808-839 points C+
777-807 points C
735-776 points C-
703-734 points D+
672-702 points D
630-671 points D-
< 629 points F

Now is a good time to check over all of your grades to make sure there are no mistakes or discrepancies. If there are, please email me immediately, as I will be posting final grades within the next couple of days.

I will post one final time tomorrow, December 19th. Please check back tomorrow evening. Until then, have a fabulous night! :)

Concept Application Paper

After I have read a round of papers for each assignment I have thought to myself, "This is my favorite assignment in this class". Of course for some reason this always happens, even when I was writing the assignments. I really liked the essays in this course and have really enjoyed reading each and every one. That being said, the first round of papers will be returned tonight. The next set will be returned tomorrow and finally, the last set will be returned on Monday.

REMINDERS:
The final exam will start on Monday, December 15th. Please plan ahead and take the final early if possible.

To calculate your final grade, add up all of your points and divide that by 1,050. There are 1,050 points in the course all together.

As I mentioned in a post this past week, I will be holding office hours this coming week on Tuesday from 9am to 11am if you want to chat in real time. I will also be checking my email on a consistent basis all week in case any issues arise, or if you have questions. And, as always, if you need to have a phone conversation with me, I am available for that as well.

Final Exam Info

Hello Class!

It is time for the final exam (the review sheet is located on the "Handouts" page on Blackboard)! Here are the procedures for the final:

Please print out the Proctor Form located on the "Handouts" page. You will need a Proctor to observe you taking the exam. A proctor is someone who is OVER 21 years of age, and will attest to the fact that you have upheld the Honor Principle (additional information about the Honor Principle is located on the "Quiz" page on Blackboard).

To receive credit for the exam, print out the Proctored Exam Form available on the Handouts page, complete the test, secure required signatures (the proctor's and yours) and mail to me at the address on the form. You can also fax the form. The fax number is located on the Proctor Form as well.

Your final exam will be available on Blackboard from 12:01am December 15th to 11:59pm on December 18th. The final exam has 50 question, each question is worth 2 points. The final exam is worth 100 points total. As with each quiz and test in this course, you will have 2 minutes per question, totaling 100 minutes.

I WILL be holding office hours during SJSU's Final Exam week on Tuesday December 16 from 9am to 11am.

The final exam CANNOT be rescheduled, so please make plans accordingly to take the final exam during the time allotted.

Let me know if you have any questions about the process for the final exam.

Posts and Office Hours

Here is a list of those folks that have posted already this week:

Chocoyuko
daron Story
me010400
Molly McMuffin
Stephany
Zamoradesign

Stop by their blogs and leave a comment. :)

Office Hours
Since this week is a short week, my office hours will be held today at normal time (10:30am-11:30am) and on Wednesday from 9:00am-10:00am).

Additionally, office hours next week will be held on Tuesday from 9:00-11:00am.

Of course I am ALWAYS available to chat by phone if needed, and of course by appointment as always. I will still be checking email numerous times a day until the last scheduled day of the final exam.

AS A REMINDER: You should have all of your blogging and commenting completed by Wednesday at 11:59pm. There is no 'time requirement' this week, so go ahead and blog when you can. The posts DO NOT need to be 24 hours apart, nor do the comments.

Week of December 7-10

This is the last blogging week. Since the last day of instruction is officially December 10th, you can go ahead and omit the 24 hour rule this week and simply post 3 times and comment 2 times whenever you'd like with no time restriction. Please have your posts completed by 11:59pm on Dec. 10th.

Here is the discussion for this week:

· (Regarding Chapter 13) Which of the research methods listed in Table 13.3 seem the most interesting? Assume you want to study some aspect of deception. Frame a research question. Which method would you choose to answer the question. Why?

· What concept/s in this class have you found most interesting? What was it about that concept/s that you found interesting?

· Pick one other concept in the book that you feel needs further discussion? (You can choose from ANY chapter in the book).

· Remember to post at least 2 responses to your colleagues blogs.

The final exam review should be available on Blackboard by 5pm today, December 7th.

SOTES and Final Exam

Thank you for sending over your Concept Application Papers. I look forward to reading them. At first glance, it looks like y'all put quite a bit of work into your papers. :)

I sent an email this morning regarding SOTES. You have access to the SOTES through mysjsu. Log on, look at the left hand bar of the page and click on "Self Service". A drop down menu will appear. Click on "Online SOTE Ratings" and you should be able to evaluate the class.

The final exam review sheet will be posted tomorrow. I will send out an email at the time it is posted so you know to access it and start reviewing for the final exam. More details about the final will come later.

Update on Enrollment

Here is an updated article on enrollment at SJSU:

Admissions Update

Date: 12/02/2008

Challenges brought on by California's budget shortfall have forced California State University to limit enrollment on all 23 campuses for the first time in history. Systemwide impaction will affect all prospective students. The application deadline for students who intend to enroll as freshmen at San José State in fall 2009 was Sunday, November 30. Deadlines for other applicant groups and campuses vary. Review the following links for more information.

You can read more about limited by clicking HERE!

SJSU News

Here is a news article that was posted in mid-October.

CSU Sees Surge of Applicants

By: Mike Colgan

The number of students applying to the California State University system increased by 21 percent over last year, with 50,000 students applying for the fall semester during the first two days of the admissions cycle.

San José State University spokeswoman Pat Lopes Harris said a small baby boom and greater interest in state universities has made admissions very competitive. "We 're urging students to apply as soon as they can," she said.

The deadline for students applying to San José State for the Fall 2009 semester is November 30.

end

If you know anyone who is applying to SJSU, let them know to apply early.

(I look forward to reading your papers towards the end of the week). :)