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Guided study vs online for LIB-495 capstone?
#1
So in checking RateMyProfessor, it seems that the only mentors for June who teach the online version of the course don't have the highest of ratings, while there is a highly rated teacher for the guided study version of the course.

The main difference between guided study and online is participation in online discussion posts, correct?  If that's the case, does anyone know roughly what % of the grad the discussion is in the online, and what activity replaces that % of the grade in the guided study?

Also... is there any financial aid issue with guided study vs online?

Thanks once again!
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#2
I'm in the online capstone. The discussion part is 20% of your grade. I'm only a few weeks in, the discussion has been very easy, the same with the other courses I've taken with TESU. It's like a free bump to your grade.
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#3
(05-22-2021, 03:12 AM)studyingfortests Wrote: So in checking RateMyProfessor, it seems that the only mentors for June who teach the online version of the course don't have the highest of ratings, while there is a highly rated teacher for the guided study version of the course.

The main difference between guided study and online is participation in online discussion posts, correct?  If that's the case, does anyone know roughly what % of the grad the discussion is in the online, and what activity replaces that % of the grade in the guided study?

Also... is there any financial aid issue with guided study vs online?

Thanks once again!


Some professors are easy graders and some are fair. 
Some professors actively participate in classes, some somewhat participate and some are ghosts.

I prefer the ones that actively participate over everything else. 

There are only 4 online forum posts in the Liberal Arts Capstone so take the free points.  Combined with the free points from the ETS, you only need to average 58% to pass the Capstone  (73% is passing).

For financial aid, it doesn't make any difference which course you choose.
Degrees: BA Computer Science, BS Business Administration with a concentration in CIS, AS Natural Science & Math, TESU. 4.0 GPA 2022.
Course Experience:  CLEP, Instantcert, Sophia.org, Study.com, Straighterline.com, Onlinedegree.org, Saylor.org, Csmlearn.com, and TEL Learning.
Certifications: W3Schools PHP, Google IT Support, Google Digital Marketing, Google Project Management
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#4
Here's the thing for me: The two TESU classes (capstone + info literacy) will be the only TESU coursework, so I want to be able to achieve As in them for GPA purposes. I realize that grad schools will look at everything (and the rest of my graded community college work in the last 10 years is about a 3.85), but I don't want to blow it. Unless these are pass/fail, in which case it doesn't matter, but I don't think they are.

Sounds like I'm probably best with online vs GS because of the extra points for participation, in spite of the GS mentor being an easy grader.
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#5
Yes, I would recommend the online course as well.  It depends on the student really, find the one that fits your style more and schedule.  I prefer easier work and the discussions should be the option for easy points for a better grade.  If you value your time and like doing more written assignments, then the guided study is the option to pick.  <pick your poison>
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#6
I am currently in the guided study capstone and wholehearted recommend doing the online! Guided study has been brutal. I'm a pretty independent learner (5 CLEPs and a TECEP), but the gs capstone is really tough. There is no guidance. I asked for samples and was told there were none, so most of my help came from this board. If you have done a thesis paper before, you'll be fine, but it's not a typical research paper. A lot of it, like the literature review, was new to me. 

The GS is not less writing either. There are the four big assignments and then four other writing assignments (instead of online posts), in addition to the ETC proficiency test and written communication assessment. Those four other writing assignments are basically summarizing what you are going to write about in the big assignments. I found those very difficult. It was like starting each big paper, but not. I got an 85 on one of those, so the easy 100 from the discussion boards is a much better option. If you are remotely concerned about grades, take the easy points from the boards. 

I have a great professor. Good feedback on the work I've turned in, but I wish I had this professor in the online instead. 

I'll also mention that I love my topic, and I've known I was going to use it for at least six months. Despite that, it has still been really difficult. The capstone is a lot of research and writing, and I'd highly recommend doing it with some guidance.
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#7
(06-06-2021, 07:28 AM)kdegan68 Wrote: I am currently in the guided study capstone and wholehearted recommend doing the online! Guided study has been brutal. I'm a pretty independent learner (5 CLEPs and a TECEP), but the gs capstone is really tough. There is no guidance. I asked for samples and was told there were none, so most of my help came from this board. If you have done a thesis paper before, you'll be fine, but it's not a typical research paper. A lot of it, like the literature review, was new to me. 

The GS is not less writing either. There are the four big assignments and then four other writing assignments (instead of online posts), in addition to the ETC proficiency test and written communication assessment. Those four other writing assignments are basically summarizing what you are going to write about in the big assignments. I found those very difficult. It was like starting each big paper, but not. I got an 85 on one of those, so the easy 100 from the discussion boards is a much better option. If you are remotely concerned about grades, take the easy points from the boards. 

I have a great professor. Good feedback on the work I've turned in, but I wish I had this professor in the online instead. 

I'll also mention that I love my topic, and I've known I was going to use it for at least six months. Despite that, it has still been really difficult. The capstone is a lot of research and writing, and I'd highly recommend doing it with some guidance.

Doing the online version, I did 4 forum posts each one was around 300 words and took 1hr or less each.  

The literature review and general format of the paper was a lot of new stuff for me so it took me some time to wrap my head around it.
Degrees: BA Computer Science, BS Business Administration with a concentration in CIS, AS Natural Science & Math, TESU. 4.0 GPA 2022.
Course Experience:  CLEP, Instantcert, Sophia.org, Study.com, Straighterline.com, Onlinedegree.org, Saylor.org, Csmlearn.com, and TEL Learning.
Certifications: W3Schools PHP, Google IT Support, Google Digital Marketing, Google Project Management
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#8
With the online version, my section had 5 discussion posts. 4 were basically summarizing what you planned for the each of the 4 big assignments, and the other was draft version of the oral presentation. Had to also make relevant comments on other student's posts about the topic or formatting. Not overly time consuming for each one and was good to help shape the written assignments/power point. Our mentor participated and even gave suggestions of what he wanted in the replies. It was good to see what others were doing and to reads comments. Definitely think OL version is way to go with it. I never felt like I was waiting long for others to post.

Literature review was new to me. I basically made sure I answered each question in each subtopic of the assignment. Examples were limited to the text reading and recommended readings/links. I also used the subtopics from the assignments as actual headings in the turned in assignment. I felt better about the literature review when I realized it was more about telling what I was learning about the topic and organizing it around ideas.
TESU: BALS June 2021 (comm college, clep, sdc sophia coopersmith, SOS110, and capstone)

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#9
(06-06-2021, 12:13 PM)P226mem Wrote: With the online version, my section had 5 discussion posts.  4 were basically summarizing what you planned for the each of the 4 big assignments, and the other was draft version of the oral presentation. Had to also make relevant comments on other student's posts about the topic or formatting.

If we can agree on human language and word definitions, then a post is actually writing something.  (like typing letters on your keyboard).  That is why I said 4 discussion posts because that is what it is regardless of what the syllabus says. 

For the oral presentation, you copy/paste the video URL for DF5, then on the final, you submit the same URL.  Then is no "draft" oral presentation as I took enough time doing the first oral presentation, like hell I was going to change up a few slides and redo it just for fun. lol 

Relevant comments on other student's posts are 2 sentences or 2-5min max time.
Example:
"Ya girl/dude I like totally literally agree with the point you made about xxx"  "Let me summarize what you said in case you forgot"  
"don't be suspicious" or obvious that you are giving fluff responses is the social norm.  Nobody cares, and you will get 100%, so move on. 

The capstone is hard and long enough as it is, don't waste time doing extra things you don't need to do.  Make that outline precisely what you are going to write about, do the assignments correctly and you'll be halfway done before you even start the final paper.  You'll be able to copy/paste your assignments into the final paper.
Degrees: BA Computer Science, BS Business Administration with a concentration in CIS, AS Natural Science & Math, TESU. 4.0 GPA 2022.
Course Experience:  CLEP, Instantcert, Sophia.org, Study.com, Straighterline.com, Onlinedegree.org, Saylor.org, Csmlearn.com, and TEL Learning.
Certifications: W3Schools PHP, Google IT Support, Google Digital Marketing, Google Project Management
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#10
Chiming in with a bit more of my experience.

In my section, we were instructed by the mentor to make comments on others' posts that were more substance than "ya girl! you rock dude...." Did those people receive less than 100% on that part? I don't know.

We were instructed to give peer feedback in a specific area, and it was usually related to one of the required readings. It could still be one paragraph or just a few sentences. But it was not to be "ditto" or "like button" quality. One example: I recall one person specifically asked the rest of us for ideas on how to better write the thesis statement he/she was struggling with and someone suggested modeling it based on page XX of the book. Another example was sharing that in the databases, one could take the guess work out of citations by using a tool on the software. The written response was still a few sentences that only took a short amount of time, but not fluff answer either. Also in our section, the mentor made it clear that assignments on the discussion board section were to be on time. Maybe mentor did give out 100% no matter what.

The first upload of the oral presentation was uploaded in the "discussion board" and graded as a "discussion post". Ok, I'll concede that we didn't really have to write anything on that upload. But, we were to post (in writing!) to 2 peers with constructive feedback. It was more than fluff answers too. "You said it was your first time with power point. You might watch this 23 minute video on making presentations for beginners." Still a few sentences, but something constructive.

In my section, the mentor gave feedback on the "first version of the oral presentation" through private option with student/mentor and expected to have a new version of the presentation that took that feedback into consideration. Yes, one could just submit the original one again if one wanted and still received a grade. I know in my section there were some uploaded (posted?) first version of oral presentation who did not follow the rubric and assignment requirements and would have benefited from a do over.

Do it best the first time is good advice. And yes, one can do less and still do ok. As some version of the saying goes, C's gets degrees. And there's more than one way to earn an A.

Edit to add: I think my experience is that the discussion forum parts of OL version of the class helped me in two ways: Easy points, and improved learning experience. From hearing how it works in the guided study version, I'm glad I did OL instead. Just my experience. YMMV
TESU: BALS June 2021 (comm college, clep, sdc sophia coopersmith, SOS110, and capstone)

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