mom2bee Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Hey I just thought of something that might be a helpful thing to tell your children if they are taking classes as CC or University During the first few days of class, they should take the time to extract the contact info from their syllabi. Meaning either learn their teachers phone numbers/email addresses (or atleast add them to their phone and email contact lists.) also physically visit all of the teachers offices during the first week of class. (Just so they know where they are, not just 'knowing the address of the office. We are 4 weeks from Finals here and almost none of my Calculus and Adv. Math classmates know where the teachers office is/what the phone number is. Most of us know its in "The Diggs Bldg" but only 4 or 5 of us knew which floor and which office. Many of my teachers don't use the online portal that the school provides. They passed out a single copy of their syllabus first day of class with all that information on it, though. I lose things alot and so I extracted the contact info, the pacing schedule and the assignment list from my syllabi when it was applicable and have since lost the syllabi. However, earlier this week I was able to coordinate a spur of the moment progress meeting with a teacher because I had her info on hand and could call her while I was waiting for a bus. This isn't anything special, just a tidbit that some of you wonderful HSmoms and dads may like to know or be reminded of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Yes, I agree that reading the syllabus is extremely useful, for assignments, due dates, materials, point structure, course rules - and the location of the course website. (Many teachers who do not use the school's online portal have materials online through other means; this information would be on the syllabus as well. Sadly, some of my students still ask four weeks before finals:" I can not find our course on blackboard". Well, we're not using backboard for this course, and the web address is on the syllabus.) The teacher's contact information can easily be found on the faculty directory on the school website. The easiest way, of course, is to put the syllabus into the binder for the subject right away and have it available throughout the semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 LOL -- this is why I actually give a syllabus quiz during the first week of class. Then when they claim that they didn't know XXX, I have proof that they at least took a quiz with a question on XXX. Not long ago a student filed a grievance against me, saying that he deserved credit for their late assignments. And guess which topic was right there on the syllabus quiz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Hey I just thought of something that might be a helpful thing to tell your children if they are taking classes as CC or University During the first few days of class, they should take the time to extract the contact info from their syllabi. Meaning either learn their teachers phone numbers/email addresses (or atleast add them to their phone and email contact lists.) also physically visit all of the teachers offices during the first week of class. (Just so they know where they are, not just 'knowing the address of the office. We are 4 weeks from Finals here and almost none of my Calculus and Adv. Math classmates know where the teachers office is/what the phone number is. Most of us know its in "The Diggs Bldg" but only 4 or 5 of us knew which floor and which office. Many of my teachers don't use the online portal that the school provides. They passed out a single copy of their syllabus first day of class with all that information on it, though. I lose things alot and so I extracted the contact info, the pacing schedule and the assignment list from my syllabi when it was applicable and have since lost the syllabi. However, earlier this week I was able to coordinate a spur of the moment progress meeting with a teacher because I had her info on hand and could call her while I was waiting for a bus. This isn't anything special, just a tidbit that some of you wonderful HSmoms and dads may like to know or be reminded of. VERYVERYVERYVERY good idea. : ) Thanks for taking the time to remind everyone. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Might I suggest Evernote. It is a multi-platform system for remembering things. You can use your smart phone to take pictures of each page of the syllabus and send it to Evernote (or use a scanner). Once in Evernote you will be able to quickly retrieve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I kept a folder with all my syllabi for the semester in my backpack. Also all my grades for the semester were immediately written on the syllabus for the class. This enabled me to keep track of how I was doing in each class, and since it was in one place I did not lose it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Might I suggest Evernote. It is a multi-platform system for remembering things. You can use your smart phone to take pictures of each page of the syllabus and send it to Evernote (or use a scanner). Once in Evernote you will be able to quickly retrieve it. My boys just took pictures and kept them on their cell phones. After their first days in class, I sat down with them and we went over the syllabus and highlighted pertinent details. Then I had them put all important dates into their cell phone calendars as well as contact information for each teacher. Then they three hole punched the syllabus and put it in their class folders. Hopefully they will be able to access what they need somehow. I'll check out Evernote - it sounds interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara H Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Students should be advised it is important to keep a copy of their syllabus. If they are taking dual enrollment courses or if they transfer later, the registrar at the new college may request to see a copy of the syllabus to use in determination of credits. Also, students who are considering graduate school may be required in the application process to submit a list of texts used in their major courses. So, my suggestion would be that students keep a working copy of their syllabus in their notebook, but they also make an extra copy at the beginning of the semester and file that away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StinkyDaddy Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Another plug for Evernote. You'll have it on your phone, tablet and any computer you use. Although I can see the value of a syllabus binder as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Students should be advised it is important to keep a copy of their syllabus. If they are taking dual enrollment courses or if they transfer later, the registrar at the new college may request to see a copy of the syllabus to use in determination of credits. Also, students who are considering graduate school may be required in the application process to submit a list of texts used in their major courses. So, my suggestion would be that students keep a working copy of their syllabus in their notebook, but they also make an extra copy at the beginning of the semester and file that away. Excellent advice. And better yet: file an electronic copy of the syllabus. There will be an electronic copy available online, because schools are required by law to have syllabi publicly accessible. ETA: Thinking about it more, it *may* be this could be required of public universities only, not sure. I jujt know we must publish ours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 I had never heard of Evernote. I don't have a smartphone, but I will keep it in mind for the future. One of my classmates scans everythings and uses dropbox to store and manage all his information. If I ever get to the point that I am organized, I will join him in the practice. It doesn't seem any of the syllabi for my university are publicly accessible, though at my CC you could find some--not all, or even most, online somewhere. I will keep looking now that I know they are out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I had never heard of Evernote. I don't have a smartphone, but I will keep it in mind for the future. One of my classmates scans everythings and uses dropbox to store and manage all his information. If I ever get to the point that I am organized, I will join him in the practice. It doesn't seem any of the syllabi for my university are publicly accessible, though at my CC you could find some--not all, or even most, online somewhere. I will keep looking now that I know they are out there. Evernote can be used on a regular computer, it is multi-platform or it can be accessed by the web. It is less handy not to have it on your smart phone because of instant access. Personally I think for this sort of storage it is better than drop box because there are no lifetime limits just monthly up load limits which means you don't have to keep it organized. Evernote provides a strong search engine which can search out data from PDFs and images which means you can find it quickly with a search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 It doesn't seem any of the syllabi for my university are publicly accessible, though at my CC you could find some--not all, or even most, online somewhere. I will keep looking now that I know they are out there. I added a comment to my previous post: it might be the legal requirement is for public universities only. I am not sure. I know that we must publish our syllabi at our school, as required by law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepper Potts Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Students should be advised it is important to keep a copy of their syllabus. If they are taking dual enrollment courses or if they transfer later, the registrar at the new college may request to see a copy of the syllabus to use in determination of credits. Also, students who are considering graduate school may be required in the application process to submit a list of texts used in their major courses. So, my suggestion would be that students keep a working copy of their syllabus in their notebook, but they also make an extra copy at the beginning of the semester and file that away. Thanks so much for this advice. I hadn't heard that before, and ds will be transferring CC credits in the future. Off to round up those syllabi! :driving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Students should be advised it is important to keep a copy of their syllabus. If they are taking dual enrollment courses or if they transfer later, the registrar at the new college may request to see a copy of the syllabus to use in determination of credits. Also, students who are considering graduate school may be required in the application process to submit a list of texts used in their major courses. So, my suggestion would be that students keep a working copy of their syllabus in their notebook, but they also make an extra copy at the beginning of the semester and file that away. Serendipity! Just today I received an email from a student who took my course in 2006 and who now requests a syllabus for the purpose of transferring his credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 LOL -- this is why I actually give a syllabus quiz during the first week of class. Then when they claim that they didn't know XXX, I have proof that they at least took a quiz with a question on XXX. Not long ago a student filed a grievance against me, saying that he deserved credit for their late assignments. And guess which topic was right there on the syllabus quiz? That is brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam L in Mid Tenn Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 Visiting with a prof and being sincere also shows some interest in the class. Profs love students that are engaged and interested in really learning. Be careful not to come across as 'brown nosing'. My older dd (the one with health problems) always visited with teachers to tell them about her illness during the first week of classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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