CYBERCINEMA - COMING ATTRACTIONS!
A PREVIEW OF FILM 101
Update: 21 July 2009
WELCOME to CyberCollege! And
thank you for your interest in Film 101 Online (CyberCinema). Film 101
satisfies general-education requirements in the humanities and is
transferable to other colleges and universities. Typically Film 101
online closes early in the registration period. If you are already
enrolled and have determined you are ready and eager for the class, read on.
(Also, read through the preview below if you are just shopping around for a
good class—or if you know you want this class but it already closed
and you are going to SURF regularly to sign up in case someone drops.)
COURSE ACTIVITIES, ASSIGNMENTS, AND NAVIGATION. CyberCinema is a fully online "Introduction to Film" course, so instead of coming to a MiraCosta College classroom for 48-51 hours during the semester for lectures, screenings, discussions, presentations, exams, and other traditional classroom activities, we'll use an Internet learning environment (a virtual classroom) called Moodle for learning activities, assessments, and communications with one another.
As a CyberCinema student, you'll
read and study the course text (Louis Giannetti, Understanding
Movies, Eleventh Edition: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, 2008) and screen or clip films on your own, using your local
libraries and video merchants to help you locate and borrow (or buy) the
assigned films and using your local movie theaters to screen current releases; you'll
also complete writing assignments, participate in discussions and other
learning
activities, and read and review WWW film sites. You'll purchase Tidepools: Peace (2007 edition) for
examples of images and stories relevant to film studies. Tidepools, the
college journal of art and literature, is available only at the campus
bookstore (very inexpensive, not much more than $10; all proceeds of sales
go to the costs of publication and student scholarships). Go to the
online college bookstore by clicking on one of these:
Oceanside Campus Bookstore
OR
San Elijo Campus Bookstore or call the campus bookstore to arrange for
purchase and delivery (760-757-2121, extension 6630). You will need
both of these texts at the beginning of the class in order to complete
assignments based on them.
For more information about the class content and policies, read the Film 101 Syllabus. For a general idea of the semester's learning activities, consult the Film 101 Assignment Schedule: Semester Overview (the proposed schedule for the semester—changes may be made during the semester, as needed, but usually these are minor changes). When you get into Moodle, you will have easy access to the syllabus and assignment overview; and you'll get detailed instructions on your assignments week by week. Most assignments and quizzes are due Wednesdays and Saturdays, and you can submit work earlier than the Wednesday or Saturday deadline, if an earlier submission date works better for your schedule. top
IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS: TECHNOLOGY AND TIME. Bookmark the MiraCosta College Distance Education page, where you'll find what you need to know to succeed in any online class.
TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS: To double check your readiness for success in an Internet-based class, read through the CyberCosta Orientation Page and click through the site: Getting Started with Online Classes.
(1) Test your potential as an online student by taking the Technology Questionnaire now. Make note of your score so you can report to me on your technical readiness (if the score is low, please consider dropping the class to make room for students who are ready for the technology and discipline of an online class).
(2) Note that our Moodle classroom requires a particular browser (this information may not be available on the campus tech requirement page); use FIREFOX if you want to earn highest points on assignments and avoid computer glitches this semester in Moodle.
(3) Read through the Technical Requirements page. If you have any technical questions at any time during the semester regarding your own computer or software, you will need to contact your own service provider or technical assistant. If you have technical questions about Moodle or the MiraCosta server, you can contact the Student Help Desk. top
TIME REQUIREMENTS. How much time should you schedule for this course? Most students report spending 7-10 hours per week for reading, finding, and acquiring films; for screening and clipping films; for studying, writing, researching, and communicating with me; for completing assignments, tests, and projects; and for engaging in discussion about film with Film 101 classmates. You may complete your assignments, discussions, and projects in less time, or you may want to spend more time. Nine hours of film study per week is an estimated average based on the definition of one college unit as equivalent to three hours of attention to achieving your learning objectives in a course (Film 101 is a 3-unit course). This semester I have significantly reduced the workload in order to allow more thinking and creating time and to enhance and deepen your learning pleasure and accomplishments. Still, you should set aside 9 hours for your Film 101 learning activities, even if you end up completing your work to your satisfaction in less time.
If you have enrolled in this class because you think it will not ask you to spend as much time on your learning as other traditional classes require, please drop now! Online classes typically ask more of you than do onground classes.
WELCOME TO FILM 101! If you are a skilled learner, independent and disciplined, and adept at computer and Internet work, and if you have made arrangements in your schedule to ensure that you have 7-10 hours available each week for film study this semester, welcome! If you enjoy online challenges and activities, if you love learning, and if you are ready and eager to spend some of your valuable time on learning as much and as well as you can about film, you will achieve your learning goals, and much more.
Plan to make satisfactory progress by completing reading, screening, and other assignments, quizzes, and exams by the deadlines. Plan to log in to your section of Moodle two or more different days a week to get messages and announcements, to read lectures, to participate in academic forums and other discussions, to take quizzes or exams, and to submit assignments and quizzes by or before the Wednesday and Saturday deadlines.
Logging In to our Moodle Classroom. You can enter the Moodle classroom through BlackBoard. Better yet, you can get to our Moodle classroom directly through the link to your section on our Film 101 Home Website. By the end of the first day of classes for the semester, the link into the Moodle virtual classroom will become live so you can go on into our learning environment, get enrolled, and get started. If you have not enrolled yourself into our Moodle classroom by the second day of classes, you will probably be dropped from the class as a "no-show" to make room for students on the waiting list.
You'll find that this class is both fun and fulfilling. It is a challenging class that turns out to be easy. (Here's what former CyberCinema Students have said about the course, which has been offered online at MiraCosta continuously since the spring semester of 1998.) Please do not hesitate to contact me any time during the semester, unless you have a technical question (in which case you need to refer to your own computer or software help desk or to the Technical Requirements page, or to the Student Help Desk). I hope you're as excited about becoming a cybercinema student as I am to become your cybercinemaprof. I'm looking forward to meeting and learning with you this semester. See you soon in cyberspace! top
Created 04
December 1997.
Revised 21 July 2009.
Contents Copyright 1997-2009 Gloria L. Floren. All rights reserved.
MiraCosta
College,
One Barnard Drive, Oceanside, California 92056. U.S.A.
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