EC's Capstone - LA498 - Help/Advice/Info Appreciated

[SuZQ2]

The Excelsior OWL is a great tool to see how things should be written. You can view about writing discussion boards here (You will want to also view discussion board content, Discussion Board Style & Structure Discussion Boards in Review which you will see on the side bar).

Learning APA is very important, as not only will the papers you write require APA format, but your discussions will also require them. You will have to provide sources for your discussion board replies, and provide references for them. You can see how APA is done here (You will also want to view APA In-Text Citations, APA References, APA Style Demo, APA Checklist, APA Activity, and APA Side by Side on the side bar). The syllabus at Excelsior are generally spot on, I took a bunch a courses with Excelsior and the syllabus that they provide on the registration page is the same syllabus your professor will give you.

If I could "Like" your note 1000X I would - you provided me with great information I know will be helpful! As soon as my holiday obligations are over, I hopefully will be able to concentrate on my areas of concern - APA, PowerPoint, how to post in the Discussion Forums, etc. At this point, I'm overwhelmed and LOST, but am planning to go forward with my Feb sign-up -(if only to get the chance to actually see what goes on in the dreaded "Land of Capstone"). :ack:

[SuZQ2]

I'm No where near a capstone yet!
but you should be able to view the syllabus on the registration page of all the course I also took at EC the syllabus was almost exactly as was on the registration page. There are multiple engines which will generate APA citations google "citefast" which is one I have used in the past. OWL is the writing training section of Excelsior it should be available to you now even when you aren't taking a course, although I thought they renamed it something else I haven't been on OWL in a long time. In the past Eng Comp classes I took they had a facility for you to submit your paper for analysis you should inquire about that service being available since it will give you some comfort that you are on the right track.
You can withdraw up to a certain date usually posted on the syllabus and it goes as W on your transcript, You've gotten this far you can and will finish this race. EC students have dwindled here over the past few years especially since TESC changed some of their policies but keep the information flowing we'll be paying attention !

Thanks so much - every bit of info helps as like you've said, there aren't many EC student out there! Not to be too defeatist, but I've already looked into EC's course withdrawal policies. You can withdraw from a course 19 days in without having ANY record appear on your transcript - after 19 days you may withdraw, but will receive a "W" on your transcript. You may withdraw from any course a total of 3 times...Yeah...I've really, really looked into this. :ack:

I haven't found enough "clues" in the Capstone syllabus as to what EC wants from their essays/research papers...You've got a "Global Issue" paper related to your depth/focus, an "Ethical Issue" you've encountered (would that mean writing about a famous ethical "case" in business?), and a "Reflective Essay on Diversity" - unsure how one would approach that??? - The PP must be a narrowed down topic from the Global Issues paper...

I've Googled essay topics with the above mentioned headings, but am still LOST...:ack: Of course being clueless about the format requirements doesn't help...

I will persevere in my attempt to teach myself APA (will check out "citefast") and PP...

The :ack: symbol is definitely the visual embodiment of how I'm feeling about the "Capstone"!

Again, many thanks for the info and encouragement!

[Life Long Learning]

This does seem like a TESC Alumni site? EC is bigger than TESC and COSC combined, but their grads don't seem to hang out here much. About 90% of their students are military (40%) and and nurses (50%) so maybe they are too busy with jobs. Keep up your great work. All of the Big 3 are excellent, but do vary based on ones background.

Please do an AAR on your outcome when you pass.:hurray:

Thanks so much - every bit of info helps as like you've said, there aren't many EC student out there! :"!!

[Life Long Learning]

Did you take the EC capstone yet? What is your opinion?

Anybody...anybody...anybody???

Would love to network with EC LA Capstone students past, present, future...TESC students seem to be the only ones having all the networking fun...

My immediate plan:
I bumped my Capstone registration to Feb. 2016
I had PowerPoint re-installed on my computer
I've been checking out some online PP tutorial videos - YouTube, etc.
I've ordered "PowerPoint for Dummies", along with "Research Papers for Dummies" and a host of assorted books I hope will help me out "pre-Capstone" - (Merry Christmas too me from me ) (The Internet is great, but I'm "old school" - I like books!)
I've Googled every note, post, report, etc., anyone anywhere at anytime has posted re: EC's Capstone (there's a bit of info out there, including someone's complete PP presentation.).

I'll see how I progress - as again, speed is not my "superpower":p...Still hoping I FINALLY complete my degree sometime in 2016...

Happy Holidays, Everyone...eeya:

[KayV]

Good luck on your Capstone, Excelsians. It does seem like we focus on TESU for the most part here, but each person should choose the school that fits them best.

[SuZQ2]

Did you take the EC capstone yet? What is your opinion?

Yup, I certainly did - Check out my "I Did It Post".

I found the course quite challenging as the accelerated 8-week discussion group/research paper/PowerPoint format forced me to become a non-stop 24/7 writing machine:willynilly: - way out of my personal comfort zone.

For me, pre-Capstone preparation with the course syllabus was KEY - and in retrospect, after reading the numerous posts regarding TESU's Capstone, I realize I was MUCH happier with EC's version (mulitple smaller projects/class discussion posts).

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[Life Long Learning]

I printed the online LA498 course syllabus and it looks like.:ack: Do you have to do ethics essays and PowerPoint/voice in a useless subject or can you do something practical and even work oriented?

The EC website does not even show the LA498M (military) option today. The LA498M I downloaded months ago was just as useless as the LA498 today.

I do not mind spending time on a course if its useful, but this looks like a make work project.

Thanks for sharing your degree piccheersmate

Yup, I certainly did - Check out my "I Did It Post".

I found the course quite challenging as the accelerated 8-week discussion group/research paper/PowerPoint format forced me to become a non-stop 24/7 writing machine:willynilly: - way out of my personal comfort zone.

For me, pre-Capstone preparation with the course syllabus was KEY - and in retrospect, after reading the numerous posts regarding TESU's Capstone, I realize I was MUCH happier with EC's version (mulitple smaller projects/class discussion posts).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2078[/ATTACH]

[SuZQ2]

I printed the online LA498 course syllabus and it looks like.:ack: Do you have to do ethics essays and PowerPoint/voice in a useless subject or can you do something practical and even work oriented?

The EC website does not even show the LA498M (military) option today. The LA498M I downloaded months ago was just as useless as the LA498 today.

I do not mind spending time on a course if its useful, but this looks like a make work project.

Don't get me wrong - the Capstone was :ack: and a whole lot of banghead...but was it useful? Extremely...because completing the Capstone was the ONLY way to get my degree.

I can't comment on the Military Option, but I can say that at least 50% of my Capstone classmates were in the military and used military-type topics for their papers/projects (think Terrorism, Cybersecurity, etc.). My Prof. was not picky with regards to subject - if it fit the criteria - a Global Issue for the research paper/narrowed-down interrelated topic for the PP, it was OK.

The Global Essay and the PP topics are discussed with the class, the other two essays (diversity/ethics) are not. Just try and pick subjects you are interested in and can find ample research articles for...again, my Prof. did not request any pre-approval for topics.

A big part of your grade (30%) centers on Discussion Group participation. Each week has at least two different lessons, each with a written assignment you must post to the class. After your initial post, you then must respond to a certain number of other classmates posts, adhering to specific assignment prompts. My Prof. would also ask every student a question regarding each discussion topic, so figure on writing at least 8-12 posts per week along with the projects.

YIKES, no doubt about it...the class moves at lightning speed, and it is a LOT of work.:willynilly: Best advice - plan ahead!

Hope this helps!

[Life Long Learning]

It is not a useful class and I will not use that info ever again as I will just make up the PC crap to appease the instructor. Like 90% of college its the means to the end. Sadly, I expected colleges like EC that have been dealing with older adults for 50+ years to be better by now. I am wrong!

Where did you get your citations for the two essays (diversity/ethics)? How many?

Did you use Grammarly?
https://www.grammarly.com/1

How long was your voice-over narration for your PowerPoint Presentation? Is each slide a different sound file? I have never done one before!

If I can ask? What was the names of your Global Issue (M2A1)? Essay on Ethics (M3A1)? Essay on Diversity (M4A1)? Final PPT (PowerPoint/voice) Outline? Final PPT?
I am trying to see how narrow or wide I need to be thinking?

Thank you for your valuable feedback.

Don't get me wrong - the Capstone was :ack: and a whole lot of banghead...but was it useful? Extremely...because completing the Capstone was the ONLY way to get my degree.

I can't comment on the Military Option, but I can say that at least 50% of my Capstone classmates were in the military and used military-type topics for their papers/projects (think Terrorism, Cybersecurity, etc.). My Prof. was not picky with regards to subject - if it fit the criteria - a Global Issue for the research paper/narrowed-down interrelated topic for the PP, it was OK.

The Global Essay and the PP topics are discussed with the class, the other two essays (diversity/ethics) are not. Just try and pick subjects you are interested in and can find ample research articles for...again, my Prof. did not request any pre-approval for topics.

A big part of your grade (30%) centers on Discussion Group participation. Each week has at least two different lessons, each with a written assignment you must post to the class. After your initial post, you then must respond to a certain number of other classmates posts, adhering to specific assignment prompts. My Prof. would also ask every student a question regarding each discussion topic, so figure on writing at least 8-12 posts per week along with the projects.

YIKES, no doubt about it...the class moves at lightning speed, and it is a LOT of work.:willynilly: Best advice - plan ahead!

Hope this helps!

[Life Long Learning]

MS Word 2013 does have fill in the blank APA Style new files.:hurray:

Go to:
1. File
2. New
3. Education Tab
4. APA Style Report (6th Ed.)