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

[SuZQ2]

Hi All,

If everything goes as planned, I will be ready to sign up for EC's LA498 Capstone within the next few days (class begins Jan 4th - there are only 8 seats left at this point). I'm not even sure if I want to press on at this time, or take a much needed break... :willynilly:

While there is plenty of support and information from TESC students regarding the TESC Capstone, there is next to nothing for EC's version. I am extremely overwhelmed and intimidated by what I already know about the EC Capstone:ack:, and would appreciate any info/advice from those who have successfully completed it.

Looking at EC's class registration, there are NO listings for specific professors - are all the Capstone classes identical? Are all the assignments identical no matter which professor you are assigned? (Are there listings for professors somewhere I haven't found?)

I asked this question once before, but would appreciate confirmation - are you able to see the entire syllabus with specific assignment details once the class begins? I'm thinking along the lines of SL's Comp I or Comp II whereby you sign up, then have access to the entire course's assignments. Do they include sample papers along with the assignments (again, like SL's Comp courses)?

Does anyone have experience with dropping out of an EC Capstone class and then returning at a later time to complete it? I ask this as I am caring for my chronically-ill senior-aged mother and it is very possible I will not be able to complete this course at one time.

Again, any info/advice would be very greatly appreciated!

[horses434]

I am just finishing this class now. I can answer some but not all of your questions. The Excelsior Capstone is a lot of work. However, it is not difficult work. I was quite surprised by how much time the class took. However, one could put in less effort than I did and still get a pretty good grade. I was an active class participant because I have so few courses that make up my GPA...I wanted to be careful to ensure I scored high.

My biggest complaint about the class did not offer sample papers or an idea of how the final product should look. That was very frustrating for me. I suspect this is the way the course is set up and not the result of my instructor, but I am not sure.

I will say that the final, big project, was a PowerPoint presentation. This was infinitely preferable to a massive research paper. It took a long time to finish, but it was less effort than a shorter paper I wrote earlier in the term.

I suggest just taking the course and getting it over with since it is inevitable that you will take the class. Good luck

[SuZQ2]

I am just finishing this class now. I can answer some but not all of your questions. The Excelsior Capstone is a lot of work. However, it is not difficult work. I was quite surprised by how much time the class took. However, one could put in less effort than I did and still get a pretty good grade. I was an active class participant because I have so few courses that make up my GPA...I wanted to be careful to ensure I scored high.

My biggest complaint about the class did not offer sample papers or an idea of how the final product should look. That was very frustrating for me. I suspect this is the way the course is set up and not the result of my instructor, but I am not sure.

I will say that the final, big project, was a PowerPoint presentation. This was infinitely preferable to a massive research paper. It took a long time to finish, but it was less effort than a shorter paper I wrote earlier in the term.

I suggest just taking the course and getting it over with since it is inevitable that you will take the class. Good luck

Hi..and thanks SO MUCH for your response! I was beginning to think I was the only EC student left out there!!

Not at all happy about the "no sample papers" - my only experience with a dedicated writing course was SL's Comp I and II - lots of help and a sample paper for each assignment...

I will have to do a lot of preliminary work with regards to the PowerPoint presentation before I sign up for the Capstone - I have absolutely no knowledge of PP - I don't even have the program on my computer! Can I ask you what version of PP you used for your project? In order to prepare, I'm planning on beginning with some PP books/internet lessons - if that doesn't get me where I need to be, I'll think about hiring a tutor...

Finally, are you able to choose a particular professor - does it matter? I don't see any prof. names when I look at the course registration lists?

I'm going to try for the Feb class - hopefully I'll have mastered PP by then...I want a high final grade also, as my present GPA is in the honors range - I definitely do not want to jeopardize that.

Many, many CONGRATULATIONS on successfully completing this very difficult course - I'm sure you can't wait to receive your diploma! :hurray:

Again, thank you for all your help!

[SuZQ2]

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:

[tommyav8s]

Keep us posted on how it goes. I have a few more months and classes at EC until I have to complete the Capstone. Good luck.

[marquardt21]

Don't let the class scare, you will do fine in it. You have overcome all the other classes that came before this one, you will overcome this one as well. Please keep us informed about how it goes for you.

[Exfactor]

The capstone isn't difficult at all. If you have taken an online course before you will walk through this easily. I found the coursework to not be difficult at all, but the load did get to me, as I was already loosing motivation (I was ready to be done with my bachelors degree). We had a lengthy discussion each week, a small paper every other week, a large final paper, and a powerpoint with a voice over (this took me the longest to complete). The professor I had was very lenient as it was the last course for everyone. It was also the smallest class I took with EC, only about 10 people were in their.

[SuZQ2]

The capstone isn't difficult at all. If you have taken an online course before you will walk through this easily. I found the coursework to not be difficult at all, but the load did get to me, as I was already loosing motivation (I was ready to be done with my bachelors degree). We had a lengthy discussion each week, a small paper every other week, a large final paper, and a powerpoint with a voice over (this took me the longest to complete). The professor I had was very lenient as it was the last course for everyone. It was also the smallest class I took with EC, only about 10 people were in their.

Thanks so much for the info...

My unique problems/concerns:
Other than SL's Comp I & Comp II, I have not taken any online courses that had written assignments. SL uses MLA formatting, EC uses APA - I am completely unfamiliar with APA.
No clue as to PowerPoint - let alone how to create the voice over component.
I am a VERY slow writer - it took me almost a year to complete the 2 SL courses...

I bumped back my Capstone start date to Feb - hopefully I'll be able to figure out APA and PP by then.

I am trying to glean some info from the LA986 syllabus, but am not getting any helpful clues as to the assignments - I guess I'll just have to dive into the deep end of the Capstone "pool" to see what exactly is required. To say I'm not feeling confident is the understatement of the century. :ack:

[Exfactor]

Thanks so much for the info...

My unique problems/concerns:
Other than SL's Comp I & Comp II, I have not taken any online courses that had written assignments. SL uses MLA formatting, EC uses APA - I am completely unfamiliar with APA.
No clue as to PowerPoint - let alone how to create the voice over component.
I am a VERY slow writer - it took me almost a year to complete the 2 SL courses...

I bumped back my Capstone start date to Feb - hopefully I'll be able to figure out APA and PP by then.

I am trying to glean some info from the LA986 syllabus, but am not getting any helpful clues as to the assignments - I guess I'll just have to dive into the deep end of the Capstone "pool" to see what exactly is required. To say I'm not feeling confident is the understatement of the century. :ack:

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.

[EI2HCB]

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.

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 !