BUS106 Review

Aaaaah…..philosophy.

Blurb About Course

This course introduces the ethics branch of philosophy to the world of business.  You will cover theories, great names in philosophy, discover with is really “ethical”, and examine various business issues in light of those discoveries.

Opinion of Course

After all those scandals at the turn of the century someone got the brilliant idea to make business majors take an ethics course and this is the result.  I have mixed feelings about this course, it did some things really well but the textbook was…..boring.  Really boring.  I dreaded opening it because all it did was numb my brain.  So just keep that in mind, this textbook is boring and you will hate it.

Now that being said, what did I like?  Well each chapter had some assigned readings that applied what you had just studied to real life situations.  I’m in a favor of short reading supplements to SL courses so I was pleased with this.  They were thought-provoking and well-done.  I also like the fact that such a cheap course is available to meet the Ethics requirement at TESC and COSC!  I was thrilled when I saw this course was available.

Each chapter also had questions.  Because the chapters were so mind-numbing I went through these in order to force myself to reexamine the material and make sure I got it (otherwise I’d just skim it to get it over with).

How To Get The Most Out Of The Course

Here’s what I recommend to both get an A in the course and learn the material:

Do the end-of-chapter readings and answer the end-of-chapter questions.  This will develop your thought process in this area.  Also get the textbook, although I would actually recommend the eBook.  The book has a poor index and the eBook is searchable (I’m told) and that will come in handy in the tests.

SL provides online homework to go through and I found that helpful as well.

For midterm and final:

Like I said, before: the eBook.  Get the eBook!  The final and midterm are open book so you can search and find the answers quicker (the index is just…..not well-done.  Yeah.).

A lot of the questions don’t make sense because they come straight out of the textbook so you WILL fail if you don’t get the book.  So….get the book.  Get the book.  Get the book!  Even though it’s boring, get the book.

Course Tips and Tricks

The eBook is searchable so why get the regular book when you can get the awesome, “this will really help when I take the final” one?  I believe it’s available from SL and possibly Chegg.

There are also additional practice questions online from McGraw-Hill, they’re for the 3rd edition of the book so some will be different (just fyi).  Link: 3rd Edition

My Ratings/Suggestions for Course Improvement

Rating: 4/5 – I am not counting the textbook and that is why the rating is so high.  They provide homework quizzes, it’s pretty easy to get through because there’s only six tests, I like including additional reading on the topics, and it’s nice to have a cheap course for college reqs.

The changes I’d recommend for the course are as follows:

Please change the textbook.  Just….please.

How Course Transfers

Transfers to COSC as “PHL485” and meets the “Ethical Decision Making” requirement for GE (I need to confirm with my Academic Counselor that it counts as UL credit).  Meets the TESC ‘Responsible Ethical Leadership” requirement for GE.

Update (June 2015): While COSC will list its transfer equivalent as PHL485, the course is not counted as UL credit.  My advisor told me I could appeal if I thought it should be but honestly?  I don’t.  But that option’s on the table if anyone feels otherwise.

MAT101 Review

Disclaimer: I wasn’t able to complete this course, I ended up going with ALEKS to first supplement the course and finally just switched completely over to them.

Blurb About Course

This is a college-level Algebra course, perfect for meeting college math requirements.  You will cover everything from basic Geometry to linear and quadratic equations to graphing.

Opinion of Course

Ugh, where do I even begin?  I really don’t think this course was a good fit for me.  I’m one of those people who needs detailed breakdowns and then a million problems to practice on until I know it by heart.

This course does not do that.  I tried both the presentations and the textbook (which is horrible and expensive), I went slow, I had a friend who’s a math major tutor me, I used SL’s tutoring, and I didn’t make it very far.

Bottom line is: I don’t think this course is geared towards people who learn math like me.

How to Get the Most Out of the Course

Since I didn’t finish it I can’t really help you much here except to say you will be slightly less lost with the textbook.  I looked through one of the tests right before my subscription expired and it seems to be a good reflection of the topics covered in the textbook, so if you can manage it learn the principles taught there and you should be okay (the tests are multi-choice, btw).

SL also has a MAT101 with an actual teacher (maybe I wasn’t the only one who struggled, hehe).  If my review’s making you freak out but you still like the idea of SL then check out that option.

Course Tips and Tricks

Can’t really comment on this.  Learn the principles covered in the textbook for the tests, I guess.

My Rating/Suggestions for Course Improvement

Rating: 1/5 – I was so so disappointed.

If you’re a high school student who did okay in high school math and have just finished up Algebra 2 then you can take a crack at this and probably do well.  If you’re someone who has had to keep their skills in algebraic math brushed up you will probably do well too.  I basically think this course is for those people who are already good at math or confident in themselves.

If you’re out of practice then you have several options.  You can choose the professor-led Algebra course.  You could also supplement with a better written textbook or ALEKS.  Or go with something entirely different, it’s up to you.

The changes I’d recommend for the course are as follows:

Change the textbook.  Seriously, even with SL’s ebook option it is waaaaay too expensive for a poorly written piece of trash.

Also maybe incorporating a homework generator, where problem types that will be on the quizzes can be practiced until you’ve mastered the concept.  That would make this course an option for people like me.

How Course Transfers

I have not personally experienced it but am told it meets the GE math requirement for Thomas Edison State College’s “Intellectual Skills”.  For Charter Oak State College it would most likely meet the GE “Mathematics” requirement.

FIN101 Review

If you’re looking for an easy 3-credit elective class with real world applications then this course is for you!  It doesn’t satisfy GE at either Thomas Edison State or Charter Oak State but I feel like a personal finance class SHOULD be a GE requirement, especially with all the student loan hoopla recently.

Blurb About Course

This is an introduction to the big, bad world of money!  You’ll cover everything from budgeting to credit cards to buying a home to retirement planning.  Each topic in this course gives you frank advice to help you make wise financial decisions.

Opinion of Course

Well, I loved it.  It was an eye-opener and educational.  I haven’t gotten to the point where I need to buy a car or a home yet but I feel when I do I’ll be much more confident than I would be without this course.

The course has a quiz for every topic which I liked because it spreads the grade points out a bit and lets me focus on one topic at a time.

How to Get the Most Out of the Course

You know the drill: buy the book and read it!  This course has homework quizzes which are somewhat helpful, although they don’t grade right so that’s annoying.

You don’t have to do it but SL also “assigns” you the after chapter worksheets, which basically help you with making a budget and stuff like that.  Perfect for immediate real-life application.

Course Tips and Tricks

This course’s final had several questions from previous tests on it so save those.  I took sticky notes and wrote the chapter titles on them so I could find them easily during the final.  The book’s pretty well organized but there’s a lot to cover.

The final also asked me one or two obscure questions that I couldn’t remember from the book.  Huh?

My Ratings/Suggestions for Course Improvement

Rating: 4/5 – excellent coverage of the topic, okay tools for final and midterm preparation available, applies the stuff to your life

The changes I’d recommend for the course are as follows:

First off, fix the homework quizzes so they give accurate feedback.  In the first couple I believe most of the rightly answered questions were marked “incorrect” and most of the incorrect ones were mark “correct.”  In the later ones everything was just marked “correct”.  That was annoying.

The health care topic needs to be updated now.  This’ll probably necessitate upgrading to a new, updated textbook.

How Course Transfers

This course transfers to Thomas Edison State College as BUE-101: Personal Finance.  It will not fulfill any of the GE requirements (so you can’t use it for an Associate’s in General Studies).

It transfers to Charter Oak State College as FIN110: Personal Finance.  It can be used as a free elective for any of the degrees.

SOC101 Review

Blurb About Course

This course basically gives you a broad overview of sociology.  You’ll learn about the historical figures who contributed to it, its major theories, and how those theories apply to a wide range of topics including socialization, family, politics, and religion.

Opinion Of Course

I hadn’t taken a college course for over a year when I decided to enroll with Straighterline so obviously I wanted something that taught me a lot and got my feet wet but didn’t overwhelm me.  This course was perfect.

It has 14 units and 12 quizzes (including a final and midterm).  The questions are straight out of the textbook so I definitely recommend getting it.  The presentations didn’t contribute much quiz-wise but knowledge-wise I found them interesting so if you’re taking this course to get credit AND actually learn sociology you should watch the presentations.

For homework they have a video lecture on the roots of discrimination and a book on prejudice.  I read the first chapter but since it’s through Google Books and therefore just online I would’ve found it difficult to finish reading it (I don’t like reading long books online, that’s what Kindles are for).  I intend to find an ebook copy in the future and finish it.  I believe at the beginning of the course they also offer some book titles for more in-depth reading (and after the end of every presentation they do so too).

You also have homework quizzes (based on your textbook) that are excellent practice for the graded quizzes and end of chapter questions that encourage you to think through the chapter you just read (you complete those on your own).

It took me about three months to work my way through the course although I’ve heard of people completing it over a weekend.  There is a final that is proctored online, when I took it it was open book which was good because I needed that book!

Overall I was very satisfied with this course and would recommend it to anyone just starting out with Straighterline or who needs social science credit.  I believe you will find it to be an easy but very interesting course.

How To Get Most Out Of Course

Here’s what I recommend to both get an A in the course and learn the material:

First, watch the presentations and take notes because it gives you a basic overview of the chapter and prepares you for the topic you’re about to study. Second, read the assigned chapter and take notes.  Third, answer the end of chapter questions (these encourage you to think through what you just read which helps you retain the information for later). Fourth, complete homework quiz. Fifth, take the topic quiz AND when you’re done copy it and paste it into a word document. Sixth, if you find a subject in the course material that really interests you do some online research (I learned a lot about kids “raised by animals” by doing this).

For midterm and final:

I read each chapter again and noted where various topics were (saves time when flipping through the book to find the answer to a question).  Sticky notes marking each chapter with a brief summary help too.  Also, review the quizzes you’ve saved on your computer and practice answering them, some of the questions on the midterm and final will be the same so you can knock those out in the first couple of minutes and save time for the rest.

Course Tips and Tricks

Get the book, when I bought it it was cheapest on Amazon but check Abebooks in case they have a good deal. Sociology: The Core (8th edition)

Memorize which great sociology guy did what because you get quizzed on those and it’s also easier to follow along in the textbook if you remember that.

My Ratings/Suggestions for Course Improvement

Rating: 4.5/5 – excellent coverage of the topic, excellent tools for final and midterm preparation available, homework assignments are okay but need some work

The changes I’d recommend for the course are as follows:

Replace the prejudice reading book with an essay.  I think it was a little silly, personally, to assign such a large amount of reading on such a small topic.  I believe a better book reading assignment would be a biography on one of sociology’s founders, a book that goes more in depth on sociological theories, or a book that discusses how sociological imagination has led to scientific breakthroughs (with examples, etc).  Something like that would deepen comprehension of the course as a whole and benefit the student’s learning of sociology as a discipline.

On one of the presentation slides (I think the one having to do with socialization) the voice-over person makes a stereotypical (and offensive) comment about homeschoolers.  Since homeschooled students most likely make up a good chunk of Straighterline’s student body (I know of several taking their classes) I thought this was stupid.

This is less of a recommendation and more of an observation, in looking at other online sociology classes I can’t help but notice that there is a writing requirement.  While this class does have optional writing (end of chapter questions) I can’t help but wonder if it might be better to have one or two essay topics that the student has to submit for grading.  These would serve the purpose of practice in researching and writing, which are both skills that colleges are constantly reinforcing in comparable classes.

How Course Transfers

I can personally verify that it transfers to Thomas Edison State College as SOC101 and will meet the GE “Diversity or Global Literacy” requirement.

Straighterline lists course equivalencies with its partner colleges on its website and this seems to be a commonly accepted one (that will meet GE) but double-check before taking.

Got any questions about this course that I didn’t answer?  You can ask them below 😉

Aaaaand…..the Books!

 

In anticipation of my forth-coming class review I also wanted to announce that I’ll be reviewing each of the class textbooks I use as well.  Here are some of the ones I have. 🙂  I decided to do it this way because sometimes the class itself is great but the book completely sucks and I feel like I should get a completely different post to wax eloquently about the book’s suckiness (or its non-suckiness, cuz there are some good ones here!).  Hopefully this works out and hopefully I have my first review up by the end of the week!