4/26/13. The grades to date have been posted. Look in the "Lectures" section of the class website. Then look on the last lecture posted to see how your points add up to a grade (based upon 500 possible).. I am still waiting for a few mixed up term projects (these have zero's listed) and two last exams to be graded, but the rest is on the updated list. Great job, class!!

And with all the excitement on Thursday, I forgot about going over the last exam question by question. Oh well, the answers are all on the lecture presentations and they are very clear. But if you want to argue a few points, you will have a few days to do that so come see me.

If you want to (or need to!) do the last extra credit, instructions are on the last lecture posted, the class wrap up. Follow the instructions carefully. If you want to take the final exam, also look on the last lecture presentation to see if it will help your grade. Then let me know if you want to take the final so I can print up enough.

For those of you who have volunteered to help with the Fungapalooza, I will email you all this weekend. Basically, we'll need help settung up on Tuesday starting about 10am and then you'll be the master chef's during the event.

For the rest of you, join us on Tuesday, from 12:30 to 2:30, in the Marley Building, ground floor for the 3rd Annual UofA Fungapalooza!! Great snacks and great entertainment!!! You'll enjoy it, I'm sure.

Cheers!!

4/19/13. Ok mycologists, I have posted the last two lectures, the mycological terms list for this next exam, and a practice test. I also loaded up a Excel file with total points to date. It will be important for each student to review the announcements on the last few slides to insure they have all the info for handing in the last assignments and taking texts etc.

Note: I've increased the points for the 1st extra credit assignment from 10 to 15 points. A hard copy of that assignment is due in class on the 23rd before the exam. The second extra credit assignment will be discussed in class on the 25th.

Next, I've given some term projects an extra 10 points because some of them are really good! Quality is rewarded with points!! And remember, if you don't think you can do a traditional (or non-traditional) art project or some other creative form of project, do a poster. A poster will usually look nice simply because it is professionally printed. Some students have thought that I don't want posters. Not true! I enjoy art but I don't enjoy poor quality in art. A nicely prepared poster usually has good quality, and I enjoy good quality. Think about it if your grade is currently low.

When submitting your posters for printing, follow the instructions on lectures 21 and 22. Reproductions Inc will usually print your poster in 24 hours, sometimes sooner, but don't wait for the last day to do this. If there is a crunch with many projects submitted at once then your's might be late. And remember, ALL POSTERS MUST BE PRINTED. NO POSTER BOARDS FOR THIS TYPE OF PROJECT.

There are still exams and essays to be picked up. Come by my office to get them. Remember, its in you best interest to find out where you lost points in the class. Sometimes mistakes are made and if you catch them, we can correct them on the grading sheet.

Last but not least, review session on Monday from 4-5 and 5-6 in Marley 217. The doors of Marley may be locked shortly after 5 so if you want to attend the later session please arrive promptly. Or else wait for someone to exit and enter then.

Turn in your projects as soon as you can. I don't want them turned in in class because I'll have to carry them all back. I don't have that many arms. Turn them in to me in my office or in my lab to one of the student assistants. Any questions????

We're almost finished!!!

4/10/13. Just a reminder to all, please check the last few lectures for announcements. Third midterm exam on 4/23. Class project due on 4/25. There are slightly revised from original dates, ant the syllabus on the class website has been updated.

4/8/13. Students, there are many of you who have not yet signed up with your project subject. Remember, you have until tomorrow to do it!! 10 points off if you don't by tomorrow. And please don't email me with the subject....sign up on the clipboard outside my office! Cheers!

3/29/13. Do I have everyone's fianl essay (only if you needed to turn one in). I'm still missing a few. I'm also missing a few draft essays that are supposed to accompany the final essay. Remember, I can't grade the final unless I also have the draft.

Also, review Lecture 19 on the class website. It has some announcements about the semester project.

3/19/13. The last two lectures have been uploaded to the class website. Also loaded up previously was the practice test and a list of terms to know. And of course you should read the book!

The exam is on Thursday, and there will be a study session tomorrow, Wednesday, from 4-5 and from 5-6, both in Marley 230, which is in the auditorium right next to the main Marley building (between Marley and Forbes). Nick and Holly will be there to answer any questions you may have so take advantage of their expertise!

Finally, I have the remaining draft essays that still need to be picked up. Also, please review the first few slides of Lecture 17 as these discuss how to go about submitting your final essay. Very important you do this correctly! And if you have any concerns about your score on your draft essay, please email me and we can discuss. It's always in your best interest to question your score as mistakes are occasionally made and you can often get the mistakes corrected. Also, if you just don't understand why you got the score you got, please come see me.

Study hard for the exam!

3/18/13. Welcome back from Spring Break!!
I'm happy so many of you are interested in the study session for the midterm we'll have on Thursday. Yes, there will be a study session and it will be discussed tomorrow in class as to when and where. I will also post that information on the class website. Remember, the practice exam is posted on the class website as well.

Graded draft essays will also be given back tomorrow. You will have until Thursday, 3/28 to turn them in. You need to turn them in at the beginning of class or before on that day. And you must turn the final essay in as a hard copy (NO EMAIL) with the draft stapled to the back. This is VERY IMPORTANT so don't forget.

See you in class tomorrow!

3/9/13. Second midterm practice exam has been posted. Study hard!!

3/7/13. Class, this new project that I have to put together by this weekend, Fungi as Food table in the Science of Food tent, has delayed my final grading of the draft essays. Therefore, I won't be able to hand them back to you today. The graded draft essays will be handed back the first Tuesday following Spring Break. You'll have 10 days to complete them and they'll be due on Thursday, 3/28. The second midterm will still be on Thursday, 3/21. So the good part thing is you'll have more time to study up for the 2nd midterm!! I expect excellent performance from everyone!! I'll post the practice exam today on the class website.

3/6/13. The last two lectures have been posted on the class website. Also posted is the Terms List for the second midterm exam, to be held on March 21st. A practice test will be posted on the class website tomorrow and we'll discuss a study session to be held after spring break.

3/4/13. Quick announcement for those of you who weren't in class. The graded draft essays will be returned on Thursday and the final essay with all corrections will be due on March 19th, after spring break.

2/24/13. Class, I've generated a new class syllabus based upon our progress to date, and it is posted on the class website and as a document in the lecture presentations section of the website. As is stands, our next midterm will be after spring break on March 21. Hurray!!! But it will cover a lot of material. Boo!! So do some studying on Spring Break while you're soaking up the sun or snow. Cheers.

2/19/13. A quick note about the essays, which was brought up by one of the students today. Regarding your references, they should be referenced in the body of the essay at the appropriate place with either the referenc number (1-5 or more), or the last name of the author and date of publication, or posting if a website. And then of course, these should all be listed at the end of the essay in the proper format.

Remember, you can't reference my lectures and you can't reference Hudler's book. But you can use the references that Hudler used! Remember, 2 refernces have to be from primary literature, which means a journal article or a book. URL's are not primary literature. Good luck!

2/18/13. Scholars, please review Lecture 10, posted on the class website, regarding metrics for the draft essay due on Thursday. Its a point by point breakdown of how it will be graded, as well as the final essay. For most of the points, if you don't get them in the draft version, you will have a chance to get them in the final version. But there are some points given just to the draft version, including signing up for the topic on the signup sheet!

Look at the metrics on Lecture 10 Yeasts. It spells it out there. Good luck!

2/13/13. Ok, folks, I think Nick, Holly, and I have figured out the final grades for the 1st midterm. And I sincerely apologize for all the confusion....the scantron technology did not serve us well this time. I was particularly disappointed with the fact I couldn't see clearly exactly how each student was answering questions, and then the same for the class as a whole. I like the old fashion way, and so the next exam will be just that.

We uncovered a few ambiguous questions that could be answered two ways, and so we went back through and gave credit where credit was due. Many of you recieved a few more points because of this. But if we by chance missed any points at all, by all means please come by my office and show me and we will add the appropriate points to your test score. And of coure if you want to come by and discuss the exam questions for other reasons, come on by.

So, I've uploaded the keys for the exams on the website. Exam A and C had the same answer key, as did exam B and D. I've also uploaded the points earned by each student in an Excell spreadsheet, by student ID number. Now there were actually 102 points possible on the exam, not 100. On your exam that was handed back to you, your score was a percentage of that 102 possible points. But on the spreadsheet with the corrected first midterm results, I put down your total points earned for the exam, not the percentage of 100. And this will be the grade for the exam that I enter for each of you, rather than the percentage score. As a consequence, most grades will be 1 or 2 points higher. Yay!!!! A small consolation to the earlier confusion.

Now, if any of you recieved a poor grade on the exam, please come by and let's discuss. There are ways to study that will help you organize the imformation better for yourself and help you to retain the information longer. I want everyone to succeed in this class and I believe each and everone of you can. So please come by to discuss in challenges you might have in the subject matter or in test taking. Hopefully, I'll see you soon. Cheers.

Barry

1/31/13. Mycologists, the 1st Midterm Practice Exam is not posted. The actual midterm exam on next Tuesday will be very similar but will be in scantron format. Also posted is the lecture for today, and I slightly modified it (simplified it) from class. I also went over some the the recent plant pathology lectures and simplified them a little as well, and uploaded those.

There will be study session held next Monday; one at 4pm and one at 5pm. Nick and Holly have not told me where they want to hold them so as soon as they do I will post that info as well.

And last, the signup sheet for your essay topic will be outside my door beginning Friday morning. Study hard!

1/29/13. Ok scholars, the website problems have been corrected. Lecture 5 and Lecture 6 have been added, and I'll add Lecture 7 on Thursday. Also on Thursday I will post the practice test so everyone can see how the exam is structured. Remember, I won't post answers; you'll have to figure those out the hard way. On Thursday we'll also figure out, collectively, which day and times are best for the study sessions. Study hard!

1/13/13. Well folks, we are rolling along in this years PLP 150 offering and from I think you are all a fine class! Which makes my job easier and all the more enjoyable! A few students have asked where to find the mycological terms and the MLA instructions.These are all under the "Lecture Presentation" section, so just enter there with your password and you should find all you need. Start studing!!!

1/11/13. Greeting Scholars!!! Welcome to the PLP 150C website. Also known as Fungus Central! If you are reading this that means you have successfully logged onto the class website. Please continue to log on and check the class announcements regularly for updates on the lecture, class notes, exam information, and news flashes of the fungal world. This is going to be another great semester so get ready for some fun with fungi! Cheeers.