From Student to Student

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Thinking Outside the Bookstore

August 14, 2012 in From Student to Student, News, Student Life | No comments

Thinking outside the box is something art students do well, so in that spirit today we’re going to talk about alternatives for getting your textbooks.

Renting Digital Textbooks
Amazon, Coursesmart, Barnes and Noble, and other sites have made a number of textbooks available in a digital format. Aside from flat-out selling books digitally, they provide another option which allows you to rent an e-book version of their available textbooks. The way this works is, you purchase and download the textbook to your preferred e-reader. This download comes with a unique DRM that expires after a certain amount of days. Upon expiring, the e-book is deleted from the reader (similar to how you’d rent movies through Amazon Instant Video or iTunes). If you look, you can find many services that provide a similar feature like Google Play or even your local library (many of which have started using this type of service to lend books).

Now, this is all fine and dandy for those who like or can stand digital books, but what about those that still prefer printed material?

Renting Old-School Textbooks
Many services lend out physical books with a time limit on how long you can have it, similar to borrowing from a library. The only main difference is the rental fee and that the book is shipped to you and when you’re finished you have to ship it back to the company. So basically, it’s like a mail-order library. The good thing is you get pre-paid postage so shipping the book back doesn’t cost anything.

Many of these service also offer their books through a couple of rental plans. These plans tell you how long you can keep a book for example 60, 90, or 125+ days. Since SCAD runs on a trimester (a.k.a quarter) schedule, being able to rent a book for fewer days is an advantage. Storefronts like textbookrentals.com allow you to compare and contrast a wide array of online rental services’ prices and options.

Among the many sites out there that provide physical book rentals are Ebay’s Half.com, Barnes & Nobles, also Amazon. In addition to these main online retailers, some lesser-known  sites are Book Renter or even online used book sites like Abe Books.

The point being, there are plenty of alternatives for acquiring your text books if you just look hard enough. Honestly though, I’ve found more success in buying them cheaper used, sometimes the rental program end up more expensive. Just remember to thoroughly look at all your options before you buy. Also, make sure to take into account the time from when you purchase the book to the time your classes begin. There’s nothing as bad as getting your text book a week late due to slow shipping.

Breaking free of crash dieting (and finding unity within SCAD eLearning)

August 1, 2012 in From Student to Student, Student Life | No comments

by Paul Raymond Maynard, Advertising B.A., Vietnam

Paul is new to SCAD eLearning for summer quarter and an exciting addition to the Myriad staff. Welcome Paul!

coffee

Photo by Claire Eskers, BFA Photography

crash diet

noun
a weight-loss diet undertaken on an urgent, short-term basis with the aim of achieving very rapid results. http://oxforddictionaries.com

 

I felt terrible yesterday. My latest crash diet consisted of cutting out two of my life long daily staples: a yogurt cup and milk. I can go up to a month on some crazy health kick scheme… cutting out all meat, only living on tofu or dry cereal, excessive carb-loading, over doing it on the vitamin supplements …you get my point.

Luckily, this last occurrence of crash dieting only lasted about two weeks. Unfortunately, without some much needed soul searching, it probably won’t be the last.

Every day, I think about how lucky I was to be raised by my mom who cushioned herself on the Florida beaches and put me into so many sports activities that I know all the rules of all the games. She was raising me in the 1980’s, during the mass marketed health food crazes, self help book fads, not to mention L Ron Hubbard’s nationally favored “Dianetics” (which pretty much tells you how to live your life as a better person).

Is that all this crash dieting crazy stuff really is? A way to be a better me?

According to Oxford Dictionary, crash dieting is a way to get fast results. For what? I’m not overweight, I exercise…so what is it all about?

I decided to talk to my mom last summer and confess my addiction to crash dieting in an impromptu family meeting. This was step one in the right direction: communication. I learned my mom and my brother had also been affected by this addiction. I would have never known had I not been open with them. Now, I finally knew two people who were going through what I was. These two people, surprisingly, were my best friends. These two people were my mom and my brother.

Yesterday, when I got home, and before looking into the mirror, I closed my eyes, breathed in a new peace of mind, exhaled total exhaustion, and opened my eyes to see a tired and old image of myself staring back at me.

How long has this crash dieting been going on in my life? Since I was eight, doing family 5k races every weekend, drinking diet pop, and eating sugar free yogurt for lunch at school? Or was it when I was 12 and I saw my mom scarf down boxes of dry cereal in the car on the way to school (“…because there’s no fat in there..”- I remember she’d said why she’d liked eating it so much)?

Who knows when it all had started, but I ‘m a lot older and hopefully wiser now. I need to start listening to my body regarding choices when I eat.

This had been step 2: identifying the root of the problem, and not placing blame by taking control of one’s own life!

For goodness sake, Iced sugary milk coffee is a staple of Vietnam, the country I am experiencing now! It’s the most popular local past time: sitting in coffee shops for hours watching the chiseled ice melt in your high ball glass of rich, organic, chemical-free, locally home grown coffee drizzling over 2 tablespoons full of non-refined, sugary sweet, frosting-like, condensed milk.

Why am I trying to cut milk out of my diet? It sounds so delicious even as I write about it. Between handling the stress of a new culture and starting back to school at SCAD, I was overlooking step 3, which is the key to success: health.

I had luckily snapped out of my latest crash diet craze last night, went to the store and bought some fresh vegetables, ground coffee, sugar- free milk, and my daily love: yogurt. I felt fine. No, actually, excellent!

When successfully balancing my diet that way two weeks earlier, and as I am back to myself again today, I feel a great improvement in my life!

I said to myself, “Look at all things you’ve done in the past few months: completed the SCAD admissions process and was accepted, gotten finances in order, and prepared to officially start classes tomorrow!

I think step 4 is to accept that life is already pretty darn good!

As an eLearning student, one might feel left out or even lonely. Utilizing resources like reading the blogs on Myriad, writing your own Introductions and Reflections blogs in each of your classes, and even chatting on Blackboard IM can make us all feel a whole lot better about the unique superstars we really are!

 

From student to student: An introduction

April 21, 2012 in Advice, From Student to Student | 4 comments

By Carla Laplaca

Being new to Myriad, it is fitting that I begin with an introduction and explain a bit about why I am here.

A home-schooling mother of two, I began SCAD’s e-learning program in winter of 2010.

Currently a senior, working towards a BA in Visual Communications with concentration in Graphic Design, my interest in the intricacies of communication has grown considerably and I have discovered how crucial student involvement is to the success of online learning.

Over the past two years, my network of peers has grown to include many talented students, a handful of whom have become close friends. I am here to encourage you to reach out to other students and benefit from one of the most valuable resources your time at SCAD has to offer.

Along the way, I hope to offer up some tips that will make your online courses go smoother and guide you towards success in the SCAD e-learning environment.

As we find ourselves well into Spring Quarter and at the end of our first discussion grading period, mention of the dreaded discussion board is in order. I use the term ‘dreaded’ sarcastically. In reality, the discussion board can be a wonderful tool should you choose to use it to your advantage.

Not only a resource for strengthening your own projects based on critiques, each post you author provides an opportunity to practice and develop communication skills that will serve you well as you deal with clients, superiors, and employers in real world situations.

Plus, it’s a great place to regurgitate the terminology and information you have read in the course materials, which can only increase your understanding (not to mention quiz scores).

Blackboard Instant Messaging is one of my favorite e-learning tools. If you haven’t installed this one yet – why not? Not getting enough feedback on the board? Pushing a deadline and need a second set of eyes fast? This is the place to be.

Many SCAD students are instantly accessible at just about any given time and I have never met one who wasn’t willing to help out where able. The program can accommodate one-on-one chats or study group scenarios.

Some professors use this platform to meet with students as well. The program is downloadable on Blackboard Learn and available to all students. Take advantage of it and don’t be shy!

I am looking forward to the opportunity Myriad has provided to reach out to e-learning students and communicate on a whole new level. My goal is to is to share what I have learned over the past two years, in hopes that your SCAD e-learning experience will be as fulfilling as my own.

Consider this an open invitation to voice your questions and suggest e-learning topics you are interested in. What are you waiting for? RSVP now!