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Monday, January 25, 2010 
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 
| No More Adds |
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Since we are now well into the second week of the term and most of my classes are full (and then some!) I am not adding any more students to my Music 1A or Music 51 classes. I may consider a few additional students in Music 8, but only in very limited circumstances where the student is already enrolled in one of my Music 51 classes.
Let me know if you would like any advice about course alternatives. If you didn't get the class you wanted this term, I urge you to plan to take it next quarter.
(Posted 1/12/10; 9:26:00 AM #) |
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Monday, January 4, 2010 
| Welcome to the Winter 2010 Term |
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Welcome back if you are returning, and just plain welcome if this is your first term at De Anza!
You can find out more about my classes by clicking the links in the note below the header on this page. At the moment it looks like all of my classes except for the TTh Music 8: Intermediate Electronic Music class are full. However, if you come to one of the first class meetings I may be able to add a few more students in some sections.
(Posted 1/4/10; 9:08:19 AM #) |
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Sunday, January 3, 2010 
Thursday, December 31, 2009 
| Winter 2010 Quarter Information |
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The winter terms starts near the beginning of January... but registration is now underway! Don't
delay taking care of admissions and registration this term. My class schedule and current enrollment figures are as
of 1/2/10:
Music 1A: Introduction to Music
- 9:30-10:20 on MTWTh in room A11. Current enrollment is 50/50 (FULL - attend first class to try to add).*
- 10:30-11:20 on MTWTh in room A11. Current enrollment is 50/50 (FULL - attend first class to try to add).*
Music 51: Introduction to Electronic Music
- 12:30-2:15 on MW in room A91. Current enrollment is 30/30 (FULL - attend first class to try to add)*
- 10:30-2:15 on Friday-only in room A91. Current enrollment is 29/30 (FULL - attend first class to try to add)*
Music 8: Intermediate Electronic Music
- 12:30-2:15 on TTh in A91. Current enrollment is 28/30 (only 2 spaces remain).
* Try to get on the class waiting list and attend the first class meeting
if you would like to try to add full section. Note that spaces
occasionally open in "full" classes during the registration period. If
you are not on the waiting list you may still come to the first class
meeting and try to add. When one section of a class fills, other
sections of the same class often begin to fill more quickly. There are still spaces in the 8:30-9:20 MTWTh Music 1A taught by Hicks.
(Posted 12/31/09; 2:01:02 PM #) |
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Friday, December 4, 2009 
| Winter Quarter Registration |
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De Anza College, like all colleges in California, is contending with very difficult and challenging budget reductions
this year. Those of you who signed up for fall classes already know
about over-crowded and full classes, canceled classes, and overall
reductions in course sections. Registration in my classes seems to be well ahead of past trends already - and we have nearly five weeks until winter quarter classes begin! With this in mind, there are some
strategies you might consider:- Sign up for all of your classes as soon as possible.
This will help protect you from two risks: the class you want may be
full if you wait too long or, ironically, the class could be canceled
if you and other students don't sign up. (The college will begin
canceling some low-enrolled courses as early as mid-December.)
- Consider signing up for at least one more course than the minimum you need if you must have a 12-unit schedule to maintain your full-time status. That way you won't fall below 12 units if
the college cancels one of your classes late in the registration cycle.
(If this doesn't happen you could choose to stay in all of the classes
or you could drop one later.)
- If you think you "might decide to take a class" don't wait to sign up. If you wait too long the class may well be full or canceled. Better to sign up for the "maybe" class to avoid losing that option completely.
- Stay on top of your registration status and fees.
If you don't pay fees you might find that you are removed from classes
that you registered for. By the time you discover this and fix the
problem the class may have no room left. Moral of the story: Take care
of fees by or before deadlines.
(Posted 12/4/09; 8:58:09 AM #) |
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009 
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 
| Edge of the Light |
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Edge of the Light – Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
(Posted 11/3/09; 9:11:21 AM #) |
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Sunday, October 25, 2009 
Sunday, October 18, 2009 
| H1N1 Flu? Stay Home. Get Better. Don't Spread the Bug! |
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Last week several students who were not feeling well at all showed up for school and came to my classes. I more than one case they told me that their doctors said that they probably had H1N1 flu ("swine flu")!
If you believe that you have the flu, please stay home and get better! Contact your doctor for advice, especially if you are suffering serious symptoms. While I appreciate your dedication and your desire to avoid missing class... it is best for all concerned that you avoid exposing others and concentrate on taking care of yourself.
Do send me email, phone my office, or send word with a friend to let me know that you are home sick.
(Posted 10/18/09; 8:30:42 PM #) |
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009 
| Update on De Anza Power Outage - Tuesday, 10/13 |
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From the De Anza College web site:
At 11 AM, power has been restored to the De Anza College Campus.
Classes will resume at 1:30 PM. Classes prior to 1:30 PM have been canceled.
What
does this mean for the 12:30 p.m. Intermediate Electronic Music class?
Officially the class has been canceled for today. However, if more than
a small number of students show up I will open the room for an open lab
session. I will not introduce any new material in class today.
CLASSES BEGINNING AT 1:30 PM AND LATER WILL MEET TODAY AS SCHEDULED.
(Posted 10/13/09; 11:04:36 AM #) |
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Winter 2010 Term
Winter 2010 classes begin in January, and registration has already begun. Visit the De Anza College web site to find out more about admissions and registration. My schedule includes: Music 1A: Introduction to Music- MTWTh at 9:30-10:20 in A11
- MTWTh at 10:30-11:20 in A11
Music 51: Introduction to Electronic Music- MW at 12:30-2:15 in A91
- Friday-only at 10:30-2:15 in A91
Music 8: Intermediate Electronic MusicFor more information about courses I teach, visit the web sites for my Intro to Music and Electronic Music classes. Also, be aware that the state budget crisis may force changes in this schedule. Send me email if you have questions - see the Contact Info section lower in the sidebar. I posted an extremely important note about enrollment during a budget crisis last year - it still applies for the upcoming term. Please read it!
Recent Posts From My Other Sites
Music 1
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Test 1 Grades Have Been Posted. You may view your test 1 grades and scores by logging in to the web site and then clicking the Online Grades link near the top of the right sidebar.
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Reminder about Policies on Submitting Work, etc.. Don't forget that I'm a "stickler" (to use a nice word...) for sticking to assignment requirements as listed in the green sheet and on the assignments and announced in class. These include things such as requirement to staple pages together, requirement to turn in no later than actual deadline, and so forth.
If you don't follow the guidelines I may not accept your assignment - you will get no credit. To soften this policy a bit, keep in mind that I don't count your lowest quiz, online discussion topic, and homework assignment - e.g. you can miss one of each without penalty or do poorly on one and it won't count.
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Updates February 4, 2010. - Due to an error on the second quiz (that I explained in class) everyone who completed the retake portion of the quiz got full credit for the retake quiz.
- Grade updates:
- I'm running behind on posting grades at this point, but I plan to be caught up by the start of next week.
- I posted grades/scores for the second quiz and it attached retake quiz.
- If you have missed more classes than allowed by my green sheet policy and we have not spoken about this you should contact me right away to explain and discuss - I am going to drop students with poor attended during the next few days. (Note that persistent late arrival can cause you to be dropped.)
- I added some additional events for this Saturday for those who were delayed in concert attendance due to emergencies, etc. This is your last realistic opportunity to attend an event for the Concert Review that is due at the start of the period next Monday.
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| Source: Music 1; Updated: 8:53AM PST. |
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Electronic Music
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Grade Updates. I have posted some updates to your current course grades. After logging in to the web site you should be able to see links to the course grades in the Resources section of the sidebar. Grades are listed according to your student ID codes as obtained from your "My De Anza" page. (Note that grades for the Music 8 class are indicated by a numerical
value where 12=A, 11=A-, 10=B+, 9=B, 8=B-, 7=C+, 6=C, 5=C-, 4=D+, 3=D,
2=D-, 1=F, and 0= no grade recorded.) |
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Upcoming Holidays and the Electronic Music Classes. There is a four-day "Presidents Day" holiday coming up on Friday, February 12 through Monday, February 15. This will affect both of the Music 51: Introduction to Electronic Music classes:
- The MW class will not meet on Monday, February 15.
- The Friday class will not meet on Friday, February 12.
The most significant effect will be on the FRIDAY class. Because it is a one-day-per-week class, we will not meet at all between today (February 5) and two weeks from now (February 19). For this reason:
- I have accelerated some work in this section of the class, including the second take-home quiz and assignment 4.
- Test #1 for the Friday class will be on February 19 - the next class meeting and the same day that the quiz is due!
- It will likely be necessary for some students in the Friday to make use of open lab times during the next two weeks. This is especially true for students who might be a bit behind or who need additional lab time.
I'll try to have both classes back on schedule by the week following the holiday weekend.
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Late Arrival and Workstation Availability. A attendance policy for all electronic music classes:
Special note regarding late arrival and
availability of workstations: After the first five minutes of
the period, any unused computers are available for use by students from
other electronic music classes. If you arrive later than this you may
not be able to use your usual computer.
If you arrive late you will have to use whatever computers are still available in the classroom if yours is already taken.
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| Source: Electronic Music; Updated: 2/5/2010. |
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Quotes
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Bertrand Russell "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." - G Dan Mitchell (gdanmitchell@gmail.com) |
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H. H. Williams "Furious activity is no substitute for understanding." - G Dan Mitchell (gdanmitchell@gmail.com) |
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George Orwell "Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it." - G Dan Mitchell (gdanmitchell@gmail.com) |
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| Source: The Quote File; Updated: 1/10/2010. |
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