Freshmen off to good start

That all important first quarter is over for the 57 students who entered the E-Media program in September and word is: the quarter was a success for most of them.

Ninety percent of the students enrolled in Professor Steve Oldfield's History of E-Media class earned an A or B. Professor Oldfield said 15 percent of his students earned "a solid A" with quite a few others earning A- or B+.

The students' team presentations about advances in electronic media or major events that were shaped by the media went well, Professor Oldfield said. Many of the teams gave multimedia presentations. But he added, "Many students had trouble getting their new Apple laptops to work with the overhead projection system." (Not to worry frosh: professors and seniors presenting their capstone experiences often have the same problem.)

"The most impressive thing to me was that when given the option of attending a Friday session featuring a guest speaker from Channel 19 (on what happened to be a glorious fall afternoon) more than three-quarters of the students showed up," Professor Oldfield said.

Dr. Manfred Wolfram, head of the division, teaches a course which introduces the students to the major.  He said he was impressed by the curiousity of the new students and by their passion for the media field.

For more on the opening quarter, watch a video report from Uptown reporter Brooke Romaniw featuring freshmen, Dan Fisk and Steve Dickman.

January 15, 2009