Extra Credit Information

There are two ways to earn extra credit in this class and you may earn a maximum of 10 points for the entire course.

  1. Complete an environmental restoration project with the LEAD program. (10 points)

    To earn 10 LEAD extra credit points you must contact the LEAD office to sign up for one of the projects announced on http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~lead. You must arrive on time and work for the entire allotted time. At the end of the work party you must sign a participation roster and fill out a form with your name and student number. Within 7 days of the event you must write a 250 word summary addressing the following items and email it to our teaching assistant. Late essays will not be graded and all LEAD events will fill up so sign up soon. If you sign up and do not attend you will lose all future opportunities to earn extra credit. If you arrive late or leave early you will not receive credit for your work.

    To receive credit, you must answer the following questions in your summary essay:
    • What work party did you participate in?
    • What environmental problem were you trying to solve?
    • What scientific basis exists for the restoration work you completed?
    • How effective was the restoration project? Explain your answer.
    • What could the LEAD staff do to improve the effectiveness of its program?
       
  2. Make a movie. (10 points)

    Using iDVD, Microsoft Movie Maker, traditional video editing, or any movie making/editing program that you have at your disposal, make a short movie (7 minutes max) highlighting some environmental issue. You can even check out movie cameras from WWU. This movie can be informational, documentary, humorous, political, persuasive, controversial, but not obscene or offensive. Up to two students can work together as a group on this project. If you would like to earn 10 bonus points in this manner you must:
    • Submit a one page "screen play outline" to David Shull in class by the due date (see below). Include your name and email so I can contact you after reviewing the outline.  I will look them over and give you the go-ahead within two weeks. This outline should contain information on the video content and how you are going to do it.
    • Submit your finished product to me about one week before the end of class (see due date below). You can submit them earlier if you would like.
    • An impartial panel will screen all submissions and I will play the best ones in class (kind of like the Sundance film festival).
    • Finally, there will be a class vote for the best film.
    • The winner will receive an automatic 100% on the final.

See past video samples.