A searchable database of all Goddard MFA-IA students and their work.

It was proposed at the MFA-IA-Spring residency in Vermont to create a searchable database for all MFA-IA students and alum.

Why create a database? There are several reasons:

• So that students within the program and alumn can find others who are working in their field, have the same interests or may be interested in collaboration or work.
• To put a face, name and disciplines together.
• To bridge the gap between students in Vermont and in Port Townsend
• So those who are graduating are not forgotten and stay connected.

The project began to jell organically at residency.

• Terre Parker brought up the suggestion
• I (Bridgette Mongeon) saw the incredible book created for graduation by Connie Porter and thought, "The MFA-IA needs something like this online, for all of the students." Terre and I discussed it and thought that this project was important. Below are some sample pages of the graduation catalog.

What will the database contain?

• Pages for MFA-IA students to display their work. For those working in theater, or dance or other mediums, video links or video will also be made available.
• This is only for the students of the MFA-IA and alum, though I have considered having a section for faculty and visiting artists, more on that later.
• It is not mandatory to be on this page. It is available to those who want it.
• It will have a searchable section for work or collaborations.
• It will be available for anyone to view online, however only MFA-IA students and alum can be featured.

What has happened since residency.

• Bridgette has volunteered to put up the site.
• Searching for ways to create a database This website word press theme was found. Basically this is a listings based website. It shows cars, but think about MFA-IA students instead of cars. You can search by different fields and a google map can be added.
• A fellow student at the Vermont campus has volunteered to create head shots and shoot artwork at the next residency for anyone who needs them for their listing. ( If anyone wants to volunteer to photograph students at the Port Townsend campus, please contact Bridgette through this blog, email (bridgette the at sign creativesculpture.com) or facebook.

WHAT IS NEEDED NOW?

Start up funds.

The cost for putting up the site is minimal.

• Woo theme 200 ( I have contacted them and they will give us a discount of 20-30% That is a $40-$60 discount on the cost of the theme.) Woo theme will cost $140-$160
• Cost for securing a URL- web address is about $10.00
• There is no cost, at this time, for hosting the site. Bridgette Mongeon will contribute hosting for the first 6 months.

Our total start up is $ 150- $170 we have $84.12 ( see below) Balance needed 65.88- $85.88

Several people have been contributing money through pay pal. Send it to Bridgette( the at sign) creativesculpture.com. Once I receive it I will post it on this blog post.

Angus-$25.

Kriota -$20

Marilyn-$19.12 ( pay pal took .88 out. Not sure why?)

Lisa S.-$20.00

What is the plan of action

Once the funds are received for the domain name and woo theme Bridgette will put up the site with a few listings. Then we will begin contacting everyone about joining and adding their listing. We will, of course, start with the financial contributors and work our way out from there. The site does have an option for individuals to put up their own listing. We will check into the ease of that. If that is a possibility then everyone can change their own listing as their work changes.

HOW ELSE CAN YOU HELP?

• Pass the word to others. We will need help in finding both students and alum.
• Need someone at the Port Townsend campus to help get the word out there.
• May need a couple of people that I can chat with about this project. There will be some decisions needing to be made, ie. how to organize the site categories etc. I would love some input. If you are interested let me know.

I'll add more suggestions as I think of them.

Thank you all for this huge and wonderful collaboration. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Today the semester is officially underway-

Today the semester is officially underway. I am sorry I have not posted about residency or about what I learned about packets, and other pertinent school stuff that I learned at residency. Nor have I posted photographs. I was a bit ill at residency and then got right to work on packet work as soon as I returned home.

I promise more posts to come very soon.

HELPFUL LINKS

For now if G1's are looking at this post I wanted to share some links with you.

Proofreading

I used to have a proofreader. Now I use Grammarly.com I think they will give you a trial version. It does not "fix" your papers, but it will help you by telling you the errors. This is a great way to learn.

I also believe that Genie Rayner is doing proofreading. Though she does charge. She is very familiar with the program at Goddard because she came from Vermont College. Vermont College actually purchased the program from Goddard. Check with her on facebook and ask her if she gives a discount to a struggling student.

Of course many of us have our spouses and friends look over our work.

Bibliography

I know many people use refworks, but I like to do my own and store them on my computer.

Here are some suggestions when it comes to a bibliography

This website will format your citation in MLA format for you. Do check out Son of a Citation Machine. Works for me.

I also like looking up my mla citation by the isbn number in a book using OttoBib. How easy is that? Of course I'm running to Amazon to get the isbn number of the book I just read, but then that is fine with me. OttoBib saves me so much time.

Bib- suggestions.

• I am sure you have heard it already. You should try to annotate your bibliography as you go along. You will be required to do this for your portfolio and it will save you a ton of time if you can do it now.
• I keep a word document on my computer and compile my bibs after each packet, then after each semester. By the time I am doing my portfolio in G5 my bib section will be complete.

There are a ton more suggestions in this blog if you care to float through it. I have learned a good deal that I want to post about portfolios, and graduation etc.

MAILING LIST IS NOW POSTED

The 2011 contact list for the spring 2011 semester is now available. You can find it by following this Goddard link and submitting your student ID and password.

The view out of my dorm window! 20" of snow in Plainfield Vermont

The view out of my dorm window!

Goddard College- I'm back

Weather is bad everywhere, but I had no problem getting here from my little side trip to Buffalo to see family. My flight went of without a hitch, and I have my luggage. Sitting in the lounge area waiting for new people to drift in so that the unofficial welcoming committee can welcome them.

bed bugs? So I really don't like this.

This letter came from Goddard. My precautions. I use bags for my clothes and a mattress and pillow cover.


II. Goddard is a bed bug free zone. We’d like to keep it that way, so here are some advanced precautions we’d like you to consider before you come:
a. Do not unpack clothes into drawers and keep luggage closed on a non wooden surface, if possible, and pulled away from the wall. Never set luggage on the bed or upholstered furniture. Try to keep your belongings isolated from the surroundings. When you are not using your suitcase, keep it zipped and closed. Do not lay clothing on the bed. While travelling, you may want to store your clothing in large Ziploc bags to prevent any bed bugs from getting into your clothes.
b. If you think you have bed bugs in your room, don’t panic – bed bugs are NOT life threatening, nor do they carry diseases. Please call the help desk immediately, and housekeeping will be glad to do a thorough check.
c. For more information about bed bugs in general, I recommend the following web sites:
i. http://extension.psu.edu/ipm/resources/bedbug/information-for-travlers/bed-bug-precautions-for-travelers
ii. http://healthvermont.gov/prevent/bedbugs/index.aspx
These are terrific sources for information. Goddard College has taken every precaution to check carefully between residencies, but we need everyone to be proactive.

late registration fees? Many MFA-IA Goddard students are scampering about trying to figure out how to get to residency

10,000 flights cancelled. So I e-mailed the school and asked for some direction as to what needs to be done so that we don't have to pay the late registration fee. This is what came in the mail. Note late payment fees and late registration fees are different. THis is where it pays to have all of your fees for registration paid in advance. Besides making it easier when the weather may make you late to residency ,paying in advance also helps you to go through registration easier.


Dear MFAIA students,

Since this storm may affect travel for many of you, I'm writing to let you
know the procedures for late arrival.

If it ends up you will be arriving late, *please contact the Help Desk
helpdesk@goddard.edu or 802-322-1666* with your estimated time of arrival
and a cell phone number to reach you. You can arrive anytime of the night
and someone will be at the desk to check you in.

If you will miss registration due to delays and cancellations, be sure to
attend to the following important details before you leave and once you
arrive:

- If you have not yet settled your account, contact Ausra Tarttar,
802-454-8311 ext. 365. If your account is not settled by 11 am on Friday,
*for any reason*, the late payment fee of $110 will be charged.


- If you have not completed all financial aid requirements you need to
call Manuel Oneill at 802-454-8311 ext 234.


- No late registration fee (this is different than the late payment fee)
is assessed if the cause of the delay is an "act of god". While a late
registration fee is not charged due to weather-related delays, students must
contact the Registrar's Office upon arrival to be advised about completing
registration in a timely manner.