Templeton, Donna  

I have been working on Illustrator and InDesign for many years now, so I didn't have a problem with the GrC 201 lab until we started website design and I actually had to start paying attention. Donna expects students to just follow the instruction sheets she gives rather than actually explaining anything. So while you do get the project done, it doesn't make any sense. I had no clue what I was doing or why; I just followed the instructions (and, like the rest of the students' websites, mine still didn't turn out correctly). I found myself searching on Google a lot to figure out how to code websites-- which defeats the purpose of taking a class. When I asked for help, she got mad and told me to look at the instruction sheet again. When she finally decided to help me, even she couldn't figure out what was wrong with my website. Overall a very frustrating start to GrC labs.

The class itself was not bad although the thing bothering me the most was the teacher's inability to recognize that we are INTRO GrC students who have almost NO initial knowledge of what we are learning. That being said, when we each had individual questions because we missed a step on her projected computer screen (which is so easy to do by taking a second to help your neighbor), she would get frustrated and take her anger out. She has a very difficult teaching position (think having to manage students like us who have almost no knowledge of computer programs and always need things repeated), BUT she needs to accept this and support the students when they need it without stressing them out. The class projects were fun and it really opens you up to the 'design' side of graphic communication. I agree with the other person, her assignment sheets are hard to figure out, so make sure you pay attention really well in class. Grades are basically based on your self-evaluations at the end of each project. Wasn't a horrible class by any means, just the teacher needs slight improvement.

Fun, bubbly person. Knows what she is talking about. Does not totally recognize that it is an intro class but she is there to help so put in the time to converse with her about your troubles. Only takes minor to average concentration towards class to come out with a B/A.

Donna is an amazing teacher, one of the best I've had. She is very approachable, funny, and knows her stuff. I went to her office hours almost weekly with questions and she was always able to answer them. What I really like is that she tells you what she wants from the very beginning of the project, essentially listing out everything you need to have when you turn in your project the day it's due. She keeps things simple and treats students like adults, almost like if it were a real job with deadlines and due dates which is great practice for when you get a job in the industry. Whats great is she's able to relate what you do to what she's done in the past, giving numerous examples as to what were learning and how its important for the future. Donna is a fair, smart teacher and I highly recommend her.

I had Donna for lab and she honestly did a very good job instructing. It gets hectic when you fall behind though so make sure to raise your hand and ask for help. She grades fairly and the assignments were very fun.

Donna is nice, and she comes off really nice and relatable, but she is also extremely particular and sometimes snarky at her students. She is good with the subject matter and does know what she is talking about, but doesn't come down to a students level, which is really important when you're teaching a class of mostly freshman. Try to get on her good side... it will help. She favors students who have more background knowledge than others. I was mildly experienced in computer programs like inDesign and Illustrator, but having a solid foundation in these programs would have helped so much. Also this class is only worth 3 units, but it is most definitely the work of a 4 unit class which sucks. It had two 8am lectures and a three hour lab with hours of project work and studying and write ups outside of class. One more thing was she sprung a coding, web assignment over Thanksgiving break and dead week, which was the hardest, most confusing assignment of all. The programs did not work for many students and she expected we knew how to overcome the technical difficulties even though many of us have never touched code in our life and will never touch it again. Was not the worst class and it is required, but it is not the easiest A, especially if you are a beginner and since Donna is very particular with grading, has high expectations, and mild open-mindedness when it comes to questions and modifications on her course.

Donna is such an amazing person and she genuinely cares about all of her students. Despite having lecture at 8 am, her class was a ton of fun! During labs you have options on what project you want to do. Tests consist of multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, and short and long answer questions, so there is something for everyone. When guest lecturers come in to talk, make sure to take notes because questions about what they say will be on the tests. Also don't worry too too much about the clicker questions, there is no penalty for wrong answers and correct answers bump your grade up on tests!

Donna is an amazing human being and instructor. She's really bubbly energetic for 8am classes, making it much more enjoyable. If you attend early classes, you're rewarded with many extra credit "clicker" points that count towards the midterm and final. Seriously the amount of points I accumulated bumped my midterm and final by a whole letter grade. Once you get to know her, she's really easy to talk to whether you need help with projects or just want to talk about life in general. In terms of 203 lab, she teaches the class well considering its a very fast paced lab. It's impossible to teach Photoshop, Illustrator, coding, etc. in one day, so the class is very much "learn by doing". Overall, Donna is one of the coolest professors I've had so far.

She is very knowledgeable and clearly knows what she is doing but refuses to explain or teach to the depth needed. She is rude about answering questions or when students ask for help, and answers every student question with "look at the sheet I gave you" and the handouts are not helpful and rather just a rubric. It is an intro class where students are learning programs for the first time and it would be so much better taught if she was willing to be helpful and answer questions.

First time having this professor and boy I worked hard for that B-. At first Donna seemed pretty open and straightforward, but that was all gone after the first midterm had gone by. Every professor I've encountered had some type of study guide for their students, but with this professor, NOPE! Although it was an hour class, its understandable to need to speed the lecture up, but not at the point where the ENTIRE class was mind boggled. For the midterm, the entire class nearly flunked or got a D. The class average was pretty bad and for the class to do so badly as a whole in this type of university could most likely mean there would be a problem of how the exam was created by the INSTRUCTOR. After that devastating moment, our eyes were open. All the knowledge we learned throughout this course was mainly from the book and lab. The final was a joke. No study guide just read the book front and back. The only reason to go to class is to get potential extra credit questions and probably participation points for showing up. YOU WILL NEED THEM! Other than that, Donna Templeton has a great personality and very fun to talk to. Although her lectures is complete garbage, the class forced me to read the book. :)

It was a blast being in this class. I am definitely not a morning person so I loathed getting up early for three hours to be in the press room, but Donna made this class informative and entertaining. Yes, somehow she made a 3 hour stint on folding paper interesting. For two labs in a row. That's not easy to do. She grades pretty fairly and is very accommodating to student needs, and I never found this class a struggle aside from the times I as a student did not prepare for the quizzes. Read the textbook, do the write ups on time, and this class is a piece of cake.

I passed this class, but I just want to suggest that if you can seriously dodge taking this teacher, DONT TAKE HER. She literally made us design a website through coding (css/html) and when a student asked for a question and she said "you can look it up" as if we were coders or something. She's really unreasonable and please do yourself a favor and don't take her class.

I chose this professor thinking I would learn a lot about the adobe creative cloud applications but instead finished the class feeling lost and frustrated. Nevermind the fact that she basically has you learn everything on your own after barely keeping up in the lab section, but when you ask for help she will respond like you are a burden. I have never ever written an evaluation for a professor on polyratings until I had this professor and I am a senior so that should tell you something. If you can avoid taking her, I would suggest doing that.