Ethan Watrall

School: Michigan State University
Department: Communication
Location:East Lansing, MI
Overall Rating
rated by 21 students
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 Ethan is incredibly funny, and he's always really fast at responding to emails and questions. I learned a lot in both classes I took from him, so I definitely recommend him! He's definitely one of my favorite college professors.
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 I had him for ANP264 not 203 but it wasn't listed. The class was probably alot worse to me because it was at 8am and it wasn't interesting enough to hold my attention that early. It wasn't a horrible class but it wasn't great either. The project at the end of the year I thought was actually really fun though. If you just complete it early and not at the last minute it's really not bad at all. The exams though were awful. He doesn't provide exam reviews which for some classes would be fine but because this is like a history class in the aspect that you have to know every detail about these monuments and cultures it was horrific. I studied all of my notes, every detail I could try and remember and did awful on the final. Luckily though there is alot of other things that go into your grade which is a plus to the class.
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 Ethan is really cool and really knowledgeable. I don't like the subject too much, I took this as an Honor's gen ed, but I found the class very random and off topic. We lectured on topics that I don;t think we should have needed. He wanted us to know knitty gritty things that we do not really need to know to understand archaeology. For example, we learned how pottery is made, and all the different techniques, just because. I do think he knows a lot about archaeology, and he does talk about some interesting topics. He is very nice, and helps out your grade a lot, and is very flexible about deadlines. The work isn't too tough, there is just a lot of weekly assignments to keep straight. I would recommend this class, just be ready to be bored sometimes and put the work in when needed.
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 I had Ethan for the honors section of this class. Ethan was a really nice guy, and he had interesting lectures and slides. The catch, though, is that he adds a lot of pointless time consuming projects to the class. Aside from requiring weekly blog posts and responses we had two other projects that practically no requirements or guidelines and were a large portion of our grade. I learned a lot in the class, but the work load was a little ridiculous for an ISS substitution.
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 Pros: Posts notes online.
Offers a research paper in place of the second exam.
Doesn't focus on the book too much.
Cons: Notes only include key details; need to really pay attention to get information.
Weekly blog posts, while easy become a nuisance.
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 Pros: Super easy
No exams or quizzes
Cons: Paper at end of class
This class is so easy, you just have to post one short blog a week pretending like you watched the online lecture. There's a paper at the end of the class that is pretty long, but the grading is very easy.
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 Pros: Good professor
Interesting class
Fun guy
Teaches material well
Keeps online lectures very interesting and puts them together well
Kind of kooky guy
Cons: Does all online material
Requires you to follow him on Twitter and puts up a bunch of personal Tweets
Fun and interesting class. Easy 4.0
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 Pros: Very cool guy. Very knowledgable and hilarious. Nerdy in a funny way.
Cons: Sometimes lectures went long.
Class is pretty easy. Exams aren't tough if you've attended class and read the book. There's a big research paper that'll take some work. There's also a game day when you can bring in your systems and play.
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 Hes a pretty cool guy and this is a great class as long as you can manage to wake up and go to it 2 days a week at 8:30. The course covers a ton of material but if you study well for the exams there is no reason not to do well in the course. I would take any other class that he taught it was an easy high 3.5 for me I should have gotten a 4.0 but he didn't explain the structure very well for the research paper and I missed 5 points which in turn dropped my grade from a 4.0
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 Great teacher always willing to help the class itself is a little rough huge research paper then an essay format final right after and its hard to study for the midter unless you atteneded all the classes and took good notes. but ethan is a great prof and even though the class is a little tough id still recomend taking it
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 I really liked Ethan for his personality, but hated the way he taught this class. His lectures are interesting, and he makes it worthwhile, but he won't post his slides, which isn't really a big deal. He doesn't post study guides either, which makes it hard to study for his midterm and final unless you've attended all the lectures and read the book. Having a huge research paper doesn't really help either, neither does him canceling lectures all the time.
Like I said, like Ethan, but not the class.
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 I'll start off by saying I think he was a good guy. We also had some pretty good class discussions with him.
I was pretty unhappy with how he ran the actual class, though. He had us read about an entire novel a week. I tried really hard the first couple weeks but they were really long, REALLY boring books. I eventually decided spending all my free time reading those stupid things wasnt worth it because all we ever did with them was discussion, no quizzes, no papers, no nothing.
There were also pretty much no grades handed out, either, until the last couple weeks of class. We had to write a disgustingly long final paper, which apparently I didnt do well enough, and thus HST 110H, history of the FUTURE (this is what ethan called it, this still doesnt make sense to me) ruined my four point. Would not recommend this class.
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 great class - really interesting. Professor Watrall really knows his stuff, and he definitely loves the material. He isn't about to hold your hand and treat you like a freshman. So, if you want to be spoon fed, don' take this class. If you want an interesting class that is a challenge, this class is for you.
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 Decent guy but not organized at all. Easy class to pass but you do it with little direction because he gives very very little direction as to how he wants you to complete tasks. He is out of the country or unreachable half the semester so if you dont have any questions or dont need help then you will be just fine!
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 Awesome professor. Really knows what he is talking about. Tests are from powerpoint and book mostly only some stuff will come from lectures. There is occassionally an extra credits question or two on the tests but no more. Research paper at the end was a bitch but the class was awesome.
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 Ethan is awesome. He's really nice, and willing to help you out in any way he can. There are 5 lab assignments which your TA will walk you through, and one final group project. He gave my class one pop quiz, and one open note quiz online. Take this class with him for sure.
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 A good professor, but not outstanding in my opinion. I learned more from the TA during labs then during lectures. He does know his stuff though and he seems pretty easy going for the most part. I'd take another class with him.
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 Great professor. He goes over some pretty complicated stuff, but makes it as interesting as a professor can, and is pretty laid back. Even though he's easy going, he really knows his stuff and is more than willing to help teach it to you. He's also a really nice guy to talk to about the industry, or just whatever. Take any class of his you can, you'll really enjoy it.
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 I've taken Watrall for TC 346, 446, 391 and a 448. He's a HTML and Flash genius, and it shows. He's a published author, and a genuinely nice guy. He cares about his students, and treats you like human beings. He's funny, interesting to talk to, and actually works in the TC department to make good things happen. Along with Brian Winn, he's responsible for the new for 2005 Game-Design specialization in TC. I personally often go to his office hours for help, or just to shoot the breeze because I enjoy talking to him. I recommend taking any class he teaches, dont' miss out on this fantastic teacher and person.
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 Sure, the slides get a little boring after a while, but this guy is a really cool prof. He is enthusiastic about the stuff, and if you pay the slightest bit of attention in class, you'll do well. He even had a game day for our class, as well as a movie day!

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