This course was so interesting and the content is so relevant to everyday life. Learned things I never thought I would in the Comm major and I'm glad I took this course. There is only one midterm, a final, and attendance being counted toward your grade so study A LOT.
I really don't understand the low ratings of professor Flanagin! He's amazing and makes lectures so interesting. The content he teaches is very relevant and important to know. He's very funny, smart and knows what he's talking about. Definitely take a class from him if you have the chance! His test is totally fair if you attend all the lectures.
Difficult class but so worth it. Lectures loaded with info and super clear explanations; gives great examples & engages students completely. Challenging but fair exams--you'll get the grade you earn. If you're looking to slide by, he's not your guy, but if you actually want to LEARN something take this class! Inspiring, unbelievably helpful.
Arrogant, rude and unhelpful. Not a communication class, seemed more like computer science. Tests are impossible if you don't read the research 3 times over. Random attendance throughout quarter; stickler for using your phone.
Prof. Flanagin expects a lot of you and, if you do your part (pay attention, study, think), you'll get a lot back. Slackers beware, though; if you want an easy A there are lots of others in the dept to give it to you. If you want engaging lectures, an incredibly knowledgeable and personable prof, and great feedback, he's your guy.
I absolutely loved prof Flanagan and his teaching style! He really cares about the material he is teaching and and takes into account what his students want to learn. For both the midterm and final he let our class decide what we wanted the format to be! Any negative comments are ppl that are blaming him for their lack of effort, hes a great prof.
Not easy classes and super packed with information, but really interesting stuff and presented clearly and in detail. Amazing at answering Qs on the fly and making things relevant. Always available for students and helpful. If you do the work and study hard you will be ok, but don't expect him to gift it to you like other profs. SO worth the work.
Great lectures, great interaction, cares a lot about students and will go FAR out of his way to help (he gave the final in person literally hours after having surgery, just in case students had Qs during exam). If you're a slacker, though, and don't try, his classes will eat you up and you will be angry and sad and prob blame him.
His class is not necessarily super hard, he is just a sad, lonely, rude, (the list goes on) person. I recommend taking this class with someone else if you are able to. Also, his info is random and he makes up a lot of his facts so dont rely on the internet for exam help etc. Overall 0/10 as a person, 3/10 for the class(not much busy work at least)
Professor Flanagin is such an amazing teacher. The content in this course is incredibly relevant and important information. Your grade is not handed to you, this class requires you to dedicate time to attend lectures, skim readings, and study before exams. However, Prof Flanagin grades very fairly and exams are created to help students succeed.
I took this class more than a decade ago, so I'm a little different than others here. This is the ONLY class from my undergrad experience that I still think about. The content was relevant then, moreso now, and I still think back on how Prof F presented complex ideas and research to make them understandable. Take this class.
He rocks. Lots of useful content, makes you think, very helpful and cares about students. Not a fluff course, not a fluff guy; you get what you put into it, and he puts a lot into it for students.
Loved his classes, even though they are packed with info and ideas. He lectured "live" during Covid, and made this very clear before the class began -- these were the only classes where I learned anything during the pandemic as a result. He works hard to be sure you understand; great content, very helpful, cares a lot if you care too.
Every other upper division Comm class I got at MINIMUM an A. This class I somehow get a B and in his other class I somehow got a B+. I am pissed because he messed with my perfect GPA, and clearly he is an unfair grader considering the stuff he teaches isnt even hard, hes just a jerk! He sucks, if you want a fair prof/class, dont take his!!!
During covid students demanded being spoon-fed all the lectures, notes, etc. Flanagin, though, had solid reasons for giving live lectures, assignments, etc., which he explained carefully; still, many hated this and felt somehow offended. I rolled with it and saw the light in the end -- learned SO MUCH MORE in this class than usual! Great class.
Not understanding whatsoever to student situations, even during Covid. He is blatantly rude to students and I would not recommend him to my worst enemy. No one needs to act the way he does , its disrespectful and it shows how little he thinks of the students.
This man reads ONE study and then teaches it like its fact(ik bc I read one). He is over here forcing comm students to memorize the intricacies of how the internet works, down to the exact receptors between servers, etc. WE GET IT, you think you are a computer scientist! If you're so good at comp sci, go get a comp sci job. Needs attitude change!
Awesome class, learned so much. Lots of material, fair tests, ALWAYS helpful and available to students. Really dedicated to students and has clear expectations. Engaging lectures, even via zoom during covid; really cares about learning and if you do too this class is for you. Best prof and course I ever had at UCSB.
Don't think I've taken a class with a more unprofessional and disrespectful professor in my life. Many technical difficulties on his end that he refused to resolve, and acted condescending towards students. Wasn't always accommodating to students with DSP. Included an extremely inappropriate question on the final. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS.
Extremely difficult class and unaccommodating professor. refused to post lectures even though they were always recorded. would talk back and make snarky remarks to students' questions. disregarded students' concerns. included a petty, rude, and unprofessional question on the final that IS NOT appropriate for a comm final. really unprofessional prof
This professor is a stubborn and petty man. We complained multiple times that his zoom audio was bad, but he still refused to post lectures online or do anything to accommodate us. There was also a question on the final exam that was extremely unprofessional and unnecessary. He hates our complaints but does nothing to address/fix them.
I studied so hard for this class and really thought I did my best on every exam but then failed every exam.. He goes very fast during lecture and does not record them. Coming from a student that has ADHD it is very hard to comprehend during his fast lectures. My self-esteem went way down after taking this class. Never Again.
Was a horrible professor. He did not care one ounce for his students and was unprofessional and petty during class. Made passive agressive comments to people. Class attendance was mandatory and he was not flexible at all to students needs. Instead of helping them he made the other students take care of it.
Lots of content that I will think and talk about for years. extremely helpful if you put in even minimal effort, always available, lightning fast email responses. Answered questions with utmost patience and ALWAYS felt like he had our backs. Really tried to help out. I had no tech problems, so maybe it was not his end; shouldn't blame him for that
