Attendce for online classes will be judged on your participation in MS Teams, your Peer Reviews, and contributing to your group. Of course, things happen and life can get in the way of perfect attendance. This class requires group participation for it to work - so any prolong absesen not only affects you, but your peers as well. Please try your best and if you feel you are going to miss more than a single week's worth of work, contact me so we can get something worked out. Missing more than a single week will affect your grade and missing more than two will likely result in the failure of the course.
Keep in mind that this is an intensive course, and the work can pile up quickly (espeically because it can be easy to procrastinate while working from home). But, you'll find the pace relatively easy if you complete the weekly assignments. An online class does not mean you work at your own pace - please keep up with the weekly assignments and do not try to do assignments at the last minute.
Course grades are based on a 100-point scale. Final grades fall on the following ranges: A = 94-100, A- = 90-93, B+ = 87-89, B = 84-86, B- = 80-83, and so on. Assignment grades are standard letter to point: A+ = 98.5, A = 95, A- = 91.5, and so on. There is no curve. There are no individual extra-credit or re-take options.
Failing grades are given to students who fail to meet the expectations and requirements of an assignment, who have submitted plagiarized work (see below), who fail to complete much or all of the assigned work for the course, or who have missed more than five classes.
Any successful learning experience requires mutual respect on behalf of the student and the instructor. The instructor as well as fellow students should not be subjected to any student's behavior that is in any way disruptive, rude, or challenging to the instructor's authority in the (digital) classroom. The instructor has primary responsibility for control over classroom behavior and maintenance of academic integrity. The instructor can order the temporary removal or exclusion from the (digital) classroom of any student engaged in disruptive conduct or conduct violating the general rules and regulations of the institution (see UT Dallas Title IX Initiatives).
Online participation requires the same atmosphere of respect. Name calling, harassing, flaming, trolling, etc. is antithetical to the course goals and will not be tolerated.
Content Warning: Our classroom provides an open space for the critical and civil exchange of ideas. Some readings and other content in this course will include topics that some students may find offensive and/or traumatizing. I aim to forewarn students about potentially disturbing content, and I ask all students to help create an atmosphere of mutual respect and sensitivity.
We will use a combitionation of technologies for this class. Please remain flexibile and be willing to try out new software or platfroms. This website is the source of truth for all due date and assignments. eLearning is used only to turn in graded work. MS Teams will be our digitla classroom for our discussions and class updates.
All online assignments are due prior to class on the date listed unless otherwise noted. All major paper assignments will be submitted through eLearning. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm submission of their work. Students cannot make up missed reading quizzes or other in-class work associated with participation.
Monday through Friday I check email regularly and I will respond to your message within 8 business hours. If it surpasses 24 hours, check your email and resend it. Use UTD email only. Follow email etiquette. I will not respond to course matters that are listed in the syllabus or to questions about what you missed in class. I will not give feedback on assignment drafts through email, but you are encouraged to bring drafts to office hours.
Students have access to resources including the McDermott Library, Academic Advising, The Office of Student Access Ability, and many others. Please see the eLearning Current Students webpage for more information.
We can connect on MS Teams. I am available Monday and Wednedsay evenings between 7:00p and 10:00p. If those times do not work for you, let me know and we can get something worked out.