Writing for New Media: Rules

Attendance
Turning in Work
Tardiness
Late Work and Makeup Assignments
Extensions
Extra Credit
Academic Integrity
Conduct
Harassment
Complaints
Conway center statement
How to Succeed in this course
Feedback

Attendance Policy:

Since much of our work is collaborative, it is absolutely necessary that you attend each class. Students who miss more than two classes after the first week will be penalized 75 points for each additional absence.

While I do allow for excused absences, such cases are rare and require written proof of absence for each occasion. In the case of excused absences, class work missed is due the class period after the student returns to class.
Events that do not excuse absences:

Short term illness—if you are not sick enough to require a doctor visit and/or multiple days in bed, your illness will not excuse your absence. This does not mean that you should come to class if you are ill. Such illnesses are the perfect use for your two “freebies.”
Car / transportation trouble.
Leaving early/ returning late from holiday or other school breaks.

If you know ahead of time that you will have an excused absence, you must excuse such absences before you miss class. Such absences may include: academic events, scheduled medical procedures, conflicts with other courses. Foreseeable absences will not be excused after the fact.

Work due for unexcused or pre-excused absences is due the day you return.

Turning in work:

All work is due at the beginning of class on the day it is assigned. Hard-copy work done outside class should be typed and printed double-spaced on white, 8.5x11” paper. Work due online is due at the beginning of class.

Computers are fickle beasts. You should have at least two copies of everything you make for this class. Floppy disks are the least reliable medium you could choose to keep your files on. I highly recommend you buy a flash drive; they're inexpensive and pretty darn reliable.

CAVEAT: I accept assignments by email, but you should not assume that I have received an assignment until you receive a confirmation email from me. If I do not receive the email before the assignment is due, late-work penalties will apply. In other words, if you turn in assignments by email, you do so at your own risk. If assignments are due on OASIS, you should post them there. Email them to me as a last resort.

If you do not have regular access to a computer, please speak to me after class and we will discuss options for turning in work.

Tardiness:

Class starts on time. If you are late, you will miss information and disrupt other students when you arrive. If tardiness becomes a problem, I may institute a tardiness policy. Please be on time.

Late work and makeup assignments:

Daily assignments will not be accepted late. Students who miss class for un- or pre-excused absences must turn in any daily assignments on the day they return. Students who miss class for excused absences may turn in missed work the class after they return.

Peer Reviews should be given to band-mates on the date due. Students should keep a copy for their records. Peer Reviews turned in after the due date are worth half credit. Peer Reviews turned in after the project due date are worth zero points.

You will be allowed one late project/paper without penalty (because Nintendogs DO sometimes get hungry). The late paper is due by Monday of the next week. After that, every day the work is late will cause a drop of 1 letter grade (10%). If you turn in any other projects late, the penalties begin accruing immediately.

Extensions:

For whatever reason, if you discover that you will not be able to meet the project deadline, you may ask for an extension. I do not guarantee that I will grant one, but I usually do. Below are two tips for extension seekers:

Ask for the extension either in class or by email 48 hours before the project is due. If seek an extension with less time remaining, you probably won't get it.
Keep up with the “stepping stone” assignments. If I see that you've been working on the project all along, I'm much more lenient.

Extra Credit:

As the semester progresses, I will offer some extra credit opportunities. Extra credit options will generally be worth 10-20 points each. However, any student may use one extra credit assignment to “cancel out” an unexcused absence. There is no limit to how many extra credit assignments any student may do.

All extra credit is due on the date listed. No extra credit will be accepted late for any reason. Note: my extra credit assignments are usually fun, but more work than the daily assignments for the course.

Academic Integrity:

All students are expected to honor their commitment to the Code of Conduct.

The Student Handbook states: “Academic Honesty is a cherished principle in the life of the College community. Students are expected to adhere to this principle by understanding the nature of plagiarism, and by not plagiarizing materials, by refraining from the use of unauthorized aids on tests and examinations, by turning in assignments which are products of their own efforts and research, and by refusing to give or receive information on tests and examinations. Persons who violate these principles of simple honesty risk embarrassment, course failure, or disciplinary action."

In this course, there are several ways students might violate college rules regarding academic integrity:

Multiple submissions—all the work you do for this course should be original work unless I specifically say otherwise. You should not turn in anything written or used in another course.
Improper citation—use of someone else's work, ideas, data, or statements without adequately noting where the work comes from.
Plagiarism—deceptive use of someone else's work, ideas, data, or statements in order to pass such work off as one's own.

Students suspected of violating these policies will meet with the instructor to discuss the matter. If the student has indeed violated the policy, the instructor will impose an appropriate penalty up to and including failure for the course. Students who plagiarize work will receive an F for the course.

I take academic integrity very seriously, and am deeply insulted by cheating. Do not plagiarize work for this class.

Conduct:

All students are expected to be familiar with (and follow) the CCC Student Code of Conduct. If you haven't read it, you can download a copy here:
http://www.colum.edu/student-affairs/The_Student_Code_of_Conduct.pdf

Harassment:

In order to succeed in class, every student has to be willing to be open, honest, and involved. At the same time, we must have respect for one another's ideas, beliefs and statements. Therefore, each student is expected to participate in a reasonable, respectful manner in class--we can disagree and discuss, but we need to do so in a way that is not offensive or uncomfortable. Failure to do this, or disruptive behavior in class, will not be tolerated, and will result in disciplinary action.

Complaints:

Complaints about the class and/or grades should be addressed to the instructor, either before/after class, or during office hours (or another scheduled appointment).

Conway Center Statement

Students with disabilities are requested to present their Columbia accommodation letters to their instructor at the beginning of the semester so that accommodations can be arranged in a timely manner by the College, the department, or the faculty member as appropriate. Students with disabilities who do not have accommodation letters should visit the office of Services for Students with Disabilities in room 520 of the Congress building (312.344.8134/V or 312.360.0767/TTY). It is incumbent upon the students to know their responsibilities in this regard.

Other Useful Information

How to succeed in this course:

There are no simple rules for how to succeed in this course, but I can give you a few tips that seem to have helped my students in the past.

Be prepared for class. You should bring your folder with handouts and other class materials every day; you should also bring your course textbooks every day. Don't forget to bring paper and something to write with.

Do your homework. If you look at the grading policies and breakdown, you'll see that 40% of your grade comes from small assignments and participatory activities rather than the “big” projects. Students who keep up with the daily assignments usually do very well in my classes. (Also, since the daily assignments help prepare you for the big projects, you'll do better on those too.)

Come to class. Each semester I have one or more students drop or fail because they missed too many classes. Make the most of your time here.

Participate actively in the collaborative work. You'll get more from your peers when they are getting more from you.

Don't cheat. Passing off someone else's work as your own is just about the most insulting thing you can do in this course. It does a disservice to your classmates who are working hard and it defeats the purpose of taking this class.

Keep in touch. If you keep in contact with me, we can work together to help you keep up if life gets in the way of your studies. If you drop out of touch for a while, it will be much harder to catch up later.

Feedback:

Teaching is very important to me. I work hard at it and hearing about your experience helps me grow as an instructor. In the "handouts" section of OASIS, you'll find a feedback form you can use to give me input.

Just fill out the form and turn it in to my campus mailbox in the English Department.

Remember that constructive criticism is the most useful kind. If something in the course didn't work for you, please be specific about how it didn't work and what you think might work better.

Computer skill assumptions and suggestions:

I make frequent use of computers and the internet in my courses. As you already know from the syllabus above, the schedule for the course is posted on the web, as are all the other relevant details.

The best way to contact me is by email—I usually respond to any email you send within 24 hours. I do accept assignments by email. See the caveats above for more details.

Many aspects of this course will be managed through OASIS. We will cover some aspects of OASIS in class, but you may need to explore it a bit on your own. If you have any questions about how it works, please ask me.

I assume that you know how to use word processors and email. If you find that you are not as computer-savvy as I seem to expect, speak to me about it and we'll work something out.

I do not assume that you are familiar with HTML, Javascript, image-editing programs, or other such stuff. I do expect that you will engage with any such technologies energetically and enthusiastically; you can expect that I will make significant effort to insure that you have the tools to do the work I have asked of you.