Weighting:

The following is the grade weighting for all activities in the course:

Studio Reviews:

Although you are producing an e-portfolio that is due in final form at the end of the term, documents within the portfolio will be due at select times during the semester (see the dates associated with each assignment) for an in-class studio review. Studio Review days will function much like art studios in that you will be asked to call up your work on screen and receive feedback from other students about its content and form. Kris will also be commenting during reviews and scheduling an individual conference to discuss your work, with final written assessment of the portfolio to come at semesters end. Overall, you should receive sufficient feedback to continue work on the document throughout the semester. Failure to have complete versions of your work on these pre-announced studio review dates will result in a no pass for the activity. Finally, you must complete all major assignments to receive a passing grade for the course.

Portfolio Assessment:

At the end of the semester, your revised portfolio will receive a letter grade that reflects a range of content and format considerations that we will address throughout our studio review process, including audience, clarity, theme, development and organization, style and grammar, as well as technical criteria that include navigation, usability, and creativity. Learning how to assess electronic documents in terms of traditional rhetorical conventions is daunting for new e-writing teachers; check out a revision of the General Studies Writing Rubric that account for some of these issues (courtesy of 2003 rhetoric grad. Julie Kearney).

Attendance:

Missing more than two class meetings will have negative results. That's probably all that needs to be said on that issue.

Course Decorum:

Although it's usually not likely that something inappropriate or offensive to others will be said in the context of a graduate seminar, it can occasionally happen inadvertently. As a class, I'd like us to discuss the expectations you have of each other and of me in my role as facilitator. Intellectual debate is a healthy thing and is encouraged in the spririt of collaborative knowledge making; however, tone, particularly because of the lack of context cues online and the masking of our face-to-face identities in some cases, is something we must keep in mind as teachers and students. As a note, this type of conversation is a great one to have with students. Finally, it is worth noting that computers can be infinitely more interesting than people (sad but true); for that reason, please refrain from email or surfing when others are presenting material, including yours truly. Thanks.