Learning these days...

<aside> 🎡 I recognize that this class is one small piece of what’s going on in your life. And I recognize that there are things going on in the world that have have far reaching and very personal implications. This class is designed to be collaborative, where learning happens because of the perspectives, experiences, and knowledge that we all bring.

Compassion and flexibility will help us all get through this accelerated course together. I’ll check-in with you all periodically, and am open to hearing how you are doing and what might help you get through the course in a way that feels satisfactory to you and supports your well-being. If you tell me you’re having trouble, I won’t judge you or think any less of you. I hope you extend me and your fellow classmates the same consideration.

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Academic Integrity

What does academic integrity mean in this course? The class focuses on collaborative learning and skill building. In this style of class, academic integrity means that when you reference or include someone else’s work in an aspect of the performance of a task, you will give full credit in the proper form as discussed in class. This applies to paraphrasing or summarizing ideas and information, as well as direct quotations. It is always better to imperfectly credit external influences and work than to not credit at all!

“Citation is how we acknowledge our debt to those who came before; those who helped us find our way when the way was obscured because we deviated from the paths we were told to follow.” ~Sara Ahmed, 2017

If there is no attempt to credit ideas and work, the assignment will receive no credit and we will have a conversation about how to ensure respectful attribution and citation going forward. Additional instances of missing attribution and citation will be handled according to the college's Code of Conduct policies.

Another aspect of academic integrity is the respectful exchange of ideas. Discussion is encouraged in this course, with the firm expectation that all aspects of the class will be conducted with consideration for differing ideas, perspectives, and traditions.

We will encounter challenging topics and materials in this class: things that are heavy, difficult, and may conflict with what we have learned before or may currently think. I ask you to pause in these moments of friction and consider what elements may be jarring, and ground your responses in the materials. When in doubt, please reach out to me for guidance and clarification before posting or responding to a classmate.

DEADLINES AND LATE WORK:

I’ve spaced out assignments to be due regularly to keep everyone moving along together. I’m trying to balance structure and repetition with flexibility and grace—I’m aware that this is a “one size fits (hopefully) most” approach and I’m open to making adjustments as needed. I’ll check in with the class periodically on work load, progress, and pacing.

Because we are living in unsettled times in many ways, I’ve created 2 policies to help support us in these circumstances:

  1. You may submit work up to 24 hours after the due date with no questions asked for full credit consideration.
  2. You may ask for an extension beyond the automatic 24 hours for (almost) any assignment. There will be only a few hard due dates for time-sensitive assignments and those will be clearly communicated. Otherwise, you can email me to request an extension before the original due date and we can have a short conversation about it.
    1. Email requests should contain 3 pieces of information: how much additional time you need to complete the assignment, how much you have accomplished so far, and your plan for finishing it up. Generally, I only make adjustments to the amount of time requested if I have a serious concern that you might fall behind: for example, an additional week is requested but we discuss how to get the vital parts done within 3 days to keep on pace.
    2. Email requests do not need to include an explanation or reason why you are asking for the extension! You don’t need to convince me that you need an extension. I’m interested in supporting your success and learning in the class.

It can be easy to fall behind and have things snowball, so try to use the buffer when needed vs. counting on it for every assignment!

<aside> ✏️ There will be 1 opportunity during the semester for you to revise and resubmit work. This is intended for you to have the chance to incorporate feedback and revisit your work and thinking on the materials, not to be a last-minute time to hurriedly do the things that you’ve been procrastinating on. I’m no stranger to procrastinating myself, so I get it. But the more you can stay on pace with the class, especially in this accelerated format, the better!

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Technical Basics

For students to succeed in this course you will need to: