Lab46 Wiki

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====Overview====

The grading policy is broken down into 4 areas, totalling 104 points (which will account for 100% of the grade): Journal (13pts), Projects (52pts), Participation (13pts), and EoCE (26pts).

Each area, as well as the overall grade, will be evaluated based on a sum of accumulated points on each projects out of a sum of total points on each project (as opposed to a sum of averages on each project). This totaling tends to favor those who consistently do work throughout the semester, and I want to reward that.

While the term 'percent' may be used, it is more appropriate to consider it a 'percent-oh-four', as the word 'percent' refers to PER each CENT (100). We are dealing not with 100s, but 104s.

Also: with the possible exception of the project component, any accumulated bonuses will NOT exceed the allocation per that grading unit. In previous semesters the cap was slightly elevated above the fixed value. Due to flagrant abuses, that is no longer the case.

====LetterGrades====
Letter grades are pegged to the following numeric values (out of 100):

  * **A**  (100.00+)
  * **A-** (94.00-99.99)
  * **B+** (88.00-93.99)
  * **B**  (82.00-87.99)
  * **B-** (76.00-81.99)
  * **C+** (70.00-75.99)
  * **C**  (64.00-69.99)
  * **D**  (58.00-63.99)
  * **F**  ( 0.00-57.99)

Any calculated values in excess of two decimal places that may impact the result is at the sole evaluatory discretion of the instructor (for example, getting a 93.997; if you've been a pleasant, decent human being, I may do you a favor. Just sayin'). Application of any 'rounding' or other result processing is also at the sole discretion of the instructor.

Bonus points, if given/available, are applied to a particular grade component (for example, a project bonus point will only pad the projects component of the grade), and then only up to a maximum of that grade component's total value (ie, one cannot use bonus points to exceed the 13 possible overall points on the journal, or participation).

====Opus====
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To maximize your experience and familiarity with concepts encountered during the course, you will be compiling a document that will be a representation of your activities. This "compendium" of knowledge and experiences will combine both materials you've produced and commentary/reflection/revelation of concepts and ideas you've realized.

This is a great way to keep a written record of your exploits, enabling an informative look back on past activities (especially from future classes!), and being a potential source of information from which others can glean some understanding of ideas or concepts.

For grading purposes, your Opus, this great tome of knowledge, will be reviewed for the following information:

  * course-specific information is contained within the appropriately named wiki section
  * at least one significant journal entry per week (or multiple less significant entries)
  * is appropriately descriptive/documents activities/discoveries related to your travels through the course
  * possesses enough itemization to document that a given number of hours was spent on course activities
  * makes connection/reference between documented course activities and course objectives

Each week, you will be responsible for producing a minimum amount of content, 128 words x the current week (so, in week 1 you will need to generate a **minimum** of 128 words that appropriately reflect your experience in the course for that week; week 2 it will become 256, week 3 will be 384, etc.).

Furthermore, your Opus entries for a given week are due before Tuesday of the following week (week 1 content is due before it becomes Tuesday of week 2; week 2's content is due prior to the Tuesday of week 3, etc.).

The intent is to ward off procrastination and treating the Opus as some superfluous course requirement. As such, these deadlines will be strictly enforced. Missing the deadline will result in no credit granted for that week's entry.

====Journal====

To maximize your experience and familiarity with concepts encountered during the course, you will be compiling a document that will be a representation of your activities. This "compendium" of knowledge and experiences will combine both materials you've produced and commentary/reflection/revelation of concepts and ideas you've realized.

This is a great way to keep a written record of your exploits, enabling an informative look back on past activities (especially from future classes!), and being a potential source of information from which others can glean some understanding of ideas or concepts.

For grading purposes, your Journal, this great tome of knowledge, will be reviewed for the following information:

  * entry has been made by that week's deadline (ie week 1's entry done before the Thursday of week 1)
  * course-related information is contained within the appropriately named section
  * at least one significant journal entry per week (or multiple less significant entries)
  * is appropriately descriptive/documents activities/discoveries related to your travels through the course
  * possesses enough itemization to document that a given number of hours was spent on course activities
  * makes connection/reference between documented course activities and course objectives
  * is at least 256 words of relevant, on-topic content
  * default filler text removed in its entirety

Your Journal entries for a given week are due **before** it becomes **Thursday** of that week (week 1 content is due before it becomes Thursday of week 1; week 2's content is due prior to the Thursday of week 2, etc.).

At the start of each week (you can consider weeks starting on Thursday), a new week entry will appear (at the top of week entries), and the previous week's entry will become uneditable (yet still readable). You may request to have prior week entries reopened for editing; I disable them by default as many are confused as to what they should be editing.

The intent is to ward off procrastination and treating the Journal as some superfluous course requirement. As such, these deadlines will be strictly enforced. Missing the deadline will result in no credit granted for that week's entry.

Relate to what is going on in class- the topics, what you're doing with them, something you've realized, etc. Excessive irrelevant content (in the absence of any substantial class-related content) risks invalidating the entry.

I am not interested in "English teacher approved" essays- in some courses and settings that is more important. For this course, I want you to be able to effectively convey your thoughts in words- a crucial ability that can later be applied to "proper English essays" (it must still be intelligible though).

And don't worry: You can never write too much in my class.

There will be no make-ups for missed journal entries. Have entries ready by the deadline or lose credit.

NOTE for those taking multiple courses with me: Journal content each week should reflect consideration from ALL courses you have with me. I don't want to see you focusing all your attention on one or two courses, and ignoring others.

In your journal I would like for you to detail your experiences in the course. Summary of experience/class notes; or statements/musings on questions like: Do you understand the material? Is it interesting? Anything not making sense? Any parallels to the real world? and general comments and thoughts.

Use the journal to allow me to see the course through your eyes.

====Quests====

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Quests constitute the portion of your grade involving activities you perform in the name of experiencing and demonstrating knowledge in this class- the means by which I will be assessing your understanding of the material through directed explorations of various topics. Such quests may be comprehensive to one another.

Quests can embody many forms, including (but not limited to):

  * puzzles
  * battles
  * riddles
  * challenges (existential, philosophical, etc.)
  * mind games
  * pattern matching
  * righting grievous wrongs
  * spreading peace and prosperity across the land

Successfully accomplishing quests can earn you:

  * experience
  * items
  * knowledge
  * purpose
  * ability to encounter additional quests

Quests and related activities will typically include specific requirements necessary for accomplishing in order for any attribute of success to be applied.

====Projects====

Projects constitute the portion of your grade involving activities you perform in the name of experiencing and demonstrating knowledge in this class- the means by which I will be assessing your understanding of the material through directed explorations of various topics. Such projects may be comprehensive to one another.

Two key products of performing a project are **demonstration** and **documentation**. Demonstration is presenting your finished project (that it meets project specifications), to the instructor and being able to respond to any questions on any particular facet therein.

Perhaps more important than demonstration of a working project is the documentation. Documentation includes the instructions for recreation of the end product from the ground up, allowing not only the original author(s), but individuals of sufficient requisite skill to recreate and understand important concepts through reading the prepared documentation.

I reserve the right to request, for any project as terms of acceptance of project demonstration, the recreation of an equivalently functional end result through following of accumulated project documentation. If documentation fails to produce the desired outcome, it will reflect negatively upon the project evaluation. For projects where you are submitting a specific end result, I may choose to request evidence of the work that went into arriving at that solution. Failure to remit evidence may result in your submission being invalidated.

A list of provided projects may be given, but there might also exist opportunities for additional project ideas- such projects are subject to approval by the instructor prior to starting, and are held to the same demonstration and documentation standards as standard projects. NOTE: Saying that you are going to try something and me replying with an acknowledgement does not constitute approval for a credit-worthy project; while I may ultimately grant some bonus points, do not interpret this as a carte blanche invitation to ignore the posted projects and wander off on random endeavors.

In some cases, depending on the situations involved, a project may be conducive for group-based collaboration. This is not the default case, but is specified on a case-by-case basis. In such scenarios, all involved group members should be identified prior to starting on the project. Additionally, ALL group members in a collaborative situation must perform fairly equivalent work output into the completion of the project. Deficient members may experience reduced success.

In accordance with the late policy, projects past their deadline will see a late penalty of 25% levied per day. This is to mitigate procrastination and encourage better time management, and also to ensure progress continues- once we hit the fourth day, a past due project is no longer worth any credit, so it behooves everyone to stay on top of assigned work and to complete it by its respective deadline. To clarify, if a project is due by the end of Wednesday, it would be 25% late Thursday (1 day late), 50% late Friday (2 days late), 75% late Saturday (3 days late), and 100% late Sunday and beyond (4+ days late).

====EoCE====

As the semester starts wrapping up, the End of Course Experience (EoCE) will be released.

Intended as a sort of comprehensive project(s), its aim is to evaluate your knowledge gained from the class this semester. Unlike other classes which have a "Final Exam", the EoCE is meant to be an EXPERIENCE, and as such celebrated across the land. If you're new to my classes, you'll see those with prior experience jump for joy at the thought of an EoCE (the twitching / convulsing is merely ecstatic joy that is difficult for the corporeal body to manifest).

====Assignments====

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Assignments constitute the portion of your grade involving activities you perform in the name of experiencing and demonstrating knowledge in this class- the means by which I will be assessing your understanding of the material through directed explorations of various topics. Some assignments may be comprehensive to one another.

Assignments that take the form of programs should adhere to the various submission policy points to ensure proper organization and readability. In the case of Programs or Scripts, be sure to include proper documentation in the form of code comments.

Projects, Labs, Case Studies, Quizzes, and Homework assignments are subject to the pertinent areas of the Submission Policy and will involve further research and exploration of some problem or topic being covered in the course. Projects may encompass a more time-consuming exploration of a topic or problem, whereas Labs will generally be a specific experiment related to the topic. Case Studies may involve the study or focus on particular concepts learned in class and on other assignments; Homework assignments will be more of a drill exercise helping to gain more familiarity with a particular topic.

Assessments/Projects as assigned must be well organized (ie easy to read) and contain enough of a written description so I can see the "you" in your responses. Generally, developing your own format and following the guidelines laid out in the Submission Policy will be more than adequate.

====Participation====

Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to being present for class gatherings and making such effort known is an important aspect to academic interactions.

During class (be it a scheduled class gathering, hybrid, or internet experience), you are to show your effort through demonstrating regular interactive activity on lab46 and related resources (irc, mailing list, the wiki). For classes with scheduled times, a portion of this can be satisfied merely by having a shell open to Lab46, before class activities are underway. Such participation will be automatically ascertained and recorded. For more internet-based endeavors, emphasis will be on communications taking place with the entire class and shell-based activity on Lab46.

Participating in class interactions is also of significant importance. Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however, then it will be duly reflected.

For classes where a mailing list or other communication forum is utilized, making regular contributions will count toward this aspect of your grade. Specific requirements for various resources will be indicated.

This isn't a "kiss up to the teacher" grade. I don't want people bending over backwards to please me. I want to see people learning and asking questions and growing, not agreeing with everything I say. Sometimes I will specifically ask questions or say things for the sole purpose of getting individual perspectives.

Additionally, participation and successful performance in the class relies upon each individual coming to class prepared and being adequately rested. Should you come to class sleep deprived you risk losing participation credit. Education requires a sound mind and body; anything less is a disservice to you and the course.

Participation is the contribution of YOU to the overall class, in a positive and harmonious manner to the overall group :)

Each week, you have the ability to earn participation credit by performing various activities (for some amount of points per week, likely reflective of week and progression of semester). The particular **wcp#** projects will detail the specific attributes and points available (and needed) for a particular week.

I would encourage you to vary your participation activities from week to week (don't just stick with what you're most comfortable with; if you don't like writing, intentionally aim to contribute to the course notes page, so that a dislike based on resistance turns more and more into a honed skill).

There will be some method of collecting this data from you each week, be it a specific weekly project with submit-time questionnaire or script you run that will allow you to itemize your participation contributions for the week; failure to submit your participation contributions will result in points not being earned (you have to be proactive about your participation). You should also maintain a log of your specific participation activities in case I wish to follow up on the specifics of a particular participation claim (if you cannot substantiate your participation, any claimed credit may be voided).

If you anticipate missing a class, please notify me in advance. While you may still lose applicable participation credit, the advance notice will be taken into positive consideration.

====ParticipationInternet====

Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to putting forth effort and making your presence known is an important aspect to academic interactions.

During each week of class (excluding breakweeks), you are to perform the following activities by 11:59:59pm Wednesday of the given week:

  * Make **at least** 2 on-topic and relevant posts to the class mailing list
  * Make **at least** 2 pertinent edits to your Journal
  * Make **at least** 4 commits to your Lab46 source repository

Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however, then it will be duly reflected.

This isn't a "kiss up to the teacher" grade. I don't want people bending over backwards to please me. I want to see people learning and asking questions and growing, not agreeing with everything I say. Sometimes I will specifically ask questions or say things for the sole purpose of getting individual perspectives.

Participation is the contribution of YOU to the overall class, in a positive and harmonious manner to the overall group :)

====ParticipationInternetSolo====

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Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to putting forth effort and making your presence known is an important aspect to academic interactions.

During each week of class (excluding breakweeks), you are to perform the following activities by 11:59:59pm Saturday of the given week:

  * Make **at least** 4 pertinent edits to your Journal
  * Make **at least** 4 commits to your Lab46 source repository

Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however, then it will be duly reflected.

This isn't a "kiss up to the teacher" grade. I don't want people bending over backwards to please me. I want to see people learning and asking questions and growing, not agreeing with everything I say. Sometimes I will specifically ask questions or say things for the sole purpose of getting individual perspectives.

Participation is the contribution of YOU to the overall class, in a positive and harmonious manner to the overall group :)

====ParticipationNoAttend====

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Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to being present for class gatherings and making your presence known (both in and outside of class) is an important aspect to academic interactions.

Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however, then it will be duly reflected.

This isn't a "kiss up to the teacher" grade. I don't want people bending over backwards to please me. I want to see people learning and asking questions and growing, not agreeing with everything I say. Sometimes I will specifically ask questions or say things for the sole purpose of getting individual perspectives.

Participation is the contribution of YOU to the overall class, in a positive and harmonious manner to the overall group :)

====Fortitude====

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Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to being present for class gatherings and making your presence known (both in and outside of class) is an important aspect to academic interactions.

During each scheduled class gathering, you are to be present and have a shell open to Lab46, before class activities are underway. Your presence will be automatically ascertained and recorded.

In addition to your physical presence, participating in class interactions is also of significant importance. Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however, then it will be duly reflected.

This isn't a "kiss up to the teacher" grade. I don't want people bending over backwards to please me. I want to see people learning and asking questions and growing, not agreeing with everything I say. Sometimes I will specifically ask questions or say things for the sole purpose of getting individual perspectives.

Participation is the contribution of YOU to the overall class, in a positive and harmonious manner to the overall group :)

In addition to being physically present, the following activities should also be observed:

  * EMAIL: You participate on the class mailing list more than 2 times each week
  * IRC: You participate in the class chat more than 2 times each week

Deficiency in these activities will negatively impact your performance in this area.

====FortitudeNoAttend====

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Maintaining an ever present effort in your journey with respect to being present for class gatherings and making your presence known (both in and outside of class) is an important aspect to academic interactions.

You should regularly participate in class interactions. Participation is like the "I care" component of your grade. If you care enough to learn and help enhance the experience, you will have no trouble here. If you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, however, then it will be duly reflected.

This isn't a "kiss up to the teacher" grade. I don't want people bending over backwards to please me. I want to see people learning and asking questions and growing, not agreeing with everything I say. Sometimes I will specifically ask questions or say things for the sole purpose of getting individual perspectives.

Participation is the contribution of YOU to the overall class, in a positive and harmonious manner to the overall group :)

For participatory currency, the following activities should also be performed:

  * EMAIL: You participate on the class mailing list more than 8 times each month*
  * IRC: You participate in the class IRC at more than 8 times each month*
  * WIKI: You participate on the class wiki page more than 8 times each month

*: The timeframe of "month" is meant to involve only the three full months of the semester; February, March, and April. This is to allow for getting used to the environment in January, and accommodating the end of semester winding down in May. So don't worry about having to meet these requirements before the end of the month of January.

ALSO: The discrete EMAIL and IRC categories can be merged if one is more conducive to the class than another. That is, if the class shows a preference for IRC over EMAIL, for instance, participatory activities can be exclusively focused in a singular medium, provided that the sum total (ie more than "16" times) is observed.

This merging does NOT apply to Wiki activities.

Deficiency in these activities will negatively impact your performance in this area.