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Expectations and Grading

Reading and Participation (25%)
You are expected to do all the reading and participate in class, small group, and pair discussions. Participation includes providing feedback to colleagues in class. Participation also includes informal writing exercises (discussion questions, informal writing responses).

All class meetings are required. If you anticipate an absence due to an extenuating circumstance, please contact me as soon as possible to arrange an alternate participation assignment. Beginning with a third unexcused absence, the final letter grade will begin to decrease by one-half letter grade per class. 

WordPress Blog Posts and Pages (55%)
Blog posts and pages offer you the opportunity to respond to the course material and share ideas with your colleagues. Over the course of the semester, there are 11 post and page assignments, so each is worth 5% of the grade for the course. Grades will take into account:

  • Engagement with the assignment and prompt. 
  • Structure and organization. Does your writing follow a clear line of thought? Do you introduce an idea and then develop it? Do you use transitions between paragraphs and ideas?
  • Support for argument/analysis. Do you include images, maps, links, citations, or other appropriate support for your analysis? Do you address these sources in your writing?
  • Clarity. Do you consistently introduce and define your terms?
  • Timeliness. Please note that you have the opportunity to revise every blog post and page. If you choose to revise your work, only the revised version will be graded. However, the Late Policy (see below) applies to the first due date. This means that it is always best to submit a draft to be workshopped in class even if you feel it is not yet your strongest work.  

Omeka Project (20%)
The semester will culminate in a shared Omeka site based on materials and analysis related to the course topic. During week 8 of the course, we will develop by consensus a “Collaborators Agreement” that outlines shared expectations, including processes for review by colleagues, making changes to others’ work, and evaluation of group versus individual work. Because this project is collaborative, your grade will reflect your efforts to offer feedback and support to your colleagues as well as the specific exhibits and pages you produce.

You will NOT be graded on: 

  • Your previous experience with computers
  • Your web design expertise
  • Your ability to code

Late Policy
Extensions will be granted only in extenuating circumstances and at the discretion of the instructor. Deadlines in other classes and extracurricular activities are not extenuating circumstances. Late assignments will be accepted with a deduction of one-half grade point for each day late (e.g. if a B+ assignment is handed in two days late, it will receive a B as the final grade).