Grading, Feedback and Policies

22 Aug 2016

tl;dr: Do interesting work and you'll be fine. Make sure it's submitted on time. Grading and feedback is focused on creative projects. There will be some opportunities for extra credit.

The course is focused on exploring distance learning by making interesting creative work. To get a good grade you’ll need to:

• Show up to class (on time)
• Regularly participate in conversations and crits
• Turn in your work on time for each module
• Support your classmates by giving them feedback on their work,
• Taking part in the course Slack by sharing content and helping out peers
• Provide thoughful contributions to discussions
• Offer well researched and interesting examples and cases
• Create interesting, well-crafted and well documented projects
• Be open to new perspectives and generally positive and engaged.
• Ask questions.

The most important element: the work you do. Make an effort, try new approaches, experiment technologies, and apply them in interesting and unexpected ways. They key to getting a stellar grade will mean finding an exciting interactive strategy, for online products and services.

Grading

To facilitate grading all students are expected to prepare digital pages for their work (e.g. GitHub Repos, Gallery projects, Google Documents). All work must be submitted or presented by the deadline. Late work will not be accepted.

This course will largely assign independent work. For independent projects, all work submitted must represent a distinct product by that individual and may not be produced in partnership with any peer within the class. Group projects allow for collaboration but expect that all members contribute to the final work equally. Work submitted for assessment in one class may not be submitted in full or in part for assessment in a second class.

Breakdown of grades

Final grades for the course will be broken down as follows:

• 10% - Attendance & Participation
• 10% - 1 x Guide
• 10% - 5 x Discoveries (2% per discovery)
• 25% - Skills Development Assignments (5 x 5%)
• 15% - Mid Way Project (Week 3)
• 30% - Final Project

Note: this is subject to change

Discoveries

Discoveries will be graded as pass/fail:

• 0 - Unsatisfactory - Incomplete or failing work. The example does not fit within the constraints of the project, is not relevant to the course or does not demonstrate any comprehension, reflection or analysis on it.

• 1 - Satisfactory or better - Meets or exceeds the minimum requirements for the exercise; Highlights a good example within the scope of the exercise AND shows adequate research and reflection.

This will be applied to EACH discovery.

To guarantee you pass the assignment, make sure you have:

• Used the correct format and channel for your post on Slack ^*
• Added each discovery as a separate post on Slack ^*
• Appropriately titled and given credit to the creators of the project/work ^*
• Have included at least one link to the resource ^*
• Written between 100-150 words on the discovery and it’s relevance (not copy-paste descriptions!) ^*
• Made an effort to reflect on the discovery and it’s relevance/utility

• Written clearly, effectively and critically

• Indicates that if you do not meet these criteria you will immediately fail the assignment.

Guide

Guides will also be graded as pass/fail:

• 0 - Unsatisfactory - Incomplete or failing work. The example does not fit within the constraints of the project, is not relevant to the course or does not demonstrate succifient detail to be a useful guide to others .

• 1 - Satisfactory or better - Meets or exceeds the minimum requirements for the exercise; Highlights a good resource for others in the course AND shows description to be immediately useful and applied by others.

To guarantee you pass the assignment, make sure you have:

• Used the correct format and channel for your post on Slack ^*
• Appropriately titled your guide ^*
• Have included relevant links and resources in the description ^*
• Written or recorded a sufficiently detailed guide so that someone can clearly understand the steps/process involved ^*

• Made an effort to document and articule a clear, comprehensible and useful guide for a fellow classmate.

• Indicates that if you do not meet these criteria you will immediately fail the assignment.

Skill Development Projects

Skill development projects will be graded on a 0-5 scale.

Each skill development project will be accompanied with a series of steps to be implemented. They will break down a problem into a series of steps. Each step must be completed to gain full points for the project.

• 0: will represent a failing grade where no attempt has been made to solve the problems posed or does not meet even the most basic requirements of the problem set presented

• 5: will represent high quality work where all aspects and requirements have been met and/or shows creative and high quality solutions to the problems posed. Superlative or exemplary work and/or initiative beyond the description of the problem.

• While 3 would represent one or more of the steps have been achieved successfully, and there is a demonstrated effort to attempt all parts of the problem set.

Creative Projects

These projects are a way for you to showcase:

• Your engagement and understanding of the material of the module
• Your creative capacity
• Your own interests

Take note: The most important thing for this project is to come up with a compelling concept - something interesting, informed, aware or critical. The breakdown of the grades favors your ability to come up with an idea like this. Focus on the idea before implementation!

As such, each creative project will be graded as follows:

• 30% - Technical Implementation - Quality of code and execution of the outcome
• 30% - Creativity of Approach and Topic - Merit, creativity, and context for the outcome/proposal
• 20% - Documentation - Well illustrated with appropriate use of code, video, diagrams, repeatability, etc.
• 20% - Presentation and Demonstration - high quality presentation and well narrated demonstration of the solution

Grading Standards / Rubric

• A: Superlative or exemplary work, initiative beyond the description of the problem. Significant understanding of the problem. Conceptual clarity. An attitude of self-motivated exploration, open-mindedness, and a willingness to benefit from criticism.

• B: Very good, some exemplary work, a thorough understanding of the problem. Project displays conceptual foundation, well crafted. Competence and mastery of skills. Open, inquisitive attitude.

• C: Satisfactory or adequate work that meets the minimum requirements of the problem and course. Shows understanding of the problem, with some deficiencies. Reasonable mastery of skill and concepts. This grade is seen to represent the average solution.

• D: Passing, work that is complete, but does not show an understanding of the problem or expectations, and demonstrates deficient skills.

• R: Failing work that does not meet the requirements of the studio, shows a serious deficiency in skills or is incomplete.

Grading Scale

The grading scale for the course is as follows:

• A - 90 - 100%

• B - 80 - 90%

• C - 70 - 80%

• D - 60 - 70%

• R - < 60%

Late work

As the course is designed for in-class review and discussion of almost every assignment (readings, research, creative projects), late work is not accepted. Without delivering your work on time, you will not get the benefit of in-class feedback, discussion and critique that it brings. More importantly, it can hold up the progress of the class as a whole.

The only exceptions will be in the case of medical or family emergencies or other pre-arranged university-approved absences.

Grading, Assignments and Your Wellbeing

Besides all of the above, your health and wellbeing is first priority. Particularly as the semester comes to a close and there are many competing deadlines, assignments and priorities, first and foremost, take care of yourself. Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, getting enough sleep and taking some time to relax. This will help you achieve your goals and cope with stress.

All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. There are many helpful resources available on campus and an important part of the college experience is learning how to ask for help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is often helpful.

If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety or depression, we strongly encourage you to seek support. Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) is here to help: call 412-268-2922 and visit their website at http://www.cmu.edu/counseling/. Consider reaching out to a friend, faculty or family member you trust for help getting connected to the support that can help.

If you have questions about this or your coursework, please let me know.