Assessments/Projects constitute the portion of your grade involving Presentations, Exams, Quizzes, Projects, Papers, Labs, Case Studies, and/or Homework assignments- the means by which I will be assessing your understanding of the material through directed explorations of various topics. Such assignments may be comprehensive to one another.

Projects, Labs, Case Studies, 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.

Exams and Quizzes may also be given during the semester, depending on material covered and preference. Exams will focus on various concepts learned and will generally be essay-based (or rely on a detailed explanation of some process).

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.

In addition to any of these, the following achievements are available to be unlocked:

• TURNIN: All assignments assigned have been submitted,
• ONTIME: All assignments submitted have been done so before their deadline.

Note that 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".

You can never write too much in my class.

Attendance constitutes a portion of your grade. There are 15 weeks in the entire semester.

During each class, I will endeavor to pass around an attendance sheet, or deploy some form of attendance-taking mechanism, in which everyone in attendance that day needs to sign or acknowledge so I have that as a record. If you come to class on time each day, and stay throughout the class, you can consider this part of your grade "in the bag". It is your responsibility to submit appropriately to the sanctioned attendance-taking mechanism.

Class participation will also play a vital role during the course.

The participation component of your grade deals with how active you are in the class. Do you contribute to class discussions? Pull your weight in group projects? Ask questions? Respond to questions? Turn in work on time? Contribute to the class wiki? Are you a positive addition to the class?

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. However, if you are disruptive or are not putting forth effort, 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 :)

The following achievements are available to be unlocked:

• EMAIL: For every three weeks of class, you have participated on the class mailing list with at least 3 messages sent/replied (can be achieved up to 4 times),
• IRC: For every three weeks of class, you have participated in the class IRC channel at least 3 times (can be achieved up to 4 times),
• UNLATE: For 90% of our scheduled classes, you arrive in class and are on the system to be monitored for attendance before class is already in session,
• FINAL: You submit the End of Course Experience, completed, before the deadline during finals week.

Collaboration plays an increasingly important role in the world today. And with the aid of the Internet, information can be shared like never before.

As an effort to get more accustomed to the many benefits available to us in this information age, we will be making use of a wiki for use in the course this semester.

For the duration of the course, it is expected that everyone will make a notable contribution to the wiki each week that class is in session. The overall goal is to establish a document which reflects the material learned in the course (the ultimate class notes / reference manual).

By contributing to the wiki in an appropriate fashion each week, you will also contribute positively towards your grade.

I will be looking at editing frequency, history of updates, and overall presentation and quality of the wiki as it pertains to this class. It is recommended that conversations take place regarding the desired layout/structure of the class wiki, and care is taken to ensure that everyone has ample opportunity to contribute, rather than relying upon a handful of studious individuals. I will be watching, and may not offer active reminders to keep on this task. Lack of reminders does not mean I've forgotten, nor does it mean the wiki shouldn't be worked on.