Links to all of the assignments are in the left sidebar of this blog. If you would like to see a list of all of the assignments, or a calendar listing what is due each week, click here to see the syllabus.
Assignments
- Surveys and Course Evaluations (5 points total)
- Weekly participation (12 points)
- Online students also receive 5 points for using a webcam as part of their voicethreads.
- Gospel Insights Presentation (5 points)
- Internet Safety (5 points)
- Internet Communications (20 points)
- Copyright (5 points)
- Multimedia Development (20 points)
- Personal Technology Projects (15 points)
- Participation in our final group activity (8 points)
Following are policies that pertain to all of the assignments.
Late Work
Due dates for assignments are listed on the calendar. A minimum 10% late penalty will be assessed for work submitted after the assignment deadline unless I have previously approved a later deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Work that is submitted over a week late will receive an additional 10% penalty for each week late. No late work is accepted after the final exam date.
Assignments submitted on time with a good effort can be resubmitted until you achieve the grade you desire up to 90% of the total points. I do this because this is the way we learn new technologies: We keep trying and retrying!
When You Are Stuck
It is inevitable that nearly all of you will get stuck at one point this semester. That’s part of learning new technologies, and happens to me all the time. Part of this class is learning how to find answers when you get stuck. This is the process I recommend:
- First, Google your question on the Internet or in the help forums of the technology you are trying to learn. Also, check the help menu of the technology.
- Second, ask a trusted friend who has experience with that technology. Your group of friends and supportive peers are your “personal learning network.” Ideally, you should develop relationships with other teachers or educational technologists in your school district so they are close at hand when you need help. For now, you can ask other members of your Blogging group or members of your family.
- Check the class blog, where I will post answers to common questions on each assignment page or on the main page. It’s very possible that someone has had the same question as you and found an answer! We also try to post screencast tutorials of common procedures to complete the assignments, and these are on the assignment pages.
- Third, you can email me or Pam or come by during office hours. We are happy to help! The reason we are fourth on your list of resources is because we won’t be able to help you after you leave our class, and we want you to learn to be self-sufficient in the “getting myself un-stuck” category. Knowing how to do that on your own will serve you better down the road. However, this class is about learning how to get to that point, so email us if you have any questions that you can’t get answered, and we’re happy to help you.
Extra Credit
The main projects have multiple options. I feel each option is valuable, but because this is a one-credit class I know I can only expect you to complete one option for each project. But if you choose to complete additional projects, I will give extra credit, as long as you still show reasonable participation in the class. In other words, it is not possible to do several extra credit options in the first couple of weeks and then be AWOL the rest of the semester!
Another option is to do extra Personal Technology Projects for extra credit points.
Acknowledgments
Many of these assignments were adapted from other teachers of IPT 286 and similar courses at other universities. Many thanks to Dr. Charles Graham, Kimberly McCollum, and my other professional colleagues who shared their syllabi and resources with me!
