Syllabus

Instructor: Alex Godwin, Assistant Professor
Office: DMTI 112C
Classroom: DMTI 109 12:55 PM - 2:10 PM (online through Zoom during January)
Office Hours: Schedule a time to meet with me virtually through Acuity.
Research Librarian: Rachel Borchardt, University Librarian
Email: borchard@american.edu
Phone: 202-885-3657

Coronavirus Policies

VACCINES For fall 2021, AU will require vaccines for all students who reside on campus or come to campus for any reason. This will enable us to expand activities and interactions that enrich the educational, research, and social experiences that are fundamental to AU. Students will be able to request exceptions for medical or religious reasons following existing protocols. We are also working to support international students who may require access to vaccines when they arrive in the United States. Please see Vaccine Requirement FAQs.

MASKS The District of Columbia has reinstated mask requirements indoors for all persons over age two, regardless of vaccination status, effective July 31, 2021. In accordance with the Mayor’s Order (Order 2021-097), anyone present in AU buildings or campus facilities must wear masks while indoors. The only exceptions are when eating or alone in an office or residence hall room. See https://www.american.edu/ocl/masks-7302021.cfm for more information.

Students who do not attend class in an appropriate face covering will be asked to put one on.
Students who do not agree to wear a mask will be asked to leave the room and will be marked absent for the day.

For more information about general policies regarding American University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the full memo at https://www.american.edu/coronavirus/.

Academic Integrity

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, you are expected to do your assignments on your own. It is not appropriate to find existing essay or article, modify it, and submit it as your own work. Prose submitted for assignments will be compared to existing databases of example student work to verify authenticity. Exams and quizzes will be an independent effort. If in doubt, confer with your instructor.

All students are expected to adhere to the American University Honor Code.

We will discuss aspects of plagiarism in class. If you would like to browse this content in advance, it is located in Appendix A of the Quinn textbook and in Chapter 4 of the Writing Arguments textbook.

Class Participation

It is expected that students will come to class, be prepared by doing the readings, and will pay attention and participate in discussions. Participation is scored by evaluation of in-class activities that you will submit at the end of most classes.

Any questions regarding general rules and regulations should first be directed to the American University Catalog. If you still have questions, please seek out the TA or Instructor during the posted office hours.

Use of Computers and Cell Phones in Class

Educational research shows that taking notes by hand on paper will lead to better retention of material than taking notes by typing. Also, in the past classrooms have had issues with students not only not paying attention but also disrupting others during class - by playing games, by accidentally clicking on a video with the sound on, etc.

Please do not use your cell phone in class. If you have gotten this far in reading the syllabus, then Snoop and I applaud you. Obviously, the language in the above section does not apply as much in remote learning as it does in the classroom. Still, it is good advice - many of the lectures are intended to be interactive, even online, and if you are casually ignoring the prof in a background tab you may miss something interesting.

Audio/Camera Policy

We strongly encourage you to turn on your camera during lectures, labs, and office hours. Faculty and students reported virtual classes are much better when we can see your faces because there is more visual communication, more engagement, sense of community and less multitasking. However, we understand you can’t always turn on your camera due to connectivity issues or privacy concerns. If you can’t connect with a camera, please upload a photo of yourself onto Zoom. If you have connectivity issues, please contact techtaskforce@american.edu.

Homework

Homework will be graded on a list of criteria (specified on the assignment) such as quality of writing, completeness, insight into technical issues, insight into social issues, etc. For each criterion, you will receive either a check plus, check, or check minus. Most criterion will receive a check. A plus means “you impressed me.” A minus means the assignment is incomplete, incorrect, or sloppy in some fashion with respect to that criterion. Pluses and minuses are combined to give your grade for the assignment. For most assignments, you start out halfway between a B+ and A-. One plus makes it an A-; one minus makes it a B+. These are general guidelines to let you know what to expect. Grading on specific assignments may differ.

If English is not your first language, you may request to not be graded on your writing for a particular individual assignment, including the term paper. This means you won’t be penalized for bad writing, but you also won’t get credit for good writing. To take advantage of this option, you must mark “ESL” (English as a Second Language) on the first page of your assignment/paper. This option is not available for group assignments. We still of course expect you to try to write in correct English, and will do our best to offer useful feedback on your writing.

For more information, refer to the assignments section of this site.

Late Submission

Project deliverables are due at the beginning of class on the specified date unless stated otherwise. Assignments turned in after this time will be penalized with a letter grade (10%) for each 24-hour period after the initial deadline. The maximum penalty applied is 30%, so even if you must turn in something after that point you still have the possibility of receiving some credit. Waiting until the last minute is a recipe for disaster - if you are stuck early, come to office hours for the instructor or TA ASAP to get unstuck!

Throughout the semester you have two “grace” days that can be used to mitigate the penalty of a late assignment submission. These are applied automatically at the end of the semester.

Attendance

Students must attend all lectures. Not attending the discussion sessions and/or not reading the assigned material will negatively affect your ability to do well in this course. If you need to miss class for any reason, you are allowed two excused absences - no questions asked. Prolonged absences must be discussed with the instructor and are not guaranteed to be excused.

Exams

Exams cover the material from the lectures and reading. While not necessarily cumulative, each exam will require understanding many of the concepts covered in the preceding exams. Exams consist of multiple choice, short answer, and long answer questions. Each exam has equal weight and is typically curved based on class performance.

Grading

Assignments: 20%
Term Paper: 30%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Final Exam: 20%
Reading Responses and Participation: 7.5%
Attendance: 7.5%

Letter Grades

A [93, 100]
A- [90, 93)
B+ [87, 90)
B [83, 87)
B- [80, 83)
C+ [77, 80)
C [73, 77)
C- [70, 73)
D+ [67, 70)
D [63, 67)
D- [60, 63)
F [0, 60)

Students with Disabilities

If you wish to receive accommodations for a disability, please notify me with a letter from the Academic Support and Access Center. As accommodations are not retroactive, timely notification at the beginning of the semester, if possible, is strongly recommended. To register with a disability or for questions about disability accommodations, contact the Academic Support and Access Center at 202-885-3360 or asac@american.edu, or drop by the ASAC in MGC 243.

Academic Support

All students may take advantage of the Academic Support and Access Center (ASAC) for individual academic skills counseling, workshops, Tutoring, peer tutor referrals, and Supplemental Instruction. The ASAC is located in Mary Graydon Center 243. Additional academic support resources available at AU include the Bender Library, the Writing Center (located in the Library), the Math Lab (located in Don Meyers Technology and Innovation Building), and the Center for Language Exploration, Acquisition, & Research (CLEAR) in Anderson Hall. A more complete list of campus-wide resources is available in the ASAC.

Acknowledgments

Course design by Alex Godwin at American University. Assignments and ideas on this syllabus build from the work of many other instructors in computing, especially Amy Bruckman at Georgia Tech and Casey Fiesler at the University of Colorado, Boulder.