Intellectual Participation & Citizenship
I will measure this in two ways: (1) how consistently and well you read and prepare outside of class; and (2) how consistently and well you perform activities or assignments in class. Our class sessions will be spent discussing, analyzing, and revising writing in various forms. You will often work in groups, compose collective responses to our readings, and be expected to contribute to our discussions and make them relevant. While you are in class I hold you to professional forms of conduct, including arriving on time and staying engaged. It isn’t enough to simply occupy your seat. We’ll be using various technologies during class time for legitimate functions. Talking on your cell phone, texting on any gadget, reading e-mail, or shopping online are not considered legitimate uses and functions of those technologies, so please refrain from doing them.Course Policies
Submit Your Work on Time
Unless otherwise specified, all assignments must be submitted by the beginning of class on the date they are due. Blog posts must be completed by posted deadlines in order to receive credit. You may feel free to blog in advance. If you know that you will have a conflict with mid-term or final exams on the day something else is due, you may submit assignments early or contact me in advance with written documentation to discuss your options with me. If you have a legitimate absence, a documented family emergency, or severe illness and cannot attend class when something is due, you must contact me in advance to request an extension. Double-check yourself when submitting assignments via Blackboard so that attachments do not get “lost.” If and when hard copies are due in class, print them in advance so that “technological difficulties” do not affect your ability to hand them in on time.
Attend and Arrive on Time
Because this class emphasizes regular participation and collaboration, your attendance and promptness are mandatory. However, because your lives are complex constellations of activity, I also offer the following attendance policy:
- If you miss class, you must still turn in what is due (see Submit Your Work on Time).
- You can be absent 3 class periods without receiving any grade reduction. However, the University and I are expecting you will use these absences only when you need them, i.e., for excused or documented illness, childcare, jury duty, religious holy days, military duty, and sanctioned university business.
- At 4 absences, we begin to notice you are gone, and your “Intellectual Participation & Citizenship” grade drops 15% for each absence. In compliance with university policy, exceptions may be made in extreme circumstances (i.e., short-term military service, etc.) but cannot be guaranteed.
- At 9 absences, you can no longer pass the course. Five weeks is too long to be away.
- Frequent or excessive lateness will be counted as an absence, as will leaving early.
- In the event of weather-related emergencies, please check your e-mail for Blackboard notifications of how we will conduct class online in lieu of the classroom.
Blog Frequently and Discuss Well
At no time on the blog or in class discussion will I evaluate you on whether you take a position to the right or left of an issue or a controversy. You will be evaluated on how well you can articulate the different parts of an argument, and how effectively and empathetically you can read its context, intertext, and metatext (i.e., the whole discourse situation). I am not necessarily interested in having you change your positions as a result of what we read – nor should you pressure others to – but I am always interested in helping you to enhance or complicate the positions that you take. I am also interested in helping you become a more critically reflective writer, publicly and academically – someone who can engage readers and keep them engaged. The blog is a space for public performance, so I need you to be committed to good communal practices when you use it, which includes upholding FSU’s Student Conduct Code in every sense (http://srr.fsu.edu/conduct_code.html).
Use the Reading-Writing Center (RWC) without Fear of Stigma
We’ll be composing in a number of genres this semester, including blog posts, analytic reflections, and a formal essay that are expected to conform to certain academic conventions. If you decide that you would like more sustained feedback on your writing than I am already giving you at any point in the semester, please seek me out in conference or office hours. However, I also highly recommend that you visit the Reading-Writing Center in Williams, Johnston, or Strozier, especially if you are concerned about the communicability of your ideas to a different audience. I recommend RWC to any writer who is working through a difficult project, since talking with others is helpful at all stages of your writing, whether you are planning the project or editing the final draft. You will want to get into the habit of sharing your writing with others in a more public and high-stakes setting. You can make appointments by calling (850) 644-6495 or using the online scheduler (http://fsu.mywconline.com).
Use the Digital Studio without Shyness or Hesitancy
I also recommend the Digital Studio for out-of-class work, especially when it comes time to set up your blog, work multimodally, or work on your portfolio. The Studio also provides support to students working individually or in groups on conducting online research, selecting images, making podcasts, and just increasing your overall capacities in digital communication. They are located in Williams 222B or Johnston G0062. You can make appointments by using the online scheduler for the Digital Studio (http://fsu.mywconline.com).
Seek Accommodations If You Need Them
The Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) can arrange for assistance, auxiliary aids, or related services if you think a temporary or permanent disability will prevent you from fully participating in class, or if you need our course materials in an alternative format. Contact them at (850) 644-9566 (voice), (850) 644-8504 (TDD), or http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/ with your individual concerns. You must be registered with the SDRC before classroom accommodations can be provided, and you should bring a letter to me requesting accommodations in the first week of class.
Exercise Academic Integrity in Everything You Do
You are responsible for reading and abiding by the FSU Academic Honor Policy, and for living up to your pledge to “… be honest and truthful and … [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity” in all things (http://academichonor.fsu.edu/policy/policy.html). All of your work for this class should be specific to the tasks I have assigned, rather than recycled from another class. While it is reasonable to receive tutoring, help, or support for your writing and technology use, every aspect of your project (including visuals, design, and written text) must be authentically yours.
Cheating and all forms of misrepresentation, including plagiarism and constructing assignments via paper mill, can result in automatic failure of the course. “Plagiarism” occurs when you misrepresent someone’s work as your own by:
- having someone write your assignment for you or turning in someone else’s work;
- simply copying, pasting, or “patchwriting” published information into your assignment;
- deliberately using sources without attributing them.
“Remixing” and “remediating” are not only different processes from one another, they are also different from violating copyright and trust. As you do the former (remixing and remediating), you want to avoid doing the latter (violating copyright and trust). As you get into more advanced writing, it becomes important to annotate and incorporate sources productively and fairly, so that your writing does not get mistaken for plagiarism. Feel free to ask me if you are unsure at any time about what constitutes “fair use” of any source.
