Most assignments are "turned in" when they are posted to your T284 web site. Any exceptions to this are noted in the details for each specific assignment. Due dates and times are listed on the class schedule. Students earn no credit for late assignments. Grade records will be maintained using Oncourse. Understand that Oncourse is used for reporting scores on individual assignments; NOT official final grades.
Web site journal (10@2 points/10%)
Every designer studies the ideas and creations of others. You will maintain
an online journal of the web sites you visit. Every week you must make an entry
with a written critique of one web site you've visited that week. To encourage
variety in the sites you review I will provide a theme. Find a site that fits
the current week's theme and use it for your critique.
Site critiques should consist of at least 3 to 4 paragraphs and touch on the topics we've covered in class throughout the semester. Which aspects of the site are successful? Which are not? How does the site communicate? How well does it represent the person, group, company, or organization it stands for? What techniques does it use that you can borrow or modify in designs of your own? Think about these kinds of questions as you evaluate each web site. Journal entries will be posted to your T284 site and must be turned in by 10 PM the night of lecture class (Monday night). A journal entry is not complete unless it is linked from your T284 "home page"(index.html in your T284 directory). Be sure that each journal entry also contains a link to the site you discuss—entries without links will be marked down.
Quizzes (10@2 points/10%)
Weekly quizzes will cover material from the previous
week's class readings and lecture topics. Make-up quizzes are only offered
in cases of illness or emergency.
Weekly lab assignments (10@2 points/10%)
XHTML mark-up, graphics, animation, JavaScript, CSS, audio, usability, etc.
To earn full credit, weekly lab assignments must be posted and linked by
10 PM Tuesday night before lab class. An assignment is not complete unless
it is linked from your T284 "home page"(index.html in your T284
directory). Late design assignments will be checked off at no credit
(earn 0 points). All lab assignments must be complete to "graduate" from
T284. Students that are unable to complete all ten lab assignments will see
an "I" grade on their transcript until this required work is complete. Students
are expected to have all of their lab assignments completed by 10 pm on the
Friday before finals week. It is each student's responsibility to confirm
that all lab assignments have been received by their AI and entered into
the Oncourse gradebook with a point total of 0, 1, or 2.
Your T284 web site (30 points/15%)
Each student will maintain a web site that links to every assignment and project
they do for the class. At the end of the term, students will be graded on
a working critique, the overall design, and final usability of this site.
This assignment requires you to find a tutorial on Lynda.com that teaches you how to do something WE HAVE NEVER COVERED IN CLASS. Search for a lesson, complete it, post the results of your work to your T284 site, and write a short statement (500 words) that describes how the things you learned helped you to develop your final site.
Participation & "Question of the Week" (20 points/10%)
Participation is essential in this class and goes far beyond
your attendance record. It is a combination of your involvement in daily discussions, in-class
critiques, your overall effort in the class, and your "Question of the Week" (QotW). Every week before or during your lab section you will prepare a question related to the material we've recently discussed in lecture or lab, a web site critiqued in a journal entry, or anything else that is timely and relevant to the course. QotWs
are to be posted to your Mercury account, and will be used as a basis for discussions in lab.
Design & usability projects (3@30 points = 90 points/45% total)
You will work on three large-scale projects this semester:
Each of these projects will involve graded milestones to help keep you on track and earn points along the way.
Other things to keep in mind throughout the semester...
Constructive classroom involvement will be used to nudge a grade either up or
down. For example, C+ to B- or A- to B+. Constructive classroom involvement
includes attendance, constructive discussion, helping other students, and volunteering
for demonstrations. Non-constructive involvement is anything which adversely
disrupts the labs and/or non-attendance. This specifically
includes working on class computers or your mobile phone during times when the instructor is lecturing
or students are making presentations. Students who insist on being disrespectful
in this manner will have their grades lowered. The classroom involvement nudge is completely subjective and will only be used in borderline situations unless
a student's classroom involvement is perceived to be non-constructive in which case the grade
will automatically move downward. The bottom line: be respectful
and do good work.
Grading
At any point during the semester you can calculate
your grade by dividing the number of points you've earned by the number of possible
points. Then, multiply that number by 100 to get your grade percentage. For
instance if we've done one 5 point quiz and one 20 point critique the possible
points are 25. If you scored 4 and 19 respectively, your total points are 23.
Now, do the math: 23/25 = .92 * 100 = 92% You have earned an A-.
The following grade descriptions have been adapted from the grade definitions defined by student and faculty members of the Committee on Improvement of Instruction.
| Grade | Percentage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | 100 | Amazing performance; rarely ever happens. |
| A | 96-99 | Superior performance; student work goes far above and beyond requirements of the course; demonstrates a command of course material through an innovative and creative application of concepts; far exceeds course expectations. |
| A- | 91-95 | Excellent performance; student work goes far above and beyond requirements of the course; demonstrates a command of course material through an innovative and creative application of concepts. |
| B+ | 88-90 | Very good performance; student work meets requirements and demonstrates creative or thoughtful application of course material; exceeds course expectations. |
| B | 84-87 | Solid work; student performance meets requirements and demonstrates a good understanding of course material. |
| B- | 81-83 | Above average; work that meets requirements and demonstrates better than average understanding of course material. |
| C+ | 78-80 | Work that meets requirements and shows promise. |
| C | 74-77 | Work that meets all basic requirements. |
| C- | 71-73 | Work that meets requirements but is not especially polished or thoughtful. |
| D+ | 68-70 | Below average work. |
| D | 64-67 | Below average work. |
| D- | 60-63 | Below average work. |
| F | < 60 | Failing. |