Responses to Questions

In the Initial Questionnaire several students took advantage of the opportunity to raise questions about EDM310.

Here are my responses:

1. "Are there participation points for perfect attendance?" We will develop rubrics for grading various activities in class. Mandatory classes are required. If you miss any mandatory class without a valid medical excuse your will receive a penalty that lowers your final grade by 1/2 grade for every mandatory class missed without a valid medical excuse. This also applies to group meetings set for the times designated for your EDM310 class. See Response #8 below.

2. "Will we be given warning of upcoming projects, events or activities, or are we on our own?" You already have that information available to you. All class activities are to be found in the Checklist Master. Be sure you are using the latest version as indicated in the right column of the Class Blog.

3. "Even though assignments are online, will there be in class demonstrations of the materials?" Sometimes. Other demonstrations are on video. Still others can be found through searches using Google or other search engines. In some cases students will present their projects in class which serve as a type of demonstration.

4. "A more in depth explanation on what is considered plagiarism." Coming very soon.

5. "When are lab hours? Will we be allowed to use our current classroom for lab or will another lab be available?" Lab hours are in the Syllabus and will be posted Tuesday outside both doors to the Lab. The classroom in which we have been meeting is the Lab.

6. "Will Saturday lab hours be available because I need extra help?" At the time I write this answer the Lab will be open on the following Saturdays from 9 am - 6pm: 1/25/14; 2/8/14; 2/22/14; 3/1/14; 3/15/14; 3/29/14; 4/12/14; 4/26/14. We hope to be able to have the Lab open every Saturday but we have not gotten the funds to do this yet. Watch the Class Blog, the posters to the right of the Lab doors, and changes to the Syllabus for further information.

7. "Explained the assignments and projects more in depth then just as instructed." Explain, not explained. Than not then. I do not understand what is being asked. If you have questions about any of the assignments or projects contact me or one of the Lab Assistants. Ask! We can be contacted by phone, email, in person in the Lab, through the EDM310 Facebook page. Later in the semester you can also contact us through Skype or Twitter. If you have an iPhone you can use FaceTime to contact us. The main point is to read what we provide you, search for answers on the Internet, come to the Lab for assistance, contact any of us through any of the means identified.

8. "Will we be meeting outside of scheduled call [I think you mean class] time, and if so how often?" The class has designated mandatory meeting times. If necessary, they may be changed to any time designated for the classes (MW4-5:15; TT 11-12:15; TT 2-3:15; W 6-8:15). If you cannot come to your mandatory class you can usually come to another class with advance permission. Your groups will meet several times to work collaboratively on projects. The groups can set their own meeting times and places (or use technology to hold electronic meetings). However, if a group cannot unanimously agree other than the time scheduled for the class to which you are assigned, you will be required to meet during the time scheduled for your class. You must not schedule yourself to work or participate in other activities during the times scheduled for your class, whether or not a mandatory class meeting has been declared in the Checklist and/or the Syllabus. Sometimes students think that since there are no mandatory classes set for a particular week or day that they can schedule themselves to work or to do something else. That is not correct.

9. "Yes, I would like to know the importance of having a Mac as opposed to another portable." Why a Mac?

• They are the only computers used in Baldwin County.
• Approximately 20% of the classes in Mobile County use Macs. Mobile County,for the most part, supports teachers in the use of the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)method for providing technology in the classroom. Most often that results in the use of smartphones, iPads and some portable computers. This will change or Mobile County will encounter significant negative feedback concerning their approach to the provision of technology to students.
• They do not have viruses
• They work. PCs often do not
• They are easier to use in creating videos and other technology based instructional material
• They cost less in the long run - repairs are needed much less often, resale values are much greater

And other things too numerous for this quick reply.

You can use a PC (or an iPad) in EDM310.

Our experience, and the experiences of those who have switched, lead us to strongly recommend Macs.

Email or call me if you want to discuss this further.

10. "Why is this questionnaire so extensive? What will it be used for? Also, honestly, some of the questions seemed intrusive and much more in-depth than what I am accustomed to for a college class." I have a lot of questions to ask. The responses are used in many ways. Most uses have to do with efforts to change the classes so that they better meet the needs of students. For example, schedules are often developed with no understanding of the times students prefer to choose among. Your responses help us understand those factors. In other cases, the same questions will be asked in the middle and at the end of the class to see if changes in attitudes or abilities are occurring. I also use the data to try to understand what factors affect student participation, attendance, and completion rates. Questions are the most vital part of learning. I hope you ask a lot of questions all the time. You say the questions are more in-depth than your previous experiences. I hope that my questions will lead to more improvement in EDM310 than if I did not find out as much as I can about my students. As for questions that are "intrusive", I am at a loss to respond since I do not believe any are intrusive. If you can provide me examples and your reasoning for designating them intrusive, I will reply. Please leave a comment for this post or send me an email.