Course Policies · Technology

Technology Policy

Which tools you need, what they must be capable of, and what happens when they are not. Read this before the semester begins.

All sections PDF submission Desktop Teams · not mobile

A closed silver laptop on a warm wooden desk beside a speckled ceramic coffee cup, coiled white earbuds, a small stack of ruled index cards, a fountain pen, and a brass binder clip, in soft window light.
Fig. — Your workstation.

§ 01

Your Data & Privacy

The following applies only to the web services Professor Rosenberg operates, and not to those owned or operated by the college or university, the use of which may be required in your course.

  1. Never provide any personal information beyond your name and email address to any of the applications that request it — for example, your phone number on the appointment application. In cases where such fields are “required” and the form cannot be submitted without them, enter fake data as common sense dictates.
  2. All issues of data privacy and records are handled by your institution.

§ 02

Email

You must have an email address to which you have daily access. Many university email systems will flag as spam those emails sent from outside its own domain. We therefore strongly suggest that you not use your university email account for our correspondence.

Most students use their personal email accounts. If you would rather, set up an account on a free email service (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) that you use specifically for your course and which you can delete at its conclusion. Whatever you decide, please remember: failure to receive an email does not absolve you from its content.

§ 03

Technology in Your Course

The Learning Management System (LMS — Canvas, Blackboard, etc.) is the hub of your course. You will use it constantly to receive and submit assignments, receive course and assignment announcements, check your grades, and so on.

  1. The following activities may be completed or take place online, either through the LMS or on this website. It is important that you gain a solid understanding of how to use your LMS and familiarize yourself with this website early in the semester to prevent unnecessary difficulties:
    • Uploading and downloading files
    • File conversion (from one format to another — e.g., a .docx file to a PDF)
    • Booking appointments with the professor
    • Watching (streaming) assigned videos
    • Posting text and files to discussion boards
    • Completing online assignments such as exams with a special browser (this is explained in detail should this type of assignment occur in your course)
    • Retrieving e-texts and handouts (accessible by clicking the “Handouts” link on the course's homepage)
    • Accessing your course grades and other participatory information
    • Meeting via Microsoft Teams for certain (or all) class meetings
    • Other reasonable uses of technology as the course, instruction, and/or assignment dictates
  2. All essays are submitted only in Adobe PDF format. Any other file format (.doc, .docx, .pages, etc.) will not be considered.

    Consequence

    Assignments requiring file submissions that are inaccessible for any reason — corrupted, incorrect format, etc. — will receive a 0 grade and may not be resubmitted.

  3. Announcements are posted on the Announcements message board as well as emailed. In most cases, the LMS uses your university email address by default; some LMS platforms allow students to provide an alternate email address, which is particularly useful for students who prefer using a non-university address (see “Email,” above).
  4. Incompatibility with the online technology required for this course is not a valid excuse for missing assignments or failing to complete them. If you encounter technical issues, contact your university's Help Desk for assistance. See item 1 above for examples of the online technologies used in your course.
  5. Mobile and tablet versions of websites often lack the necessary functionality and screen space required for most course tasks. Use a desktop computer whenever possible to complete your work.

Many of the files downloaded for this course require Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free software program. It is essential to use Adobe Acrobat Reader specifically for viewing PDF files, as other PDF viewers — particularly browser plugins — may not display all features, such as embedded comments. When reviewing an essay commentary PDF, an incompatible viewer might hide critical comments, leading to missed instructions or feedback.

§ 04

Online Meetings (Classes & Office Hours)

Be sure to download and install Microsoft Teams well before your first scheduled meeting, and confirm that your microphone and webcam work.

All students will use Microsoft Teams for all meetings — course lectures and Office Hours — regardless of a university's official meeting application. Even if your course meets in-person, certain classes may meet online; you will be notified and provided with the Teams meeting link via a class announcement or calendar post.

  1. Teams lecture links are located on your university's Blackboard or Canvas course homepage. For Office Hours meetings, you will receive the Teams meeting link in the confirmation email.
  2. When signing in for a lecture or appointment, your Teams display name must reflect exactly the name on the official course roster — regardless of which version of Teams you use (personal, work-or-school, or an enterprise account issued by your university). Unrecognized users will not be admitted, and, for purposes of policy, you will be considered absent until you rectify the issue. Absolutely no policy exceptions will be made regarding missed coursework because you were not admitted due to an unrecognized name.
  3. The use of cellphones and tablets is strongly discouraged because they lack much of the necessary functionality to successfully participate in your online meetings.
  4. You must use a webcam and microphone in order to participate in online meetings.
  5. You must be in a quiet place without loud, disruptive background noise. If you become a disruption, you will be removed from the meeting. For purposes of policy, removal from a meeting is equivalent to removal from the classroom due to disruption.
  6. Meetings are not the place to test your technology. Make sure that it operates properly before your meeting. Microsoft's Teams support center has instructions for testing your audio and video setup.
  7. Once the class begins, the meeting room is locked — you will not be able to gain entry. This is especially important for any in-class assignments as well as courses or meetings where attendance is taken.
  8. All meetings — including intellectual property (shared and uploaded files, screencasted materials such as PowerPoint presentations) — are owned and copyrighted under the copyright provision at the foot of this site, and may not be recorded, shared, or accessed in any way without written consent.

§ 05

Working Online

Uploading Your Essays

To avoid last-minute technological issues, I strongly recommend against waiting until the eleventh hour to upload your essay. Submitting early ensures that you have time to resolve any potential problems before the deadline. Remember: only the PDF file format is allowed. Submissions in any other file format will not be considered.

Completing Online Assignments

Online assignments, sometimes called “modules,” are completed entirely online. Multiple-choice and free-response questions are the most common. Many are timed — you have x-number of minutes to complete them. Therefore, always make sure that you have a reliable internet connection and that you will not be disturbed while completing an online assignment.

Using Your Course's Message Board

Your course has its own message board, available only to students enrolled in your course. It is especially helpful to those who missed a lecture, who do not understand a particular topic or assignment, or for common discussions. You are also able to upload files with your posts, which enables you to send out a draft of an essay, for example, for others to read and comment on.

§ 06

The Right Software

Because technology issues of any kind are not valid excuses for missed assignments or handouts, it is important that your computer has up-to-date software. These are quite basic capabilities that virtually all recently built computers possess — even older computers should not have any problems. You may, on occasion, have to tweak your browser's permissions; this is easily done, and your browser will walk you through the steps. If you encounter any issues, visit your university's Help Desk.

Your computer must (and probably already does) have the following capabilities:

  • Adobe Acrobat Reader — for viewing PDF files
  • Java and Ajax — for web applications
  • A compatible web browser — I recommend a Chromium-based browser such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. There have been issues with Apple's Safari browser as well as mobile versions of all browsers.
  • Microsoft Word (or other word-processor application)
  • The ability to handle streaming media (YouTube videos, podcasts, etc.)
  • Any additional software required to complete the course — such as Microsoft Teams for online meetings and any publisher-produced electronic materials. See your syllabus for specifics on publisher materials.

Nota Bena

If you experience a problem with a website, try using another browser or computer.

As aforementioned, submit your essays only in the PDF format. Essays submitted in any other format will not be graded. Most word-processing applications offer PDF file conversion — as a “Save As,” “Download As,” “Export As,” etc. You can also use PDF2Go to convert your file to PDF.

See also  ·  Course Policy  ·  Resources  ·  Taking Your Course