Spring 2006: LIT 4930 :: Gaming Cultures
Rules, Requirements, Grading
If you have any questions on this, ask me. You are responsible for all of this whether or not you choose to be fully informed. Also, I do reserve the right to amend the syllabus and the schedule based on the needs of the class.
Requirements
You must come to this class prepared to engage in the vigorous academic study of gaming culture and games.
Participation
You must be in class to participate, so also see below for the attendance policy. Active participation and engagement with the material is vital to this class. This includes not only class interaction, but also fostering the proper environment where class interaction is at its most beneficial. As such, please remember that many different opinions will be expressed in this class. Students are expected to respect the views of other students. Sexist and racial hate speech will not be tolerated. A difference of opinion will naturally result and is expected and encouraged. But students must still respect the view points of the other students in the class.
Attendance
In-class work is pivotal to this, and most, classes. As such, the attendance policy is strict. Excessive absences (more than ten periods) will automatically result in a failing grade. Attendance is mandatory. Students may miss a total of four classes, either excused or unexcused. For each absence after the fourth absence, the student's final grade will drop by one letter grade. Hence, if a student has an A in the class and misses 7 days, then the student's final grade will be a D. Repeat tardiness will be considered absence, as will extreme tardiness: coming in 15 minutes late to a 50 minute class is not tardy, it is absent. Tardy students will not be allowed to take the quiz for the day that they are tardy- otherwise the entire class period could be spent making up quizzes for latecomers.
You are responsible for any work missed in class as well as the homework for that class. For this, you should get the phone numbers of a couple of your classmates in case you miss a class. You can also contact me by email. If you know you are going to miss a class, please tell me in advance.
Absences for University supported events (sports, theater, dance, and the like)
will be excused only when I am given proper documentation. Missed work for these
absences must be made up in a timely fashion as the work is not excused or dismissed.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING DOCUMENTATION TO ME FOR ANY EXCUSED
ABSENCES. IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO MISS A DAY AND THREE WEEKS LATER TELL ME THAT
YOU CAN GET A DOCTOR'S NOTE IF NEEDED - YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING THE DOCUMENTATION
IN PROMPTLY.
Assignments are due on the class day they have been assigned for. Late
work will be penalized 20% per calendar day (so not class day, but each
calendar day) it is late. The exception to this is your final project which will
not be accepted after the deadline: the only exception would be extreme and
well documented circumstances.
Preparation
You must be present for the quizzes and in-class writings to receive credit for them. You cannot make them up.
Assigned Work Deadlines
Any assigned work is due on the specified due date whether or not you are taking one of your allowed absences. It is your responsibility to get the work to me even if you will not be in class.
Tardiness and Classroom Disruptions
Obviously, you should arrive at class on time. If you must arrive late, come in as quietly as possible and begin work quickly. (After class, YOU must make sure that I change my attendance record to reflect that you attended after all.)
The instructor reserves the right to penalize participation grades for repeated or flagrant tardiness, instances of “significant classroom disruption,” or other significant classroom discourtesy. (Note that the instructor makes these determinations.)
Classsroom Courtesy
The class may discuss controversial or volatile topics at times, and college classrooms should always be “safe” places to discuss such issues. You may speak openly, but standard courtesy guidelines are appropriate. If you disagree with someone's opinion, please express your disagreement through intellectual rather than emotional responses.
Respect anyone addressing the class (including me) by listening attentively and not having side conversations. Show respect for diverse opinions during class discussion and in assignments. Participate in class discussion in a responsible manner, presenting opinions but also permitting others to present their opinions. Harassing or attempting to harass other students or me, especially if the harassment is based on gender, race, sexual orientation, or similar biases, will absolutely not be tolerated.
Do not allow your cell phone or pager to ring in class (don't use it, either).
Students with Disabilities
The University of Florida complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students requesting accommodation should contact the Students with Disabilities Office, Peabody 202. That office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation.
If you have a learning disability, hardship, or other special dispensation that has been approved by the Office of Student Affairs, please meet with me to discuss your requirements as early in the term as possible.
Academic Honesty
As a University of Florida student, your performance is governed by the UF Honor Code, available in its full form at http://www.registratr.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/students.html. The Honor Code requires Florida students to neither give nor receive unauthorized aid in completing all assignments. Violations include cheating, plagiarism, bribery, and misrepresentation, all defined in detail at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/procedures/academicguide.php.
Other forms of academic dishonesty will also result in a failing grade on the assignment as a minimum penalty. Examples are: cheating on a quiz or citing phony sources or making up quotations to include in your assignments.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious violation of the student academic honor code. You commit plagiarism when you present the ideas or words of someone else as your own. You commit plagiarism if you use without crediting the source:
- Any part of another person's essay, speech, or ideas
- Any part of an article in a magazine, journal, newspaper; any part of a book, encyclopedia, CD-ROM, online WWW page, etc.
- Any idea from another person or writer, even if you express that idea in your own words.
Important tip: There should never be a time when you copy and paste something from the Internet and don't provide the exact location from which it came.
All acts of plagiarism will result in failure of the assignment and may result in failure of the entire course. N.B. Plagiarism can occur even without any intention to deceive if the student fails to know and employ proper documentation techniques. Unless otherwise indicated by the instructor for class group work, all work must be your own. Nothing written for another course will be accepted.
Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of someone else’s ideas without citing the source; it is passing off someone else’s wording as your own (following the language too closely). Important tip: There should never be a time when you copy and paste something from the internet and don't provide the exact location from which it came or acknowledge it as a direct quotation.
Plagiarism is a serious offense and constitutes grounds for failure of the assignment and possibly the course. Unless otherwise indicated by the instructor concerning class group work, all work must be your own.
If a student is found to have plagiarized all or any part of any assignment, the student will receive a failing grade on the assignment and may (at the instructor’s discretion) fail the course. This is a program-wide policy established by the University Writing Program and is supported by the University of Florida’s suggested penalties for academic dishonesty. Your work may be tested for its “originality” against a wide variety of databases by anti-plagiarism guardian sites to which the University subscribes, and negative reports constitute PROOF of plagiarism. You are responsible for understanding the definitions below for what is considered to constitute plagiarism.
Plagiarism consists of any or all of the following:
- Submitting all or part of someone else’s work as if it is your own.
- “Borrowing” all or portions of anything (books, song lyrics, poetry, movie scripts) without crediting the source.
- “Borrowing” verbatim text without enclosing in quotation marks and citing source.
- Duplicate submissions - that is, submitting work in one class that you also submit in another class (UNLESS you have permission of both instructors in advance and IN WRITING.)
- “Collaborating” or receiving substantive help in writing your assignment unless such collaboration is part of the given assignment. (However, general advice from writing lab or OWL staff is permitted.)
- Failure to cite sources, or citing them improperly.
The University of Florida considers plagiarism a form of “academic dishonesty” and a serious violation of University standards regarding academic honor. You should know that, in verifiable instances, plagiarism may result in your expulsion from the University. Make sure you understand UF standards. See the UF Academic Honesty Guidelines at: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/honestybrochure.htm.
Other Rules
Complaints about separate assignments are to be discussed with me. Complaints about the final grade should be discussed with me in at least one conference soon after the next term begins. If the conference on the final grade does not resolve the problem in a valid, college-level manner, the complaint can be expressed on a form in the English Office, 4008 TUR; the form must be accompanied with copies of every assignment and my directions. The form and accompanying course material will be given to the Director of Freshman English for further action. Please note that the Department does not review the complaint about a separate assignment nor will it review a complaint about final grades unless all assignments are submitted along with the instructor's directions for the assignments. The review committee may decide that the grade should remain as is, be raised, or lowered; but the review committee has the final decision. The material submitted for the complaint is to remain on file in the English Department.
Keep a copy of all work - for webwork, ftp your sites over to your plaza space periodically to protect against loss or damage. You will need copies of your work if you decide you would like a letter of recommendation from me, or to contest your grade. A computer crash is not a reason to be unprepared; you should have backups.
Grading
Grading Scale
A: 90 or above
B+: 87-89
B: 80-86
C+: 76-79
C: 70-76
D+: 67-69
D: 60-66
E: failing, 59 and below
Grades are calculated as follows:
- Participation and in class work (including peer review, working with classmates): 10%
- Quizzes: 10% (Most, if not all, of the quizzes will be pop quizzes so be prepared and be on time - remember if you're late then you cannot take the quiz and you will get a zero for it - there are no makeup quizzes.)
- Project 0: 25%
- Project 1: 15%
- Project 2: 15%
- Project 3: 25%