Attendance

Much of the most valuable information will come out of our class discussions and your participation is necessary for our success. It is important that you come to every class prepared and on time. To be “prepared” means that you have thoughtfully engaged with the reading, completed the critical response assignment, are prepared to discuss it and that you are equipped with the supplies necessary to participate in class (books, paper, writing instruments, etc.)

Because your presence in class is important, three or more absences will impact your final grade. In most circumstances, six absences will result in failure. Three instances of tardiness will equal one absence.

Cell phones and pagers are to be turned off and kept out of my sight. If your phone or pager rings during class, or if I see you checking your messages / pages during class, you will be marked absent. No exceptions.

Email

Since we are, after all, focusing on the culture of information, I have done my best to make the class as "paperless" as possible. As such, papers will be turned in via email. In addition, you are encouraged to contact me with questions, paper ideas, general comments, etc. via email.

Please be aware that I respond to most email messages within 24 hours Monday - Friday. If you send me an email and I do not respond during this timeframe, chances are that I did not receive it. It is your responsibility to re-send the email or to contact me another way.

Online Etiquette

As we will undoubtedly discover in class, the finer points of online communication can be tricky. Emotions are difficult to express and read. Our many online assignments will require vigilance to ensure that we are always preserving an atmosphere of mutual respect. Disagreements may arise and consensus may not be possible. We can, however, respect each person’s right to an opinion. Name calling or menacing behavior will not be tolerated.

Academic Honesty

From the UCSB General Catalog: Materials submitted to fulfill academic requirements must represent a student's own efforts. Any act of academic dishonesty, such as plagiarism or other forms of cheating, is unacceptable and will be met with disciplinary action. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade on the plagiarized assignment and possible disciplinary action by the university. We will review the proper way to use outside sources in order to avoid plagiarism; however, I encourage you to meet with me if you are at all uncertain about whether your writing could be misconstrued as plagiarism.