Course Syllabus
Fall 2016 Course number 29166
Instructor: David Rainbolt
Telephone
· 812-941-2577
· 812-993-0250
Text
· 812-993-0250
Virtual Conference - Online office hours
Online office hours are available by appointment via the IU Bridge. (Please use Chrome or Firefox with this link. You will not be able to access this room unless I have enabled it.)
Alias or URI to enter is 232577. If you wish a personal conference, please contact me to arrange a time and date.
Learning Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes
· Identify the genre of a game and place the game in an historical context;
· Recognize how game technologies and techniques are used for purposes other than entertainment;
· Explain the impact of games and gaming technology on our culture;
· Evaluate games based on a variety of themes, patterns, and genres.
Required Items
There is no required textbook.
You should have access to the following:
· reliable internet service
· a device, preferably a computer, with a microphone and webcam
· access to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, either through either an installed version or via IUanyWare.
Communication Expectations
Online office hours are available by appointment. You will be able to see and hear me. If you share your web cam and microphone, I can see and hear you as well. If you do not have a webcam and/or a microphone, do not worry. You can still participate using the text chat features.
In most cases, emails will be answered within 24 hours. If you send a message or email at 1 AM, don’t expect to get an answer before the next morning. There may be exceptions to this rule on weekends and other days based on other assorted activities. I prefer to use the Canvas integrated messaging tool (accessible via your Inbox), but please feel free to email me. Any email should come from your IU email address, as email from other sources often go into my spam folder. If you have sent an email and you have not received a reply in a reasonable amount of time (see above), please Contact Me through Canvas conversations.
You are responsible for everything included in this syllabus, all assigned materials and everything posted on Canvas. If you have any questions, please contact me for further clarification.
You can expect grades to be updated within a week of the assignment’s due date. Your written papers may take a little longer to grade. Please contact me if you have any questions about your grade. You are in charge of your grade, so of you have a question please ask it.
Format and Procedures
Prerequisites: E103 has no prerequisites. Since this is an online course, comfort using email and working on a computer is important.
Course Netiquette
At IU, we believe proper behavior is just as important on-line as it is in person. Here are a few guidelines to help you communicate more effectively in your on-line class(es):
Always treat your instructors and peers with respect and courtesy. Even though you are not meeting face-to-face, you are still dealing with other people.
Do not cheat, plagiarize, or infringe upon copyrights. You are accountable for what you say and do on-line and in cyberspace. Laws and ethics still apply!
Do not use profanity or post messages with the intent of harming, hurting, or inciting others. Please keep in mind that while your course may be on-line, you are still part of a classroom.
Write right—know your subject and think before you type anything. You should always proof read, edit, and use spell check before you click Send or Submit! Reading what you have written out loud will allow you to hear the words and make any corrections.
Keep your messages brief, to the point, and avoid repetition. Time is a valuable commodity for everyone.
If you are following up a previous message or posting, summarize that message or posting. Read existing follow-up postings and don’t repeat what has already been said
Avoid using acronyms (IMO) and emoticons :). Your on-line postings, no matter the length, are official course communications and should be treated as such. If you wouldn’t write it on a test or in a paper, don’t post it on-line.
Reveal only information that you are comfortable sharing. You should not share information you would not want the general public to know.
Don’t suffer in silence! If you need help or have questions about your course work, ask someone.
Increase the knowledge of your on-line community and share what you know. Everyone is here to learn. Speak up!
Humor and sarcasm don’t translate very well when using email or online discussions. Be careful. I will delete any posting that I believe is inappropriate.
Keep in mind that there's a real, live human being with feelings on the other end of your email or discussion posting--if you were sitting in front of that person would you say to their face what you're saying in your email or discussion posting?
Do not post a message more than once. I reserve the right to delete copies of postings.
Generally speaking, avoid putting words into full capitals. Online, all-caps is considered SHOUTING.
Remember: Never wait until the last minute to complete an assignment. A technical problem on your end will never gain you extra time to complete an assignment.
Logistical Issues for an Online Course:
Your IU email address is an official means of communications. You should check your IU email daily in order to stay up to date with all classroom information. If you do not want to use your IU email, you can setup alternative notifications in Canvas. Your IU email address is verifiable, so I can tell who a message is coming from. If I get an email from an address such as sparky1234@yahoo.com I have no idea who that person is and will not respond to it.
Online courses ARE different than face-to-face classes in a number of ways. Obviously, there are no face-to-face (F2F) meetings with the instructor. You need to be self-motivated as a student. While this course is set up to guide you through the materials, you still need to be responsible enough to set aside study times and meet the deadlines. There will be opportunities to interact virtually with myself and your fellow classmates. You will need to access this course twice a week or more to complete course work. If you try to finish course work on one day near the end of the unit, you will miss opportunities to submit graded items.
If you have an issue or problem, please feel free to email me at drrainbo@ius.edu (the best way to catch me), call me at my office 812-941-2577 , or stop by and see me at my office in LB219 if you are on the Southeast campus. I will do my best to return your emails within 24 hours between 9 A.M. Monday and 9 P.M. Friday, Eastern Time. It may take me longer to respond on the.
If problems occur or if you become ill, please Contact Me immediately so we can determine your best options. If you have problems with equipment, please let me know but you can also contact a person at the computer help desk immediately (812-941-2447) for immediate assistance. You can also Live Chat with a consultant (IU login required); available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While they may not be able to assist you with course-related materials, they can help you do basic troubleshooting. It would be a good idea to run through this checklist before seeking assistance.
All assignments MUST be submitted within the appropriate Canvas tool; please ensure that you are familiar with Canvas. There are online video guides available at http://guides.instructure.com/m/4210/c/56054 and there are step-by-step Canvas guides available at http://guides.instructure.com/m/8470. There are also links to help information in the Start Here module.
Please proofread all assignments and email messages to ensure the use of Standard English, proper grammar, and correct spelling. You will lose points for problems in this area. If you have concerns about your writing, contact your campus writing center.
Since we do not meet face-to-face, due dates in this course are not impacted by any possible campus closings because of weather. All assignments are due as specified on the syllabus, regardless of snowstorms, ice storms, tornadoes, etc.
If a specific problem occurs in your case (e.g., loss of power), please Contact Me ASAP.
Canvas
Canvas is an incredibly useful tool that we will utilize in this class. If you do not know how to access Canvas, You have several options for assistance. First of all, use this link (http://guides.instructure.com/m/4214/l/41056-which-browsers-does-canvas-support) to verify that you are using a supported web browser. If you are using a supported web browser you can access the Canvas Student Quickstart Guide (http://guides.instructure.com/m/8470) to get instructions on the various Canvas tools. You can also access guides and search for particular instructions, including assistance with the different mobile apps by access the Canvas Guides overview page at http://guides.instructure.com/. See the Getting Started Module for specific information related to Canvas.
You are responsible for any messages or announcements sent through Canvas. You can use a variety of methods for Notification Preferences. Instructions for setting notification preferences can be found at http://guides.instructure.com/m/4144/l/73162-how-do-i-set-my-notification-preferences.
Course Requirements:
The following are IU Policies.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s work, including the work of other students, as one’s own. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged, unless the information is common knowledge. What is considered “common knowledge” may differ from course to course. Plagiarism violations will result in a failing grade for that assignment.
· A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, opinions, theories, formulas, graphics, or pictures of another person without acknowledgment.
· A student must give credit to the originality of others and acknowledge indebtedness whenever:
· directly quoting another person’s actual words, whether oral or written;
· using another person’s ideas, opinions, or theories;
· paraphrasing the words, ideas, opinions, or theories of others, whether oral or written;
· borrowing facts, statistics, or illustrative material; or
· offering materials assembled or collected by others in the form of projects or collections without acknowledgment. Plagiarism violations will result in a failing grade for that assignment. You may also be subject to additional administrative actions.
IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct
Interference
A student must not steal, change, destroy, or impede another student’s work, nor should the student unjustly attempt, through a bribe, a promise of favors or threats, to affect any student’s grade or the evaluation of academic performance. Impeding another student’s work includes, but is not limited to, the theft, defacement, or mutilation of resources so as to deprive others of the information they contain.
Interference violations will result in a failing grade for that assignment. You may also be subject to additional administrative actions.
IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct
Cheating
Cheating is considered to be an attempt to use or provide unauthorized assistance, materials, information, or study aids in any form and in any academic exercise or environment.
· A student must not use external assistance on any “in-class” or “take-home” examination, unless the instructor specifically has authorized external assistance. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the use of tutors, books, notes, calculators, computers, and wireless communication devices.
· A student must not use another person as a substitute in the taking of an examination or quiz, nor allow other persons to conduct research or to prepare work, without advanced authorization from the instructor to whom the work is being submitted.
· A student must not use materials from a commercial term paper company, files of papers prepared by other persons, or submit documents found on the Internet.
· A student must not collaborate with other persons on a particular project and submit a copy of a written report that is represented explicitly or implicitly as the student’s individual work.
· A student must not use any unauthorized assistance in a laboratory, at a computer terminal, or on fieldwork.
· A student must not steal examinations or other course materials, including but not limited to, physical copies and photographic or electronic images.
· A student must not submit substantial portions of the same academic work for credit or honors more than once without permission of the instructor or program to whom he work is being submitted.
· A student must not, without authorization, alter a grade or score in any way, nor alter answers on a returned exam or assignment for credit.
· Students may not collude in a tit for tat for any project grades. Cheating violations will result in a failing grade for that assignment. You may also be subject to additional administrative action
IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct
Turnitin.com
Indiana University subscribes to Turnitin.com, a tool that confirms that you have used and cited sources accurately in your paper. By taking this course, you agree that all written assignments may be submitted to Turnitin.com for an “originality report” and that, upon request from your instructor, you must provide an electronic version of your paper. Instances of plagiarism, or failure to supply your instructor with an electronic version of your paper, will be handled according to the Student Disciplinary Procedures that accompany the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct (http://ius.edu/studentaffairs/codeprocedures.cfm) and may result in an academic sanctions, up to and including failure of the course. Even when not required, students are encouraged to use Turnitin.com as a personal resource to help ensure outside works are cited appropriately. All papers submitted to Turnitin.com will remain in the private, Indiana University database.
Students with Disabilities
If you have specific physical, psychological or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the coordinator of disability services for the campus where you are enrolled. You can access campus-specific contact information and additional details here.
What you should know about sexual misconduct
As your instructor, one of my responsibilities is to help create a safe learning environment on our campus. Title IX and our own Sexual Misconduct policy prohibit sexual misconduct. If you have experienced sexual misconduct, or know someone who has, the University can help. If you have experienced sexual misconduct, or know someone who has, the University can help. If you are seeking help and would like to speak to someone confidentially, you can make an appointment with our Personal Counseling Services, free of charge. You can make an appointment with Personal Counseling Services by calling (812) 941-2244, emailing micaday@ius.edu, or going to US-243. It is also important that you know that federal regulations and University policy require me to promptly convey any information about potential sexual misconduct known to me to our Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Darlene Young, or IU’s Title IX Coordinator. In that event, they will work with a small number of others on campus to ensure that appropriate measures are taken and resources are made available to the student who may have been harmed. Protecting a student’s privacy is of utmost concern, and all involved will only share information with those that need to know to ensure the University can respond and assist. I encourage you to visit our Stop Sexual Violence webpage to learn more.
Student Computing Facilities
You should have a plan for what you will do if your Internet connection becomes unavailable. Given the many places that one can use the Internet, not having Internet access is no excuse to miss a grading deadline. Remember, a DUE date is not a DO date.
Staffed student computing labs are on all IU campuses. You can find specific information regarding your campus by going to the page regarding student technology centers. Lab hours vary. If you are looking for an open computer, you can use the link at https://kb.iu.edu/d/awvc to find the Seat Finder (if applicable) for your campus.
IU Ware
IUWare is a software distribution service for Indiana University. As a student, you can download and install many useful programs for free. The University pays the license fees in order for you to use this software. Some of the helpful software items include Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word. To download from IU Ware, visit iuware.iu.edu.
Grading
Your course grade will be determined from the following grading scale and grade information. Assignments will have a period beyond the due date in which you can still turn them in, but they will be marked as late. Late assignments will experience a late penalty being deducted from the score you would have received for that assignment. No assignments will be accepted past the until date for the assignment. All forum assignments have hard dates and no late postings will be allowed. Please do not wait until the last moment to post forum work, as no discussion can occur. In order to receive the most points in the forums you must post in a timely manner.
Graded Assignments
These assignments will compose your grade for this class.
| Assignments | Points | Total Points |
|---|---|---|
| Written Assignments | 25 points each | 100 |
| Discussion Forums | 20 points each/ Final reflection 10 points | 130 |
| VoiceThread Assignments | 10/20/30 Points | 60 |
| Final Project Peer Evaluation | 25 points | 25 |
| Final Project and Presentation | 100 Points | 100 |
| Cumulative Possible | 415 | |
| Extra Credit - For the Win | up to 25 points | 25 |
Extra Credit
For the Win
For a maximum of 25 points you can read "For the Win" by Cory Doctorow. It is available for free at http://craphound.com/ftw/download/ and in various IU Libraries. Using approximately 1000 words, respond to the following questions.
· What role does electronic gaming play in the story?
· Do you think the events in the story could actually happen and why/why not?
· This paper should follow the same guidelines as your normal written assignments.
Extra credit can also be gained by participating in Pre and Post assessments and teaching evaluations. You can also gain extra credit points by completing various surveys. Items such as the Students Evaluation of Teaching fall into this category.
Grading Scale
Canvas Tools
Discussions
When using the Discussions tool, you are encouraged to use a word processing program to compose your forum postings.
You are required to post quality, relevant postings on Canvas threaded discussions in the appropriate Discussions section. The discussion grading criteria provides guidelines on what grading criteria forum postings will be measured against.
Remember, you will not be able to read the discussions until you have made your own initial post.
Minimum postings – Every posting must add value to the on-line discussions. You are required to create your own post and respond to a minimum of three other postings in order to be able to receive maximum points. Less than that and you will see your points lowered.
These are only the minimums. Greater quality participation will result in a higher grade earned for participation which comprises a large part of your final grade.
· Complete all assigned readings before you participate in a discussion. Many discussion postings require you to process materials in the assigned readings. Don’t shoot from the hip with unsupported assertions. Use critical thinking skills, and give evidence for any claim that you make.
· Respect each other's ideas, feelings and experience. While honesty and directness are encouraged, at the same time your comments should be courteous and considerate.
· All discourse will be civil. Under no circumstances will I tolerate racial, ethnic or sexual slurs. Everyone should feel welcome when participating in on-line discussions. If I determine that a post to any Forum, graded or ungraded, is inappropriate, offensive, or irrelevant to the discussion at hand, I will remove it. If you persist in such offenses, I will exercise my role as moderator and block you from posting.
· Make every effort to be clear in your communication. On-line communication lacks the nonverbal cues we often use for interpretation of language. I would suggest that you read your message at least twice (once aloud) before sending. Please check your spelling and grammar before posting to the Forums. Errors may lessen the impact of your statements and they give the impression that quality of communication is not important. IT IS!
· When you post messages and replies, please do not use all upper-case letters. This makes the message not only hard to read, but it also MAKES IT APPEAR AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING!
· Break up large blocks of text into paragraphs and space between paragraphs. In order to reduce the risk of losing longer messages, you may want to type your message in a Word document, and then use that application to cut and paste it into Discussions. This will also prevent you from inadvertently sending a message before it is completed.
· Under no circumstances are you to inhibit the free speech of other students by making posts that are dogmatic.
· Remember that your on-line postings to the Forums constitute a significant portion of your grade. Please review and edit your contributions accordingly.
· Your grade is impacted by your activity in the forums and can be negatively affected by your lack of participation in forum projects. Please be actively involved.
Discussion Grading Rubric
Information coming soon!
Assignments
Written assignments will become available in Canvas under the Assignments tools. There will be an announcement that assignments are due and they should be turned in by the due date for each individual assignment. Please use the Assignment tool to turn in your papers electronically.
Written assignments must be submitted by the due date for the assignment. Any submitted assignment submitted after the due date will have points deducted from your graded score. Once the until date has passed it will be no longer possible to submit an assignment, even a late one. Written assignments should be at least 1000 (one thousand) words in length with a heavy deduction for failing to meet that minimum. Your written assignments should be double spaced.
It will be impossible to submit any assignments unless they are written in one of the following file formats. Assignments need to actually be in the formats, not just renamed with the appropriate extension. Acceptable formats are: .doc, .docx, .or .pdf. All assignments should include your name or user name in the naming schema you use. For example: Paper1 should be named rainbolt-paper1.docx or drrainbo_paper-1.doc, using your own name or user name. Remember, you should never use any punctuation in file names other than the – (dash), the _(underscore) or the .(period). Any other punctuation can cause your submission to be unreadable and therefore, un-gradable. Believe me, receiving 15 papers titled “Paper 1” makes it harder to grade and increase the possibility of mistakes. The criteria for grading Assignments are listing in the grading rubric below.
All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn.com on submission. You can submit each assignment in the Assignments tool multiple times. You should use these assignments and the subsequent originality reports from TurnItIn to improve your papers. Your most recent submission on the assignments due date will be the one that is graded.
Any assignment that uses information from an outside source should reference that source. For this class we will use the MLA citation style. If you are not familiar with the MLA style, Purdue’s OWL website has a helpful guide to using the MLA format. You can always get help from the Writing Center as well. The MLA format should be used in Assignments, Forums and Blog where necessary.
Assignment Grading Rubric
VoiceThread Assignments
What is VoiceThread?
For a short overview on how to use VoiceThread visit the VoiceThread Help page. If you have problems accessing or using VoiceThread you should first check the VoiceThread support page at https://voicethread.com/support/howto/Basics/ and if you still cannot find an answer, contact me. You will find the link to the VoiceThread class site in the Navigation tools in Canvas or the VoiceThread assignments.
VoiceThread assignments are asynchronous, which means we all don’t have to be online at the same time to present your VoiceThread assignments and Final Project presentation.
VoiceThread Grading Criteria (individual rubrics will vary for each assignment)
See the individual VoiceThread assignments for the grading criteria.
Final Project
The group project is to develop a concept of a game. The game should be electronics-based, but non-electronics based games are acceptable. You are to develop your project as if you are presenting to investors or game developers. This grade is purely based on the final project. Group dynamics and participation will be graded using the Final Project Peer Review assignment. The projects are due.
There are few guidelines:
· The project can be presented in any format you feel acceptable including PowerPoint, or any other tool. If you are feeling particularly ambitious, you can use a method called paper prototyping (http://www.paperprototyping.com/index.html ).
· All projects must be “T” for Teen as described by the ESRB. Full ratings information can be found at http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp.
· TEEN Titles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling, and/or infrequent use of strong language.
· No projects should contain realistic violence or sexual content.
o Otherwise, let your imaginations run wild. Group areas will be created in the Discussions and Files for your group to use. Only group members have access to your group’s areas. The Final Project will be presented asynchronously using VoiceThread. If your group wishes, you can present using Adobe Connect in addition.
Final Project Grading Rubric.
You will also receive a grade from your fellow students based on you participation and efforts in your group. You will submit a Peer Review grade for all group members, including yourself. Your peer review grade will be an average of all the scores you receive. If you fail to submit a Peer Review, you will receive a zero for this part of the final project. By not including yourself, you just hurt your own grade.
Final Project Peer Review Rubric.
Information coming soon!
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|