WRD 110 Composition and Communication Course Syllabus

Fall 2020

Faculty Information

Rachel A. Elliott, MFA.

Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies

rachel.elliott1@uky.edu 

859-359-6475

Virtual Office Hours: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Tuesdays

Please contact me through UK email. If you send an email on a weekday between 9am and 5pm, I'll do my best to respond that day. Emails sent after 5pm will get a response the next day, or on Monday if sent over the weekend.

Prefer chatting face to face? Come visit me during Virtual Office Hours (listed above) or come to the course's Zoom meetup times listed below.

Course Description

WRD 110: Composition and Communication

Composition and Communication I is the first course in a two-course sequence designed to engage students in composing and communicating ideas using speech, writing, and visuals. Students will develop critical thinking and information literacy skills within an academic context that emphasizes the problems confronting educated citizens of the twenty- first century. Students will practice composing, critiquing, and revising ideas for audiences in oral, written, and visual formats, and will work in small groups to develop interpersonal communication skills.

Optional WRD 110 Weekly Meeting Times

3:30 PM - 4:45 PM Mondays OR 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM Tuesdays

students from sections 201 or 202 may attend either meeting.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• compose written texts and deliver oral presentations that represent a relevant and informed point of view appropriate for its audience, purpose, and occasion in an environment that reinforces the recursive and generative nature of the composition and delivery rehearsal processes.·
• demonstrate an awareness of strategies that speakers and writers use in different communicative situations and media, and in large and small groups
• learn to analyze and use visuals effectively to augment their oral presentations; to employ invention techniques for analyzing and developing arguments; to recognize and address differing genre and discourse conventions; and to document their sources appropriately.· find, analyze, evaluate, and properly cite pertinent primary and secondary sources, using relevant discovery tools, as part of the process of speech preparation and writing process.
• develop flexible and effective strategies for organizing, revising, editing, proofreading, and practicing/rehearsing to improve the development of their ideas and the appropriateness of their expression.
• collaborate with peers, the instructor, and librarians to define revision strategies for their essays and speeches, to set goals for improving them, and to devise effective plans for achieving those goals.
• engage in a range of small group activities that allow them to explore and express their experiences and perspectives on issues under discussion.

Required Materials

  Software and Apps

• Canvas: the learning management system used by majority of instructors for UK coursework. This is where assignment descriptions, readings, and grades will be posted. Open Canvas via web browser or Canvas app. Students already have an account. Log in with your linkblue ID and password. Navigate to the WRD 110 homepage. (Free.)
• Zoom: video and audio call platform. Students can meet with the instructor in real time to practice and discuss multimedia writing skills through a variety of playful activities. It's also where you can schedule and record remote interviews to use in your podcast. (Free.)
• Any software that you can use to trim an audio clip, adjust the volume, and upload an mp3 to Canvas. Quicktime will do this, as well as voice memo apps. (Free.)
• Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any word processing software.
• Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Slides, or any slide presenting software PLUS a way to record slides with a voiceover, such as Quicktime with screen recording.

Technical Problems

Students in this class will learn good practices for successfully sharing their work digitally. This includes being willing to adapt one's creative process when faced with unexpected technological obstacles.

If a tech problem prevents you from finishing, sharing, or submitting your work, follow these steps:

1. Contact me (the instructor) via email as soon as possible at rachel.elliott1@uky.edu
2. Contact a classmate and see if they have experienced this problem.
3. Use your research skills to search online for solutions to the problem.
4. Contact UKIT or Canvas support (see below) or the specific software's support team.
5. Abandon your Plan A for a Plan B. Try a different software or a lower-tech approach.

• Minimum Technical Requirements for UK courses and suggested hardware, software, and internet connection recommendations
• For assistance with Canvas, please call 1-844-480-0838 or click the help button for additional options.
• For account help, including password assistance and logging into Canvas contact UK ITS Customer Services at 1-859-218-4357.

Grading and Grade Scheme

There are about 40 assignments in this course, 2 or 3 assignments per week. Most are short activities, similar to what you might do in a face-to-face classroom setting. Four are Major Projects, created over several days or weeks. The shorter activities also help you and/or your group move forward towards each Major Project.

Grades and feedback are posted within Canvas. To see your grade, click on GRADES in the left hand menu. To see feedback on an assignment, open your ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION, then open the COMMENTS section for that assignment. To see feedback on a graded discussion board, open the DISCUSSION BOARD and look for replies. Amount of feedback varies based on the type of assignment, and whether you got feedback during an earlier meetup or conversation.

I will do my best to grade assignments within a week of the due date. If the grading will take longer, I will send an announcement with a date by which you can expect to receive your grade and feedback.

In order to pass this course, students must complete and submit all of the Major Projects for grading.

The approximately 40 assignments are broken down into the following categories:

The following grading standards will be used in this class:

Remote Learning

This course is being offered as a Time Independent Remote Learning Course. As writers and speakers, we absolutely need the presence of a feedback-providing audience in order to practice and improve our craft. You will be expected to be an active writer and speaker, AND an active listener, reader, and feedback-provider. You'll carry out these roles mostly through asynchronous online activities. On the Home Page, you'll see a module. Each module contains a series of short activities broken into weeks and days.

Synchronous = all students are online at the same time. This is NOT REQUIRED for this section of WRD 110.

In this class, you'll click on a "Zoom link" to join a video call. In this class, synchronous meetings are optional. Once a week, we will meetup via Zoom videocall to check in, ask questions, play games, and take a look at the week's work. There are one or two activities that require synchronous participation: the classmate interview, and the "talk it out" exercise for the single-source podcast. However, you can schedule times to do these activities with a partner if you are not able to make the weekly Zoom meetup.

Asynchronous = students can do the activities whenever they want on their own. This is the main way of learning in this section of WRD 110.

Asynchronous activities include: freewriting, reading, listening to podcasts, watching a video, or interacting via discussion board. Asynchronous classes might sound a little lonely or isolating, but they don't have to be. In this class, we'll also use discussion boards for posting drafts, giving feedback, recording ourselves reading our writing, and playing games like sound charades.

What if a student needs more guidance?

Come to the virtual office hours from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM on Tuesdays . I'll wave hi, ask about music or movies or pets, answer questions, listen to your in-progress work, walk you through some solutions.

What if a student is struggling with an asynchronous short activity?

If unclear instructions making it hard to complete the work, email me (the instructor) for clarification, or come to the virtual office hours.

Meetups and Due Dates- What if You Miss?

One of the best ways to forge friendships and build new skills is to set aside a regular time and place for checking in, talking, asking questions, and learning new things. Our meetups and assignment due dates serve that function: to make sure our conversations, our writing, and our podcasting plans are moving forward a little every day. However, there are many unexpected things in life that make it difficult to complete assignments on time.

What if a student doesn't feel good?

If you have any of the following symptoms:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Contact UK Health Services at 859-323-4636.

What if a student misses a Zoom Meetup?

To encourage free and open conversation and participation, Zoom meetups will not be recorded. If you miss a Zoom Meetup, you won't be able to re-view it. Use the items posted in the Canvas module to make up the activities missed.

What if a student misses the due date for a short activity, or doesn't turn it in?

Timeliness is important in these activities. For example, your classmate might be waiting on your feedback in order to finish a revision, or your group might be waiting for your input before turning something in. The instructor reserves the right to give 0 points credit on any late submission.

Check the "Grading and Grading Scheme" section above to find out how many lowest grades in each assignment category will be dropped.

What if a student fails to complete a major project?

In order to pass this course, students must complete and submit all of the major projects for grading. No Major Project grades will be dropped. The instructor reserves the right to give a failing grade to any student who fails to complete one of the major projects.

What if a student misses the due date for a major project?

Every student (or student group, when applicable) gets one extension for a major project. The extension moves the due date forward one full week.

Any student or group can use this extension if:

• they contact me (the instructor) 24 hours before the due date
• the assignment is not going through a feedback cycle
• the major project is not the last project due in the course.

If you miss the due date and do not request an extension, your grade will be lowered one full letter grade for each week it is delayed past the due date.

What if a student is sick or has some other life situation come up, and can't complete the online coursework for that day or week?

Contact the instructor as soon as possible at rachel.elliott1@uky.edu to discuss new due dates or a change in coursework. You do not need to disclose details of your personal health. Illness is an "excused absence." Below is the official UK policy for making up work due to an excused absence:

"Students missing any graded work due to an excused absence are responsible: for informing the Instructor of Record about their excused absence within one week following the period of the excused absence (except where prior notification is required); and for making up the missed work. The instructor must give the student an opportunity to make up the work and/or the exams missed due to the excused absence, and shall do so, if feasible, during the semester in which the absence occurred. The instructor shall provide the student with an opportunity to make up the graded work and may not simply calculate the student's grade on the basis of the other course requirements, unless the student agrees in writing."

Okay... how do I know if my reason for missing coursework is excused?

Below is the official UK policy regarding excused absences. If any of the below reasons make it impossible to meet a due date, contact the instructor as soon as possible at rachel.elliott1@uky.edu

"Senate Rules 5.2.4.2 defines the following as acceptable reasons for excused absences: (a) significant illness, (b) death of a family member, (c) trips for members of student organizations sponsored by an educational unit, trips for University classes, and trips for participation in intercollegiate athletic events, (d) major religious holidays, (e) interviews for graduate/professional school or full-time employment post-graduation, and (f) other circumstances found to fit “reasonable cause for nonattendance” by the instructor of record. Students should notify the professor of absences prior to class when possible. Appropriate notification of absences due to University-related trips is required prior to the absence when feasible and in no case more than one week after the absence. Students may be asked to verify their absences in order for them to be considered excused. Senate Rule 5.2.4.2 states that faculty have the right to request appropriate verification when students claim an excused absence."

What if I miss lots of coursework due to illness or another situation and I'm failing the class?

Below is the official UK policy regarding withdrawals (W) and incomplete grades (I). For this remote learning course, if you are missing 20% of your assignments (earning 0 points on 8 assignments even after the lowest grades are dropped), here are your options:

"If a course syllabus requires specific interactions (e.g., with the instructor or other students), in situations where a student’s total EXCUSED absences exceed 1/5 (or 20%) of the required interactions for the course, the student shall have the right to request and receive a "W," or the Instructor of Record may award an “I” for the course if the student declines a “W.” (Senate Rules 5.2.4.2.1)"

Accommodations

If you have a documented disability that requires academic accommodations, please contact me (the instructor) as soon as possible. Send me  a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC coordinates campus disability services available to students with disabilities. You can reach them via phone at (859) 257-2754 and via email at drc@uky.edu.

Resources

Distance Learning Librarian

Carla Cantagallo 
Online: Distance Learning Library Services
Phone: 859-218-1240
Email: carla@uky.edu

Class Recording Notification

The University of Kentucky Student Code of Conduct defines Invasion of Privacy as using electronic or other devices to make a photographic, audio, or video record of any person without their prior knowledge or consent when such a recording is likely to cause injury or distress.

Meetings of this course may be recorded by the instructor. Any video and audio recordings of lectures and course activities, provided by the instructors, are for educational use by students in this class only. They are available only through the Canvas shell for this course and are not to be copied, shared, or redistributed.

As addressed in the Student Code of Conduct, students are expected to follow appropriate university policies and maintain the security of linkblue accounts used to access recorded class materials. Recordings may not be reproduced, shared with those not enrolled in the class, or uploaded to other online environments.

If the instructor or a University of Kentucky office plans to share any student writings, images, or multimedia works by a student beyond this class, students will be notified to request consent prior to such use. In anticipation of such cases, students may be asked to complete an “authorization of use” form by a faculty member.

 Video and audio recordings by students are not permitted during the class unless the student has received prior permission from the instructor. Any sharing, distribution, and or uploading of these recordings outside of the parameters of the class is prohibited. Students with specific recording accommodations approved by the Disability Resource Center should present their official documentation to the instructor.

 All content for this course, including handouts, assignments, and lectures are the intellectual property of the instructors and cannot be reproduced or sold without prior permission from the instructors. A student may use the material for reasonable educational and professional purposes extending beyond this class, such as studying for a comprehensive or qualifying examination in a degree program, preparing for a professional or certification examination, or to assist in fulfilling responsibilities at a job or internship.

Non-Discrimination Statement and Title IX Information

UK is committed to providing a safe learning, living, and working environment for all members of the University community. The University maintains a comprehensive program which protects all members from discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct. For complete information about UK’s prohibition on discrimination and harassment on aspects such as race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, and sexual orientation, please see the electronic version of UK’s Administrative Regulation 6:1 (“Policy on Discrimination and Harassment”) . In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the University prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex in academics, employment, and all of its programs and activities. Sexual misconduct is a form of sexual harassment in which one act is severe enough to create a hostile environment based on sex and is prohibited between members of the University community and shall not be tolerated. For more details, please see the electronic version of Administrative Regulations 6:2 (“Policy and Procedures for Addressing and Resolving Allegations of Sexual Assault, Stalking, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Sexual Exploitation”). Complaints regarding violations of University policies on discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct are handled by the Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity (IEEO), which is located in 13 Main Building and can be reached by phone at (859) 257-8927. You can also visit the IEEO’s website. 

Faculty members are obligated to forward any report made by a student related to IEEO matters to the Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity. Students can confidentially report alleged incidences through the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center, Counseling Center, or University Health Services.

Academic Integrity

"Per University policy, students shall not plagiarize, cheat, or falsify or misuse academic records. Students are expected to adhere to University policy on cheating and plagiarism in all courses. The minimum penalty for a first offense is a zero on the assignment on which the offense occurred. If the offense is considered severe or the student has other academic offenses on their record, more serious penalties, up to suspension from the University may be imposed. 

Plagiarism and cheating are serious breaches of academic conduct. Each student is advised to become familiar with the various forms of academic dishonesty as explained in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.  A plea of ignorance is not acceptable as a defense against the charge of academic dishonesty. It is important that you review this information as all ideas borrowed from others need to be properly credited.

Senate Rules 6.3.1 (see University Senate website for the current set of Senate Rules) states that all academic work, written or otherwise, submitted by students to their instructors or other academic supervisors, is expected to be the result of their own thought, research, or self-expression. In cases where students feel unsure about a question of plagiarism involving their work, they are obliged to consult their instructors on the matter before submission.

When students submit work purporting to be their own, but which in any way borrows ideas, organization, wording, or content from another source without appropriate acknowledgment of the fact, the students are guilty of plagiarism.

Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else's work (including, but not limited to a published article, a book, a website, computer code, or a paper from a friend) without clear attribution. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise the work, which a student submits as his/her own, whoever that other person may be. Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor, but when the actual work is done, it must be done by the student, and the student alone.

When a student's assignment involves research in outside sources or information, the student must carefully acknowledge exactly what, where and how he/she has employed them. If the words of someone else are used, the student must put quotation marks around the passage in question and add an appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple changes while leaving the organization, content, and phraseology intact is plagiaristic. However, nothing in these Rules shall apply to those ideas, which are so generally and freely circulated as to be a part of the public domain."  - UK College of Arts and Sciences, "Syllabus Boilerplate Language", last updated 2018.

Instructor's Note #1: Plagiarism can occur in any media. Students using photographs, illustrations, maps, infographics, video clips, animations, sounds, music, or any other media made by someone who is not themselves, must credit the maker of that media.

Instructor's Note #2: The instructor finds it ironic that faculty are asked to copy and paste the above "Academic Integrity" section into the syllabus, when copying and pasting is usually what causes most cases of student plagiarism.