Course Information
Course Numbers: MAWR 01620, Section 1, 42864
Course Hours: H 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Course Location: James Hall 2110
Office Location: James Hall 3075
Office Hours: M 11 – 2, and by appointment
Contact me by email: wolffw [at] rowan [dot] edu
Contact me via Twitter: @billwolff
Required Texts | Office Hours | Contacting Each Other | Students with Disabilities | Attendance and Late Work | Course Strands | Grading
Required Texts and Materials
Feel free to order print or digital versions of these books when the digital version is available. Be sure to use the coupon code handed out in class for books published by A Book Apart.
Abbate, J. (2000). Inventing the Internet. Cambridge, MA; MIT Press.
Marcotte, E. (2011). Responsive web design. New York: A Book Apart.
Stolley, K. (2011). How to design and write web pages today. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood.
Walter, A. (2011). Designing for emotion. New York: A Book Apart.
Wroblewski, L. (2011). Mobile first. New York: A Book Apart.
You will also need access to:
- Computer with Internet access
- Various online readings and other materials as needed
- Various free software applications and browser plugins
- Microsoft Word or any of many online alternatives (I do not accept Word Perfect files)
- Rowan email address
- Other materials as needed
If you own a laptop, please feel free to bring it to class.
Office Hours
Office hours are designed for you, giving you a more private environment in which we may talk about your work, your performance in class, etc. If you are unable to see me during my office hours, do not hesitate to make an appointment to see me at a different time. We will have at least one required conference during the second half of the semester. My office hours are M 11:00 – 2:00, and by appointment.
Contacting Each Other
There will be times during the semester when I will need to contact the class and you will need to contact me. I will contact you via your Rowan email account, so please be sure that you are checking it regularly and/or forwarding it to the email service you use most regularly. If you do not know your Rowan email address, you can find it on the Email page of the Rowan web site. I am in my office only during office hours and the brief times before and after class. As a result, calling me in my office will not get you an immediate response.
I strongly suggest you contact me via Twitter (@billwolff) and/or email, both of which I tend to check all day long. Email, however, tends to be seen as an informal medium. This, however, should not always be the case. All emails that I send to you will have a meaningful subject line and a proper salutation (“Hi Class,” or “Hi Jane,” etc.). The first sentence will notify you of the purpose of the email, and then will get to the heart of the matter. It will end with a formal closing (“Thanks, BW”). I expect the same from any email you send. Twitter is less formal, so feel free to just tweet me questions. Please add the course hashtag (#iwsf10) to all course related tweets.
I’ll get back to your tweets and emails as soon as possible—tweets usually within a day, emails within two. If I don’t get back within a day, it may be that I did not see your tweet or email for one reason or another, such as an email going in my spam folder. Send me a polite reminder and/or ask me in class if I got it, and I’ll get back immediately. Urgent project related emails are responded to very quickly.
Students with Disabilities
Your academic success is important. If you have a documented disability that may have an impact upon your work in this class, please contact me. Students must provide documentation of their disability to the Academic Success Center in order to receive official University services and accommodations. The Academic Success Center can be reached at 856.256.4234. The Center is located on the 3rd Floor of Savitz Hall. The staff is available to answer questions regarding accommodations or assist you in your pursuit of accommodations. We look forward to working with you to meet your learning goals.
Attendance and Late Work
You are expected to attend class every day. You cannot pass this class if you miss more than 25% of the scheduled meeting times, including excused and unexcused absences. For our section, which meets once a week, the maximum number of permissible absences is 3. If you exceed the maximum absence limit—whether excused or unexcused—you will be referred to the Dean of Students for the possibility of a hardship withdrawal from the class. Note: it is your responsibility to know how many absences you have. If, at the end of the semester, I enter your grades and you are over the limit, the hardship withdrawal courtesy will not be extended to you.
Excused Absences
You will be permitted to make up missed work for excused absences only. These include:
- religious observances
- official University activities
- illness
- death of a family member or loved one
- inclement weather
You must provide verifiable documentation. Consult with your instructor for what is considered acceptable.
In the case of religious observances or official University activities, you must inform your instructor in advance of your absence for it to be excused.
In the case of illness, death of a family member or loved one, or inclement weather, you must inform your instructor as soon as possible after the fact.
If the events described above lead to your exceeding the maximum absence limit, you will be referred to the Dean of Students for a hardship withdrawal from the class.
Excused and unexcused absences will be treated using the following scale:
- 1 or fewer no penalty
- 2 absences -2/3 final grade (a B would become a C+)
- 3 absences -1 1/3 final grade (a B would become a C-)
Lateness equal .5 of an absence. A student is considered late if they enter class after the attendance sheet has made it around the room.
Course Strands
In this course all work will be dedicated to students developing their skills in the following Course Strands:
Web Design
Students will develop their ability to compose sophisticated, responsive, usable, and accessible web sites using XHTML and CSS coding languages.
Online Identity
Students will develop their ability to compose a nuanced and rhetorically sophisticated online identity through their web site and various other online (and offline) spaces.
Critical Thinking, Writing, and Reading
Students will develop their ability to analyze the texts they read and then filter that information in terms of the theories and other texts being read.
Technology
Students will learn how to use various online tools and technology-related skills that can help them develop their abilities in the other course objectives.
Collaboration
Students will develop the ability to work collaboratively in activities that range from blogging to social bookmarking to in-class design work.
Grading
Final grades will be calculated in the following way: [to be updated]
- Responsive Resume: 20%
- Professional Site: 40%
- Final Project: 20%
- Integrated Social Media Presence: 10%
- Collaboration: 10%
Grades will be determined on the following point scale:
- A+: 100pts
- A: 96
- A-: 92
- B+: 89
- B: 86
- B-: 82
- C+: 79
- C: 76
- C-: 72
- D+: 69
- D: 66
- D-: 62
- F: 59
Detailed criteria will be provided for each assignment. Missing assignments will receive a 0. All major assignments (including rough drafts) must be completed to pass the course. Late major assignments will have a full latter grade deduction for every class period it is late. It is better to complete an assignment late then to not complete it at all.