Since our classroom is a computer lab, the dynamics are different than those in a more traditional academic setting. The monitors are noisy; the screens are distracting and it is difficiult to see your faces.  We are in a computer lab so we can use the computers and access to the Web to accomplish course goals. There is also a significant amount of writing in this class,  so having agreed upon standards will help you produce your best work. Your learning experience and my teaching experience in this class will be more productive if we abide by these guidelines:

a) Please do not look at your monitor or work at your computer when someone is speaking to the class, be it me or another student.  If you can't resist the temptation, dim or turn off the monitor. 

b) Please do not read or send e-mail during class unless it relates to specific course projects for this class and only at appropriate times. If you spend your time in class doing personal computer activities, you are not present and your absence will be noted.

c) Turn off all electronic devices such as cell phones and pagers.

d) You must have an e-mail account that you and I can depend on to send and receive e-mail. Since we only meet once a week, expect to communicate with me and class members between those times via e-mail.  I will send all e-mail to your GMU e-mail address. You can forward your GMU e-mail to whatever account your desire. If you need directions to do this, please ask. See MEMO directions. 

e) You are expected to have computer access outside the classroom since much of your work will be published on your course Web site, or in townhall.gmu.edu. For access to sites that reside outside the GMU servers, you may be required to get a commercial or free Internet account.

f) Come prepared.  If I find that students are not prepared to discuss the readings, I will give pop quizzes. 

g) Be a good listener.  When someone has the floor, please give her/him your full attention.

h) Attendance is important.  A learning community cannot function well without the full cooperation and responsibility of each member. If you are late, wait until your entrance causes as little distraction as possible.

i) If you cannot attend class, find out what you missed from class members, not me.  Please get phone numbers and e-mail addresses. 

j) Please don't ask me to assume responsibility for deciding whether or not some other activity is more important than attending class.  There are consequences for either choice.  You pick which consequence you are most willing to accept.

k) I do not accept late work. If you are having a problem with an assignment, please come see me for help before the project is due.  I am always willing to clarify assignments or help with technology problems.

l) Do your own work - not only because to do otherwise you would be violating the Honor Code, but because you would be missing out on your own education.  Work for other courses may not be "rewarmed" to turn in for this class; nor should you use work for this class to turn in for another class. Professors do communicate, so please don't try it.  If you found a paper on the Internet to pass off as your own, I can find it also.  Copying and pasting content created by others into your own text is plagiarism. 

m) Cite all sources, text and graphics, in your "papers."  To do otherwise is to be a plagiarist.  You must ask to use someone's graphic, unless it is from a Free graphic Web site.  Even then, cite your source. 

n) Review the add/drop dates.  If you just stop showing up without withdrawing you will get an automatic F, and neither you nor I want that to happen.

o) If you have a disability and are certified with the Disability Resource Center and need some accomodation, please show me your paper work and we can plan how to meet your needs.

p) Attention to content in your writing is a must.  Presentation is also important. Please use a spell checker, check grammar and punctuation.  Experiment with pleasing, clean formats that are easy on the eyes. Avoid insufficient contrast between background and text.  Use a standard size font, not too small, not too large or BOLD, which shouts at your readers, or too fancy, which makes it hard to read. Arial, Times Roman, Courier work well.  Please have standard margins on your print assignments as well as margins on your Web texts (tables and block quotes can both help format  Web text.

q) Please do not use Microsoft Word to create your Web files/pages.  Word uses proprietary tags that are not easy to edit and do not display properly in townhall, our Web-based meeting place.  You gain control over your own texts when you write your own html tags.