Research and Technology

For this class you will need:
Leedy, Paul D. and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod. Practical Research: Planning and Design. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2009.

Recommended Resources
Anson, Chris M. and Robert A. Schwegler. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers. 4th ed. New York: Addison-Wesley/Longman, 2005.
Cambridge Dictionary of American English. New York: Cambridge UP, 2000. 

Writing@Kean: www.kean.edu/~writing

Additional Required Materials

• KeanGoogle email address
• KeanGoogle docs (word processing and presentation)
• diigo account
• Ning membership
• 2 disks or a flash drive. You are required to back up all of your work in this class
• MS Word & Powerpoint
• CD for turning in work at the end of the semester

Class Activities

Writing and reading assignments, class discussions, compositional coaching, written commentary, conferences, email correspondence, peer collaboration and review, interactive and other software, audio-visual presentations, lectures, web-site visits and RSS feeds, tutorials, blogging, publishing, library and internet research, internet chat-room discussions, and competitions.

Expect to spend approximately 10 hours per week outside of class to complete all assignments.

Course Requirements

Participation in appropriate academic support
Keeping copies of all submitted papers and originals of all graded papers
Attendance
Completion of all course requirements

Completion of assigned work, such as the presentation and major project.

Grading

Students’ grade for the course will be determined as follows: 

• 10% Attendance
• 10% Homework, classwork, and quizzes
• 10% Final Presentation, including attendance at all other presentations 
• 70% Major Project

The 70% of the major project is subdivided as follows:

•   3% Statement of the Problem
• 10% Introduction
• 12% Review of the literature
• 10% Methodology section
• 10% Data analysis
• 10% Conclusion
•   5% Data collection instrument
• 10% Annotated bibliography

If you are not satisfied with a grade on work turned in (not including quizzes), you can revise it and turn it in again if it was turned in on time. The last day for turning in revised work is December 11, 2009.

The point distribution of grades will be as follows:

• 93.0 – 100   =  A
• 90.0 – 92.9  =  A-
• 87.0 – 89.9  =  B+
• 83.0 – 86.9  =  B
• 80.0 – 82.9  =  B-
• 77.0 – 79.9  =  C+
• 70.0 – 76.9  =  C
• 60.0 – 69.9  =  D
• < 60.0  =   F  

Attendance. Punctuality, & Participation

Attendance and Participation: Attendance is vital for a writing class. A lot of practice, instruction, and evaluation will occur during our meetings; it is impossible to learn all of this information from notes. More importantly, I hope this class will become a community of writers, providing praise for good writing, suggestions for pieces that aren’t working as well as they could, and support through the difficulties that are part of writing. As a result, I expect everyone to be present, attentive, polite, and involved in all aspects of the class.

You can earn up to three points for participation for each day. One point is for arriving in class on time. Another point is for coming to class. The third point comes from bringing your book, your USB drive, and any assignments we are working on.

We will meet in a computer classroom (CAS 306). While in the computer classroom, computers must be used only for class-related activities. Three points will be deducted from your participation grade every time you do anything on the computers not related to the class or when the rest of us are not using them.

If we are not using the computers as a class, you must lay the monitor face down on the processor.

The computer penalty also applies to cell phones and other personal electronic devices used without permission. Turn them off before class starts, and keep them stored out of sight. Otherwise, you will lose three points from your participation grade. 

Food or drink is not allowed in CAS 306. If you bring food or drink into that room, the lab technicians can throw you out of class. If they do, you will be counted absent, and you will lose your class participation score for that day. If the lab technician does not throw you out, I will still penalize your participation grade by three points.

It is possible to receive a negative participation grade.

Late Work

Late assignments are not accepted and will receive a grade of zero. Although work can be redone/revised, as noted above, to have that opportunity, you must have turned it in on time. If you cannot attend class when an assignment is due, post it to the appropriate place (either Google docs or Ning or email to me) before the class begins in which it is due. There is no makeup of in-class work.

Email requirements:

• Checking email daily is required.
• When emailing me, be sure to put a specific subject in the subject line and your name at the bottom of your message. 

Scholastic Honesty

Copying from a book or other material without giving credit to the author, copying other students' work, doing other students' assignments for them, or pretending in any way that someone else's work is yours is a serious unethical act. It will result in failure in the assignment and possible failure in the course. Extensive or repeated academic dishonesty can result in dismissal from the university. For complete guidelines on academic integrity, see the Kean University Policy on Academic Integrity (pdf), the Guide (pdf), and the Student Code of Conduct. Students are responsible and accountable for becoming familiar with the information on those Web sites.

We will be covering the use of sources in class. In general, I will ask you to provide me with photocopies or printouts of all sources you use. I will explain the procedures for presenting this material later in the course. If you have any questions about the use you are making of sources for your assignments, see me before you turn in the assignment. You should also use the originality report function at Turnitin.com before turning in an assignment. This report will show you whether you have paraphrased words well or are too close to the original words of a source, thus plagiarizing the source.

Personal Health & Safety

The CDC has reported it expects an increase in cases of H1N1 (flu) for this coming fall. While this may or may not happen, to be prepared and have minimal impact on your classroom studies, we are asking that if you have a fever over 100°, a sore throat and cough at any time during the semester - PLEASE STAY HOME from class. In order to avoid an academic penalty, you must alert this professor immediately before class of your absence and request any missed class materials and assignments. All assignments will only be obtained upon email request.

If you require medical attention see your primary care provider and/or Kean University Health Services located in Downs Hall. Proactive things you can do to prevent you, your dorm-mates and/or your family from getting ill....

• Vaccination is the single best way to prevent flu
  • Get Vaccinated for Seasonal Flu
  • Get Vaccinated for H1N1 (series of two shots given within 3 weeks)
• Stay home when you are sick
• Wash your hands often with plain soap and water.
• When hand washing is not possible, use of a hand sanitizer gel with 60% alcohol is recommended
• If you have to use an alcohol sanitizing gel, wash your hands with soap and water as soon as practicable after using the hand sanitizer.
• Social distancing (where possible) of 6 feet or more
• DO NOT USE YOUR HANDS when sneezing or coughing. Cover the almost invisible droplets by coughing or sneezing into your elbow or arm
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
• Limit use of over the counter disinfectants when cleaning...Use steam sanitizing where possible

 

*Because hand sanitizers are alcohol based, excessive use can dry out the skin and possibly contribute to dermatitis especially in the cold, dry months of the year. Some hand sanitizers may contain pesticides. Read labels carefully.

Questions and Complaints

Bring any questions you have about grades or policies to me. With respect to grades, you must keep copies both of work that you turn in and any graded originals once they are returned.

Students with disabilities

If you have a disability, let me know, so I can help arrange for appropriate assistance.

Campus Alert System

Kean University has an Emergency Activation System. It uses this system to notify the University community of campus emergency events, including security-related incidents, utility shutdowns, weather-related closures, and other advisories as events unfold.

To receive these alerts, register at http://www.mir3.com/kean/.

Fall 2009 Semester Schedule

• Classes begin (Sep 3)
• Labor Day - State Holiday, No Classes (Sep 7)
• Last day to drop with 100% refund (Sep 9)
• Last day to drop with 75% refund (Sep 16)
• Last day to drop with 50% refund (Sep 23)
• Columbus Day - State Holiday, No Classes (Oct 12)
• Last day to withdraw with a "W" grade - no refund (Oct 30)
• Thanksgiving Recess (Nov 26-29)
• Term ends (Dec 21)