Instructor:
Mr. Chris Wieringa
email: cwieri39@calvin.edu
office: Science Building 319
phone: x66785 on-campus, 616-526-6785 off-campus
Office Hours:
Mr. Wieringa - Fridays 8-9am for on-campus and domestic learners. Also available by appointment.
Rooms:
In general we'll be in the classroom on three days a week (M W F), and in the lab on Tuesdays. Occasionally lab days will be used as lectures, but we will try to stick to the normal schedule each week.
Materials:
No textbook is required.
We will be using various online tutorials available publicly online.
Lab and homework assignments will also be available online (see Moodle for details).
Assignment Submission: All deadlines will be given in Moodle. In most cases, you will submit your lab reports and homeworks in Moodle. There will also be many cases where you are configuring VMs. Your professor will be need to be able to check your VMs for completion of the assignment, so additional requirements may be given. Assignments should be typed and submitted in PDF format ONLY!
Late Work: All assignments will have a clearly indicated due date. Anything submitted after that date is late, unless you have made prior arrangements with your instructor. For each late assignment, you will be charged 10% for each business-day that you are late (e.g., if an assignment is due on Friday, you may turn it in on Monday at 10% off, Tuesday at 20% off and so on). Your professor will grant up to 70% of the points for assignments submitted up to three days late, but not more. Assignments will not be allowed to be submitted more than 3 business days late. I will also grant you 3 grace days to turn in assignments late with no penalty, no questions asked, but you need to send your professor a note if you want to use these grace days. Please note that grace days do not apply to the final project, and will not accept any late work after the last day of class. Please come and talk to your professor if there are exceptional circumstances, and we'll work something out.
Tests: All tests will be performed in Moodle. For all in-person and domestic remote learners, tests will be done synchronously during our class meeting time. International learners will be granted a larger time window to complete the test to allow for time zone differences.
Grading: Your instructor will compute your final grade as follows:
20% Weekly lab exercises
30% Homework
30% Tests
20% Final Project
You will need to work in pairs during some of the labs. When you work in a pair, one of the partners should submit one copy of your work with both of your names and login ids on it. Solo labs should be submitted by everyone. Homework is done individually.
When items have been graded, an announcement will be made to the class. If there are concerns with the grade you received, you have one week to follow up with your professor. Your professor will not go back, revisit or reconsider graded items more than one week after a grade is issued. Grace days for late work also must be requested within the one week follow up time after a grade is issued.
Grades will be posted in Moodle, so you can keep track of your grade as the semester progresses.
Final grades may be curved dependent on class performance. If grades are curved, they will only be curved upwards; the grade in Moodle at the end of the semester will be a minimum grade that you will receive on your transcript. Final grades will not be computed on a strict percentage scale, but will take into account your effort, excellence of your work, and participation in the class. In other words, we retain the right to not follow the convention that all final scores in the 90s are As, 80s are Bs, etc.
In general, there will be little to no extra credit offered in this class - please do not ask.
Schedule: A tentative semester schedule is pending. The schedule will be updated during the semester.
Final Project: The final project will be assigned late March or early April. Students will have the option to write a research paper, or do a special systems administration topic implementation and presentation. More information about this will be posted in Moodle at the appropriate time.
Attendance: In-class activities require your presence. Further, each topic in this course builds on previous topics so it is very difficult to catch up once you fall behind. If you must miss a class for any reason, please let your professor know prior to the session so that we can set you up with the appropriate material and activities for the session you missed. As per Calvin's guidelines for COVID-19, all students are required to be in-class unless advised to quarantine.
Laptops/phones/tablets in class: You will be expected to only use your device in a manner that enhances your learning during class, and limits distractions for those around you. If there are issues with excessive use of electronic devices in class, your professor will request the discontinuation of use of these items.
Disabilities: Calvin will make reasonable accommodations for you if you have documented disabilities. Notify the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities located in the Student Academic Services, Spoelhof Center 342-361, and also notify your instructors within the first two weeks of class.
Incompletes: Your professor will give an incomplete grade (I) only in unusual circumstances, and only if those circumstances have been confirmed by the Student Life office.
Calvin’s General Statement on Academic Integrity: The student-faculty relationship is based on trust and mutual respect, which can be seriously undermined by the suspicion or reality of academic dishonesty. Academic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism (students plagiarize when they do not credit the sources of their writing - the words, information, ideas, or opinions of others), improper group work, reuse of a paper from another course and/or cheating on a test. Students are encouraged to speak to their faculty member with specific questions related to academic dishonesty. For further clarification or information, please visit http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engl/writing/plagiarism. In most cases, plagiarized work will receive a zero for the assignment and possibly a zero for the entire class.
Responsible Use of Technology: You are expected to abide by the guidelines expressed in the policies given in Calvin's Technology Policy Documents. Further, the lab is intended primarily for educational use. Use the lab in a manner that respects the desire of other students to complete their work.