Note! Descriptions of grades given at the UA and the official university grading system.

Grading Scale

Grading Criteria

Grading criteria consists of both 1) CONCEPT and 2) EXECUTION.

• 1) CONCEPT: The process of developing your idea is as important as the final production. 
In this class, we will examine how well the delivery method of the content was thought through. The idea, subject, purpose, and message are often the most important issues pushing your work. This criteria applies to both writing and coding assignments.

• 2) EXECUTION: We will examine the production value of your work and how well you implement your concept throughout. One of the goals of this course is to promote the development of your technological skills that complement your thoughtful and creatively critical content. Please be sure to consider and then invigorate your own voice throughout your creative artworks produced in this class. This criteria applies to both writing and coding assignments.

IMPORTANT NOTE on GRADING:

Just completing an assignment as stated in its criteria would usually result in a 75% or C letter grade. More advanced engagement of concept and technical execution would result in a grade of 85% or B. Highly integrated, creative and technically innovative assignments would result in an A letter grade.

Grading Scale out of 2000 points total:

A = 90% and above

B = 80 - 89.9%

C = 70 - 79.9%

D = 60 - 69.9%

E = 59.9% and below

Grade breakdown for this course Percent of Final Grade

Modules 1-11(minus module 6) @ 6 -10% of final grade each. 80 %

Module 12 (Final Project et al.) 20%

Total 100%

Course Extra Credit

Error & Glitch Scavenger Hunt up to 3%

Module 7 Processing Tech Support up to 3%

SCS Course Evaluation Participation 1%

Grading Discussions

Discussions will be spot graded and I will respond personally to at least 8 students in class each week. If my spot grading reveals that a student's discussion responses are particularly low in regards to the rubric assessment, I will go back through all of the students previous module posts and adjust their grade accordingly. Stay emotionally present and intellectually engaged in all course discussions! Discussions are intended to cultivate critical constructive interaction and meaningful dialogue among members of student discussion groups, and not to be considered "busy work". Be generous, creative and thoughtful in all discussion posts!!

Please see this Reflective Discussion Rubric for general guidelines on most module discussions.

PlayPosit Grading

Many PlayPosits are automatically graded and students will see their grade upon finishing the bulb. Certain PlayPosit bulbs are free response questions that require focused student writing, need to be hand graded by the instructor. If a bulb returns a 0%-15% score, this is usually an indication that a bulb requires manual grading. The instructor will grade your writing sections and will post a revised score for the bulb in a timely manner (always less than two weeks after completion).

Art Assignments

Student made artworks are intended to foster individual critical reflection on the topics that we cover in students’ own time and space. Artwork assignments will be graded on originality and formal/aesthetic risk taking; accompanying Artist's Statements will be graded on originality of thought and English language usage and expression. Assignments will be posted to the D2L assignments tab and must be turned into the class Dropbox before class time the day that they are due. Assignments will pass through TURNITIN anti-plagiarism software, so think as originally as possible and cite as necessary. Any assignment with 20% or more SIMILARITY on TURNITIN will receive an automatic 0% score on the assignment.

Note on Assignment Feedback

Sometime it is the case that individual students in the course will receive the same or similar feedback as other students on an assignment. I individually evaluate each assignment, and it can periodically be the case that I focus on general positive and/or negative issues that are common for multiple students' assignments.

Art can be highly subjective and nuanced in critique and this course does not have the luxury of extended critique time offered by an art studio course.

If at any point a student would like to receive more in depth feedback on an assignment, sign-up for an office hours session and I'll be happy to break down your assignment more fully in terms of aesthetics, design and grade and give you detailed critique!!

Grading Rubric for Writing Assignments and PlayPosit Short Essays

Besides the basic rubric posted in D2L, there are specific criteria to address correct English usage, grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Besides grading on the content of the writing, the following rubric will be used to determine grades for first and final drafts of writing assignments (including essay assignment).

Grading in relation to English usage, grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization is as follows:

“A” 0-10 errors

“B” 11-20 errors

“C” 21-30 errors

“D” 31-40 errors

“F” 41+ errors

Given that the content of observation and analysis in exegesis is of significant importance to writing in this class, it is possible that a student’s writing may be graded up or down from the above rubric depending on their engagement with content. This is NOT an English class and students are expected to be able to write with college level proficiency for this class. The above rubric will serve to guide students of the instructor’s expectations over and above the quality of the content with which they write.

Late Assignments Policy

Each student begins the session with a “bank” of 3 days for late assignments. This includes all individual class assignments and discussion posts, but does NOT include the Final Group Presentation nor the Final Creative Project. A day is 24 hours. Your assignments have a set due time listed on D2L If you submit an assignment up to 24 hours after that time, you’ve used up 1 day. If you submit the assignment at 10pm the following day, you’ve also used up 1 day. Once your bank is used up, I deduct up to 10% for each additional day assignments are late, though you may always submit assignments for half credit--half of your final graded score, that is, rather than half of all possible points. Be careful with your late bank and save it for when you really need it! If you get sick or have a family emergency and must miss a deadline, please contact the instructor ASAP and we can work out an arrangement that fits your situation.

-D2L and VoiceThread discussions cannot be made up with "late bank" days if they are missed in a module, as they are a module specific engagement with class peers.

“Found Content” vs Plagiarism

In this class we will be utilizing previously produced content in some assignments- it is appropriate to use such content in a collage/edited form to create new meanings then were originally intended by the original creators. It is NOT permissible to use a significant amount of “found” materials (including, but not limited to: images, text and code) in an unedited/un-recontextualized manner in your own project. All non-original source materials must be appropriately cited. Such use will constitute PLAGIARISM and will be addressed with respect to the UA policy on plagiarism. If you have questions whether your use crosses into plagiarism territory you MUST consult with the professor before a project is submitted for grading.

Honors Credit

All Tier One and Tier Two courses must be available for Honors credit. Students wishing Honors credit for ISTA 301 will negotiate an additional project/piece of writing with the instructor to fulfill this requirement. Please contact the instructor early in the semester to initiate this process. Honors contract information is available HERE:

Recommendations

If you expect at some point, to request a recommendation (for graduate school, internships, etc.) from the instructor, you must receive a high “A” (96% or above) in this course AND must demonstrate exemplary engagement in all assignments and participation opportunities. Students who anticipate requesting a recommendation are additionally required to attend at least TWO sessions of office hours (Zoom or in person) over the course of the semester, so I can get to know you on a one to one basis.

Final Grades

At the end of the semester I will be happy to talk to you about your work, but I will NOT discuss your final grade. You will have ample time to monitor your progress through graded feedback on your assignments that will be posted to D2L throughout the semester.