A lot of our learning will be through in-class critique, discussion, and hands-on demonstrations. You can only fly a drone if you are licensed or under my direct supervision. This means we will shoot photo and video for your assignments mainly during class time (unless you get your license before the end of class). This time cannot be made up. Therefore, attendance is critical for your success in this class.
Beginning with your 4th absence or tardy, your attendance grade will be affected.
Students who are absent 7 or more days are at risk of failure or being removed from the class at my discretion.
Class assignments and quizzes cannot be made up.
Late work may be accepted up to one week after the due date for partial credit at my discretion.
No work will be accepted more than one week after the due date.
Quizzes on Blackboard cannot be submitted late.
Due to the limited number of drones and my capacity for supervision, many of your photo/video assignments will be team-based projects. You must be in class to participate and contribute.
Please communicate with me right away if you're having trouble meeting these expectations.
You should get a micro SD card that you'll use to record your work.
Please bring your labeled card to class whenever we are shooting.
Please download/transfer your work from your card after each session so that it can be formatted again.
DJI recommends SDXC and UHS-I microSD cards with a maximum capacity of 512 GB
Some specific brands/models include:
Lexar 1066x 64GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Lexar 1066x 128GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Lexar 1066x 256GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Lexar 1066x 512GB V30 A2 microSDXC
SanDisk High Endurance 64GB V30 microSDXC
SanDisk High Endurance 128GB V30 microSDXC
SanDisk High Endurance 256GB V30 microSDXC
Kingston Canvas Go! Plus 64GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Kingston Canvas Go! Plus 128GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Kingston Canvas Go! Plus 256GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Kingston Canvas Go! Plus 512GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Samsung EVO Plus 512GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Samsung PRO Plus 256GB V30 A2 microSDXC
Samsung PRO Plus 512GB V30 A2 microSDXC
All work must be completed by you.
All work must be completed this semester. You may not turn in work you’ve done prior to this class.
Make sure the date is correct on your drone's settings before you fly. The date should be written into the metadata (it's invisible!). I also need the correct date to check when you've created the work.
You may not turn in work that you’ve also submitted in another class. You will receive a zero for work that wasn't done this semester or wasn't done by you.
We will follow AP guidelines for acceptable editing. These guidelines state:
"Minor adjustments to photos are acceptable.
These include cropping, dodging and burning, conversion into grayscale, elimination of dust on camera sensors and normal toning and color adjustments.
These should be limited to those minimally necessary for clear and accurate reproduction and that restore the authentic nature of the photograph.
For your final project, we may discuss other ways of editing depending on the topic/purpose of your project.
I usually use Lightroom Classic to edit stills and Premiere Pro to edit video. You're allowed to use any software you're familiar with.
All submissions may be shown in class and critiqued/discussed by your classmates. Do not turn in work you don’t want shown to the rest of the class.
News and documentary work sometimes show offensive or graphic events – hate groups, victims of disaster or crime, etc. All submissions, but especially those that might be considered offensive, must have news value that justifies their use. You may be asked to view, discuss, and critique images of an offensive or graphic nature in class.
No audio or video recording during class unless necessary as an accommodation with proper documentation from CASS. No sharing of recordings, posts, screenshots, or any other material from the course is permitted. This policy is determined by federal law and UTEP's acceptable-use policy and disciplinary action may be taken against students who are in violation.
You need to back up copies of your work. You might use a portable hard drive or cloud storage if you'll be working on school computers. Memory cards are not a good solution for long-term storage. Even with your own computer, a portable hard drive or RAID system is a good idea to save space on your computer.
I do not accept assignment submissions through email. Submit your work on Blackboard or One Drive.
You need to let me know in advance if you won't be able to meet a deadline so we can discuss options and/or point deductions. If you turn in an assignment late without speaking to me, there will be a point deduction. I won't accept work more than a week after the due date.
Academic dishonesty is prohibited and is considered a violation of rules articulated in UTEP’s Handbook of Operating Procedures. It is also contrary to the process of organizational leadership itself, and includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and collusion.
Any sort of academic dishonesty attempted by a UTEP students is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Violations will be taken seriously. Students will receive a zero on any assignment where there is a reasonable suspicion of cheating, plagiarism, and/or collusion.
Additionally, students who are suspected of academic dishonesty will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution for possible disciplinary action. Students may be suspended or expelled from UTEP for such actions. More information can be found in the UTEP Handbook of Operating Procedures, under the heading “Alleged Student Scholastic Dishonesty” and the UT System Regent’s Rules and Regulations.
The University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations and auxiliary services to students, staff, faculty, job applicants, applicants for admissions, and other beneficiaries of University programs, services and activities with documented disabilities in order to provide them with equal opportunities to participate in programs, services, and activities in compliance with sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008. Students who become pregnant or have parenting responsibilities may also request reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations will be made unless it is determined that doing so would cause undue hardship on the University. The UTEP Center for Accommodations and Support Services (CASS) will process requests for accommodations based on a disability, pregnancy, or parenting. Contact the Center for Accommodations and Support Services at 915-747-5148, email them at cass@utep.edu, or apply for accommodations online via the CASS portal.
tl;dr: If you have any special circumstances or needs that require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible. You'll also need to make a formal request by contacting the Center for Accommodations and Support Services (CASS) at cass@utep.edu.