Instructor: Mr. Michael Stowe
Office: Siceluff 341
Phone: 836-5167
Office Hours: MWF 12:45–2:00, MF 3:00–3:30
E-mail: michaelstowe@missouristate.edu
Kelby, Scott. The Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers. Indianapolis: New Riders, 2011.
Siegel, Kevin. Adobe RoboHelp 9: The Essentials. Riva, MD: IconLogic, 2011.
Both texts are available electronically if you prefer to use a tablet or reader. Just be sure to bring your device to class fully charged or bring a charging cable, and make sure you use the device solely for class purposes.
You will need to print additional reading assignments during the semester. I’ll let you know how to access these materials at the appropriate time.
English 373 offers hands-on experience with several hardware and software technologies that will make students more marketable in seeking professional writing positions. Specifically, students will complete tutorials and projects with Adobe RoboHelp HTML and Adobe Photoshop. The class also covers additional topics, such as using scanners and digital cameras.
To meet the computer requirements in this course, you must:
If you need time-limited trial versions of the software used in the course, let me know, and we'll arrange a way for you to obtain trial software.
Your attendance is mandatory. If you can't attend this class regularly, you should drop now. Frequent absences will lower your semester grade because you will miss important instruction. If you miss a class, you're solely responsible for finding out what we covered and for turning in any work that's due. Moreover, if you miss often, I won't grade your projects until your attendance improves. Finally, absences determine whether you may opt out of the final exam; see the Final Exam section for more information. For the purposes of calculating finals exemption, an absence, excused or unexcused, counts as an absence. If you're tardy, leave early, or often temporarily leave class, you will receive half an absence for the class period.
You need to arrive on time and be ready for class when it begins. You must also stay for the duration of the class period. Arriving late and leaving early is disruptive. Frequent tardiness or early departures may result in your dismissal from the course. If you must arrive late or leave early, inform me of the situation beforehand. Also, I take roll only once, at the beginning of class. If you arrive late, you're solely responsible for getting on my attendance form; otherwise, you'll remain marked absent. Again, for the purpose of attendance and participation, a tardy or early departure counts as half an absence.
This course has an objective, comprehensive final examination over the course content. If you have three or fewer recorded absences you may opt out of the final examination. Remember that a tardy or early departure counts as half an absence and that both unexcused and excused absences count toward taking the final examination.
This course includes participation grades. Each class period, we will complete in-class work and activities that require your presence and active, undivided participation to complete and to receive credit for. You may not make up missed in-class work and activities.
To receive participation points, you must be present for the entire class period, complete the assigned activity, and behave appropriately. Know that as soon as I enter the room, class begins. During class, you must work only on the assigned activity. If you do anything else during class—such as work on other assignments, access your e-mail or Facebook, use the computer or your phone to text or IM, sleep, interrupt the person who has the floor, etc.—you will lose all your participation points for the day without warning. Repeat violations will result in your permanent dismissal in accordance with the university's class disruption policy.
If you have a valid, documented absence, you may not lose participation points at my discretion. You must also bring your flash drive and textbook to every class; you may not attend and participate without them.
The provost's cell phone policy is as follows:
As a member of the learning community, each student has a responsibility to other students who are members of the community. When cell phones or pagers ring and students respond in class or leave class to respond, it disrupts the class. Therefore, the Office of the Provost prohibits the use by students of cell phones, pagers, PDAs, or similar communication devices during scheduled classes. All such devices must be turned off or put in a silent (vibrate) mode and ordinarily should not be taken out during class. Given the fact that these same communication devices are an integral part of the University's emergency notification system, an exception to this policy would occur when numerous devices activate simultaneously. When this occurs, students may consult their devices to determine if a university emergency exists. If that is not the case, the devices should be immediately returned to silent mode and put away. Other exceptions to this policy may be granted at the discretion of the instructor.
In other words, you are not allowed, by university policy and by class policy, to use your phone in any way during class. Silence your phone before class starts, and put it away until class ends. I don't want to see it at all while we're having class. Do not answer it in class or leave the class to take a call. Do not read or write text messages during class. I may make an exception to this policy but only if you've discussed the situation with me first. Violating this policy can lead to your dismissal from class.
I don't accept late work. To maintain fairness, assignments are due at the date and time I establish, not at your convenience. If you have a valid reason for missing a deadline, contact me immediately. I may decide to accept your work upon hearing your rationale and reviewing your documentation. If you don't use class time effectively, for example, you won't receive any deadline extensions. If I do accept your late work, I reserve the right to assess whatever penalty I deem appropriate and to place your work at the bottom of my work to grade. Submitting work improperly (such as forgetting or neglecting to submit work electronically or to burn a file to disc), being held up in another building or at work, experiencing computer or peripheral problems, and attending university activities aren't valid reasons for missing a deadline, so plan accordingly and double-check your work before turning it in.
Projects you submit must be professional in content and appearance and should merit inclusion in your writing portfolio. Projects must also meet the guidelines established in respective assignment sheets and in class discussions. These guidelines will include the manner in which you submit the work. Additionally, projects must adhere to the principles of quality technical communication. That is, the writing you submit must be clear, concise, complete, honest, accurate, and well-edited. Further, any material you submit must be solely your work created specifically for this course during this semester. I will penalize severely or not accept projects that fail to meet these criteria.
You need to have a university e-mail account and check it often. You will receive feedback via this account. In addition, you're welcome to ask questions through e-mail, but your message must clearly identify you, contain a relevant subject line, and convey a professional tone and message, which includes practicing "you attitude." Otherwise, I will disregard your message. Allow reasonable time for a response; I don't leave my e-mail constantly open. Finally, don't submit projects to my e-mail account without prior approval.
Missouri State University is a community of scholars committed to developing educated persons who accept the responsibility to practice personal and academic integrity. You are responsible for knowing and following the university's Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures, available at http://www.missouristate.edu/policy/academicintegritystudents.htm. You are responsible for knowing and following the university's student honor code.
All work you complete for a grade, including all writing assignments and tutorial exercises, must be solely your work. Cheating, plagiarism, and lying have serious consequences in this course. At my discretion, the sanctions range from losing credit to failing for the semester. Serious violations could result in your receiving an XF grade. Copying and pasting information wholesale from a source, for example, will automatically earn you an XF for the semester. If you don't know whether a practice is plagiarism, ask me immediately; ignorance isn't an excuse.
Missouri State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution and maintains a grievance procedure available to any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against. At all times, you have the right to address inquiries or concerns about possible discrimination to the Office for Equity and Diversity, Park Central Office Building, 117 Park Central Square, Suite 111, (417) 836-4252. You may discuss other types of concerns (that is, academic concerns) with your instructor or your instructor's department head.
Before I can give you an accommodation for a disability, you must work through the proper channels. To request academic accommodations for a disability, contact the Director of the Disability Resource Center, Plaster Student Union 405, (417) 836-4192 or (417) 836-6792 (TTY), http://www.missouristate.edu/disability. Students are required to provide documentation of disability to the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations. The Disability Resource Center refers some types of accommodation requests to the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, which also provides diagnostic testing for learning and psychological disabilities. For information about testing, contact the Director of the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, (417) 836-4787, http://psychology.missouristate.edu/ldc.
Students who require assistance during an emergency evacuation must discuss their needs with their instructors and the Disability Resource Center. If you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. For additional information, students should contact the Disability Resource Center, (417) 836-4192 (Plaster Student Union 405), or Larry Combs, Interim Assistant Director of Public Safety and Transportation, at (417) 836-6576. For further information on Missouri State University's Emergency Response Plan, see http://www.missouristate.edu/safetran/erp.htm.
You're responsible for understanding the university's procedure for dropping a class. If you stop attending but don't drop the class properly, you will receive a failing grade and will also be obligated to pay for the class. For more information on dropping this or any class, contact the Office of the Registrar, Carrington 320, (417) 836-5520. You may also wish to refer to the university's academic calendar for the various drop deadlines.
By remaining in the course, you acknowledge you have read and agree to follow all the policies covered in this document. If you do not agree to adhere to these policies, you must drop the class.
Know up front my standards are high, and grading will be tough but fair. In assessing your writing, I rely upon the following grading criteria established by Dr. Sam Dragga of Texas Tech University:
| A = 90–100% | The document is superior. It exceeds all the objectives of the assignment. The information is ethical, sophisticated, thorough, and ideally suited for the audience. The style is clear and appropriate to the subject, purpose, and audience. The organization and design of the document make the information understandable, accessible, and usable. The mechanics and grammar are correct. |
| B = 80–89% | The document is good. It meets the objectives of the assignment, but requires minor improvements or reveals easily correctable errors in organization, style, design, grammar, or mechanics. |
| C = 70–79% | The document is adequate. It omits useful information or requires significant improvement in organization, style, design, grammar, or mechanics. It may be formally correct but superficial in its discussion. |
| D = 60–69% | The document is disappointing. It meets some of the objectives of the assignment but ignores others; the discussion is inadequately developed, omits important information, or displays numerous or major errors in organization, style, design, grammar, or mechanics. |
| F = below 60% | The document is unsatisfactory. It omits critical information, does something other than the assignment required, or displays major or excessive errors in organization, style, design, grammar, or mechanics. |
I won't answer questions about grades on projects until you have thoroughly reviewed my comments and the grading criteria. In addition, I won't assign incomplete semester grades except in extraordinary circumstances, such as a documented family emergency.
I will calculate both project grades and semester grades using the same scale listed above. In other words, this class does not use plus-and-minus grading.
The projects in this class are designed to prepare you for situations you will encounter as a workplace writer. Remember, too, that you are enrolled in a 300-level class. I expect junior-level writing, editing, and work, and I will evaluate your projects accordingly.
The following is a list of projects and respective point values.
| Project | Points Possible |
|---|---|
| RoboHelp HTML tutorials | 250 points |
| HTML Help or WebHelp project | 200 points |
| Photoshop tutorials | 200 points |
| Photoshop project | 100 points |
| In-class activities and participation | 150 points |
| Comprehensive final | 100 points |
| Total score for English 373 | 1000 points |
If you’re eligible to opt out of the final and choose to do so, your total score will be based on 900 points instead of 1000 points.
I reserve the right to change the types of projects and assigned point values should the need arise. Any changes will be announced and discussed in class.