Each unit includes a set of practice activities (“Assignments”). These activities serve two purposes.
·
The first is to move your understanding from “the head” to “the
hand.” As much as you think you
understand something from reading about it (believe me, I have spent a lifetime “learning by reading,” but there’s more to it
than that), knowledge is deepened when it moves from “knowing about” to
“knowing how.”
·
The second is to give you the opportunity to demonstrate to me that you
have mastered the tool in question. I
have no interest in “flunking” anyone; I want every one of you to demonstrate
that you can do it, and do it well. You
can redo any assignment as many times as you wish, until the end of the course
(I will not accept any memos after the last ending date posted on the Course
Calendar). However, you must submit the
first memo by the ending date for that unit posted on the Course Calendar.
Your
first assignment is to write a memo to me, specifying which units you will
complete, by which dates, for how much total credit. It takes 5 units (not counting this one) to
earn 1 semester credit. This contract
may be modified by mutual agreement.
Your
second assignment is to post to the class the address for your personal profile
(described above under Communication
Protocols). This is your
introduction to your classmates. You might
want to create a folder in your bookmarks for these profiles—you never know
when you might want to get in touch with someone.
For
each unit you have included in your contract, you must write a memo (using the
format specified in Writing Conventions)
demonstrating that you can use the tool in question to analyze a practical
problem. I prefer that a memo not exceed
2 pages (not counting tables, appendices, attachments, etc.). Please include your memo as an e-mail
attachment, preferably in Word format; failing that, attach it as a text
file. Each memo will be graded on a 1-10
scale. The final grade for the class
will not be based on “the curve,” but will be based on 90% and above = A,
80-89% = B, etc.
© 1996 A.J.Filipovitch
Revised 11 March 2005