Several of you have contacted me about your grades in the course, and I’m sure that many of you are wondering about grades even if you didn’t ask me. To help allay any stress you’re feeling, let me remind you where to find details on your grade and how the course assessment works.

Friday, October 6 is the last date to drop classes and to change from A-F to P/F, so I wanted to remind everyone how grades work for the course.

Remember that grades are based on labor.

• If you do the required work, you are guaranteed a B in the course.
• If you do more than the basic requirements, you can earn a grade higher than a B.
• If you do not do the required work, you will earn a grade lower than a B.

You can find complete details on the information how grades are tracked in Canvas, how completes and incompletes are indicated, and how to tell how you’re doing in the post How Canvas Grades Works from the first week of classes.

Photo credit: W F LaBar Report Card by Arthur T. LaBar on Flickr, used under Public Domain (CC0).

During this first week of classes, I am sharing additional information about the course in my daily posts. The Daily Discussion Posts that I described earlier this week will start on Tuesday, 9/5.

As outlined on the syllabus, all work and participation in these courses are governed by the Virginia Tech Principles of Community. You surely read the Principles of Community when you first came to Virginia Tech, but you may not have returned to them for a careful reading since then. Today, I will share how the Principles of Community apply in the course.

To get started, we need to review the Principles. You can read the Principles online or watch the video below (click the CC button if you want to see the subtitles):

These Principles relate particularly to how we, as Hokies, interact with, treat, and think about other people. They are especially pertinent then when you work with your Writing Groups and when you enter into conversations in Discussions, on Slack, on Facebook, and in website comments.

We can narrow the ideas down to some simple guidelines for our interaction in the courses:

• Respect everyone. Listen to what others have to say.
• Allow everyone to state their ideas freely and openly.
• Support diverse ideas and the diversity of those in the courses.
• Commit to following these guidelines in order to support our classroom community.

To sum it up, remember that everyone is welcome, and be nice and supportive to one another. That’s it. If you have any questions about the Principles and how they apply to the course, you can leave a comment below and we’ll work out an answer.

During this first week of classes, I am sharing additional information about the course in my daily posts. The Daily Discussion Posts that I described earlier this week will start on Tuesday, 9/5.

I use Canvas Grades differently from the way most teachers do, so today, I want to explain how it works.

What Is Tracked in Canvas Grades

Canvas only tracks what you have done and what you have not done. It’s not calculating your course grade.

As explained in the Syllabus and on the Requirements page, your grade in this course is based on labor, on the work you put into the course. There are essentially three categories your work can fall into:

• If you complete the required activities, you will earn a B in the course.
• If you do not complete the required activities, you will earn less than a B in the course.
• If you complete additional work, you will earn a grade higher than a B in the course.

Most of the work you do in the course earns either a Complete or an Incomplete. In Quizzes, because of limitations in Canvas, your work earns a 100 (Complete) or a 0 (Incomplete). If you do not attempt an activity at all, your work (or lack thereof) earns a 0.

Because Canvas Grades is a computer program, it will provide you a Total calculation at the bottom of the list. Remember that calculation doesn’t matter. Canvas doesn’t have a way to calculate your grade in this labor-based system.

Completes vs. Incompletes

Canvas Grades tracks the Complete and Incomplete status of your work with icons. Here’s a screenshot of the Grades for an Example Student:

As shown under the Score column in the image, a checkmark means that the work is Complete. An X mark in the Score column means that the work is Incomplete. It doesn’t desginate that anything is wrong. It tells you that you need to revise.

How to Tell How You’re Doing

If you have completed all the work that is required, you are on track to earn at least a B in the course. Even if you have an Incomplete on a Major Project or a Labor Log, you are still on track to earn at least a B in the course. As long as you are putting in your best effort, you don’t need to worry.

If you’d like confirmation, look at Grades in Canvas for one of these indications:

• Look at the Score column in the light gray list of activities at the top of the table. If you see 100s, checkmarks, and X marks, you are on track to at least a B in the course.
• Find the categories followed by an asterisk (*) in the medium gray list at the bottom of the table (marked on the Screenshot above). Look at the Score column for those categories, which are required for a B. If you see 100% for those categories, you are on track to at least a B in the course.
• If you do not see 100% for the required categories, look at the Out of column in the medium gray area to tell how far off you are. If you see 200/300, for instance, you’ll know that just one thing is missing (so you are still likely to be on track for at least a B in the course).

If you are working toward a grade higher than a B, pay attention to how many of the additional contributions listed on the Requirements page you have completed. I have not found a way to track this additional work in Canvas yet. If I do find a workable solution, I will update you.

Photo credit: Grade book by David Mulder on Flickr, used under a CC-BY-SA 2.0 license.

During this first week of classes, I am sharing additional information about the course in my daily posts. The Daily Discussion Posts that I described yesterday will start on Tuesday, 9/5.

Today, I’m outlining an activity that focuses on making resources in the course more accessible by providing text versions. You can read more about accessibility in this course in  the Accessibility page and the Classroom Access & Support Guide, the latter still a working draft.

What’s the Activity

Ideally, everything in this course should be accessible to everyone. For instance, videos and audio recordings need transcripts, and images need alt attributes that describe what they show.

The goal of this activity is to create transcripts and descriptions that are missing for some of the resources used in the course. Your work will focus on accurately presenting the words from the original as well as applying document design principles to ensure that the transcript is easy to read and navigate.

These resources provide how-to information and tips:

• Creating a Video Transcript, from Colorado State University
• Adding Alt Text to Images in Microsoft PowerPoint, from Colorado State University
• Adobe PDF, Universally Designed, from Colorado State University
• Web Accessibility for Designers (an example of a text transcript for an infographic)

How Are They Graded

The transcript activity is completely optional. If you create a transcript, I’ll check it for accuracy to the original, standard correctness, and good document design. If necessary, you can revise a transcript until it is usable for the course. Your transcript will be graded either Complete (signified by a checkmark in Canvas Grades) or Incomplete (signified by an X in Canvas Grades), meaning you can revise.

If you are working toward a grade higher than a B in the course, you can create a transcript as part of the extra work you do to build community in the course and share ideas. This transcript activity is just one of several options available to you.

How To Participate

Creating a transcript is an independent activity. You won’t interact with anyone other than me. Here’s the process you’ll follow:

1. Choose a resource that is missing a transcript. They will usually be things that are posted in the Daily Discussion posts.
2. Email me with the details on the resource you want to work with. I will check your request to make sure it’s not too big or too small. After I check it, I will send you an approval. Wait for that approval before you begin your work.
3. Use the resources above for tips on how to create your transcript.
4. Use a word processor to type and format the text from the video or image that you have chosen.
5. Submit your transcript in Canvas in the Optional Transcript Assignment once you have finished.
6. If your work is finished, I will mark it Complete in Canvas Grades and add it to the course website and credit you. If it needs to be revised, I’ll mark it Incomplete in Canvas Grades, and you can revise.

Photo credit: Disabled Parking by Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine on Flickr, used under a CC-0 Public Domain license.

During this first week of classes, I am sharing additional information about the course in my daily posts. The Daily Discussion Posts that I described yesterday will start on Tuesday, 9/5.

Today, I’m explaining how the optional Facebook Group for the course will work: what we’re using it for, how it can influence your grade, and how to participate. You can join the group whether you want to participate or just want to lurk (or don’t join at all, if that’s your preference).

The Cover Photo for Our Facebook Group

What’s the Goal

Our optional Facebook Group is one of several ways that you can work toward a grade higher than a B in the course. The group isn’t focused on work for work’s sake however. I have several goals for the posts that you make to the Facebook Group:

• to encourage you to research topics related to writing in the workplace.
• to give you the chance to share and discuss what you find with others in the course.
• to build community and interaction in the course.
• to allow you to contribute material that may be shared on the course website.

What About Privacy

If you are already in Facebook Groups, you probably know all of this. I’m explaining it just to be sure everyone knows and is comfortable participating.

I have set up a closed Facebook Group for the course. I approve every request to join the group to ensure only members of the class get in. Only members of the Group can read and post messages and comments in the group.

If a potential employer Googles you, the messages you post to the Group won’t show up in the search results. Posts and comments that you make will not appear in your Timeline, so your friends and family won’t see them. Members of the Group (including me) can only see information on your profile and Timeline that are public—and, of course, anyone can see information that is public.

How Are They Graded

Facebook posts and comments should relate to writing in the workplace, so they can be useful for anyone in the course to read. That said, reading and participating in the Facebook Group is completely optional. Participate or lurk whenever you want to (or not at all). It’s your choice.

If you are working toward a grade higher than a B in the course, you can post and comment in the Group as part of the extra work you do to build community in the course and share ideas. The Facebook Group is just one of several options available to you. If you hate Facebook, there’s nothing to worry about. Just choose another option.

How To Participate

Joining the Group

Whether you want to lurk and read or post and comment in the Group, the first thing you have to do is request to join the Group. To . Go to the Group on Facebook, and make a request. Facebook will ask you which class you are in (Business Writing or Technical Writing), so that I can confirm you are in the class before adding you.

Posting to the Group

This Group should function something like a shared bulletin board for the course. As you find interesting resources about writing in the workplace, you can share them with the Group.

Just post advice articles, how-to webpages, relevant images (like infographics or memes), and other resources you find to the group. You can also ask questions or discuss class readings if you like.

In addition to sharing a link or uploading an image, say a bit about why you are passing it along, how you connect to it, and/or why you recommend it.

Commenting and Replying

You already know how to respond on Facebook, so I don’t need to tell you how that works. I do ask that you respond with good comments. Aim to contribute ideas, engage with others, and extend the conversation. You can also Like (or any of the other options) posts. Feel free to use emoji, polls, and any of the other things available to you. Keep things appropriate for the classroom, but otherwise you can be yourself.

Photo credit for the cover image: Panorama of Lane Stadium during the "white out" Virginia Tech vs. Austin Peay football game, September 8, 2012 by CBGator87 on Wikipedia, used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.