Cross-course pages: Quick guide to Wallace pages

*In the text below I have underlined passages with very direct connection to grades. On the "More detailed map" I have framed with bold red lines Web pages with very direct connection to grades.

Overview

While I have many Web pages, they do have organization:

Cross-course (all courses) — The Announcements Page is the start point. It has announcements, of course, but also links that are relevant to all classes: my policies, office hours, basic terms, etc.

A course's overview — The Announcments Page leads to a course's Outline-Schedule page. That has the overview perspective for the course: deadlines, syllabus, links to the daily Session Pages (Modules), etc..

A course's details at the level of a given day — The Outline-Schedule page leads to Session Pages (or Modules) specific for any given day for that class.

*Online instructions, information, comments and such have been an enormous help in leveraging my time to handle more classes, to be able to improve and update classes, and to communicate more frequently with students. What this means, though, is that part of a course is online and only there. These pages should not be considered restatements of class content provided elsewhere as well—they are class content. I expect the pages to be read just like any other assignment.

FAQ

Where are deadlines? They will be in one place only. I prefer to put them at the top of the Schedule-Outline Page. However, when it will be easier to track deadlines by making a page specifically for deadlines, I'll do that for you. Of course, if a Session Page says "Due by today", I don't ALSO write that on the Schedule-Outline Page. That would create a really long list of daily assignments.

Where does Wallace state what are the assignments that need to get done? On the Schedule-Outline Page, if simple. Probably on the Session Page for that day.

Where are instructions? Usually on the Assignments & Tests page. Major term projects (such as multi-step term essays or projects) might have a set of pages devoted only to that major assignment and there will be a direct link from the sidebar for it.

How do I know how I am graded in a class? The Syllabus gives basic details on what assignments are graded. The Syllabus states how all assignments are weighted for the final grade. The Assignments & Tests Page give the grading rubric for specific assignments. There is sometimes a "Grade Estimator" provided towards the end of the term; that's an excel sheet where you can type in grade results or hypothetical grade results for various assignments and see what it suggests might be the final course grade. It is only a tool and not a promise. I report grades to bSpace most of the time and sometimes provide statistics there, too. The bSpace gradebook is informal and not updated if there is a grade change for an individual. If you have specific grade concerns, please email me. Remember to use gradeissue as your keyword.

What are Wallace's office hours? See the sidebar tab on the Announcements Page.

How do I find out what I made on an evaluated assignment (homework, quiz, test, etc.)? Watch the Announcements Page for a statement on where the grades are.

Comments (details)

Please always begin at the Announcements Page and check this daily. To encourage this I have put quite a bit of necessary information there, not on the course pages. This, I hope, increases traffic to the Announcements Page, which is the key page to any of my courses.

Policies are on the Announcements Page. They not only state core grading values (that is, if you do not meet these expectations, grades can go low quickly), they also help give a sense as to how I approach classes and thus my general expectations. Past experience indicates that students who skip reading these pages can encounter unexpected and unpleasant grading surprises that lead to a course grade of "C" or lower. They exist so I can give such grades, since I can now say "As I said ..."

Terms & Concepts might seem like an abstract title but the items here are of the same variety of statements as the Policies page and are as important for doing well in my classes. Over the years I have developed various styles for categories of classes I teach. Rather than retype and repeat that information over and over, I state it once, here.

The Schedule-Oultine Page gives the course overview, and provides links to a Web page for a particular day, when such a page exists. If the daily instructions are simple, I keep everything on this Schedule-Outline Page. Usually, though, I can't do that.

Session Pages (Modules) are pages I make for a specific day. They will have a variety of things on them. If they have "Thoughts" or other such comments, it is likely these are meant to help with identifying main topics or sorting out concepts and are usually important for test and quiz content. You should check that area. These pages will also have what is assigned for the day. There is probably other information on the page, too. Students should check this page early enough to have time to complete the assignment stated there, if any.

While most of my information is online, the Syllabus gives the basic structure and content of the course, states how to obtain course materials, gives a basic description of assignments (to give the student a sense of what will have to be done for the course), and states grade weights. Unlike Web material, the syllabus is a PDF that I can send out on request and is meant to be a "stable" document—what is on it before taking the class should not change. If it does, I will explain why and I will never change it to make a class dramatically different, more difficult, etc. I consider the Syllabus the course's "advertisement" (it is what I send to administrators, too) and it should be a very fair representation of the course. Grade weights are here, not on the web, as an indication that these almost never change, once stated.

Assignments & Tests will give assignment, quiz,and test details, when available. Until then they probably have the details from the earlier version of the class. These can give you a sense of an assignment but, in truth, I am constantly looking for better assignments, course content shifts slights and so on, so you should always consider these as courtesy information, not a promise of what a specific assignment or test in your case will be.

More detailed map (if you are looking for something specific)