Please read thoroughly; you are required to be familiar with the course syllabus and policies.
Note: Syllabus content, course due dates and assignments may change at any time. Canvas will notify you of any changes during our course.
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Visit the course Web site often for current assignments information, due dates, and messages.
The Grades section will show you the work you have submitted and the feedback for it.
See the Canvas Course or your Canvas Calendar for the current schedule of assignments.
All work is to be submitted on Canvas using posts in Discussions, submissions in Assignments, and by submitting Quizzes; these can be found directly in the "Assignment" section of the course Canvas site, or in module context using the "Module" link on the Canvas course navigation to access the modules for this course.
Due | Modules | Assignments |
---|---|---|
Week 1 | Module 1-Setting up the research | Lab activity; journal entry; progress report |
Week 2 | Module 2-Surveying sources | Lab activity; journal entry; progress report |
Week 3 | Module 3-Gathering and analyzing sources | Lab activity; journal entry; progress report |
Week 4 | Module 3-Gathering and analyzing sources
Module 4-Integrating research |
Lab activity; journal entry; progress report |
Week 5 | Module 4-Summarizing findings/ethics | Lab activity; journal entry; progress report |
Week 6 | Module 5-Preparation of research | Lab activity; journal entry (Summary of Findings); progress report |
Week 7 | Module 5-Preparation of research
Module 6-Trends in Research |
Lab activity; journal entry; progress report |
Week 8 | Module 5-Preparation of research | Lab activity; journal entry; progress report; rough draft of paper |
Week 9 | Module 5-Preparation of research | Journal entry; progress report; final draft of paper; presentations; peer review of 2 papers; presentations; peer review of 2 presentations |
Week 10 | Module 5-Preparation of research | Journal entry; progress report; final paper; publication; presentations; peer review of 2 publications; peer review of 2 presentations |
Finals Week | presentations; peer review of 2 presentations |
See the Canvas Course or your Canvas Calendar for the current schedule of assignments. Modules may span several weeks, as noted above. Make progress each week to ensure timely completion of your work. If you wait to start the research, you may find it very difficult to complete it on time with sufficient depth and content.
Each week you will have the opportunity to develop your research skills; work for each module is spread out during the module. Each module contains a series of activities around a lab and its concepts.
The course has a final project; rather than the prior lab activities, in the last few weeks you will complete a paper, presentation, and publication, as well as evaluating your peers' deliverables.
There are 1000 possible points in this course. Refer to Canvas for specific points on each assignment.
Even with sufficient points, you may be administratively withdrawn from class if you do not demonstrate participation for two or more consecutive modules.
Point Distribution:
10 journal entries — 20 points each for 200 points
Beginning in module 1 and continuing throughout the course, students will post reflective and ongoing journal entries that document their observations, thoughts, and progress. Journal entries will be shared on your blog and reviewed by the instructor as a means of providing dialogue that will help guide the student through his or her experiences. These are due each Sunday.
8 research-related lab activities—25 points each for 200 points
Students will participate in discussions and lab activities for the first half of the term, and ongoing discussions of each others' research for the second half of the term. This will include open floor discussions relevant to your research and hands-on research-related activities. We're doing this rather than having online Canvas discussions so that you can participate in a free-flowing discussion not directly measured by word-count; however, you will each need to speak up and contribute. For some of you, this is easy; if you are a talker, encourage the more reticent to participate as actively as you rather than taking over the discussions. These are due at each lab night; the drop box for those with submissions remains open until midnight the next night, but you will be given the opportunity to submit work during the lab. If you cannot attend a lab, please contact Rich at least 24 hours prior to determine an appropriate alternative activity.
10 progress reports and mentor sessions—10 points each for 100 points
Students will prepare a written progress report and also spend 15-30 minutes each week with the instructor, reviewing their progress, issues they've hit, and their planned outcomes for their research. With a long, free-form goal of a large paper, it is important to make regular, steady progress — starting the research in the final week will not be sufficient. So, completing regular progress reports and mentor sessions that show the work is on target will be critical to ensuring your success. Prepare each report using the assignment description provided, prior to attending your weekly mentor session. Show up or Skype-in on time for your mentor session. If you need to reschedule a mentor session, recognize that my schedule will be fairly full with the class's mentor sessions so it will be difficult to reschedule. You can reschedule a session to sooner than your normal one, if there is a slot available, without a late penalty being applied; any scheduled for later than your slot will have the penalty applied. Your progress report is due one hour before your mentor session each week (the course shell has then assigned as due on Fridays until the schedule is put in place).
Peer reviews—30/30/40 points respectively for 100 points
At the conclusion of the research, you will be reviewing 2 of your peers' research papers, 2 of your peers' publications, and 2 of the presentations. Submit a peer review for the assigned items on Canvas by filling out the rubric against that item for your peer and giving some concrete feedback based on your rubric scoring for them. Your scoring and feedback need to reflect upon each other, and also on the actual presentation delivered. All assigned reviews must be completed on time, the rubric filled out appropriately and matching, concrete feedback supplied to peer.
White Paper—200 points
Based on research, data, and information gathered, students will prepare a professional white paper to be shared with the class. White paper content will reflect the student's own thinking, be grammatically correct, be fully cited, and follow standard guidelines for formatting — see instructions in the Canvas classroom for this assignment. White papers will undergo a peer review process. See the associated rubric for more information. The white paper is due June 4, so that it can be peer-reviewed in the final week. The peer review is due June 8. Your final version of the paper can be resubmitted for instructor grading on June 11.
As long as your paper satisfies the research paper rubric for this course, it may use substantial portions of work from your concurrent courses IS 438, Information Security II, and OLRM 320, Leadership in a Digital Economy. You may not submit a previously submitted paper from another course, and all papers will be submitted using Turn It In.
Presentation—150 points
Using the same research, data, and information gathering, students will prepare an oral presentation that encapsulates and summarizes their results. Presentations will involve the entire class and additional interested faculty and OC students. All IS students will be in the audience for presenters. Students will provide feedback for their peers. See the associated rubric for more information. Presentations are due June 6 and will be delivered that week; sessions will be scheduled based on your availability, we will use additional daytime and evening labs if needed (May 30 and June 13).
Publication—100 points
Using the same research, data, and information gathering for the report, students will prepare an original infographic or pamphlet. Publications will be peer-reviewed by classmates. See the associated rubric for more information. The publication is due June 11, and the peer review is due by June 15, the final day of finals week.
Your grade for the class will be assigned by converting your total points to a percentage grade, by dividing them by 10. So if your total points was 900, your grade would be 90%, which is an A-, GPA 3.7 in our chart. If a student fails the course with a 0.0 or is assigned a NC, WP, or WF, the instructor must report a last attended date. The last attended date used in this course will be the date of the last submitted work accepted for grading.
Percent |
Grade |
GPA |
Percent |
Grade |
GPA |
95 - 100 |
A |
4.0 |
74 - 76.9 |
C |
2.0 |
90 - 94.9 |
A- |
3.7 |
70 - 73.9 |
C- |
1.7 |
87 - 89.9 |
B+ |
3.3 |
67 - 69.9 |
D+ |
1.3 |
84 - 86.9 |
B |
3.0 |
64 - 66.9 |
D |
1.0 |
80 - 83.9 |
B- |
2.7 |
60 - 63.9 |
D- |
0.7 |
77 - 79.9 |
C+ |
2.3 |
59.9 -LESS |
F |
0.0 |
Points on work submitted on-time are posted as soon as possible, usually within 7 days of the due date; a bit more during exams or if my schedule gets impacted. Our goal is to give reasonable feedback to as many students as possible in the shortest time possible. For discussions, grading is done after the replies are due. If we have a larger than normal grading load, we will notify you of any delays in grading. See Policies for information on getting assistance, submitting work, academic honesty and more.
Monitor your course progress and see what you have submitted by clicking on "Grades" on the course navigation on the course website.
Rubrics are supplied for assignments in the course shell.
Please note the following guidelines and approaches to success in this course:
Ask for Help:
First, if you need help, get help early and often - if you wait until it is a crisis, it will be too late.
Here are some resources to get help in this class:
If you need help outside of class material, there are a wide variety of resources available to you. See Campus Resources for assistance.
Assignments:
By taking this class, you are stating that you will be making appropriate time in your schedule to ensure success and have access to the resources required for this class. Research can be very time-intensive, so budget accordingly. Expect to spend 12-15 hours outside of class per week for every class credit to ensure success. If you usually take more time on coursework, be sure to allocate additional time. Start your research early and be proactive. Make regular progress on the research itself.
All work must be submitted on Canvas. Ensure that all assignments are attached/deposited properly. It is your responsibility to ensure that all student submissions are in their proper place by their deadlines. Open a new browser window to check your submission, and do it early enough that you can resubmit before the due date if needed.
Submissions submitted on time will be graded within one week of their due date, unless we have heavier than normal professional obligations, in which case you will be notified of the delay. Your grade will be based on the content, quality, accuracy, and timeliness of your assignment. Additional rubric detail is available in the course shell.
Late Policy:
Lab discussions and activities must be participated in at the time they occur. If you cannot attend a lab, please contact us at least 24 hours prior to determine an appropriate alternative activity and completion time for it.
Progress reports and mentor sessions need to be completed in the week they are scheduled, as timely interaction is required to ensure steady progress on your research. Rescheduling must be agreed upon with your assigned instructor no later than 24 hours prior to your regular meeting time.
Other work will only be accepted up to one week late, up to the last regular class meeting of the quarter. There is a 10% penalty for late work, prior to grading. Work over one week late will not be accepted for grading. No late work is accepted for grading after the last regular class meeting for the quarter, even if it is less than one week away.
Any exceptions to this late policy must be agreed upon no later than one day prior to the due date; exceptions will only be made with verifiable proof of your inability to do so (for example, an accident report or emergency hospital admission), no exceptions.
Late submissions will be graded at the instructor's discretion as time permits.
Connectivity:
Everyone experiences technical difficulties including the Canvas website, the K-20 network, your Internet service provider, or hardware issues. Have an alternate plan in the event of technical difficulties, and do not wait until the last minute to submit your work. Know where your local WiFi hotspots and computing resources are and be prepared to get to them to submit your work on time. There are labs on each Olympic College Campus. Please notify us immediately if the issue cannot be handled by your alternate plan (i.e., wide area power outages or Canvas outages).
Etiquette/Netiquette:
This is a college level class. It is expected that the instructor and the students will be tolerant of others' views, be respectful in dealing with others, and use standard professional English in their communications, both written and verbal. Swearing is not respectful. Remember that capitalization and exclamation points are considered yelling, and texting lingo is not professional. Any violations of this policy may result in lowering of an assignment grade or your overall course grade, reporting the violation to student services, or administrative withdrawal from the course. Ask first if you are not sure if your note is offensive, and respect the opinions of others. Refer to the applicable WAC on student conduct.
Academic Honesty:
Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and may lead to a failing assignment grade; failure in the course; and/or expulsion from the College. For more information refer to the Student Code of Conduct. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, and facilitating academic dishonesty. Facilitating academic dishonesty includes providing your own work to someone else for their solution; do not put others in this situation, they cannot provide you with solutions, only guidance. Fabrication includes making up sources that do not exist; you must be able to produce all of your sources if requested.
You are encouraged to work with one another to understand and discuss general concepts and approaches, but your work must be your own, and your writing must be in your own words. Except for group work, the assignments are to be completed individually, and as such you are expected to work on your own. I reserve the right to refuse to accept any assignment if you cannot demonstrate the ability to perform similar work when asked, if you cannot explain your answer or the approach that you have used, or if you cannot produce a source when requested. You need to develop and internalize the work yourself.
This is particularly important with research -- whenever you use material from a source, that source must be immediately, properly cited and then a full reference supplied at the end of your paper/presentation. Please note: cut and paste of another's words is plagiarism. Quoting in a limited amount with a citation noted on the quote is permissible. Your words must be your own. Images must be appropriately sourced and cited as well.
Recordings:
All recordings provided for this course through Canvas are © Copyright Olympic College. If you have copied or downloaded any of the recordings, you must delete them once the term completes. Olympic College does not grant permission to retain recordings of class material. See the OC Copyright Policy.
Internet Safety:
It is your responsibility to be aware of the impact of your actions when using the internet, with respect to managing your privacy, using the information you access, and maintaining machine security. For more information on this topic, see Thinking about Online Safety.
WAC Regulations:
Please review Olympic College's WAC 132C regulations. The various WACs have been passed by the state of Washington and are Washington State law that govern the behavior of the administration, faculty, and students.
Olympic College provides equal opportunity in education, employment and college activities regardless of race, color, national origin, age, perceived or actual physical or mental disability, pregnancy, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, creed, religion, honorably discharged veteran or military status, use of a trained guide dog or service animal, or any other unlawful basis. If you witness or encounter any such discrimination, including any sexual misconduct, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator, Cheryl Nuñez (CSC 317A; 360-475-7125; cnunez@olympic.edu) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, David Slown, Executive Director for Human Resource Services at dslown@olympic.edu/306-475-7300, who will assist you in connecting with all possible resources. You may also report it online (and anonymously) at Report It, OC! or seek confidential counseling from Counseling Services at 360-475-7530 or at HSS 203. See also https://www.olympic.edu/nondiscrimination-title-ix.
Student Absences for Reasons of Faith or Conscience, OC Policy 300-03: Under this Policy, OC students may request absences from classes two (2) days per academic year for reasons of faith or conscience without adverse impact on their grades. A request for absence must be submitted 21 days in advance of the absence or as soon as reasonably possible. Find the required form “Student Absence Form: Reasons of Faith or Conscience” in order to request the absence. Upon verification of the absence, notify instructors so that they may develop adjustments for assignments and tests.
Any student who feels they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability or a medically necessary absence due to pregnancy or childbirth should contact the Access Services office in HSS 205, by email at AccessServices@olympic.edu or by phone at (360) 475-7540. More information may be found on the Access Services website. Access Services must be contacted at least two weeks before the accomodation is needed.
Please contact me via Canvas or see me during office hours concerning your accommodation request(s) after you have submitted them to Access Services, so I can meet your needs in class.
Note that about 10% of all OC students have some type of disability, often invisible (like PTSD or asperger syndrome). As instructors, we cannot disclose a student's disability. The decision to share with others is a choice of the student.
Your success is both your goal and our goal! This class gives you an opportunity to develop and practice professional skills. We are here to support your efforts. If you have a problem or situation that is affecting your schoolwork, please let us know. Olympic College has many services to help students be sucessful. You can contact us by Canvas, e-mail, voice mail, office hours, or talk to us right before or after class.
Welcome to IS 390, we look forward to seeing your research. ~ Amelia & Rich.
Note: Syllabus content, course due dates and assignments may change at any time. Canvas will notify you of any changes during our course.