This class will involve a fair amount of discussion, in addition to online lectures, in-class virtual activities, student presentations, and group critiques. Grades will reflect performance on assignments, team projects, and participation on assignments and in class.
Students are expected to attend lectures, participate in group activities and discussions, and be good team members. As a show of respect to fellow students, please fully engage in the class during lectures.
This is a small class and absence will be obvious. If you have a reason for multiple absences, do communicate with the instructor. Repeated absences without communication will adversely affect your grade.
Team assignments will be tuned based on team peer evaluations. Participation includes a wide range of activities including participation in design critiques, Q&A on Slack, and other activities that contribute to the lively intellectual environment.
It is important to keep up with course assignments and discussions in order to participate fully. Late assignments will receive a 10% deduction per day.
In all your work in this class, you should utilize and cite any sources of information you can: search results, news sources, scholarly papers, personal contacts, and outside faculty. Acknowledge them with specific footnotes or hyperlinks. Specify each source well enough that a reader can find it. If you cut and paste content from elsewhere, use quotation marks and footnotes. Not acknowledging your citations is an ethical failure, but failing to seek help limits your effectiveness. We will reward you for using sources of help and penalize you for using none.
Should any student be found guilty of cheating on an assignment, the University will be notified. Additionally, depending on the circumstances, and at the discretion of the instructor and the Department Head, a student could fail the course and may be expelled from the University. A student can appeal any faculty decision to the UC San Diego Academic Senate.
If you will be missing class for religious reasons, let us know during the first week of class and it will not be penalized. If you have a disability and wish to request an accommodation, please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities. We will be happy to work with you to support your success in the class.
This class uses Slack as a key mode of communication between instructors and teams. Please read over the course website before posting any questions on Slack. Try to ask questions within the class or studio-specific channels so that other students can benefit from the answer. If you have any personal matters or questions, feel free to direct message the instructors.
Link to Download Slack on your device
We encourage you to download slack on both your desktop and mobile device, this ensures you can be notified of important course information promptly.
Customizing Slack Notifications
In the Slack App, navigate to Channel Settings > Notification Preferences
This will open the Desktop Notifications/Mobile Push Notifications window
Select your preferred notification settings
Click Done
How to Join a Slack Channel
Click Channel browser in the left sidebar.
Select a listed channel, or type a channel name in the search bar.
Click Join Channel
Channel Usage:
#general - general course questions, logistics, scheduling, and course-related materials
#help - technical support, software questions, Design process questions
#random - fun banter, design-related opportunities, random conversation
Teamwork is complicated! We appreciate that part of the challenge in this class is figuring out how to work with people with different work styles, time zones, backgrounds, and experiences. Keep in mind these points as you develop a relationship with your team.
Collaboration is about working with differences. Some people may be better at ideating and leading, others may be more quiet workers. Try to work with people’s skills and proclivities, and allocate work accordingly.
Team reporting. At the end of the project, each of you will submit a report sharing an analysis of your own contribution and the work of your team members. Your overall grade on the project will be adjusted based on your individual contributions.
Team obligations. Everyone on the team is responsible for knowing and being on top of the steps of the assignment.
Teams take time to develop. Give your team a chance to grow and learn together. It’s normal to disagree at times, but listen to each other and move on from those disagreements so that you can learn how to perform together.
Team leaders. Your job is to help corral your team to take the next steps. Communicate regularly with your peers. We appreciate that this is extra work. If you have a busy week, turn over leadership to someone else on your team to step in for you.
In the unfortunate situation that you might be needing counseling and psychological help, UCSD Wellness offers services to help with such issues. We recommend that you turn to CAPS for support, guidance, or advice in navigating the unfortunate situations. Students should call CAPS (858) 534-3755, 24/7, for assistance.