Using this website. |
Using our Class Slack site. |
This is a class about writing, research, and collaboration.
To do those things effectively (and get you ready to do them wherever you go next year), we'll need good tools. This semester , you will find be asked to bring a laptop or tablet with you to class every day. If you experience any trouble with this request, or your laptop dies mid-semester, please contact me as soon as possible so we can find you a loaner. For this class, we will explore a range of digital tools, but there are two you will find crucial as you go through this class. The first is our class web site. The second is our class Slack site. Our class web site is at http://cccpapproaches.weebly.com . If you ever forget this URL, don't worry. Just visit our NYU Classes site--the link will be on the first page. Our class web site houses your syllabus, all your assignments, a schedule of due dates, and a link to my Google Calendar site to book office hour time. It also has a substantial bibliography organized by topic and author, links to prior student work, prior lectures, and links to the CCCP Senior web site . Prior to each class, you will be expected to visit our class web site, go to the "Assignments" tab find the assignment due for the next class, and complete it. Looking at the calendar on the web site's "due dates" tab on the site will remind you if you've forgotten what was assigned. Whatever system you use to do your writing, all your assignments should be saved in MS Word doc format, and labeled YOURLASTNAME_ASSIGNMENT NUMBER. For instance, my name is Terri Senft, so if I were doing assignment 2, I would call it Senft_2. |
When you finish your assignment, you will upload it to Slack. You've already received an invitation to our Slack group in your NYU email.
On the Web, our group Slack address is https://approaches2016.slack.com , but you'll probably want to download the desktop and (very handy) phone app, and access the site that way. To do that, just the App Store if you are using a Mac, or the Android store if you are not. When you get to Slack, you'll notice it works through different "channels." I've already made you a series of channels for your own work. We'll go over these the first day of class. Submission via Slack has three benefits. First, it gathers all your writing in one place online on the off-chance you have a computer meltdown somewhere this semester. Second (and significantly), it provides a useful way for me to give you an honest participation grade for this class, without having to manually check who has written what each day. Third, it allows us to share work with each other easily online, but it also has privacy features in case you ever just want to send me or one of your classmates a private message. Just so you know, Slack is a password protected website to which only your instructor and other registered classmates have access. No WebCrawler may search our site, nor may outsiders view its content. Registered class members have privileges to upload, edit, or delete documents under their own name, but cannot alter the material of others. One final note: If you are ever experiencing technical trouble or find yourself confused, please immediately email me [email protected]. You’ll still be expected to upload what you’ve written to Slack at a later date, when the system is in a better mood, but if you email me your work I'll have proof it is done. |