INTRO MODULE: COURSE SYLLABUS
I.1 Welcome
Welcome to Art80T: Digital Tools for Contemporary Art Practices. I am your instructor, Kristen Gillette (pronouns She/Her/Hers or They/Their/Theirs), and am very excited to be teaching this course's third summer offering. For this intro module content, I will be introducing the course format and basic weekly schedule, as well as the online learning system, called Canvas, that we will be using to do everything for this course. The 5 “exercises” due for this module are short practice assignments to get everyone comfortable with using Canvas to submit assignments, and going through a few basic operations on your computers. These assignments will be graded based on completion only - so you will receive full credit for each assignment submitted correctly. Most importantly, completing this module is required to “unlock” the rest of the Week 1 and Week 2 content and assignments - so be sure to do this as soon as you can.
I.2 Course Teaching assistants
This quarter we will be joined by TAs Shimul Chowdhury + Dylan Welch, who both assisted teaching this course for multiple courses. Each TA will be in charge of 1 section - be sure to check your "Grade" section in Canvas to see who your TA is, and to view the TA bio page in Canvas for their contact info, office hours schedule and more info about their professional experience and individual art practices. Your section has nothing to do with scheduling - it only indicates who will be reviewing the majority of your assignments.
I.3 Using Canvas
Canvas is the “Learning Management System” we will be using to host this course. Think of Canvas as the door to your classroom or lecture hall - every time you are doing any work for this course, you want to first log into Canvas, which will then link you to our course site. You will be using this site to do everything for this class - including access videos, tutorials and content, submit assignments, post discussion questions, take quizzes, view the course schedule, attend instructor office hours and view any course updates and announcements. Before you go any farther, if you have not logged into Canvas, follow this link to do so. Once logged in, please check your Account Settings and ensure that all Art80T announcements will also be sent to the email you will be checking throughout the summer session.
I.4 Module Format
This online course will use “modules” to organize lectures, assignments, discussion board participation and other course components by subject grouping. Access modules via the “Module” menu option on the left, or by linking through to each on the course Home Page.
Most modules will feature a “Lecture Page”, “Studio - Tutorial Videos” and corresponding “Studio Exercises” (which are like mini-projects), a required discussion board that you will contribute to, and a practice quiz. The modules will be organized by week - for Week 1 and Week 2, 5 content modules will be covered (including this one), and will be available starting on Monday, June 25th at 6am. Each week following, the corresponding modules will all unlock on Monday mornings.
I.5 MODULE DUE DATES
When you decide to work on assignments, complete quizzes, view course content and videos, and participate in discussion boards is totally up to you throughout the week. All required assignments within modules will have weekly due dates which will be specified under each individual assignment. The general rule of thumb - modules unlocked each Monday AM will have discussion posts and project deadlines the following Monday night at 11:30pm. This gives folks the weekend to work on these assignments. These deadline will also be outlined in the Course Syllabus.
I.6 Lecture Pages + Content
Lecture content covers things like different course topics, themes, artists, artworks + movements, as well as art + design principles, techniques and processes that correspond with ideas we are exploring in the studio portion of this course. It does not cover any technical information or instructions that are not fully discussed in the Studio Tutorial videos. When I was first developing this course, I had planned to present this content via video as well, however, I quickly realized it would be incredibly frustrating for students to access specific information from these lectures if they were all videos. This content is instead presented as a web page with text, slideshows and links to other resources and videos (that I did not produce). While this format does require you to read a bit more, it allows you to flip through slideshows, locate specific content easily and “attend” lectures and access course content from more locations. These lecture pages can be viewed in full on a desktop computer, as well as a tablet or smart phone.
I.7 Studio Exercise Assignments
Most modules will include 1 - 4 studio exercises due by 11:30pm the Monday following their module's release. Each of these exercises correspond directly to a different studio tutorial video. Starting with Module 1 (not this intro module) you will turn in multiple exercises to a single submission page posted in the Module, instead of one at a time.
Be sure to always follow the written instruction in Canvas, as these are the most up-to-date, and some videos contain slightly different information. Each tutorial video walks you more than half way through completing each exercise, and also introduces and discusses core concepts and techniques more in-depth. They each also explain all of the processes and tools you will need to know in order to complete exercises. You will have practice using this turn-in method via Canvas with this Intro Module.
I.8 A note on Grading Studio Exercises
I want to emphasize that these exercises are intended to be creative ways to explore and learn the technical aspects of these digital tools, and to better understand ways these tools could be used for different types of art-making. For those of you who have taken art courses before, we are not emphasizing concepts or ideas, and are mostly evaluating these exercises based on your exploration and application of the technical steps presented in each video tutorial, as well as your problem-solving efforts.
For Modules 1 + 2, each exercise is worth 2pts, which is the same as 2% of your final grade. Starting with Module 3, exercises will be broken up into 2 - 3 point steps, with very specific rubrics and requirements listed.
For all Modules, incomplete exercises or exercise steps will be docked by .5 - 2 pts, based on your submission documentation. If you encounter a technical challenge that you could not solve or work-around, provide a note of this in the comments section and describe how you tried to solve it. If this is the first time you have encountered the issue, and it is well documented, the penalty will be -.5 to 0.
For Module 1 + 2, late submissions turned in by Friday will be docked by 1 pt each (50%).
For Module 3 - 7, late submissions turned in by Friday will be docked by 1 - 2 pts each.
For any exercises that need to be turned in after the Friday following the deadline, please contact your TA and myself prior to completing, in order to ensure they will be accepted.
I.9 Asking for Help + Troubleshooting
For this course, I am requiring that everyone follow a strict series of steps when it comes to asking technical questions. I am defining “technical questions” as any question about any program or tool presented in the studio exercise tutorial videos, or any process (including starting or saving) required by a studio exercise assignment. Don’t worry, you will actually be earning points by following these simple steps.
Read through your weekly section discussion board to see if someone has already asked this question, and if it has been answered. If not, post your question(s). Check your TA’s discussion board moderation hours and post before / check after to increase your chances of an instructor response.
While you are waiting for replies or solutions, Google your question - this is what I, and all professionals, do when we are stumped. I do this probably 3 - 5 times a week when I am working on a new project. No one, not even Adobe, has all of the answers about these programs, and I am constantly learning new things via this process.
Continue to check your discussion board.
If your question still remains unanswered, it will most likely be discussed in the following weeks “Discussion Video”, an announcement, or on a help page. These will be posted midway through the week, and will essentially focus on answering the questions that were not addressed or answered on the discussion boards. Document this issue when you submit your project in the comments - if it was not addressed in the discussion boards, and this is the first time you have documented this issue, there will be a minimal point penalty, if any.
Reminder - this is for technical questions only, and does not include things like health emergencies, issues accessing your course portal, DRC accommodations or ANY other course concerns. Please contact me and your TA via email with any non-technical questions, with “Art80T” in the subject line. During the week, M-F, please allow 24 hrs for a response - it will usually be quicker, and sometimes a general concern might be addressed via an announcement - if this happens, it means that multiple people had similar issues. Over the weekend, response availability is limited, but always email me and your TA anyway, as this will allow you to "timestamp" any serious issues.
I.10 Discussion Boards
For Modules 1 - 7 you will be required to post at least 2 technical questions or answers to a module discussion board by the following Mondays at 11:30pm. Exact due dates will be listed under each module list. You will receive 1 point for each post, up to 2 points, however, you can always post more questions and answers if you want (and I would encourage it). The more that you use these discussion boards as resources, the more beneficial they will be to everyone. You can answer your own question, as well, if you ask and then find a solution.
Just to be clear, posts are required for every module, worth 2 pts total. These 2 pts per module are worth 2% of your final grade, for every module. In total, discussion posts are worth 14% of your final grade. If you choose not to post, you will not be able to receive an A in the course. These posts are intended to be a way to earn points asking for help, problem solving with your peers, practicing core technical concepts and sharing different processes, and should not take more than 10 - 20 minutes per module. As long as they are thoughtful, respectful and on-time, you will receive full credit. Very short threaded replies, such as "me too", "same", "ditto", "thanks" etc, while welcome (and helpful for us in terms of knowing what is most challenging for folks), are not substantial enough to earn credit.
These posts will not be graded for spelling or grammar, but its in your best interest to be clear because you want your question to be understood. When answering your peer’s questions, please remember that everyone is coming into this class with different levels of experience with - not to mention access to - these tools, processes and programs.
Any disrespectful communication, trolling, bullying, or hate speech will be immediately deleted, will be given 0 points and will also subtract 1 pt from the student’s 100 point final grade. Any repeat issue will compound that subtraction. If anyone is feeling bullied, uncomfortable, or unsafe with a discussion board communication, please do not engage or reply and email me and your TA immediately.
EARLY DISCUSSION POSTS
If you find that you are not using the technical discussion boards as a resource to complete studio exercises, you can submit one less post per module for full credit if you post early. If you submit a post by Fridays at 11:30PM - either a question or an answer to another post - you will receive 2 points, and, therefore, only need to submit one post. You still cannot earn more than 2 pts per module for discussion posts, regardless of how many times you post. If you have unanswered questions, it is still important to post multiple times, as this will help you complete the studio exercises.
I.11 Weekly Practice / Attendance Quizzes
Most weeks, there will be 1 - 2 short “attendance” quizzes required for each module. These will cover mostly content from that week’s Lecture Page and very basic concepts from the studio tutorial videos. Think of these as practice quizzes - they are multiple choice and “open book”. You can also take them as many times as you need and want.
These 7 quizzes will be worth 5pts of your final grade TOTAL. We look at 3 factors when determining this grade, in order of importance
That the quizzes were taken at least once with a score of at least 50%
Module 1 - 4 were taken prior to the midterm exam, Module 5 - 7 taken prior to final exam
The combo of time spent, number of attempts, and scores show at least a 10 - 20 minute effort
The questions on the quizzes will be similar to some of the midterm and final exam questions. Probably very similar. For example, if the quiz for Module 2 asks you multiple questions about a specific artist or a technique, you will want to make note of that specific artist or technique for the midterm. This does not mean that ONLY questions from the quizzes will appear on the exams. But they are an excellent starting point for review.
I.12 Midterm and Final Exams
Week 3 and Week 5 there will be a midterm and final exam due to be completed. The exams will be available for 5 days. Unlike the quizzes, these can only be taken once and will be timed. They WILL be the same multiple choice, open-book format. Anyone with DRC test-taking accommodations, please email me ASAP.
I.13 Time Management, Computer Issues + Internet Access
As a professional in the digital design field, I know that some of you are going to encounter equipment issues - like internet outages, or crashed or stolen computers - at probably the worst times. It happens to all of us, however, these types of issues do not automatically excuse late assignment submissions or late midterm or final exam submissions. If something DOES come up, you need to first have submitted your “Back-Up Plan” (Exercise 1.5), and then complete the following steps:
1. Take screenshots of any error messages or issues, or photos of any equipment malfunctions.
2. Email me with the issue and any of the above documentation ASAP.
3. Proceed with your back-up plan.
Each issue will be considered on a case-by-case basis - communication and pro-activeness is very important with these kinds of problems, in both the academic world and in the professional world, and will weigh heavily on our decisions to grant re-submissions. For example, don’t wait until Friday night at 8pm to take the midterm if your internet has been acting up all week, or, if you notice your computer crashing a few days before an assignment is due, check the computer lab hours and figure out a repair plan as soon as possible.
I.14 Grading scale and Percentage Breakdown
5% Intro Module Exercises
5% Attendance, Participation + Practice Quiz Attempts
14% Discussion Posts (2 posts per module)
56% Studio Exercises (8 pts per module)
10% Midterm Exam
10% Final Exam
Grade Scale:
100% A+
99% - 94% A
93% - 90% A-
89% - 87% B+
86% - 84% B
83% - 80% B-
79% - 77% C+
76% - 74 C
73% - 70 C-
69% - 67% D+
66% - 65% D
64% - 0% F
I.15 And now, on to the fun stuff…
This Intro Module is all about getting this logistical stuff figured out and on the record. I promise, this will be the most textual, non-visual lecture page of the whole quarter. The TAs and I are excited to be teaching this course, and had a great time over Winter Quarter - every time we get to teach this course, we also learn something new. Make sure to check out the posted Course Schedule (subject to change, with plenty of heads up) and work through the intro exercises for this Module. Next module we will be diving into pixel-based image editors - like Photoshop - and then moving into vector editors for Week 2.