Learning in a Pandemic¶
Attending class¶
We are still in the midst of a global pandemic. In keeping with the Guidelines laid out in Smith’s Culture of Care, if you are ill and/or have any COVID symptoms, please do not come to in-person class. Instead, please log in on zoom. The link can be found on our Moodle site and our slack space.
You do not need to email me to ask permission to come to class over zoom or in person. However, if you are not able to be in-person for 3 consecutive meetings, then we need to check in.
Similarly, do not come to student hours nor appointments if you are ill and/or have any COVID symptoms. There will be a zoom link for student hours and a zoom link can be provided for any in-person appointment.
Warning
Do NOT come to in-person class or student hours, if you are ill and/or have any COVID symptoms.
Failure to respect this policy will result in an email to both the class dean and your advisor.
What if we have to pivot to online?¶
The course should be able to remain largely remain unchanged. The structure of this course is similar to one that I used in Spring 2021 for Modeling for Machine Learning. That course was fully online, and students had positive comments on this format.
Latework¶
All work is due at 10am on the date indicated on the Detailed Course Schedule. This is a great moment to note the due dates of all assignments in the system (ie. planner, calendar, etc) that you use to keep track of your work. (If you want to really stretch here, do this for all major assignments in all your courses.)
In general, work should not be late. Later course content builds on previous content, and if one is spending time on an assignment that is passed due, then there is less time for the next assignment. Additionally the grading for this course has a number of flexibility systems in place, and I encourage that you take advantage of them as needed.
This all being said, there’s a pandemic, and life is not normal. If you find yourself in need of a bit more time, send me a brief slack message at least a day before the work is due. In your message include 1) what flexibility systems you’ve already used (see above), 2) why it is important to your learning that you get an extension, 3) propose a new due date for yourself, and 4) why the proposed extension will not hinder your ability to get the next assignment done on time. Your message should be no more than seven sentences long.
Missing a knowledge check¶
The self-schedule knowledge check windows are listed on the Detailed Course Schedule. That being said, things do come up and you may be in a position where you need to miss a knowledge check. Under this grading system, you are working to demonstrate you most complete understanding of the course material by the end of the term. So you can miss a knowledge check for any reason knowing that you can attempt the medals from the missed challenge on a later knowledge check.
Warning
Missing two or more knowledge checks is not advisable.
This being said, if something comes up, I would rather you reach out and check in, than not reach out.