Online course delivery protocol

Regular class times happen as normal. But instead of meeting in person we’ll do a live stream & chat. For the 3 hours of class time there will be a live stream of the teacher:

• First doing the introductory slide deck,
• Then answering questions in the stream asked by class members in the live chat.

If you regularly have a TA in your in-person class time you will continue to have TA in the live-chat so there will be more than one person answering questions.

Attendance mandatory

This may be an online course but it doesn’t mean you should slack off. You should be more attentive & more involved.

It’s much more difficult for teachers to get a sense of who’s participating in the live stream—so we’ll be performing a roll call: When you enter the chat declare your presence, which will be logged as your attendance.

You’re welcome—and encouraged—to participate in any of the different sections—or more than one. The live broadcast will not be recorded or saved for later playback.

Regular open lab times will be kept. But instead of going to a classroom there will be a live-chat. The regular TA will be on the chat for the specified 2 hour block to answer questions in an efficient manner.

Dedicated open lab chat rooms

You can access the open lab chat rooms inside your Slack workspace the `#open-lab-time` channel.

Open lab times & chats

1. Mo. 3–5 — Hannah
2. Tu. 12–2 — MacKenzie
3. Fr. 5–7 — MacKenzie

There will be many different ways to get help & answer your questions.

Is it a general question?

Direct message your teacher on Slack [or email is also okay].

Nothing code related will not be dealt with over DM or email.

Slack:

• Slack: Web Dev 2
• Slack: Web Dev 4

Is your question code-specific?

Create a GitHub Issue & tag your teacher. This is the most efficient way to get help with code because we, as teachers, can see the code & comment directly on it.

• Create tagged issue
• I don’t have an issues tab!

Do you need more one-on-one?

During regularly scheduled office hour times you can book a one-on-one video conference over Skype—which will allow screen sharing, voice & text chat.

The term is not currently running so there are no defined office hours.

Email unlisted professors to make an appointment.

If it’s regularly a Markbot assignment, nothing changes. Submit with Markbot as normal.

“Show teacher for grades” work

If it’s something you’re supposed to show the teacher, follow this procedure.

1. Create an Issue on GitHub on a related repository
2. Title the Issue something related to grades: "Grade for" or "Marks for". (This is to help your teacher distinguish between an Issue that requires help & a grade specific Issue.
3. Make sure to include proof you completed the work. If it’s a quiz, include a screenshot of the final screen, etc.

• Create tagged issue
• I don’t have an issues tab!

Thomas

Nothing changes. Continue to use Progressinator to see your up-to-date grades.

We understand this is a difficult & overwhelming change to the routine and your expectations. Here are some quick, general tips to help you out.

• Stick to your regular hours & routines. Still get up as though you’re going to class. Then you can dedicate that time to working on the class materials.
• Keep on top of your work. This is still real school. You need to complete your work on time. Since there is no in-person teachers to confirm you’re following along, it’s more up to you.
• Watch all the videos!
• Pay attention to all online communication: chat, email, etc. This is where the important information will be distributed.

Tips to write helpful GitHub Issues

• Commit & push before you ask a question! If the teacher has to ask “Have you commited & pushed” you’re wasting everybody’s time.
• Don’t mix Issues. Don’t ask for help in the same Issue you ask for grades. Each Issue should be a single, unique question.
• Don’t ask unrelated questions in an Issue that’s previously been resolved.
• Describe in detail what the problem is that your’re seeing. And describe what you expect it to be doing. Detail what you’ve tried & what hasn’t worked.
• Definitely include screenshots of what it looks like! But no screenshots of the code; they’re not helpful—it’s much easier for us to see it in GitHub’s interface.

Extra help

Please contact your teacher to get the support you need.

Emails:

• Thomas