Course Policies :: 67-343
Fall 2021
This page contains information on policies specific to the 67-343 course and applicable only for the Fall 2021 semester. For general Information Systems program policies, please choose the Department Policies link below. This section contains material on:
Grading
Lectures and Zoom
Labs
Readings
Questions, Piazza & Slack
Laptops & Phones
Special Accommodations
Concern for Students
Diversity and Inclusion
Educational Research
Faculty & Office Hours
TA Information
Grades in this course are determined by student performance in two areas: a course project (worth 75% total) and four weekly labs beginning in week one (worth 20% total) and attendance, short in-class assignments, and quizzes (periodically; worth 5% total). Any grading curves, if deemed necessary, will be applied only to the final course score and not to individual assignments.
Note that this a primarily a project-based course and that most of your grade comes from the final project evaluation and the intermediate sprint deliverables. If indeed "the proof of the pudding is in the eating," then for this class the proof of your learning comes in large measure from the quality of the application you and your team are able to develop.
We will be putting you on teams of three (or in one or two cases, teams of four if the total number of students is not evenly divisible by three) to work on the app. You are allowed to pick partners and if you all mutually agree, we will assign you as a team. If you do not submit a choice for a partner by the end of the day on August 25th, we will assign you partners.
We will have small in-class assignments to do on a periodic basis. These assignments will not be announced in class beforehand; since regular attendance is the norm, this should not be an issue. (FYI: attendance is taken until 5 minutes after class starts. After that time a student is considered absent. Students have one excused absence before any grade penalty is applied.) A major purpose of these in-class assignments is for both students and faculty to be certain that key concepts are understood and can be applied to basic problems. There will be no make-up for missed in-class assignments but you can be excused with prior permission.
A final note on etiquette and attendance: please avoid stepping out of class or leaving early. If there is an emergency and you cannot avoid leaving the classroom for a moment, go and come back discreetly, with a minimum of disruption to others. If exiting during class becomes a habit for a student, he/she may be docked points for attendance.
We are teaching this course remotely this semester due to the pandemic. Lecture is scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30am to 12pm EDT; 5:30pm to 7pm Qatar time. The Zoom link for all lectures this semester is https://cmu.zoom.us/j/94993698473?pwd=ZkNtdndRSHB2VDBCMUxvQmRGK2JOQT09.
Please make sure that your Internet connection and equipment are set up to use Zoom and able to share audio and video during class meetings. (See this page from Computing Resources for information on the technology you are likely to need.) Let me know if there is a gap in your technology set-up as soon as possible, and we can see about finding solutions.
During our class meetings, please keep your mic muted unless you are sharing with the class or your breakout group. If you have a question or want to answer a question, please use the chat or the “raise hand” feature (available when the participant list is pulled up). I [or a TA or a rotating student who serves as the “voice of the chat”] will be monitoring these channels in order to call on students to contribute.
This class will not be recorded and no student may record any classroom activity without express written consent from me; that decision may be revisited depending on how things progress with the pandemic. Also, as per my usual policy, every student is allowed to miss one lecture without penalty for any reason. However, if you are sick and you notify me with the appropriate information, I am certainly willing to excuse those absences as well.
Sharing video: In this course, being able to see one another helps to facilitate a better learning environment and promote more engaging discussions. Therefore, our default will be to expect students to have their cameras on during lectures and discussions. However, I also completely understand there may be reasons students would not want to have their cameras on. If you have any concerns about sharing your video, please email me as soon as possible and we can discuss possible adjustments. Note: You may use a background image in your video or blur your background if you wish; just check in advance that this works with your device(s) and internet bandwidth. Our synchronous meetings will periodically involve breakout room discussions, and those will work better if everyone in your small group has their camera turned on.
In order to attend class in person, I expect that you will abide by all behaviors indicated in The Tartan’s Responsibility, including any timely updates based on the current conditions.
To help students master the material covered in class, we will have a series of hands-on lab assignments for students to complete, starting in week 1. All labs are graded on a credit/no credit basis, depending on whether students completed the lab. Half credit can be given at the discretion of the TAs for labs that are more than half complete but less than fully finished.
All labs are going to remote this semester. The Zoom link for all labs this semester is same as lectures https://cmu.zoom.us/j/94993698473?pwd=ZkNtdndRSHB2VDBCMUxvQmRGK2JOQT09. Students are allowed to complete lab work on their own (unlike 67-272, you do not have to complete the assignment during your assigned section) and have it checked off later by TAs, but all check-offs must be complete by 11:59pm Qatar time on the date the lab is due.
There are no assigned books this semester because the most up-to-date documentation is on the web. However, Flutter has a great site with plenty of documentation. Here are some highlights:
Students are strongly encouraged to ask questions during class. The material can be tricky at times and we expect questions to be asked during the lecture. Odds are that if you have a question, someone else is wondering the same thing; if no one asks then the mystery remains a mystery. In a few cases in the past, the question is on a more obscure technical point that interests very few in the class -- in those cases Prof. H may choose to defer and answer the questioner after class so that the rest of the students are not bored or confused, but the question will be answered.
This term we will be using Piazza for class discussion and questions you might have outside of class. The system is highly catered to getting you help fast and efficiently from classmates, the TAs, and the professor. Rather than emailing questions to the teaching staff, we encourage you to post your questions on Piazza. The Head TAs will be monitoring Piazza every day and no question should go more than 24 hours without being answered (in most cases, much sooner). Do not send questions via email to the TAs without first checking Piazza to see if an answer has already been posted. In cases where the answer has already been posted. they simply tell you to go back to Piazza. If you email new questions that are not of a personal nature (like grades, standing in class) the TAs may ask you to post it on Piazza so they can answer it for everyone.
Find our Piazza class page at: piazza.com/cmu/fall2021/67343/home
In addition, this semester we will be using Slack to consolidate a lot of communication between teams and also give students faster access to Prof. H. (Sadly, Prof. H is poor at managing the quagmire of email; Slack usually gets a quicker response.) The class slack workspace is https://67343-f21.slack.com/ and each of you will be invited to join. Each project team will have their own channel and we are going to ask that you keep team-related communications on that channel so everyone is connected, there's a clear communication record, and the faculty can monitor your progress. Any announcements will go on the #general channel (please read, but do not post to #general), other lecture-related activities such as polls or instructions will in in the #lectures channel, and there will be a #labs channel to help facilitate communications between lab instructors and students.
For the record, Professor Heimann is only half-Klingon. Hence, you can safely ask questions in class or during office hours without being worried about him 'killing you where you stand for asking your question.'
This semester involves regular use of technology during class – both for in-person and remote students. Research has shown that divided attention is detrimental to learning, so I encourage you to close any windows not directly related to what we are doing while you are in class. Please turn off your phone notifications and limit other likely sources of technology disruption, so you can fully engage with the material, each other, and me. This will create a better learning environment for everyone.
If you have a disability and have an accommodations letter from the Disability Resources office, I encourage you to discuss your accommodations and needs with me as early in the semester as possible. I will work with you to ensure that accommodations are provided as appropriate. If you suspect that you may have a disability and would benefit from accommodations but are not yet registered with the Office of Disability Resources, I encourage you to contact them at access@andrew.cmu.edu.
All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. There are many helpful resources available on campus and an important part of the college experience is learning how to ask for help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is often helpful.
If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety or depression, we strongly encourage you to seek support. Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) is here to help: call 412-268-2922 and visit their website at http://www.cmu.edu/counseling/. Consider reaching out to a friend, faculty, or family member you trust for help getting connected to the support that can help.
Every individual must be treated with respect. The ways we are diverse are many and are fundamental to building and maintaining an equitable and inclusive campus community. These include but are not limited to: race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, ancestry, belief, veteran status, or genetic information. In this course we will work to promote diversity, equity and inclusion not only because it is necessary for excellence and innovation, but because it is just. Therefore, while we are imperfect, we all need to fully commit to work, both inside and outside of our classrooms to increase our commitment to build and sustain a campus community that embraces these core values.
Due to university policy, all office hours will be held remotely this semester. The link for Prof. H's office hours for this course will be: https://cmu.zoom.us/my/profh. If these hours are not convenient, please reach out and I am happy to schedule a time that works for you. Contact information is listed below:
- Professor Heimann
- Office: Hamburg 3001
- Hours: Wednesdays from 8:30am-9:30am and 12:30pm-1:30pm Pittsburgh Time (EDT)
- Best means of contact is via direct message on Slack, followed by email to profh@cmu.edu
Please note that office hours are subject to change due to faculty meetings and the like.
Below is a list of the TAs this semester for Thursday checkoffs:
- J.J. Igims -- 10am-11:30pm EDT / 5pm-6:30pm Doha time
- Ron Chew -- 1:20pm-2:20pm EDT / 8:20pm-9:20pm Doha time
Lab checkoffs will be held at the same zoom link as lecture: https://cmu.zoom.us/j/94993698473?pwd=ZkNtdndRSHB2VDBCMUxvQmRGK2JOQT09
The instructor reserves the right to make modifications to the materials in this syllabus during the term as circumstances warrant.