DGM3261 - Course Syllabus

Syllabus Banner

Course Description

In this course, you will be using a variety of technologies to create immersive virtual experiences for desktops, cardboard, and headsets.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

Course Prerequisites

Required Material

Textbooks

No textbook required

Software

There is lots of software but it will be provided in UVU computer labs for your use.

Web Hosting

You will need a free account on GitHub or a platform like Bluehost

Course Fees

Competency Based Education

In Competency Based Education or CBE you must demonstrate that you are competent in every module of the course. This way we know that you are prepared for later courses.

"C's get degrees" may be a catchy phrase, but it will not work in our field. Digital Media is skill-based, and you need to acquire these skills in order to succeed. Although you may be frustrated when you have to redo an assignment, we have discovered that students appreciate the opportunity to keep working till the understand.

Quotes from previous students.

"I think it helps review the material and actually learn it."

"I enjoy the opportunity to keep perfecting my assignments until they are the best they can be."

"For me repetition is key. The more I retake the quizzes the better I remember what I’ve learned so I don’t mind having to retake them if I didn’t do well."

The assignments for this course are broken into two different kinds. Units 1 through 10 and optional capstone projects.

Units 1 through 10

You may complete these assignments at your own speed as long as you are done with all of then prior to the end of the semester (Reading Day).

If you want to complete this course in 6 weeks, you may. If you want to take the full 15 weeks, you may. While the time you take to achieve competency will vary, you must pass each assignment at 90% in order to pass the class. By passing the first 10 units in the course, you will receive a final grade of a "B". Failing to complete all 10 units will result is a final grade of "F"

Optional Capstone Activities

If you want to improve your grade above a "B", there will be several activities that you can complete. Your level of achievement these optional assignments will determine whether you receive a B+, A-, or A. for the class. If you want to complete the optional capstone assignments, they will be due by Thursday night of finals week.

Procrastination

A word about procrastination, do not expect that you can procrastinate until the last weeks of the semester to complete everything on-time. It may take several reviews of an assignment and several revisions on your part to get the assignment correct.

If you have learned to make excuses for decisions that result in poor performance or you have never learned to pace yourself to complete assignments on-time, "You must unlearn what you have learned." —Yoda.

Grading Your Work

Assignments will be graded within a couple of days of being submitted in Canvas (excluding weekends). If your assignment does not meet the minimum criteria, you will be given detailed comments about what you need to correct and receive a temporary score of "0" for the assignment. Once you have redone your assignment, you must resubmit your assignment in Canvas so it can be regraded. This process will occur over and over until you complete the assignment at 90%.

Learning Activities

Instructional Videos

This course will rely heavily on screen casts (videos showing a computer screen and narrated by Dr. Cheney) to communicate the material we cover in class. These videos provide the optimal opportunity for you to control when and where you study. You can also pause the video while you get a snack or try to make your code work like the example. Have you ever been able to do that during a philosophy or history lecture? Most of the lessons will have video tutorials that show you how to complete an activity that is similar to the one you will work on. We hope you enjoy the benefits of mobile learning! Links to these videos are in each Canvas module on a page titled "Instructional Videos"

Assignments

Of course no lesson is complete without providing you an opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned. These carefully designed assignments will require you to demonstrate what you have learned from the instructional videos. You will NOT be allowed to copy code from any other source when completing the unit assignments. You get to hand code each assignment without the assistance of a WYSIWYG program like Dreamweaver. The assignment for each unit builds on the code you wrote for the previous unit, so it's important that you keep up.

Reflection Questions

Research has shown that when adult learners take time to reflect on what they have done, they can better apply their current knowledge to future problems. You will be responding to several questions for each lesson that will help you as you reflect on what you just learned. While some of these do have a correct answer, many do not have right and wrong answers. You will be graded on accurate, complete, and thoughtful responses to each set of questions. In addition, you will have the pportunity to learn from industry experts and think about how they can inform you scholarship as you learn web development.

Examples

I provide an example of each assignment so you can see how it functions and what you should be working towards. You can compare your work (function, presentation, design) against my example and self-assess how well you’re doing.

Quizzes

This course includes several quizzes which you can take when you are ready. Because this course is competency based, you will have unlimited chances to take each quiz. You are free to use your notes and even the internet to help you get a better score. You must retake each quiz until you get a score of 90%.

Capstone Activities

After completing all the required units at 90%, you will earn a 'B', You may improve your grade towards an 'A' in this course by completing all or part of the Capstone activities. You only have one chance at the capstone project so do your best the first time. This will be graded against the criteria and points awarded.

Suggested Due Dates for Units

Although there are no hard deadlines for assignments in this class, you will need to pace yourself so you don't run out of time.

Semester starts on