Lectures

1. Students are responsible for the material in lectures.
2. Some lectures will be given “live” (synchronously), while other material will be given asynchronously (pre-recorded videos).
3. We intend to record the synchronous lectures, but you are responsible for the material even if there is a failure.
4. Class periods will be used for required activities (exams), and other activities (to be determined)
5. The slides are designed to be used as part of the lecture presentation - they may not make sense without watching the lecture. In particular, a lot of the slide content will be drawn during the lecture.

CS559 is being taught with remote instruction for Spring 2021. There are no in-person (face to face) lectures. All material will be delivered online.

Students are required to take exams during class periods. Otherwise, participation in activities during class periods may be tracked and considered as part of the “participation” grade (see Grading).

Synchronous Lectures: Some lectures will be presented “live” (known as synchronous instruction). That means students are watching the lecture (via video streaming) while the instructor is presenting the material. Synchronous lectures allow students to ask questions, have discussion in chat, and for the instructor to use interactive elements (such as polling). There is also a very different feel - even if there isn’t much interaction, synchronous lectures feel different (maybe its the fact that it is live, maybe it is because there is the possibility to interact, or maybe it is something else). Many students find it advantageous to attend the live lectures.

The live lectures will be recorded. This means students can watch the videos afterwards. This can be convenient for reviewing a lecture you have seen. It also means you can watch the video later, if you prefer. You miss out on the advantages of the live lecture, but you gain flexibility.

Note: in the event that there is some failure and the video is not recorded, students are still responsible for the material.

Synchronous lectures will be delivered via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (BBCU). It is worth taking some time to get familiar with BBCU and get your settings correct.

The exact mechanisms for how recordings will be presented is being determined by the Unviversity. (for a while, they are available in BBCU, but then they are moved to Kaltura Mediaspace). Instructions will be provided on Canvas.

We may look at logging information (about attendance and other participation during ) to determine participation grading bonuses.

Asynchronous Lectures: Some “lectures” will be provided as pre-recorded videos that you can watch whenever you like. In a sense, these videos are class material (like a reading). Pre-recorded videos have the advantage that (1) you can watch them whenever it is convenient; (2) you can start, stop, rewind, and fast forward; (3) you can watch them at fast (or slow) speed; and (4) you can choose your own pacing. You do need the discipline to actually watch them, and you must ask questions asynchronously (e.g., via Piazza).

Asynchronous videos will be provided on Kaltura (Mediaspace). Links will be provided on Canvas.

Asynchronous videos may not be available at the beginning of the week (and we may not even know what ones there will be). Sometimes videos will be created in response to student questions, or may cover topics that we don’t have time for during the synchronous lectures.

Exams: Exams will also be given during class periods (instead of lectures). These will be scheduled so you will know when it is critical to be available during the class time period.

Other Class Activities: We may do other “in class activities” (such as discussions or collaborative practice) during class periods. These will not be graded, although we may track participation and consider it in participation scores.

Lecture Materials (Slides)

The slides used for the lecture presentations will be made available via Canvas.

Generally, there will be a version before the lecture (useful if you want to take notes), and a version after the lectures (that captures the drawings I make on the slides during lectures). We will try to provide a post-lecture version that includes links to the videos (timing placed on slides), but these might not be available for a few days after the lecture.

The slides are designed to be used in the video. The slides are not meant to stand alone. The slides may have no meaning if you don’t watch the video.

The pre-class slides often have lots of spaces where I intend to draw things. The post-class slides only capture the slide at the end of the lecture (it might have many drawings piled on it).

Do not expect the slides to serve as a replacement for lecture.