October 31, 2016 - February 16, 2017
Note this will be available in your class repo wiki tab and you will gain access to our repo shortly
- Monday, October 31: 10:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST: First day of class
- Friday, November 11: Veteran's Day, WDIR closed
- Thursday, November 24: Thanksgiving, WDIR closed
- Friday, November 25: The Day After Thanksgiving, WDIR closed
- Monday, December 19, 2016 through January 1, 2017: Winter Break, WDIR closed
- Monday, January 2: WDIR class resumes- Monday, January 2: WDIR class resumes - Monday, January 16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, WDIR closed
- Thursday, February 16: Last day of class
- Sign on to Zoom and Slack by 10:00am EDT
- Be present and active in class until 6:00pm EDT
- Submit your homework each day before 10:00am EDT
- 3 late arrivals = 1 absence. 15 minutes late results in a tardy. Late arrival is a result of not being logged on to Zoom and Slack by 10:15 am EDT
- Missing part of the day of class counts as ½ day absence
- Students can have no more than 2 absences
- If you are unable to avoid being late or need to request an absence: Contact the Student Experience (IA) via email - contact information is at the bottom of this document.
To receive outcome support and a letter of completion, the following requirements must be met:
- Homework submission needs to be at 80% or higher
- Attendance must be consistent (please see the Attendance Policy)
- All unit projects need be submitted and presented to the instructional team and should meet project rubric expectations
**Establish a dedicated, quiet, comfortable workspace**
You are in the classroom. It just happens to be in your home. It will be really important to have a set up that lets you step out of your home and into your classroom. Setting up a desk in a quiet place in your home can help put you in the learning mindspace. You will be interacting and talking with your instructors and classmates throughout the day, so it is important that you are able to do so from your setup. Also, a comfortable chair goes a long way! You’ll be at your desk for almost 8 hours a day — make sure to have a chair you can sit in for that entire time!
**Enhance your focus**
The temptation to do other things during class may never go away. There are too many cat videos out there for that to happen. Instead, do your best to remove any potential distractions from your workspace. Allow yourself to check your phone and other websites only at breaks in the class. On your computer, close out other tabs and programs other than what you need to have open for the class. If you need help to stop surfing other websites, there are actually plugins you can download that will lock you out of websites of your choosing for a specific time. Read about one option for Chrome [here](http://osxdaily.com/2007/03/19/block-access-to-specified-sites-by-modifying-etchosts/). Set yourself goals along the way that help you get better at eliminating distractions. This will take some practice and will not only benefit you now but also when you start your career as a web developer.
**Engage with the class**
Jump into this. You will get out of this class what you put into it. Have fun. Support your classmates by commenting on their work. Ask your instructors and classmates questions on Slack or during standups. Attempt to do all activities and answer all questions regardless of who might have already answered in Slack. Don’t worry about making mistakes - that’s one of the best ways for you to learn. This experience is going to feel a bit strange at first if you’ve never taken an online class like this before (and given the way we’ve developed this course, you probably haven’t). We have built this course to keep you constantly engaged and to apply what you’re learning.
**Energize yourself**
So much of your success will be about staying motivated throughout the day, and your energy level will affect that. Keep healthy snacks such as fruits and almonds on hand for when your energy level starts to wane. Also, hydrate constantly! During breaks or whenever your energy level is getting low, do some jumping jacks to wake up. Twenty-five jumping jacks can go a long way to getting your blood pumping and your energy level back up. Also, consider using a blue light decreasing app, such as f.lux. It decreases your screen's blue light as the sun goes down to keep screen time from negatively impacting your sleep cycle. A good night’s rest will go a long way to keeping you energized the next day.
**Escape your house at least once a day**
You wake up. You are in class all day. You eat. You go to sleep. Repeat the process the next day. It is very easy to get in this routine. We encourage you to get outside at least once a day, otherwise home and work will start to feel like the same thing. Go out for a walk, bike ride, or drive. Go to a restaurant for dinner. Visit a friend. Find some reason to leave the house at least once a day to ensure that you stay motivated throughout the class and don’t feel like being at home means you’re always at work. Getting away even for an hour at the end of the day can help you delineate being at work and being at home.
- Post your questions or comments in the wdir-matrix Slack classroom. Questions will be addressed by the instructors who are active for the lesson.
- To reduce confusion, you will mute yourself on Zoom as soon as you sign on to Zoom. If called upon to speak, you will unmute yourself.
- If you are having a technical issue, you can send a direct message to the instructor who is supporting during the lesson. This will most likely be your Student Experience IA. Your contact for support will be posted on Slack at the start of each lesson.
- Please do not send a direct message to the on-camera instructor while the lesson is taking place.
- Make your own Zoom meeting room
- Send a Slack Direct Message
- Make a Slack Call
- Contact the instructional team via email from your phone so that we can setup a backup plan for you. Contact information is at the bottom of this document.
NOTE: If you do not have a smartphone, let us know immediately.
General Assembly is a community of learners. Should a student be disruptive to the community, he or she may be asked to leave. Examples of disruption include, but are not limited to:
Aggression or threats towards other students, instructors, or staff; illegal activities conducted or discussed on or around campus; the failure to observe classroom or campus conduct standards set forth by instructors or staff; or other behavior identified as disruptive to the learning environment of other students by instructors or staff.
Students may also be withdrawn for academic violations, per General Assembly’s withdrawal policy below. Students are to treat all members of the staff and other students with respect and dignity. A student who is caught cheating; willfully destroying school property; attending school under the influence of illegal drugs and/or alcohol; or exhibiting disruptive, insubordinate, boisterous, obscene, vulgar, or disrespectful behavior may be dismissed and prohibited from re-enrollment in another course.
Students dismissed due to disruptive and/or disrespectful conduct will not be re-admitted to General Assembly.
General Assembly is an equal opportunity organization and does not discriminate based on sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, or other categories protected by law of the states in which we operate.
General Assembly strictly prohibits and does not tolerate sexual harassment or other unlawful harassment (including verbal, physical, or visual conduct) based on protected status. Individuals who believe they have been subject to or witnessed conduct that violates this policy should immediately notify the Regional Director. All complaints will be investigated and prompt corrective action will be taken, as appropriate. Interim measures may be taken, as appropriate, when a complaint is made.
General Assembly prohibits retaliation against any individual who raises concerns under this policy or participates in an investigation. General Assembly will conduct its courses, services and activities consistent with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.
Students who seek accommodations related to a disability should contact their Producer or Regional Director. General Assembly provides reasonable accommodations to individuals who desire to participate in our educational programs.
General Assembly, and your instructional team, take plagiarism very seriously. The code you write in class should reflect your current understanding of the material, and should be representative of your own original thoughts. That said, you will often be required to use code that’s not yours to string these thoughts together, or to provide additional functionality.
Additionally, if you do include any code that you didn’t write in your projects / homework, you must include a RESOURCES.md file in your repository notating: the original source of the code, the team which wrote it, and how it’s being used in your project. You must also have a comment in your code referencing the corresponding line number in your RESOURCES.md.
Created by Zoe Silverman, last modified by Samantha Barrow on Apr 14, 2016
**Definition**
Simply put, plagiarism involves both stealing someone else's work or idea and lying about it afterward; an act of cheating. Plagiarised work includes turning in code that you didn’t write or building someone else’s idea without giving credit. As broken down by Plagiarism.org, to “plagiarise” is to: Steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own Use (another's production) without crediting the source Commit literary or code theft Present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
**Policy**
General Assembly has a zero tolerance policy towards plagiarism and cheating. It is destructive to classroom culture, and exhibits a clear lack of respect for classmates, instructors, the company, and the greater community. Any work considered to have been plagiarised will not be accepted and will not count towards graduation requirements. If a project exhibits evidence of plagiarism or cheating, the student will not be able to display the project at a GA-sponsored class “science fair” or “meet & greet.” Any student found plagiarising or attempting to plagiarise will be disciplined accordingly (including but not limited to removal from class).
Open source code is inherently open and usually available for free use to modify and implement into any non-commercial project. However, please review their license and usage guidelines, give credit to the project and/or author, and do not try to hide or disguise the usage of such code.
**All of the following are considered plagiarism or cheating**
Turning in work that is not your own. Turning in someone else's work as your own. Hiring, or paying someone to do your work for you. Copying words or code without giving credit. Building or copying someone else’s idea without their knowledge or giving credit. Giving incorrect information about a source. Changing words, variable names, etc. but copying the code or files of a source without giving credit. Copying so many ideas or code blocks from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not. Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks.
**NOTES:** A source can be considered anything found on the internet (i.e. Stack Overflow, GitHub, etc.), an instructor, or another classmate. Plagiarism is NOT the same as copyright infringement
**How to avoid plagiarism**
Don’t copy a classmate’s work by looking at their published work, homework repository, works in progress, or looking at their screen. If you need help, ask for it. Don’t build an idea that is not yours without the source’s prior knowledge and consent. Check for a project’s license. Some common ones include MIT License, Creative Commons, and GNU GPL. Give credit to the code you’ve borrowed or adapted. At a minimum, put a link to the source in a code comment. GA expects all course students to be able to explain the usage, meaning, and/or implementation of any code submitted and declared work of the student. If you’re ever in doubt or unsure, talk to your instructor.
**Examples of Plagiarism**
This **is** plagiarism:
- Looking over someone’s shoulder and copying what they have done.
- Paying or asking someone to do your work for you.
- Implementing a CSS framework like Skeleton, but renaming some classes and keywords to pass it off as your own.
- Cloning another student's project and passing it off as your own
- Cloning anyone's repo and passing it off as your own without attribution
- Using code from a tutorial or class lesson as the majority of your submission
This **isn't** plagiarism:
- Using a JavaScript library
- Using a CSS framework
- Using a Node package
- Using a Ruby gem
- Using boilerplate / "starter" code from a library, e.g. Google Maps
In an effort to not plagiarize, credit for this content goes to:
Plagiarism.org, specifically the “plagiarism 101” section. Content was adapted for code. For more information, please see:- [What is Plagiarism](http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism)
- [Types of Plagiarism](http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/types-of-plagiarism)
- [How do I safely write code in my own 'words' and not plagiarize?](http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/80167/how-do-i-safely-write-code-in-my-own-words-and-not-plagiarize)
- [Avoiding Plagiarism: Writing Computer Code](http://www.upenn.edu/academicintegrity/ai_computercode.html)
This is a meant to be a typical day, when not in a project week. All times are Eastern Daylight Time.
Students will sign into Slack and Zoom for the learning objectives and agenda for the day.
Students will attend instructor-led morning exercises. The instructor will go through morning exercises with the students to prep them for the day’s lessons.
On Friday mornings, there will be a quiz to test your understanding of class material.
Standups are team meetings. Standup will take place on Zoom with all students and the instructor on camera and microphone. These small groups will act as mini-teams for the classes. Each person will have an instructor acting as his/her dedicated team leader. These team meetings will allow the instructor to monitor student progress.
The Zoom link for the morning lesson will be posted in Slack for students to join. At this point, students will run the video conference (Zoom) in the background and will follow the deck and lesson in the Slack chat window. These communication platforms will be on the student’s primary computer monitor. On the external monitor will be the student’s interactive coding environment.
A 10 min break will be given around 12pm.
Go eat something delicious!
This time will be to review either a morning exercise or homework
This will have a similar structure to the morning lesson.
Get up, walk around, stretch...
Afternoon Instructor will provide students with the lab assignment. Students will use Slack and Zoom to work on their own or with each other.
Instructors will be unavailable for the first 30 minutes of lab to encourage you to work out solutions on your own, but will return and be available for questions and help from 5:00 to 5:30pm
This will have a similar structure to the morning standup.
Exit tickets will be sent out 3 times per week. These are quick check-ins to gather feedback on instruction and lessons.
Teaching Assistant will be available for evening homework support through chat, video and audio. There will be a Teaching Assistant available on Zoom to help you throughout the cohort on evenings and Saturdays. You are highly encouraged to use her as a resource to help you as you work through your homework and review the material of the day/week.
Tuesdays from 10:00am - 12:00pm EST
Join your weekly Outcomes lesson in the #wdir-pan-outcomes Slack channel. The Zoom link for the Outcomes session will be posted in Slack. Students will run Zoom on their external monitor and will follow the deck and lesson in the Slack chat window.
The goal of Outcomes is to arm you with the tools and skills needed to navigate the job market and land a position as web developer! Each of you will meet with your Career Coach to shape and develop your career search. Outcomes programming will be a blend of live Outcomes Sessions, Small-Groups, and 1:1 sessions, combined with portfolio work in the Outcomes Circuits. During live sessions, you will learn best practices for job seeking, participate in panel discussions, and tour companies. You will use the Outcomes Circuit to complete and submit your weekly projects. For questions regarding Outcomes, please reach out to your Career Coach, whose contact information can be found at the bottom of this document.
Friday mornings
There will be a quiz to test your understanding of class material.This will be in lieu of the morning exercise.
Friday Afternoons
Students will be scheduled for a weekly 1:1 with the Student Experience IA
1:1s will be 15 min long and focused on monitoring progress, well-being, and motivation. Technical and conceptual questions regarding course content, as well as help with projects/homework/labs, should be addressed to the TA.
Saturdays from 12:00pm-3:00pm EST
A TA will be available on Saturdays, with the same type of support as the evening TA sessions.
**Note:** This timeline is subject to change.October 31 - November 23
- Git
- Command Line
- HTML
- CSS
- JS
(Early dismissal on November 8, for Election Day)
(No class November 11, for Veteran's Day)
November 28 - December 16
- Express.js
- MongoDB
(No class November 24 & November 25, for Thanksgiving)
(No class December 19 - January 1, for winter break)
January 2 - January 13
- AJAX
- Angular
January 14 - February 1
- Ruby
- Ruby on Rails
- SQL
(No class January 16, for Martin Luther King Jr Day)
February 1 - February 16
- Optional Topics
- Final Projects
The best way to contact your instructors is by using the WDIr-Matrix Slack Channel. If the content is private, please send a direct message on Slack.
**Matt Huntington** - matt.huntington@generalassemb.ly - @mahuntington
Thom Page
- thom.page@generalassemb.ly
- @thom000
Kristyn Bryan
- kristyn.bryan@generalassemb.ly
- @kristyn
Karolin Rafalski
- karolina.rafalski@generalassemb.ly
- @karolinr
- @taniaallen14
- eric.hegdahl@generalassemb.ly
- @coacheric
- @mayajimenez