Full assignment instructions

This Unit Guide provides a brief description only of each required assessment piece. Full instructions are provided via the ECED886/ECHX886 Essentials document, which will be available on the iLearn site from Day1 of Session 1.

Assessment Presentation and Submission Guidelines

Please follow these guidelines when you prepare and submit each assignment:

• Allow a left and right-hand margin of at least 2cm in all assignments.
• Type all assignments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.
• All assessments must be submitted through Turnitin in .doc or .pdf format. The presentation component of Assignment 2 must be submitted through VoiceThread.
• It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all assessments are successfully submitted through Turnitin.
• Faculty assignment cover sheets are NOT required.

Draft Submissions & Turnitin Originality Reports

• Students may use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the unit.
• Students are strongly encouraged to upload a draft copy of each assessment to Turnitin at least one week prior to the due date to obtain an Originality Report.
• The Originality Report provides students with a similarity index that may indicate if plagiarism has occurred. Students will be able to make amendments to their drafts prior to their final submission on the due date.
• Generally, one Originality Report is generated every 24 hours up to the due date.

Please note:

• Students should regularly save a copy of all assignments before submission.
• Students are responsible for checking that their submission has been successful and has been submitted by the due date and time.

Assignment extensions and late penalties

• In general, there should be no need for extensions except through illness or misadventure that would be categorised as serious and unavoidable disruption according to the University definition of same, see:  https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration

• Applications for extensions must be made via AskMQ according to the Special Consideration policy. Extensions can only be granted if they meet the Special Considerations policy and are submitted via https://ask.mq.edu.au/. This will ensure consistency in the consideration of such requests is maintained.

• Late submissions without extension will receive a penalty of 5% reduction of the total possible mark for each day late (including weekends and public holidays). You are reminded that submitting even just 1 day late could be the difference between passing and failing a unit. Late penalties are applied by unit convenors or their delegates after tasks are assessed.
• No assessable work will be accepted after the return/release of marked work on the same topic. If a student is still permitted to submit on the basis of unavoidable disruption, an alternative topic may be set.
• Students should keep an electronic file of all assessments. Claims regarding "lost" assessments cannot be made if the file cannot be produced. It is also advisable to keep an electronic file of all drafts and the final submission on a USB untouched/unopened after submission. This can be used to demonstrate easily that the assessment has not been amended after the submission date.

Requesting a re-assessment of an assignment

If you have evidence that your task has been incorrectly assessed against the grade descriptors you can request a re-mark. To request a re-mark you need to contact the unit convenor within 7 days of the date of return of the assignment and provide a detailed assessment of your script against the task criteria. Evidence from your assignment must be provided to support your judgements.

Note:

• Failed assessments cannot be re-marked as they are all double-marked as a part of the moderation process.
• The outcome of a re-mark may be a higher/lower or unchanged grade.
• Grades are standards referenced and effort is NOT a criterion.

Descriptive Criteria for awarding grades in the unit

In order to meet the unit outcomes and successfully pass this unit, students must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks. Where any submitted assessment task is considered to be unsatisfactory in this regard, the highest possible final grade that can be awarded for the unit will be 45.

Students will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the policy: https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/assessment-in-effect-from-session-2-2016

The following generic grade descriptors provide university-wide standards for awarding final grades.

Note: If you fail a unit with a professional experience component the fail grade will be on your transcript irrespective of the timing of  the placement.

Withdrawing from this UG Unit

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice via https://ask.mq.edu.au before doing so as this unit may be a co-requisite or prerequisite for units in the following sessions and may impact on your progression through the degree.

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Study commitment

All students are expected to view relevant lectures and complete the specified reading preparation before completing online learning tasks. This unit does not have internal/on-campus classes and attendance requirements. To complete this unit successfully, all students are expected to actively contribute to online discussions, and must complete and submit all three assignments.

Students are expected to view all lectures. The lectures will be recorded and made available progressively by Wednesday each week. Students can access them by clicking on the link to ECHO360 (on the right side of the screen) on the unit’s iLearn website. Some lectures may be made available ahead of the schedule.

As this is a 4 credit point unit, it is estimated that students will need to spend 10-12 hours a week over 13 weeks (approximately 150 hours over the course of the session) working on this unit to achieve a passing grade. This commitment includes accessing the unit’s iLearn website at least twice a week and participating in online discussions, listening to recorded lectures, reading and studying, working on assignments.

Participation requirements

As postgraduate students, you are expected to participate fully in this unit, be self-directed in your learning, and approach the unit content with enthusiasm. To achieve a passing grade, you need to:

• listen to all lectures
• complete, post and discuss study-guide tasks online 
• complete the required readings and participate in online discussions 
• complete and submit all assignments 
• complete all required readings
• check the unit’s iLearn website at least twice a week 

STUDY RESOURCES

Required readings and other resources

Kress & Van Leeuwen (2006). Reading Images: Grammar Of Visual Design, 2^nd edition. Routledge: London & New York. [Please use e-book available through MQ library as a 3rd edition is expected to be published in 2019.]

Serafini, Frank. (2014). Reading the visual: an introduction to teaching multimodal literacy. New York: Teachers College Press. 

There are also required readings and other resources that will be available through the library’s e-reserve collection and/or the unit’s iLearn website. All required and recommended readings are listed in the ECED886/ECHX886 Essentials document available through the iLearn website.

Access to iLearn and technical assistance

Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/. You will need to enter your student username and password.

Please do NOT contact the Unit Convenor regarding iLearn technical help. Assistance is available from IT Helpdesk ph: 1800 67 4357, or log a request at help.mq.edu.au. OneHelp is the online IT support service for both students and staff. 

No extensions will be given for any technical issues. Allow enough time for your submissions.

Please consult the ECED886/ECHX886 Essentials document for the most up-to-date readings and schedule details.