Communication

The short answer

Almost all communication should happen via the Teams platform. We can message privately, post general messages to channels, we can meet in an audio or videoconference as a whole or in small groups/ one-on-one.

Only rarely should you email me (the professor) because it'll likely get caught in an email backlog.

The long answer

Communicating with one another is the key to a successful online class.

Given the distance-learning component of this course, we will all need to be pro-active and intentional with our communications and interactions. This is particularly important not only since the course will be distance-learning, but also because we will have to use multiple different software platforms to interact.

If you want to communicate with one another outside of class, I have created a Slack channel which you can join. I will not read messages there, I won't monitor it and am not responsible for any content that might be shared there. I have created it purely to allow for you have a private venue. Join the Slack team here.

Although it probably will feel a bit overstructured, please read the following carefully. Knowing all of the avenues and opportunities for contact and communication – and maximizing the opportunities you have – will be crucial to making sure you have the best learning experience possible in this course.

Information about the process to request an extension/accommodation for reasons of personal/health emergency is found in Deadlines

Basic Course Information

The static website on gitbook.com will be the main source of information on basic course information, including a detailed syllabus, schedule of readings, assignment descriptions, and topics under discussion, expectations etc.
Our "The Making of the Middle Ages" group on MS Teams will provide a dynamic workspace for class announcements, discussions, as well as where our video conferences will be run. It will be a hub with links to the digital tools and readings we will be using in the course. Note: you must be logged in to your Carleton cmail account to access Teams.

·Since we will often announce and reiterate a variety of important logistical information live in class (not all of which will be necessarily announced elsewhere), please attend class consistently, and check with colleagues about whether you missed any logistical information if you were not able to attend a class.

Live Contact

We strongly believe that live interaction with your fellow students and the professor is one of the most efficient, effective and valuable parts of the learning experience of any university course.

In our experience, live discussions are by far the best and most efficient way to interact.

This is absolutely true for intellectual encounters: live back-and-forth conversations tend to be much richer, more wide-ranging and spontaneous – which allows for a much deeper and creative exploration of the issues
It is also usually true for logistical questions as well. First off, given our processes, you will almost always be able to get your question answered faster by connecting with us live rather than via written communications (see below for details).

Obviously there are exceptions to this rule – particularly in the case of extremely urgent logistical/emergency issues; such as, a situation where it is not feasible/desirable to talk live or sensitive issues you would like to communicate by writing rather than live.

Contact with Peers

There will be a variety of official channels through which you can connect with fellow students, including, for example

MS Teams chat/ videoconference functions before, during and after class
Small group breakouts in class
Self-scheduled group meetings you can organize via Teams
outside of class Slack channel

Live Contact with Professor/ TA

You will be able to connect with the professor in and out of class. Outside of the normal give-and-take of class discussions, you can meet individually (online) with the professor, either as on audio or videoconference via Teams. Live contact is the best way to address complex questions about an assignment you are working on, issues you are having with the course

The professor will have office hours through Teams.
We will have synchronous class time each week where we will be able to engage in discussions and debates

Written Contact with Professor

When written communication is absolutely necessary, we will exclusively use the Teams messaging system. Please note - we will not be using our Carleton email to communicate regarding this class, but rather, we will do all written communication via Teams to ensure that none of our messages go missing.

If you do need to message us privately, please always write on Teams using the CHAT function.
Please also note that the professor will read and respond to messages only at certain times during the working week.
Do not expect that we will receive or answer on the weekends.

We will do our best to respond to your message as soon as feasible and definitely within two days. Please note, however:

Two working days starts from the first receivable working hours after they are sent. So, if you email us on Friday at 5pm, it will be considered to have been officially received as of Monday 9AM, meaning that we will seek to respond by Wednesday 9AM. It also means if you email us at noon Thursday, for example, we will seek to respond before Monday at noon.
Please also note that we might not always be able to respond within 48 hrs. We might need to discuss the issue between the profs and TA – and that might take us longer than 48 hrs. Moreover, given the current COVID-19 context and the higher than normal enrollment numbers, there might be other circumstances that will make it impossible to respond within 48 hrs.

Given all that, if it is possible to do so, it is almost always more efficient to connect with us live before/after class and/or during office hours (one of which we have every day of the week).

The best route to getting answers for logistical questions

If your question is primarily a straightforward logistical one (e.g. when an assignment is due, other information about how the class runs, etc) – follow this order:

Start by looking at the announcements on the Teams site, rereading the syllabus on Gitbook and/or your notes from class (especially the intro class) – the answer is probably there. You can easily search the Teams site by keywords.
If your question isn’t so straightforward, the next step is to reach out to a classmate/post a question on the chat of the "General" Channel of the Teams site before class. They’ll probably be able to help.
If neither of the above are successful or appropriate, then contact the professor – ideally live during office hours.

Obviously, of course, if your logistical question is of a sensitive/private nature, or it concerns intellectual questions, you are always welcome to come straight to the professor.

Emergency/Urgent situations

If, however, you need to get a hold of us very urgently, please send us messages in multiple formats: a Teams message and an email to our official Carleton email, as well as contacting us for a live meeting during office hours.

Make sure you note in the subject heading that this is very urgent. And also indicate how you would prefer that we contact you. In that case we will do our best to get back to you as soon as we can.

Double check when the professor's office hours are here. I've scheduled them for Wednesday mornings from 11h00-12h00, but this might change depending on how much you use them, and other things that might happen in life...
Open up Teams.
Click on "Calendar" in the lefthand sidebar.
Click on "New Meeting"

5. This will bring you to a meeting scheduler pane. You need to fill in the form:

a name for the meeting, something like "Meet with Professor"
you need to invite me (Marc Saurette) to join the meeting (otherwise I won't know)
input a start time between 11h00 and 11h45, and then manually enter an end time 15 minutes lates (unfortunately 30 mins is the dropdown default)
add the time to the "The Making of the Middle Ages/General" channel, so others can know when a time slot is booked.
And finally write up a little bit about what we'll be talking about (this may be public to others, so be vague if wanting to talk about somethinng confidential).