ACC 7155
Quizzes and Surveys
- Online quizzes--which are taken online and completed prior to the deadline for credit--are assigned in the Schedule of Assignments. Each quiz (except the Baseline Quiz* at the beginning of the course) is based on the lecture notes from the prior units, and the assigned readings for that unit and prior units.
- Note: Everything on this page applies to all Examinations (Part One and Part Two), as well as to all Quizzes. Before taking a midterm exam or the final exam, carefully re-read everything on this page of the syllabus, along with the Exams page of the syllabus.
- Using Blackboard. Students who register for this course are automatically enrolled into the online Blackboard section for this course. For information about Blackboard, carefully review the information and links available at both of the following two sites:
- Blackboard
at Wayne State University (Computing & Information Technology)
- Blackboard Support (Office of Teaching and Learning)
- Login to Blackboard using your AccessID. To access Quizzes (within Course Documents) and other restricted pages on the Blackboard site for your section of this course, you'll need to be signed onto Blackboard with your Wayne State University AccessID
- For new Wayne State students, it's very important that you immediately log in to WSU Pipeline (http://pipeline.wayne.edu) and activate your AccessID account. AccessID accounts need to be activated before they can be used. Your AccessID format is two letters followed by four numbers, e.g. xy6789. The AccessID is printed on your OneCard. Your initial password for your AccessID account is set to the 9-digit Student ID number, which is also printed on your OneCard. Note: the only way for you to receive credit for the quiz is to complete the quiz online on Blackboard, on time (that is, prior to exact date and time deadline set forth in the syllabus).
- Before taking an exam, carefully read the Blackboard Student Assessment Guide.
- When Quizzes are Made Available. Except for the
Baseline Quiz, all quizzes are to be completed toward the end of the
student's study efforts for that unit. Therefore, each regular quiz is
generally not made available on Blackboard until approximately 20 hours
(and a minimum of 12 hours) prior to the time and date for which that
quiz is due. This allows the student to follow the study
recommendations for this course (see the How to Study
page of the syllabus) in proper order. However, to reduce the
risk of being locked out and ending up with a zero, do not wait until
the last minute to take a quiz or exam. As you carefully read the rest
of this page you'll see why.
- Quizzes are Browser-Sensitive. For best results, make sure your browser allows cookies, and that popup windows are not suppressed or blocked. It also helps to clear the history cache of your browser before starting a quiz. In general, firewall and security settings on your browser should be low so as to allow Blackboard to interact with your browser.
- Users of the most recent version of the Firefox browser tend to fare
better than users of Internet Explorer or other browsers.
- Quizzes are Windows-Sensitive. Never attempt to take a quiz from an unstable connection, because if you lose your connection during the quiz you will be locked out and lose all credit for the quiz (quizzes may not be taken more than once on the Blackboard system). Also, do not have other software or windows open on your computer when you are ready to take a Quiz. If you attempt to multi-task during a quiz, you run the risk of being locked out of the quiz. If you are locked out, you will likely receive zero credit for that quiz.
- Don't "Save" your answers as you go. This is just asking for trouble. Instead, proceed to complete the quiz with deliberation and quickness and submit it.
- Move along as you complete your quiz. The longer you take doing a quiz or survey, the more likely you will trigger a lockout and lose all of your work (see below).
- Windows XP users and Windows 7 users tend to fare better than Windows Vista users.
- Taking a Quiz. Each quiz is taken online, and is found in the "Quizzes" folder in the Course Documents area of Blackboard.. Quizzes may be accessed until the due date and time (after which they disappear). If you have trouble getting into a quiz, try browsing to WSU Blackboard page at http://blackboard.wayne.edu/ and then re-enter the course page from that site. This procedure (which results in the "yellow field" above the Blackboard pages) often helps. See "If You Want a Copy of Your Quiz," below, if you want a copy of your quiz, because copies of quizzes are otherwise not made available to you. You need to make your own copy if you want to have a copy of the quiz itself.
- Quizzes are Timed on Blackboard. The Quizzes are
not meant as "look-up exercises," and are timed. If you have been
studying (see the "How to Study" page of the syllabus), you will only
need ten to twenty minutes to complete a quiz. However, you will
usually have a half hour to an hour to complete each quiz. You
must take the entire quiz in one sitting within the time allotted for
that quiz in order to receive credit. Therefore, plan to complete
all the assigned readings prior to taking the quiz, as suggested at the
How to Study page of the syllabus. It is also recommended that
you use a reliable Internet connection; if you do not have access
to a reliable Internet connection, consider taking the quiz on a campus
computer or library computer. Warning: if you run over the
time allotted for the quiz, even by one second, you will not receive
credit for that quiz. If you start to take a quiz and and take one
second longer than the allotted time prior to hitting the
button, you will receive
a green exclamation mark 
(or possibly a red question mark ? or a padlock 
symbol) instead of a grade (or, you will see that a grade has not been
entered). When this happens, the exclamation mark or other symbol
will eventually be removed, but will be replaced by a zero. When
you trigger a lockout like this, none of your work is saved; it is
"zeroed out," and your only option is to request a reset (see below).
In any event, do not attempt to email any of your quiz or exam work,
since this will result in penalty points (negative points) being
assessed.
- If you Want a Copy of Your Quiz.
Copies
of
quizzes are not made available to you. If you want a copy
of your quiz, you must, prior to hitting
the button, do
the following:
- Be using an updated browser, while taking your quiz.
- Print a copy of the quiz while you are taking the quiz, but
BEFORE you hit the button.
- Before you hit the button, review your printout (printed copy of the
quiz). You might need to make a notation of your answers on the
printed copy itself.
- If the above procedure was not successful, copy the quiz page
into your computer "clipboard" before you hit the button, and then past the
information into Notepad, Word Pad, or your word processor, in another
window on your computer. Again, you might need to make a notation
of your answers before you hit the button.
- If you do not make a copy of your quiz before you hit
the button, you
will not be able to go back and obtain a copy. If you continue to
have problems, for future quizzes you might wish to take these
instructions into a campus computer lab and request help (or ask a
fellow student).
- Multiple Choice/True False Quizzes are Automatically Graded. You will receive your point score on each quiz as soon as it is completed, if you properly complete the quiz within the allotted time before the deadline. Your points on each quiz count toward the total Points for purposes of your final grade. See the Task Points page of the syllabus for more information.
- Answers for Quizzes are made available within a day or two prior to each exam.
- However, Quizzes are not comprehensive; they are merely a very small sampling of the body of knowledge you are learning as you go along. Therefore, "studying" the quizzes will not be helpful in preparing for exams. In fact, since quiz questions are never repeated on exams, studying the quizzes can take time away from "real" and helpful study, and can actually be counterproductive. Instead, for suggestions about "real" and helpful study methods, work from the "How to Study" page of the syllabus when preparing for exams.
- Check to Make Sure your Work
has been Submitted. If you have started to take a multiple
choice/true-false quiz and have run into a problem or interruption
prior to hitting the button, you might see a padlock or pad
"In Progress" symbol instead of a
grade when you attempt to View your Grades in the Tools section of
Blackboard. Or, after you think you have properly submitted your Quiz,
you might see a notation such as "Attempt In Progress" when you attempt
to View your Grades in the Tools section of Blackboard. In either case
-- unless you are able to have your quiz reset -- you will end up
receiving zero credit for that quiz, because a padlock symbol is an
indication that none of your work was received on Blackboard. - After the deadline for a quiz, any remainng padlocks are eventually removed and replaced by a zero. Occasionally, a padlock remaining after the deadline for a quiz is manually converted to a score of 1 even though Blackboard automatically records a score of zero. If you see a 1 as a score for a quiz, let this serve as a reminder to check to make sure your work has been submitted, well ahead of any quiz deadline, so that you can request a reset well ahead of the quiz deadline (see below). The best solution, of course, is to re-read this entire page of the syllabus from top to bottom, in order to reduce the risk of triggering a padlock on future quizzes.
- If you run over your time limit prior to hitting the
button, you might instead receive a green exclamation mark (or possibly a red question mark ?) instead of a grade. You will end up
receiving zero credit for that quiz if this happens, because Prof.
Spalding will not reset a quiz that was submitted after the time
expired. If you are interested, green exclamation mark (or the red question mark ? ) to see the error message.
- Note: An exclamation mark may also appear after you
take an essay exam. If you click on it, you'll see that the exam
needs grading. Essay exams are manually graded within a week or
so of the submission deadline. Do not email Prof. Spalding about essay
exam green exclamation mark ,
since this simply means that the exam will be graded within the next
week or two.
- Requesting a Reset or
Exam. If you start to take a quiz or exam and you do run
into a problem or interruption prior to hitting the button, and you seea
padlock or pad "In Progress" symbol instead of a
grade (or, in the case of an essay exam you see a pad "In Progress" instead of a
green exclamation mark ) when
you attempt to View your Grades in the Tools section of Blackboard, you
have locked yourself out and have zeroed out your work. There is a small chance that you can ask Prof.
Spalding to reset your quiz or exam (and even then, usually no more
than once per semester). If the deadline for the quiz or exam has
not already expired, email Prof. Spalding right away (following the email protocols for this course),
asking him to reset your quiz, so that:
- (1) IF you email Prof. Spalding plenty of time prior to the deadline for the quiz; and
- (2) IF Prof. Spalding happens to receive and read your request (be specific: "Please reset my _________" (quiz, multiple choice exam, essay exam, survey, etc.) in plenty of time prior to the due date and time for the quiz. Do not ask to go back to complete your quiz; nothing has been saved when you are locked out, so there is nothing to go back to you. You can only start over; and
- (3) IF you have not already established a habit or pattern
of asking for your quiz or exam to be reset, then Prof. Spalding may,
in response to your email request, agree at his discretion to "clear"
your failed attempt to take the quiz. (Note, if the error message
is simply that you took too long to complete and submit the quiz, your
quiz will not be reset. Instead, a score of zero will eventually
be assigned on the Blackboard system.) And, then,
- (4) IF you still have time prior to the quiz deadline, and
if Prof. Spalding has agreed to reset it (#1 through #3 above), the
zero triggered by your lockout will be manually removed by Prof.
Spalding and you will then be able re-take it the quiz or other
assessment "from scratch" and hopefully earn more than the zero that
would otherwise have been earned. However, the deadline will not have
been extended, so you will still need to complete your work by the
original deadline. Quizzes and exams are not reset during the last half
hour prior to the deadline, so plan ahead.
- No guarantees, of course, so the earlier you take each quiz, the more likely you will be able to complete it on time. If you wait until two or three hours prior to the deadline to take your quiz, you will have assumed the risk of not leaving Prof. Spalding sufficient time to receive and act on your request in time for you to re-take your quiz, and you will therefore not receive credit for your quiz.
- If you are unsuccessful in having your quiz reset in time for you to re-take it for any reason, consider that you have invested some of your "slack" points into that quiz. But in the future, find your way to a more reliable computer and Internet connection (such as a campus lab or library computer), and be sure to re-read this page regarding clearing your cache and cookies, multi-tasking, and the opening of too many windows.
- Never attempt to email quiz answers, exam answers or any other other online work to Prof. Spalding. Work done on Blackboard is not accepted in hard copy, by email, or in any other format or media. Noncompliance with these instructions (by attempting to email work to Prof. Spalding) will result in negative penalty points, not positive points. (A zero is at least better than negative points!) If you are unable to retake a quiz after being locked out, chalk it off to slack points and press on.
- If you trigger a lockout and need to have your quiz reset, you must actually request a reset in accordance with the very specific instructions, above. Out of respect for students, quizzes are never reset without an email request as set forth above. In your email, don't bother blaming Blackboard, or "the Internet," or some other outside force (after all, 99% of all lockouts are actually due to a poor connection, the use of an older computer or a computer that is not properly designed or set up for highly efficient, high-speed Internet use, or a disregard for the recommendations set forth above). Instead, simply assume responsibility for the situation and ask to have your quiz or other assessment reset as instructed above.
- 95 percent
of all Quiz problems pertain to the student's computer and connection.
Never assume that the problem is with Blackboard, the Wayne State
computer system, or the quiz itself. If you experience any
problems with a Quiz, your best and most reliable solution is to find
your way to a better computer and connection. And remember to make sure
your browser allows cookies, and that popup windows are not suppressed
or blocked. It also helps to clear the history cache of your
browser before starting a quiz. Of course, it is also important that
you follow all of the other recommendations on this page as well.
But if you are in the habit of always assuming that computer-related
problems are the fault of "the network" or some external technical
glitch, try to break that habit in this course. Start your
troubleshooting by moving to a better computer and connection. If you
are using a dial-up connection, move to a high speed Internet
connection. If you are using wireless access, move to an Ethernet
or hard-wired access. If you are using a laptop, move to a
desktop. Etc. Campus computers (in the libraries and campus
computer labs) are among the more reliable connections.
- Reviewing your Quiz Results. After completing a quiz, it is a good idea to View your Grades at the Tools section of Blackboard to make sure you did not trigger a lockout (see above). When you do, you might notice "class average" scores on Blackboard. Those averages are automatically calculated by the Blackboard system, and have absolutely nothing to do with your grade or your relative standing in class (the Blackboard averages often include scores of zero for students who have dropped the class, or other irrelevant or confounding data). This course is not graded on a curve, and your Points are calculated in the manner described in the Syllabus. Just ignore the class average statistics shown on Blackboard. They mean nothing.
- Disappointed in your performance on a Quiz? Remember that you do not need to score an "A" on your quizzes (and are not expected to), in order to be able to earn an "A" in this course. Students who do not earn high scores on quizzes, are often able to offset those lower quiz scores by earning 100 percent of the available points on homework, surveys, class participation, email assignments, and other tasks where thoughtfulness, timeliness, good grammar, and carefully following the instructions, contribute more to the earned points than the technical correctness of the work.
- Students in this course who have earned a final grade of
A or A- have in recent terms averaged 9.3 points on their 20 point
quizzes. Many students whose quiz scores have averaged less than 8
points have nevertheless been able to earn an A or A- in this course.
This data bears out the reality that quiz scores are not necessarily
predictive of overall performance in this course. This is true both
mathematically and historically.
- In answering a quiz, remember that there may be more than one "possibly correct" answer, but your goal is to select the best answer.
- Remember, too, that the quizzes and exams in this course
are designed to assess not only your grasp of the information in this
course, but, more importantly, your progress in synthesizing, thinking
through, and thoughtfully processing that information. For that reason,
true-false and multiple choice questions are often thought-provokers
that are not drawn verbatim from a specific page or paragraph in the
text, the lectures, the readings, or other materials in this course. In
fact, they often elicit the kind of thoughtfulness required for
discussion board participation, as much or more than they elicit a
regurgitation of a fact or datum found in any one of the course
materials. After all, this is a high-end graduate course, with an
emphasis on critical thinking.
- Also remember that quizzes only test a small, and somewhat
random, portion of the body of knowledge you are learning in each unit.
They are designed to sample your grasp of the material. Therefore,
"learning the answers to the quizzes" will not move you forward in your
grasp of the body of knowledge, for two reason: first, you will not be
asked the same question twice; and second, the points raised in quizzes
are such a small portion of the body of knowledge. To improve, work
from the "How to Study" page of the syllabus. Remember that all quizzes
and exams are cumulative as to all work in the course (lectures,
readings, assignments, etc.).
- Despite the fact that studying old quizzes is probably
the worse use of your time in preparing for an exam, recent quiz
answers are provided a day or to prior to each exam.
- For additional guidance in improving your performance on true-false and multiple choice quizzes and exams, see:
- Surveys. Surveys, which are not graded, are assigned in addition to quizzes, which are graded. Five points are earned for surveys completed with "minimal"--but complete--answers. Survey answers are compiled anonymously and, unlike a student's Discussion Board entries (which are always available to all other students), the identity of the provider of specific survey answers is never revealed to other students. A summary of the student group's answers may be revealed, and specific answers (such as short essays) may be revealed to the rest of the student group (i.e., to others enrolled in the course) without any name being associated with such answers (so do not include self-identifying information in any written answer to a Survey question).
- Surveys are generally made available within 24 hours prior
to the due date, in the same manner as quizzes.
- Note: Survey scores, like essay exam scores, are posted
within a week or so after the due date. Until those scores are
posted, students will likely see a zero as their score in the My Grades
area of the Tools section on Blackboard. The zero will be converted to
a score within a week or two, if the student made a good faith effort
to complete the survey with thoughtful answers.
- Exams. Multiple choice, true/false, and similar questions on exams are taken in the same manner as quizzes, and are also found in the in the Course Documents area of Blackboard.
- See Also: How to Study page of the syllabus.
- Academic Integrity. Strict compliance with the Wayne State University Academic Integrity policies and the Student Code of Conduct are required in this course. Any cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or other academic dishonesty will result in an automatic grade of E for this entire course, irrespective of the specific context or assessment involved (quiz, homework, exam, etc.). In addition, charges will be filed with the Judicial Officer of the Dean of Students Office. For more information, see the Student Code of Conduct brochure. There is zero tolerance of academic dishonesty in this course.