Updating the Lessons FAQ

[Elliot Briar]

I was just thinking with the new school year approaching and so many new users (yay), it might be good to revisit the lessons info available for new users in the site docs on how lessons and exams work.

I remember when I first joined I felt pretty lost on how grades worked, where to find classrooms, and the expected timeline on completing lessons (I 100% submitted exams several days after they ended cause I didn't realize the calendar task was also like.. how much time I had to finish things). I know a lot of this can vary by subject and professor but perhaps we can make that more clear?

Even if it's something as simple as adding in "Lessons are voluntary RP opportunities that take place across 7 weeks each semester, with exams being 3 days long in week 8. Please refer to each subject's class policy for information on grading and class rules. You can find these policies in the subject's classrooms. You can find your class list and schedule in the Gradebook. " it would help direct folks to the right direction.

It definitely helps we have the Gradebook back (yay!) but at the very least if you don't think we need to add more to the site docs, can we make that link easily available somewhere outside of waiting for a Gradebook PM?

If the rest of this info is already readily available somewhere else, please let me know, I may have missed it in the past! I know I've seen parts of it mentioned in bi-weeklies and there's some mention on grades (though I don't think I get what that grading scale means at all) and missing lessons here, perhaps we can add a bit more info to that section?

 

[Stefan Archer]

Hi Kris,

We've looked over our first year FAQ and considered your suggestion, and we will update the section which says "Each semester is six weeks long plus a week for exams, seven weeks total." and amend it to read, "Each semester is six weeks of lessons plus a week for catching up and another for exams, bringing each semester to eight weeks total."

What we'll also do is make sure that mentions of the gradebook in the FAQ include the link to the gradebook so it can easily be found for new students or members of HNZ, and make more of an effort to link out to it in upcoming BWU when the beginning of the semester rolls around. We didn't link to the gradebook in the FAQ in the past because on the old forum it was a security problem, the pages could've been then accessed by guests - which we didn't want.

In terms of the grading system, it is based upon the grading system found in the Harry Potter books, with O being the highest grade and T being the lowest grade you can get. In our system too, the grades match up to points, which then is pivotal for the house point cups. What we can do here is amend this section: "Either way, you're marked on a Wizarding scale. " and instead say "Either way, you're marked on a Wizarding scale as found in the Harry Potter novels."

These changes may take some time to appear, since we're in an exceedingly busy time, but they will appear.

Thanks
Emzies