Frequently Asked Questions

THE COURSE

What time is it?

In order to coordinate with peers from around the world, this course uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The current time is shown here and you can use this site to convert to your own time zone.

How do I pass this class? How do grades work?

In this course, we have shifted the emphasis away from grades. What’s important is the effort you put in and the experiences you have. This especially means engaging with the community of your peers, and working on personally meaningful projects. These things don’t lend themselves to automated evaluation, but benefit greatly from discussion and reflection. For this reason, the course has you focus on peer evaluation and the honor system to earn your certificate.

At the end of each unit's content, there will be a completion checklist for you to keep track of activities and assignments completed. The more you do, the more you will get out of the course, but you should also feel free to tailor your experience in the course to your own interests and goals. 

What kind of certificates are there for this course? Do I have to pay?

EdX offers verified certificates, which are available for a fee that varies by course. For 11.154x, the fee is $49 (USD). You will be required to verify your identity before you can receive your certificate. You can also audit any edX course, including 11.154x. You do not receive a certificate if you audit a course, but you can print your progress page for the course if you want evidence of your achievement. In the past, edX also offered honor code certificates. These certificates are no longer available. If you earned an honor code certificate in a previous course, you still have access to your certificate through your dashboard. Please note that the edX honor code still applies to all courses. 

If you want the Verified Certificate, you must choose it and complete the ID verification process by February 15, 2017. 

You must complete 60% or more of the assigned work and indicate that by filling out the appropriate checklists by the course end date, March 8, 2017, to pass the course and earn a Verified Certificate.

When are assignments due?

Each assignment will list an 'suggested' due date in its description - usually a week after its assignment unless the unit is longer.  However, the assignments won't close until the course ends - you can turn in your assignments, and review your peer's assignments, up till the last day of the course.

We strongly encourage students to turn in their work before the next unit launches, and ask that peer reviews be completed within about four days of the 'expected' due date.

When does the course end?

11.154x officially ends on March 8, 2017 and certificates are generated around March 15, 2017. Some course materials will still be available after that date in archive form.

Where should I go if I have questions?

• If you have technical questions about the edX platform, try using the "Support" tab in the upper left corner of every page.
• If you don't find your answer there, or if you find bugs or issues with the forums site, please post your question in the Technical Help thread in the Course Admin folder in the forums.
• If you have non-technical questions, we encourage you to post them in the appropriate discussion on the forums.
• Or, if all else fails, you can email the 11.154x staff at liis11.154x@gmail.com. We'll do our best to help you out, though we can't guarantee a timely reply given the massive nature of this course.

THE COURSE FORUMS

The Official Course Forums are open to everyone in the course and follow the course (organized by unit and activities for that unit). So, in a specific unit, there are places for you and your classmates to talk about the assignments, activities and readings for that unit.

How do I make a post?

First, determine the subject of your post. Does it pertain to a specific assignment, activity, or reading? If so, navigate your way to the specific forum for that topic. To make a post once you’re in the right forum, either click the pink New Topic button or scroll down to the bottom of the page and submit your post there.

How do I find other people?

If you already know someone’s username, you can click on the button labelled “Members” in the top menu bar and then search the name.

Otherwise, you can join groups to find people of similar interests and friend request them.

How do I have a private conversation?

In order to private message someone, first navigate to their profile page (through your friends list or the members page), and then click the private message button to the right of their avatar.

You will have the option to add additional recipients for your message on the next page and enter in a subject and message body.

You are also able to publicly message/mention someone by clicking the public message button next to the private message button or by writing “@” followed by their username in your status update box (found under the activity tab in your profile).

What about the other microsoft in education courses?

Read more about the Microsoft in Education series here.