MECO6925: Online Journalism

MECO LAB AND EQUIPMENT: ACCESS, SECURITY & BOOKING POLICY

This policy applies to all students of Media & Communications. The policy is designed to protect the rights of students and staff, safeguard the equipment and ensure reasonable access to facilities and equipment.

The University of Sydney is currently pursuing learning technology that relies on institutional resourcing and local support. In your MECO production work you will be using shared media production environments and learning technologies, with recourse to dedicated MECO support (through the Digital Media Unit). It is vital therefore that you are familiar with both the specific MECO unit of study policy and procedures detailed here, as well as the University of Sydney's general IT use policy. See:

http://sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?recnum=PDOC2011/140&RendNum=0

This document covers those labs or facilities specific to MECO production units of study. These environments include:

Education EDU 227 Production lab

Education EDU 226 Radio Lab

Education EDU TVS209 TV Studio

Education EDU TVS210 Vision Control

Education EDU TVS211 Audio Control

Education EDU TVS212 Machine room

Brennan McCallum MECO prioritized Brennan Learning Suite 120

Building and computer lab access:

Access is by student identity card, by approval of the Department. Students must apply for ID card access to gain entry to the computer lab before 8am and after 6pm. If your card is not activated you may need to visit Security to access it. You should activate your card by week 3, by going to the Services Building G12 on the Darlington campus, and presenting your card at the Services Desk. If you have any access problems please report them to your lecturer immediately – don’t wait until the end of semester when it is harder to organise.

You can expect reasonable access to appropriate IT facilities to complete your Unit of Study requirements. This includes access to lab and Learning Suite spaces, desktop computers, appropriate software and appropriate equipment. Though sometimes facilities are shared with students from other Units of Study or from other courses, you still have a reasonable expectation of the security of your data in designated storage areas. However, you should always make your own back ups and name and version files carefully.

Due to constraints on equipment and resources there is a departmental limit placed on the number of students in each seminar. Please only attend the seminar scheduled against your name in the timetable.

Note: You must not book lab facilities during timetabled class hours. Students will not be able to work in these areas during other classes.

Computer and portable equipment bookings:

Students wanting to use computers or studios outside class times must book these facilities on the MECO production equipment booking system. The URL will be given on Canvas.

Instructions for using the booking system and general lab use requirements can be found in the DMU Lab Guide accessed via Canvas. This resource provides diverse useful information including access to software and equipment guides.

Be aware that you are sharing labs and studios with other production units and that there will be high demand for equipment and computer time, especially toward semester end. Students who have booked computer time have priority.

You must not block book facilities all day (and this is not healthy practice anyway). It is preferable to divide the days into AM, PM, EVENING and LATE SHIFT, and to book one of these shifts. Please also check the lab timetable, as you must not book computers during other class times.

Students wishing to book portable equipment must also use the MECO production booking system.

Students must agree to the student loan agreement before they are allowed to book facilities or borrow portable equipment. Access this agreement at:

http://sydney.edu.au/arts/artsdigital/scripts-usyd/student_loan_agreement.php?view=studentcontract

You must agree with the conditions in order to register to use the system. These include the following professional conduct rules:

• When you borrow a kit, ALWAYS check its contents before leaving Loan Store;
• ALWAYS maintain the equipment and its accessories in good order;
• DO NOT lend or hire out or in any other way transfer the Equipment to a third party, or allow others to use the Equipment;
• DO NOT use the Equipment for any purpose except for coursework with the Media and Communication Department at the
• University of Sydney;
• DO NOT cause any nuisance or damage to others when using the Equipment.
• ALWAYS return complete kits to the Loan Store on time.
• ALWAYS pack kits according to the guide inside.
• ALWAYS report any damaged equipment.

Booking and borrowing conditions:

All media productions have a budget and media companies and producers do not look kindly on anyone responsible for a budget overrun. Resources are always scarce and in demand. For these reasons, as a reflection of professional practice in media industries, you will have an hour budget for your equipment use, based on student enrolments and studio demand.

Check with your tutors in class to find out the final budget allocations. An overnight loan counts as 8 hours and a weekend as 16.

Returning equipment on time is mandatory – there are no excuses for late returns. If you cannot come to the returns office in person due to illness or misadventure you must courier your borrowed equipment to the loans store. We have limited resources being used by hundreds of students. Other students and the success of their productions are dependent on your professional behavior.

Returning equipment more than 24 hours late will result in your borrowing privileges being blocked until you show written cause to your unit of study coordinator. If this occurs three times your loans privileges will be revoked and you will have to find or fund your own equipment.

Equipment must be returned in the same condition as when you borrowed it. You must report any malfunctions, losses or breakages immediately on return to the loans store, as this may impact on the next borrower.

In the event equipment in your care is damaged, lost or stolen you are required to provide a written explanation to:

Digital Media Unit

digitalmediahelp@sydney.edu.au

Ph +61 935 16787

Be aware that you may be liable for repairs or replacement costs, or insurance excess. Portable equipment can be collected from and returned to the Loans Store:

Room S202, Level 2, John Woolley Building A20

Walk in the main MECO entrance, off Manning Road, and veer right.

Ph: +61 935 16787

Loan store opening times will be posted on the door.

Personal materials use and support:

All students are expected to complete their assignments using the equipment and facilities provided by MECO. We will not provide technical support for your own computers, cameras, recorders or edit suite; or for audio-visual projects created at home. In particular we cannot support home-based video and audio editing with the technical compatibility problems this raises. Any use of external, third party or file video footage (including movies and file vision) must be discussed with the lecturer. Importantly if your lecturer cannot open an assignment document, audio file or video file created at home it has not been submitted and grading penalties will apply.

Use of AI in MECO6925

See USyd AI policy document below and Canvas for information. 

 https://www.sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?recnum=PDOC2012/254&RendNum=0 

SECTION 5; PART 16. 

Students wishing to undertake investigative stories that involve an element of risk or which involve attendance at protests or interviews in subjects homes, should brief their lecturer and prepare a safety plan for managing potential risks.