Where to go for what, and what each channel is actually for
Use two channels for this course: this website for course information and Ed Discussion for everything else. Canvas has a narrower purpose. Use it to access your marks, lecture recordings, the module for obtaining your Claude API key (see your LLM access), and the link to Ed.
Course information on this website#
This website is the authoritative source for the schedule, assessment briefs, policies and how-to guides. If something you read or hear elsewhere disagrees with it, follow the website. Nothing important is hidden behind a login, so check here first.
Everything else happens on Ed#
Ed is the course’s one communication channel. Staff post course-wide announcements there; students use it for questions, help and private messages to the teaching team. Keep an eye on it.
Getting in#
Go through Canvas: open the course on Canvas and click Ed Discussion in the left-hand course menu. Canvas supplies your ANU login to Ed and opens the COMP4020/8020 forum. Use this route if anything else fails.
Questions and getting help#
Bring your questions to Ed — course content, debugging your prototype, interpreting an assessment brief, anything that isn’t personal. Ask in a public thread: if you have the question, someone else probably does too. Tutors and lecturers monitor the forum and respond to public posts within one working day.
Anything personal or sensitive#
For anything personal — advice about extenuating circumstances (ECAs), conduct concerns, or anything you’d rather not post publicly — start a private Ed thread to the teaching staff, visible only to you and them. The formal applications themselves do not go through Ed: extension requests use the School of Computing extension app, and ECAs go directly through ANUHub; see the assessment page for how. You do not need to ask a tutor’s permission before applying. The convenor will respond within two working days.
Private threads are for personal matters. They do not get general questions answered faster; a course question asked privately will usually be redirected to a public thread.
We don’t email you directly#
Staff will not send you course email. We publish course information on the website or Ed, including automated warnings at 50%, 90%, and 100% of your weekly Claude usage budget. Those warnings are private Ed messages.
You may still receive email copies because Ed sends notifications according to your settings. Keep those turned on so you don’t miss an announcement or a reply. Other parts of the University will still email your ANU address, so keep checking it. This course does not use it for communication.
What not to do#
Don’t message tutors or the convenor on Teams, Slack, Discord, Bluesky, or any other channel. The website and Ed are the only supported channels — tutors are not on call outside crit times, and DMs to the convenor on other platforms will get a polite redirect.
Both response times exclude weekends and ANU non-working days, so don’t leave urgent questions until the night before a deadline. If you need a faster answer, the next crit session is the right place.
Course representatives#
You elected course representatives in week 1. They collect anonymous feedback for the convenor. If there’s something you want raised but don’t want your name attached, talk to a rep. Your reps are named on Ed.