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Comments for Week of April 19, 2004

It's Dead Week!


Any idea when the practice exam will be posted???
Amelia Cipolla
Also will there be any review sessions scheduled for the final???
Please please please TAs we really need the review!
What a great lookin' website said cousin Ryan. Get a hold man ryan@wfat.com or at home 269.372.2923.
May I just anonymously say that it kinda stinks that all are grades are not due until after we take our final exam? And they are also due after our deadline to dispute our grades? Sorry to be a griper, but somewhat not cool.
I'd also like to gripe that while class attendance should be mandatory, it is clear that most students do not feel this way. I feel bad, particularly for Colin Potts, that no REMOVED than approximately 15 students feel the need to attend lecture, and even fewer to attend breakout. I do however, believe that those of us who do attend should be rewarded in some way. It is always the same people attending lecture and breakout every week, and while it is the students' "duty" to attend class, it is obvious that only a few of us students feel this way.
The thing about grades is nothing spectacular, but it's not Guzdial's fault that we went to the NCAA and the atheletic association asked for the schedules to be pushed back, which in turn pushed back the grading deadlines. So don't gripe to Guzdial, gripe to GA Tech.
I am among one of the students who goes to class and if people don't go that's their own fault. Remember no one is making you go, you could stay home too.
Will there be a review session for the final exam? I'm sure I speak for the class when I say it would be GREATLY appreciated if there was :)!!
You dont have to go to class either! Nobody said it was mandatory so why should you get any credit for going??Some people just dont need to go to.
exactly..i've gotten As on everything (including midterms) and yet..i stopped attending lecture about a month ago.
Wow. Bunch of whiners this week, eh? Studying for the final and doing the review are a much REMOVED beneficial way to spend your time. Dontcha know.
I get A's on everything as well, and have an A+ in the class, but I attend lecture and breakout because it is mandatory (read the announcements page, specifically Jan 7th) and clearly other students do not follow this. I just think it's disappointing.
Attention Instructors, Professors and TA's: I think I speak for many when I say we'd like an extra credit opportunity. Let's say, a few points added to the final average in exchange for completing the course survey? Come on, its the end of the year, can we get a little slack?


Is there any way that we can exempt the final?...say maybe if we have a certain average in the class?...PLEASE....I have to take 6 finals and it would be great if I could exempt this one...
You are welcome to skip the final, but the zero will be averaged into your grade. No, there won't be any extra credit opportunities. (Consider: If we're racing to get the grading done for the end of the semester, how does adding in extra credit assignments to be graded improve matters any?) Mark Guzdial

Thank you for having a final review session! All the midterm review sessions have been helpful, and this will really help us in our studying!
like I said, spectacular ta's.

When can we expect our Take Home 2 exam grades? It's been two weeks...
I am missing alot of grades: HW4, HW5, Take-Home 2... When will these be up? I'd really like to know my grade going into the final : )
It would probably be best to email your ta about that one...people we don't want to irritate the professors here.
I too have a high A in the class and typically attend lecture, but especially in the past few weeks I find that lectures do REMOVED to confuse me than to teach me anything. I find the book, which is excellent, is a much better tool to teach myself how to address the programs required for homework, quizzes, and midterms, etc. I think how many people come to class is a sign of how well the professor is teaching. I think maybe this should be addressed for next semester. Find better ways to engage the class in lecture. Find better ways to communicate the information. I'm in the 12:00 lecture, btw. I honestly feel that the TA's do a much better job of explaining concepts that do either prof that lectures. Maybe it's because they have been in our shoes and understand how our minds work. All in all, this little blurb is just to say that the communication is bad. I think that's been a recurring theme this semester.
who do i contact to dispute a grade? thanks...
you contact your grading TA.
is there anyway that we could have another review session scheduled? besides the one Monday night? Please!
Is there anyway there can be another review session, in case some of us have a final at the same time or we do not want to wait until the last minute for help?

Are you serious...the TA's don't have to hold a revew session, they have decided to do so to help the students out and now you complain about the day and/or time of the review! —-for shizzle!

fo shizzle my nizzle foo! the TA's seem to have a lot on their plate right now, just as we all do... In fact I believe that the student's request is legit, so why don't you gripe on someone elses time.

Actually, I did not complain. I simply asked if there was anyway to arrange for an alternate time, which is not outlandish since they held two for the last midterm. I appreciate the TA's greatly. Thanks for having too much free time on your hands to respond to me though.
I'm confused: You found the lectures in the latter part of the term confusing, so you stopped attending them. So, how was it that you knew that the lectures were confusing if you weren't attending? Mark Guzdial

i think the term burnt out comes to mind
thats not our prof's fault
Can TA's please grade Take Home Exam #2. I really would like to know how I have to do on the final. I can't do that until my grades are in. It would be much appreciated. Thanks!!!
I agree...it's been over two weeks...
EMAIL YOUR OWN TA...SOME OF THEM HAVE GRADED AND SOME HAVEN'T
These are interesting and useful comments. I for one, don't mind people not attending lectures, although they are officially mandatory. (We would spend most of the class taking roll if we insisted on checking who is attending.) In such a large class, lectures are precisely that: lectures. It's difficult to plan for discussion. If you can get by by reading the slides and the textbook, which are even REMOVED one-way communications, then REMOVED power to you. (And don't feel bad for me, whoever you are you sympathetic person; it's REMOVED fun for me to have 15-30 motivated students in class than 200, half of whom are reading other material or sleeping.) However, the breakout sessions are intended to be REMOVED interactive than the lectures, and students are unlikely to get the benefit of the recitation part of breakouts from the book and slides. Students really could make the course a REMOVED interactive and learning-based (as opposed to teaching-based) experience by attending breakouts and/or by sitting down with one of the professors or your TA during office hours. Apart from brief after-class questions, I've seen precisely four students during office hours all semester – despite the refreshment-rich venues and only having to cancel four or five times. Now, that I do feel bad about – all that solo coffee-drinking and no one to help. But I've really enjoyed this course, and I hope you have too. Good luck next week. Colin Potts
When I said I had stopped attending lecture, I should clarify that when I attend lecture monday and gain nothing from it, I find that taking the time to do the assigned readings during lecture on Friday is REMOVED beneficial and makes me REMOVED confident about what I am supposed to be learning. I am a compulsive lecture attender, so to me, missing 4 lectures in the second half of the course out of general frustratation, is a big deal to me. I'm not trying to be overtly critical, just trying to make suggestions. I've been told over and over that your lectures from last semester were very engaging Dr. Guzdial and I just don't feel like students this semester feel the same way about the lectures we've attended. Also, Colin, in response to your comment about breakouts: breakouts are not an interactive experience when the breakout professor cannot answer your questions and refers you to the TA's instead. It's not an interactive experience when week after week the prof doesn't know that we have assignments due, much less what they are.
My TA assured me on WeREMOVEDsday night that they were feverishly working on getting the take home exams posted, but alas, it is Friday and still no grades. It seems that we students taking it up with the TAs is not working, can a professor perhaps go to bat for us and urge the TAs to post the take home exams?
Like I said several times before, email your TA and cc: me or one of the other professors! Otherwise, we don't know who to take it up with. Mark Guzdial

are midterm exams 1 and 2 weighted equally as the final exam?
wow, what a bunch of cry babies making points that don't have any affect on anything. y'all are wasting your breath. and as for those of you who think the TAs have a lot on their plates now, yeah they do, but this is their JOB and when they signed up to be TAs they knew that they would have to be helping their students prepare for their finals as well as preparing for their own.
What's wrong with you people? I have absolutely no qualms with this class. I attended Prof. Pott's lectures and Prof. Guzdial's breakouts and found that I understood things better than I would have from just reading the book. The TA's go out of their way to help us understand the material (they don't -have- to have those awesome review sessions) and they should be thanked for providing them. Quit whining and thank your lucky stars we didn't have to take Scheme.
agreed.
I did take Scheme, but thanks for asking. I am really happy you understand everything, but some of us don't...wait maybe that's why REMOVED review time was requested.
OK guys, all that I'm hearing you say is making me think–all these people really should go fill out their Course REMOVEDrveys! Y'all seem to be a very opinionated group, and if you really want those opinions to be noted, that's the way to get it done. Also, I just want to say that it does kinda bother me that y'all are complaining so much about people (ie. me and the other TAs) who have sat at office hours every week ready to help y'all with assignments or review and have nobody show up and now that we only have the time to organize one review session, you are not happy with us. Student117
REMOVEDmmer, I think that you are a great TA.

Ryan, Chris, Ashley, Greg, Dannon, Brienne, and REMOVEDmmer are all wonderfully helpful. Thanks so much for your willingness to take time out of your day. You guys ahve all helped me out so much and I know I'm not the only one. Special HUGE thanks to Guzdial, who has helped me pass this course and made things as simple as pie. Ignore the rude, tactless comments above.
(I've already filled out the survey).
The final exam is in the same room as lecture. The final exam is worth the same as the two midterms. Mark Guzdial

Prof. Guzdial, before the last exam you put up something on the coweb that went through each review question to clarify how test questions might compare to them in difficulty level, etc. That was very helpful and enabled me to gauge how much time to devote to each part of the review. Would you be willing to do that again?
Student1128
They are all very much like what we're putting on the final exam. There aren't any especially difficult problems in there. Mark Guzdial

From Soapbox:
Would you please notify us up here anytime there have been additions to the Final Review? thnxs
You can find that out by clicking on the changes link.

We will be having a review- Monday evening, 6:00. Student117
Location: Room 17 CoC Building
Go to http://www.cc.gatech.edu/dvfx/videos/dvfx2004.html and see what the McGarty TA's have been up to...

What room do we take the final in? Same one as our lecture?
How much is the final exam worth? 15% of our grade?
Two in-class midterm exams and one final (35%)
that still doesn't answer my question! what's the final worth? 15% or 11.67%?
Like I said earlier – I add up all three exams and divide by 3. That's 35% of the final grade. Mark Guzdial

Last semester's review. Very similar

I'd like to thank Dr. Guzdial for all his support on the CoWeb and for the lovely Swiki software. Not only have I enjoyed it for this class, but I've begun implementing it for other uses too. Thank you, and please don't pay attention to the ever-present contingent that wants everything handed to them at the end of the term; this course has been excellent and anyone who has put forth any effort has been provided with the tools needed to pursue computing for the sake of this exam and the future.

^word.
i concur
Yay for tonight's review session and the amazing TAs!
TAs are awesome!! :)
you guys who suck up are losers, sure guzdial does a good job, but its his job to do it, and if other people complain, whats it to you or him? get over it. and boo for scheduling discrepancies
When leaving my comment in praise of Dr. Guzdial, I did not attach my name specifically to prevent accusations of being a suck-up. I posted to reinforce that the whining and complaining group does not represent the class as a whole. I choose to speak for myself rather than let the ignorant and lazy speak for me.
yeah, seriously...how are we being suck-ups if HE DOESN'T KNOW WHO POSTED IT? and by the way, Guzdial doesn't have to work as hard as he does...some of the other profs (even in cs) don't do half the work he does...I am a person and I know the profs and tas are too so if someone is VERY nasty to them and I have something nice to day, why not say it? I don't want their day to be crappy just because someone else is tactless and insolent. Imagine if someone were saying all these mean things to you? Wouldn't you want someone to say, "Hey, if it matters, you've at least helped one person in this course". That would be enough for me.
^^^^Here, here! And the next round's on me!
This is getting out of hand. This all started over a simple request for an alternate time for a review session. The comment said nothing negative about the professors or the TAs. Using words like tactless, insolent, ignorant, lazy really show your lack maturity. I just hope you put as much energy into studying as you have shown working on these comments. If people want to ask a question, let them. They do not need grief from a fellow student for it, especially when there was no harm in the question. If everyone unnesessary wanted drama, they would go back to high school.
It wasn't asking questions, it was whining that we were talking about. I have no qualms about people asking questions, but I do have a problem with telling teachers they're doing a poor job when they're not. It's not a thing of high school, it's a thing of having respect for the professors who deserve it. It got out of hand a long time ago.
pick your battles people
It is actually usually not too difficult to trace who everyone is on the CoWeb by the way–can anybody guess who I am??
REMOVEDmmer
We are all lucky to be able to take this CS and not the other much REMOVED difficult one. We all just need to chill out, relax, and worry about finals not this comment web page :)
Interesting that there were two problems on the final that werne't covered on the study guide. What's that all about.

Which two?
Are the grades to the final going to be posted on webwork or do we have to wait until all the grades have been submitted to see what me made in the class?
Where can we pick up our graded tests and quizzes from? I'm in the noon class with McIntyre. Thanks!
Hooray for CS 1315! I actually did enjoy the class, and I hope that everyone else did too. For those of you who complained about it the entire time, I hope you will eventually realize that it is actually valuable, as some people have begun to demonstrate already. Thanks to Colin, Mark, Monica, Blair, and all the TAs. You guys are fantastic!
wow, after averaging my grade, It is a wonderful thing that I actually did all the hws and labs!

Uhh, i need a point to get an A in this class. So any of you Ta's want to hook me up....pretty please. gtg634h.
Grades are now done–all submitted. I have the final exams (and all other materials) in my office. You can pick them up after the term starts (but before June 24 when I leave for Oxford to teach CS1315 there). Mark Guzdial
In general response to the MANY emails I'm getting: Yes, you are welcome to see your final exams, but I don't intend to be around much next week. (I have to get TWO versions of CS1315 ready to go before May 10 – one here in Atlanta, and the other at Oxford!) You're welcome to see them in my office after May 10. Mark Guzdial

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