SOFT6001 EV.COM Week 01

Since this was the students' first class at CIT, I talked students through the various features of the module descriptor and explained what they meant. We discussed NFQ, ECTS, learning outcomes, and assessment types.

I briefly outlined how recognition for prior learning (RPL) works. Students interested in applying for RPL for modules should contact phil.oleary@cit.ie. She can talk you through the different options. Students interested in applying for RPL for this module should talk to me first.

Students should check this blog regularly. I will post information, notices, and links to notes. Students should take care to distinguish between the daytime and evening versions of this module. However, information relating to one group may be useful to the other.

The shortcut for EV.COM1 SOFT6001 on this blog is
http://colinmcit.blogspot.com/search/label/SOFT6001%20EV.COM1

After coffee we looked at some problems. In groups students worked on

• how to make a cup of coffee
• how to get the No.5 bus from Patrick St. to CIT
• how to sharpen a pencil

We saw that explaining how to do these things was not easy and we discussed some of the  difficulties


We looked at

• Sequence
• Selection
• Repetition

Images

IMG_0037.JPG


Audio
soft6001-week01a.m4a
soft6001-week01b.m4a

COMP6021 Class 01

We took a look at the module descriptor and I talked a bit about the module in general.

We looked at how bits can be used to represent things in the real world. They can have meaning as long as there is some agreement on a scheme for interpreting them. Bits by themselves have no meaning.

EXERCISE:
I asked students to go find an ASCII table online and to write out their name in bits. ASCII can use 7 or 8 bits. Don't forget the space between your first and last names.

Uppercase A is 1000001. Lowercase a is 1100001. Space is 0100000.

My name is 01000011 01101111 01101100 01101001 01101110 00100000 01001101 01100001 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111.

Binary values don't have spaces in them, but it makes them easier for humans to read.

CMOD6001 Class 01 Lab

Introductions.

This was our first class but we will talk more about the module in in the next class.

Job exercise

COMP6021 Media Data Formats Podcast

Students can subscribe to the podcast for this module in iTunes by choosing Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast ... and entering this URL

http://mcom.cit.ie/staff/computing/cmanning/comp6021/comp6021.xml

Once you have subscribed to the podcast content will turn up in your iTunes automagically. If you do not have broadband at home Colin can show you how to download content at CIT for take-away.

COMP6021 Media Data Formats

Following the Free Choice meeting today COMP6021 Media Data Formats is a few students shy of the ideal number to run, but I expect will will pick up a few stragglers. In any event this module is running this semester, for the first time ever.

Please check back here for details. I hope to maybe to start classes this week, but that might be very ambitious. In any event I will soon have details of some online resources for students, so check back here.

Bookmark the blog for this module : http://colinmcit.blogspot.com/search/label/COMP6021

SOFT6001 Class 02B & 03B

This class was very quiet.

How to make a cup of coffee
How to make a cup of tea
How to get the bus from Patrick St. to CIT
How to sharpen a pencil

[no handout]

Sequence, Selection, Repetition

SOFT6001 Class 02A & 03A

This group was very lively and noisy.


How to make a cup of coffee
How to make a cup of tea
How to get the bus from Patrick St. to CIT
How to sharpen a pencil

Software development with handout

Sequence, Selection, Repetition

SOFT6001 Class 01

Introductions.
How SOFT6001 Algorithm Problem Solving fits in with Programming Fundamentals. "Wax on Wax off"
Directions for forming lab groups
How to make a cup of coffee

Cheating

This summer a student from the department of Computing was advised that, following a decision of the Examinations Infringements Board, he could not continue his studies at CIT until 2012 . This is perhaps as harsh a punishment as has every been handed down to a CIT student caught cheating. While this is not a good result for the student, it is a good result for all other students. If the awards given to students who graduate are to have any value in the marketplace then they have to mean something. When students who are not competent in their profession field gain their awards by deception they devalue the awards. It is also very unfair to students who study hard to pass, if other students can pass by cheating.

It is clear that CIT is now prepared to take cheating seriously and deal with it. This is good for everybody.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes for this new reality to affect student behaviour.

SOFT6007 Exam Images & Text

There are two images required for the exam.

chiliPepper.gif  and dancingChili.gif

Text:
Chili pepper (from Nahuatl chilli, chilli pepper, chilli, chillie, chili, and chile) is the fruit of the plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Although botanically speaking, the fruit of capsicums are berries, the peppers are considered as vegetables (e.g. bell peppers) or spices (e.g. cayenne pepper) for culinary purposes based on factors including fleshiness and intensity of flavor.
Chili peppers originated both in the Americas and in India. After the Columbian Exchange, many cultivars of chili pepper spread across the world, used in both food and medicine. The scale is named after its creator, American chemist Wilbur Scoville, who developed a test for rating the pungency of chili peppers by determining how much the ground pepper must be diluted in water so that the capsaicinoid content cannot be tasted. An alternative method for quantitative analysis uses high-performance liquid chromatography, making it possible to directly measure capsaicinoid content. 

Pimiento        100-500        Spain         
Pepperoncini    100-500        Italy         
Pasilla         250-4000       Mexico        
Santa Fe Grande 500-700        America       
Hatch           1000-2500      New Mexico    
Jalapeno        2500-8000      Mexico        
Tabasco         30000-50000    Mexico        
Cayenne         30000-50000    French Guiana 
Tien Tsin       50000-75000    China         
Thai            50000-100000   Thailand      
Scotch bonnet   100000-350000  Carribean     
Red Habanero    300000-475000  Mexico        
Bhut Jolokia    1000000+       India          

SOFT6008 Autumn List

DEADLINE: NOON 30 AUGUST 2010

List of submissions:

Ronan E: Submitted. But further submission required.
Niamh S: Submitted. But further submission required.
Megan H: Planning to submit
Jordan G: Planning to submit
Jason O: Planning to submit
Thomas D: Planning to submit

Last updated 1154 24 08 2010

Early submissions might get feedback.

SOFT6008 Autumn repeats

I would be grateful if students planning to submit for the repeat of this module could contact me by e-mail to let me know. That way I will have a list I can use to check that I have all the submissions, and a way to contact each student.

E-mail is the easiest way but also the most risky. Students should ZIP up the entire site and e-ail it as an attachment. Raw HTML files that contain JavaScript will not make it through the CIT firewall. There should be no need for large image files, so the ZIP file should be small enough to make it through the firewall's max size limit too.

DEADLINE: NOON 30 AUGUST 2010

Students may also post a CD to Colin Manning, Dept. of Computing, Cork Insitiute of Technology, Rossa Ave, Cork. Cds delivered by hand should also fine me provided that they are correctly addressed as above.

SOFT6007 Autumn Repeat

The repeat assessment for Web Development Fundamentals will be held on September 6 2010 at 0930 in IT 1.3

SOFT6008 Repeat

The repeat for this module is project based.

The specification is now available.

Details of how and when to submit will be posted later.

SOFT6007 Repeat Autumn 2010

The repeat assessment for this module will be an in-class lab exam. This assessment will be worth 100%.

This assessment will not be organized by the exams office, so it will not appear on your timetable. For details of the time and location of this assessment students should check this blog closer to the date.

So far the expected date is in the first week of September.

SOFT6008 Review

This module was not a big success. Many students struggled right from the beginning and never really got on top of things. I think they many have lacked the required programming skills coming into the module. The results for this module were disappointing but not surprising. I haven't yet figured out what I will do differently next year to improve matters.

Many students did not attend class often enough. There is not a lot I can do about that.

We should have dealt more with the Document Object Model and modifying CSS properties. I don't think we did enough of that. Next time this module is offered I will try to get more of that in.

I believe that a small number of students cheated. Some withdrew their submissions and some others had their work referred to the Registrar's office for further investigation. Continuous Assessment is a much better form of assessment for some subjects. However it can be easily undermined by cheating. At present at CIT the consequences of cheating are so few, that the cost-benefit balance makes cheating profitable, in the main. I think the tide is turning, however, and perhaps word will get out that cheating is riskier than students think.

SOFT6007 Review

I was pleased with how SOFT6007 went this year. I think I and the other lecturers teaching on the module to other students did a better job of it this year than last. We also did a good job of ensuring that all the students taking the module did much the same.

I think the assessments this year were more realistic and provided enough of a challenge to the students while still being easy enough to do. I got much more CSS done this year than last year. I had been kind of avoiding it a bit up to now, but if it absolutely necessary that students learn CSS early. I think we did just the right amount of JavaScript.

I found that I progressed very quickly at the start of the semester. But although I was making great progress, I did not bring all the students with me. I will have to watch that in future, and take it slower at the beginning. I think I will have to be stricter on attendance next year. Attendance is the key to success for a module like this.

The results were poor. Students that passed did very well indeed, but they were few. The evening class did better, but that is not surprising. Evening students are a self selected sample and they can drop a class more easily. So that alone can account for the difference. However there was a marked difference in worth ethic also. This year's COM1 class is probably the least interested group of Computing students I have ever encountered.

I believe that a number of students cheated on Assessment 3 for this module. I did not have sufficient evidence to refer the issue to the registrar's office. I might, however, have fewer open lab based assessments in future. I will certainly have to watch students more closely if I do.

SOFT6007 EV Week 12

We an an in-class assessment

This was our last class for this module. I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye to you all properly.

Good luck with your plans for the future

SOFT6007 Assessment 2

This screen shot shows the list of Assessment 2 submissions that I have to date. If you submitted, but your folder does not appear here please e-mail me.

SOFT6007 Class 45

We used this class time for student hand ups of Assessment 3. There were may fewer submissions than I was expecting.

After today Assessment 3 will be late. Students should try to find me in person or should e-mail me a zipped version of their site.

There will be no labs this week. There will be no lecture on Friday morning.