SOFT6008 Class 01 Lab Typing & Sharing

Since this was our first class it was a bit strange having a lab when we never had a lecture. So it was mostly a typing exercise.

I gave out two JavaScript examples and asked students to type them up in notepad. That'll save time in the next class.

I asked students to set up dropbox folders for their class for this work and to share it with me (ideally read-only). This would allow me to monitor student progress continuously and to very quickly spot problems and offer help. It does raise some privacy issues too. Please name the folder with SOFT6008 followed by your myCIT user name (e.g SOFT6008-Dan.Murphy). Share it with colin.manning@cit.ie. Hopefully that won't screw up my quota. If you don't already use dropbox please sign-up here.

I will invite students taking this class to join Google+. I propose to see if Google+ can be of use in education. Google+ is very like Facebook except that it is much easier to control what one shares with whom.  So use this feature wisely and don't over-share with me!

I have a circle for each class group, so I can post items relevant to individual classes.

To be honest I don't yet know what I will use Google+ for. It's an experiment.

As computing professionals in the making, students should probably join Google+ anyway just to know how it works.


These images required for Random Image example. But of course you can use any images as long as they have the correct names.

SOFT6007 COM1 Class 01

We looked at bits and how they can be assigned meaning. We looked at a system for transmitting text and the ASCII table.

Google+ Invitations

I have invited all first year students to join Google+. I propose to see if Google+ can be of use in education. Google+ is very like Facebook except that it is much easier to control what one shares with whom.  So use this feature wisely and don't over-share with me!

I have a circle for each class group, so I can post items relevant to individual classes.

To be honest I don't yet know what I will use Google+ for. It's an experiment.

As computing professionals in the making, students should probably join Google+ anyway just to know how it works.

One of these days I might try Blackboard. But don't look for me there just yet.

SOFT6007 Web Development Fundamentals

I am teaching two instances of this module in Semester 2. As with all first attempts at the timetable, there may be some changes. Clicking on the Google Calendar icon will allow you to add the class to your Calendar.

[update: this keeps changing. Only the Google Calendar links are up to date.  Check the printed timetables in the C corridor or your online timetable for the latest info. Once you add the Google Calendar events, I will update them as they change.]

COM1
Mo 0900 room?

Tu 1700 B219

Th 1100 & 1200 IT1.3 COM1-B

Th 1500 & 1600 IT2.2 COM1-A




DCOM/ITS
We 1100 & 1200 Group A

We 1700 B217 (will probably move)

Fr 1100 B219

Fr 1400 & 1500 Group B


Group B = DCOM1
Group A = ITS1 unless the group is too large

COMP6023 Web Publishing

I'm no longer teaching this module this semester.

COMP6023 Web Publishing

Students taking COMP6023 will be expected to sign up for the Google Online Marketing Challenge. Students may wish to read about this and get thinking before the start of the semester.

IUT Lannion Lecture

I gave a class remotely at IUT Lannion this morning. It was quite a strange experience, sitting at my desk giving a lecture. I've recorded lectures for  later use before. But giving one live felt a bit weird to me. This was compounded by not being able to see the audience, and not knowing what they were seeing.

The folks at IUT called to say it worked fine. It was certainly an interesting experience.

I meant to record it, but something went wrong. But that anything worked at all was impressive.

I guess it's a sign of things to come. Perhaps some day I'll be giving my lectures from a beach somewhere.

Free Choice Modules Semester 2

The list of Free Choice modules offered by the department of computing has been finalized.

If you add questions as comments to this post I will do my best to answer them.

SOFT7001 Assignments

• Petr K
• Kyron L
• Ou L
• Sam L
• Colm M
• Ed M
• Chris P
• Kamil W

MATH6028 Free Choice

If you like maths you might be interested in MATH6028 that is being offered next semester in the free choice slot. Contact michael.brennan for more details and the CRN required for registration.

MATH6028 – Mathematical Explorations (Michael Brennan ) [2 lecture + 0 lab + 2 tutorial]

Learning Outcomes
1. demonstrate skills in mathematical reasoning and presentation;
2. describe the way in which mathematics is used in various areas of human endeavour;
3. develop and understand mathematical arguments;
4. identify the cultural role that mathematics has played throughout history;
5. appreciate how mathematics can be used as a learning resource.


· The Logic of Discovery
The familiar Sudoku puzzle provides a nice introduction to problem solving using some basic logical reasoning. Other topics that reinforce the different steps necessary in the problem solving process include Tower of Hanoi, Magic Squares and Algebraic gems.

· History and Culture
The concept of conjecture and proof are fundamental to mathematics. This section develops these from a historical viewpoint with emphasis on elementary mathematics (e.g. primes and geometry).

· Pleasures of Probability
Illustrate how lots of everyday life occurrences can be analysed via probability. Examples include games, National lottery, betting/gambling.

· Applications
The power of mathematics is in its practical application to science, engineering and the world of business. This section uses a variety of examples to highlight this.

CMOD6001 Good Luck!

On the day of the game demonstrations I didn’t get a proper chance to say goodbye to you all. After so much time and work together it seemed strange for us all to walk off and go about our business.

I was very impressed with the standard of the projects. There was a lot of imagination and enthusiasm in evidence on the day. Thanks for taking the work so seriously and for putting so much effort into it. My phone is old and slow. It would really help me if your group e-mailed me the URLs that your project used. So if someone from your group could do that, it would help me fully appreciate your efforts.

I am still correcting continuous assessment components for the module and I’m confident now that you won’t get any results for this module before you get all your results in the new year. So they will all come together.

Eventually you will be able to see the mark for your essay in turnitin. Once I have them all corrected I will take a second look at them. So marks may appear to go up or down a tiny bit. I’ll e-mail you again once they are done.

There’s no update on the free choice options for next semester. So that’s going to be a bit of a disaster. If you see some thing offered by another department that you are half interested in, take it. You will probably get an e-mail from the registrar’s office about your free choice module some time in the new year.

If you had a Finish team member please send me an e-mail about the extent of his or her involvement, so that I can calculate your bonus marks for that. Unless it is already detailed in the project documentation you handed up. If you had a French team member, that’s all sorted.

DNETs. I recommend you opt for SOFT6007 Web Development Fundamentals or your free choice.

Many of you will be taking SOFT6007 Web Development Fundamentals next semester. If you have time over the break and would like to make a start on that, you can subscribe to this podcast in iTunes. There are a bunch of classes there.
http://mcom.cit.ie/staff/computing/cmanning/soft6007.xml


DWEB1s. You can make a start on SOFT6008 Interactive Web Development by subscribing to
http://mcom.cit.ie/staff/computing/cmanning/soft6008.xml


It has been a tough semester for some students. I am very impressed by the extent to which ye supported and looked out for one another.

So good luck with you exams and enjoy the break.

CMOD6001 QR Fest

We met in the student center and group set out their games to be played.

I thought they were good. But I didn't get to play any one in its entirety.

Well done!

SOFT7001 Class

Some students are still working on the assignment. Remember to get the URL in on time. There's nothing stopping you from updating the site in the meantime.

Colin

CMOD6001 Hand up day was yesterday

A lot of groups handed up their projects yesterday. Students may had up today if they can find me. However if the late penalty is going to apply anyway, it might be best to wait until tomorrow anyway.

We will have no more classes this week

CMOD6001 COM Class

Some students used the time to hold meetings. I answered some questions. Quiet enough.

CMOD6001 COM Lab

Students were very busy working on the project.

CMOD6001 ITS/ITM

Students were just chilin' and playing games, so I left them at it.

CMOD6001 DWEB Lab

Quiet morning. Most students worked on stuff for other modules.

SOFT7001 Class

Students worked away on their websites.

We learned that if you don't explicitly use the media="screen" when using media="print", the print style sheet will interact with the regular style sheet and you might get things you weren't expecting.

CMOD6001 ITS/M Lab

Students worked away on their projects

CMOD6001 DWEB1 Lab B

Students worked on the project

CMOD6001 COM1

Students worked away on the project. Good turn out.

CIT has no power today

CIT has no power for parts of today so some services you are used to having might not be available. Access to some of your cloud based services require authentication from a CIT based server, so that might cause problems for you also.

I have no CIT e-mail today

CMOD6001 ITS/ITM

Group V gave a presentation

Some students spoke with their IUT group members afterwards

SOFT7001 Class canceled this afternoon

I'm not feeling great so I'm going to head home early today. But if you are stuck for something please e-mail me before 1430.

CMOD6001 DNET/DCOM

One group went next door to record some video.

Others groups met to work on the projects.

CMOD6001 DNET/DCOM

Students seemed to be very busy plotting away. I look forward to seeing the finished works.

Colin M

CMOD6001 DWEB1 Class

I talked about "Christmas Day"

Students worked on their projects and I met with some groups. I had some tough words for one group, but it's members are in a hole numerically and their project needs to be very good for them to pass.

CMOD6001 ITS/ITM Class

Group J (Daniele & Allison) gave a presentation on Internet Crime

Group T (Alex & Sean) gave a presentation on Net Neutrality

Anonymous comments disabled

I have disabled anonymous comments for this blog. I had believed that allowing students to post anonymously would allow for a free-er exchange of ideas, but that turned out not to be the case. I was very disappointed with the tone and character of the comments that were left. I think I may have done students a disservice. In publishing the comments I may have given the impression that that kind of behaviour is acceptable.

Comments can still be added to any post, but the poster will have to log in. Of course fake gmail addresses remain an option.

CMOD6001 Late Papers

The deadline for the papers is noon on Wednesday. Late papers will have the 2 week penalty applied to them. So a paper that might have got 45 if it were on time, would get 25%. If your second draft was half decent, it might be worth more on time, than a better paper is worth late. So if you miss the deadline make sure you make that calculation before submitting.

Once you've missed the deadline there is no rush. So you should probably ask Colin for his opinion of the old paper, before submitting a new one late.

Turnitin overwrites the old paper, so there's no going back.

update: I have changed the settings on turnitin so that students cannot submit after the deadline. Students who have arranged an extension will still be able to submit by contacting Colin. Student will still be permitted to submit late, but only once I am confident they understand the consequences of their choice.

Britain's Greatest Codebreaker

There's an documentary starting on Channel 4. Available for viewing online.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/britains-greatest-codebreaker/4od

SOFT7001 Extension

The deadline for the project is extended to noon on Friday 02 December. Students must e-mail the URL for the website to Colin before then.

SOFT7001 Class

Students worked away on their projects.

We discovered that if the max-width media query doesn't do what need, maybe the max-device-width will do the trick.

CMOD6001 COM1 Class

Questions about turnitin.

Some questions about presentation results.

CMOD6001 COM1 Lab A

Talked some people through essay feedback. Other students ran some project ideas by me. The projects sound interesting, I'm just worried about the time frame.

CMOD6001 ITS/ITM

Students worked away on various things. I met with a few to discuss their essays in depth. And some ran a few project ideas by me. Things seem to be taking shape. I almost wish the semester was a few weeks longer. Students could do great things in that time.

CMOD6001 DWEB1 Lab

Students worked away on various things.

CMOD6001 Project Demonstrations

We will have project demonstrations on Friday morning of week 12 from 0930 to 1300. Students who may be unavailable at this time should let Colin know on advance.

The schedule will vary slightly from class to class. Details to follow.

SOFT7001 Class

Students worked away on their projects.

SOFT7001 Room change Dec 01

On Dec 02 we will be in IT2.2 instead of IT2.3

CMOD6001 ITS/M Lab

Today's lab is canceled.

Student's scheduled to give presentations today will do so on Wednesday at 12 in C170.

Update: 21/11/2011 1615
It will be Thursday at 1300

CMOD6001 DWEB1 Lab B

Today's lab is canceled.

CMOD6001 COM1 Lab B

Students worked away on whatever they saw fit to work on. I had no particular plan today. There were a few questions on the game project.

CMOD6001 Essay Feedback

If you were one of the students who did not get feedback in the first wave of corrections you can ask for an extension of up to Friday at noon by sending an e-mail to Colin before Wednesday. However it's a good idea to get the paper in by the regular deadline of noon on Wednesday, so that you can get on with other things.

The Turnitin settings for this assignment have been changed so that students can see their own originality reports. This allows students to see the same report Colin will see. That's probably a mistake, because some  students will spend lots of time trying to game the system, instead of actually writing. For example, one student changed "New York" to "the Big Apple" in an attempt to disguise copied text.

CMOD6001 Assessment Weightings

I have modified the assignment weighting to account for the notable absence of Scandinavians.. See the Assignment Details under Quick Links over ->

CMOD6001 DNET/DCOM

Only 5 students on class

Met with groups in so far as that was meaningful

Group NB
plot sorted
nothing implemented
time to go with whatever plan there is by the end of today

Group CD
lots of good ideas still floating around
need to pin down the clouds and make some drinking water
time to start doing and start assigning some tasks
start thinking about the player experience

CMOD6001 COM1 Class

I met with the groups for an update


Group B
3/3
plot sorted
just need to implement everything now
an excused absence for 25/11


Group C
4/4
plot done. props organized
working on clues. sounds interesting.
site specific. and someone will need to run it on the day
if it doesn't all go right on the night it won't be for lack of effort


Group D
some group issues that need to be addressed
I am splitting this group into two . I'm not happy about this. But there doesn't seem to be an option at this stage. Group K and Group L. The tossed for the two Finns that came with the old group.

Group K
2 students nos

Group L
2 + 1 now


Group E
4/4


Group F
3/4
ideas a plenty
nothing implemented
plot organized
need to get a move it


Group Y
1/4 in
this student is leaving to join another group
I'm not happy but there doesn't seem to be much choice.

Group W
2/4
plot almost sorted
some implementation started
need more suspects. 2 not enough
I can host pages, but there's a turn around time
Finn on board but not very technical

Group X
1/4
But group seems to be doing OK
Nothing really done yet. running out of time

CMOD6001 DWEB1

Less than half of the class was in. But there seemed to be a few almost complete groups. So some groups got some work done. I met with each group for an update


Group WA
2/2 students in
Planning some sort of board game. I think this is a bit limiting
not maybe time enough to do something more interesting


Group WO
1 student in
nothing new since last week
group doesn't seem to be getting get much done
student who is in probably needs to get moving without the others

Group WB
4/4 in
Finn is in place and working away with the group
need to get a move on
some cool ideas
make decisions today!


Group WM
2/4 in
wanted to use recent actual murders, but I advised against it
sounds very complicated
think about the players' experience and how it works
not much time left for planning. time to execute the plan


Group WN
4/5
plot sorted. sounds a bit elaborate
need to pin things down today and then go execute whatever plan there is


Group WE
3/5 in
scenario well developed. sounds good.
but need to figure how to implement it

CMOD6001 Project Submission Times

Completed projects should be submitted to Colin on 30 November during the following times

ITS/ITM 1200-1230 C170
ITS/ITM 1300-1400 C123c
DWEB1 1400-1430 B219
DCOM1 1300-1400 C123c
DNET1 1300-1400 C123c
COM1 1300-1400 C123c

Details of the project event on Friday 02 December will be finalized soon. All students will be expected to attend this event.