We had a discussion about the exam yesterday. Some students felt they had been told that FTP was not coming up. Students who joined the class late in the semester had not completed the FTP exercise. Others felt that the marks given for the FTP question were too high.
The projector wasn't working so we had a very short discussion on content management systems.
We also discussed how to get domain names and some students shared their experiences of different hosting companies.
Attendance was poor. But It's hard to imagine why students would come to class at this stage in the semester when there are no further exams and only one assessment remaining.
I encouraged students to get the assignment in as soon as possible because it's not worth doing it late in the semester when exams are approaching.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Web Publishing 36
We had an in-class exam with short questions.
I will try to have the results of the essay and this exam made available soon. It is difficult the balance the desire for quick feedback with student's privacy. I porpose to post the results online using the last for digits of each student's ID number as the key. If would would prefer not to have the results delivered liek this please let me know.
I will try to have the results of the essay and this exam made available soon. It is difficult the balance the desire for quick feedback with student's privacy. I porpose to post the results online using the last for digits of each student's ID number as the key. If would would prefer not to have the results delivered liek this please let me know.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Web Publishing 35
The lab we had been squatting in up to now was occupied so we reverted to the timetabled classroom.
We took a quick look at the new CIT website.
I advised students that I had run a plagiarism check on their essays and outlined hte positions they might find themselves in numerically if they get zero for the essay as a result. The easy was worth 40%.
I outlined how the final marks would be calculated. The exam tomorrow is worth 30% and the project another 30%. There are no marks on the syllabus for a blog, but I will attempt to account for it somewhere.
Students who get zero for their essay and do not will in the exam will find things very difficult numerically.
Towards the end of class we looked at Google AdSense and Google Analytics. But we didn't spend much time on it. It might be worth taking another look some day.
We took a quick look at the new CIT website.
I advised students that I had run a plagiarism check on their essays and outlined hte positions they might find themselves in numerically if they get zero for the essay as a result. The easy was worth 40%.
I outlined how the final marks would be calculated. The exam tomorrow is worth 30% and the project another 30%. There are no marks on the syllabus for a blog, but I will attempt to account for it somewhere.
Students who get zero for their essay and do not will in the exam will find things very difficult numerically.
Towards the end of class we looked at Google AdSense and Google Analytics. But we didn't spend much time on it. It might be worth taking another look some day.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Turn It In
www.TurnItIn.com is my new favourite toy. I used to spend hours before correcting assignments identifying those that were ripped off from web sites and the sites they were ripped off from. TurnItIn does all that for me.
The interface is poorly designed, but it does the job. And it's not terribly sophisticated. But the cheating strategy of the average CIT student is not terribly sophisticated either. A product like TurnItIn shifts the balance of effort so that the trouble a student has to go to to avoid detection is much closer to what it might take to actually do the work for real. And the effort the lecturer has to go to catch (and more importantly verify) cheating is greatly reduced.
I don't know what I'll do with all the time I'll save. Maybe real work!
Perhaps I should conserve my enegry for the "No one told me cheating was wrong" Appeals.
The interface is poorly designed, but it does the job. And it's not terribly sophisticated. But the cheating strategy of the average CIT student is not terribly sophisticated either. A product like TurnItIn shifts the balance of effort so that the trouble a student has to go to to avoid detection is much closer to what it might take to actually do the work for real. And the effort the lecturer has to go to catch (and more importantly verify) cheating is greatly reduced.
I don't know what I'll do with all the time I'll save. Maybe real work!
Perhaps I should conserve my enegry for the "No one told me cheating was wrong" Appeals.
The Big Meeting
There's a big meeting on now about the state of affairs at CIT. Government cutbacks mean that the Institute of is few million short. Rumours have been circulating for two weeks now about what drastic measures will be taken. We shall see.
I'm not going to bother going. I'll wait for the bad news to arrive by e-mail.
I'm not going to bother going. I'll wait for the bad news to arrive by e-mail.
ITS1 CMOD6001 11 & 12
There was one project group present in the class. I spoke with them about their project.
COM1-CMOD6001 31A & 32A
I got students to sign up to turnitin.com and submnit their recent essays.
I'd apprectiate if all students could do this. It will save me a good bit of hassle later on. The class ID is 2506113. The password was givin out in the Group A lab.
TurnItIn is designed to detect segments of student work that have been copied from websites and other sources. I will run each eassy through this process before correcting. If you do not submit your essay using this process it will be a lot of hassle for me. If you have copied large chucks of your paper from the web, annoying me will only compound the problem.
Some students allowed me to use their submissions to illustrate how TurnItIn works. I showed students the 2-window display with student submissions in one window and the source material on the other.
I'd apprectiate if all students could do this. It will save me a good bit of hassle later on. The class ID is 2506113. The password was givin out in the Group A lab.
TurnItIn is designed to detect segments of student work that have been copied from websites and other sources. I will run each eassy through this process before correcting. If you do not submit your essay using this process it will be a lot of hassle for me. If you have copied large chucks of your paper from the web, annoying me will only compound the problem.
Some students allowed me to use their submissions to illustrate how TurnItIn works. I showed students the 2-window display with student submissions in one window and the source material on the other.
Friday, November 14, 2008
COM1-CMOD6001 30
Less than half the students in the class were present. Students met in project groups. A few groups moved their meetings to the canteen.
I don't believe that many groups are at the stage they need to be at in order to complete the assignment well and on time. But hopefully it will start to come together soon.
I don't believe that many groups are at the stage they need to be at in order to complete the assignment well and on time. But hopefully it will start to come together soon.
COM1 Presentation Videos
I recorded video and audio of the in-class presentations in order to have a record to help me with assessment. However I have received a number of requests from students for copies of the audio and video. The audio recordings are of very high quality but I am in the middle of some jobs at home and the cables I need are in a mystery box somewhere in the house. I do not have the kit I need to digitize the audio at CIT. The quality of the video is very poor, but I have it handy. So I can provide the video very easily.
I believe that audio and video recordings of individuals constitute personal data that are covered by the Data Protection Act. Consequently I am not prepared to make the recordings widely available without the permission of those who appear in them.
If you would like to see the video recording of your group's presentation please e-mail me the names and ID numbers of all the members of the group. Since student's ID numbers are not generally known to anyone other than the student, I will accept the provision of a student's ID number as permission to release the video to all members of the group. I will e-mail the URL to one of the members of the group. If the members of the group choose to distribute the URL widely after that, that is their choice, not mine.
Each group will be provided with a single video clip. I am not prepared to chop the video into student-specific segments.
I will be happy to delete any group's presentation at the request of any member of the group (please supply ID number), but students should be aware that in the digital world it is very difficult to put the genie back in the bottle once it has been released. So students should think carefully before giving permission to post the clip in which they appear.
I believe that audio and video recordings of individuals constitute personal data that are covered by the Data Protection Act. Consequently I am not prepared to make the recordings widely available without the permission of those who appear in them.
If you would like to see the video recording of your group's presentation please e-mail me the names and ID numbers of all the members of the group. Since student's ID numbers are not generally known to anyone other than the student, I will accept the provision of a student's ID number as permission to release the video to all members of the group. I will e-mail the URL to one of the members of the group. If the members of the group choose to distribute the URL widely after that, that is their choice, not mine.
Each group will be provided with a single video clip. I am not prepared to chop the video into student-specific segments.
I will be happy to delete any group's presentation at the request of any member of the group (please supply ID number), but students should be aware that in the digital world it is very difficult to put the genie back in the bottle once it has been released. So students should think carefully before giving permission to post the clip in which they appear.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Web Publishing 34
We had a lab instead of a lecture.
The sites seem to be taking shape. Although I've really only see three.
Students seem to be under a bit of pressure, but I expect they'll get there.
The sites seem to be taking shape. Although I've really only see three.
Students seem to be under a bit of pressure, but I expect they'll get there.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
COM1-CMOD6001 29
I was delighted to see today that some students are finally taking the murder mystery assignment seriously.
Some students discussed with me the firing of members from their group who are not pulling their weight. I've no problem with that. The number of members in the group will be considered when assigning a mark. However it is vital that I be advised of group membership. The latest information I have is at www.com2008blogs.tk. I should be informed of changes by e-mail.
The project is due on Friday 28 November at 0930.
Some students discussed with me the firing of members from their group who are not pulling their weight. I've no problem with that. The number of members in the group will be considered when assigning a mark. However it is vital that I be advised of group membership. The latest information I have is at www.com2008blogs.tk. I should be informed of changes by e-mail.
The project is due on Friday 28 November at 0930.
Web Publishing 32 & 33
I announced today that we will be having the exam soon as per the course schedule. We decided to put it off until Wednesday of next week because of conferrings on Friday.
The exam will conver everything we have done in class so far and the material covered in the NewsU course that students took.
All the powerpoint presentations used in class are available by following the links off this blog.
The exam will conver everything we have done in class so far and the material covered in the NewsU course that students took.
All the powerpoint presentations used in class are available by following the links off this blog.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Correcting
Today is my day for correcting essays. I find the library is a nice place to work than my office. But unfortunately I feel the need for a computer a lot. I find I very often have a need to google a sentence or a passage to check for plagiarism.
My tolerance threshold for copy & pasting is set very low. But I am actually surprised at the very low level of sophistication of the copying I encounter. So far today I have seen spelling mistakes on a website reproduced in a paper. A simple spell check would have caught that. The laziest thing I see every year is the copy and paste from wikipedia that leaves the hyperlinks in tact. That is just so lazy.
Students who copied and pasted any text should expect to get zero for the paper. But I expect that I won't catch everyone. Some students are a bit cuter than others, mostly because they have more experience of cheating.
My tolerance threshold for copy & pasting is set very low. But I am actually surprised at the very low level of sophistication of the copying I encounter. So far today I have seen spelling mistakes on a website reproduced in a paper. A simple spell check would have caught that. The laziest thing I see every year is the copy and paste from wikipedia that leaves the hyperlinks in tact. That is just so lazy.
Students who copied and pasted any text should expect to get zero for the paper. But I expect that I won't catch everyone. Some students are a bit cuter than others, mostly because they have more experience of cheating.
Web Publishing 31
We continued our look at intellectual property. We discussed Trademarks and Trade Secrets.
We also looked briefly at the ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and quickly passed summary judgment on a few pending cases.
Slides
We also looked briefly at the ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and quickly passed summary judgment on a few pending cases.
Slides
Monday, November 10, 2008
COM1-CMOD6001 Essays
Coming Friday is the last day that essays will be worth any marks. Essays submitted after that will not earn any marks.
Students who have not yet submitted should get the finger out. Students who do not yet have an essay topic should e-mail Colin for one.
Students who get no marks for their essay will find it very difficult to pass this module.
Students who have not yet submitted should get the finger out. Students who do not yet have an essay topic should e-mail Colin for one.
Students who get no marks for their essay will find it very difficult to pass this module.
ITS1 CMOD6001 09 &10
There were only a handful of students in class and they didn't seem to be doing anything very productive. Because students have been moved to different lab groups the time slot can't now be used for project meetings.
I gave the students some ideas for the structure of the game.
I met with students and asked them about the games and what they had done so far. There didn't seem to be much creativity, innovation, not teamwork in evidence. I expect that I will be disappointed by the results.
I reminded students that it was very important to document their project work in the group blog.
I gave the students some ideas for the structure of the game.
I met with students and asked them about the games and what they had done so far. There didn't seem to be much creativity, innovation, not teamwork in evidence. I expect that I will be disappointed by the results.
I reminded students that it was very important to document their project work in the group blog.
COM1-CMOD6001 27AB & 28AB
Presentations were this morning. We used the programming time slot too. That will have to be paid back at some stage before the end of the semester.
I was disappointed with the quality of the presentations in general. With a few exceptions, it didn't seem like a lot of preparation had gone in to them. I was also disappointed by the lack of respect students showed for their colleagues. Maybe that makes me old fashioned.
In general I expect that few people will get less than a pass mark for the presnetation assessment component. But few will get very good marks either.
If it is practical I will make the video and audio files available.
This leaves only the murder mystery assessment. I have not seem much evidence so far that students are taking this very seriously. But hopefully in the next few weeks the situation will improve.
I was disappointed with the quality of the presentations in general. With a few exceptions, it didn't seem like a lot of preparation had gone in to them. I was also disappointed by the lack of respect students showed for their colleagues. Maybe that makes me old fashioned.
In general I expect that few people will get less than a pass mark for the presnetation assessment component. But few will get very good marks either.
If it is practical I will make the video and audio files available.
This leaves only the murder mystery assessment. I have not seem much evidence so far that students are taking this very seriously. But hopefully in the next few weeks the situation will improve.
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