CS371g Last Blog

Long-term takeaways from this class:

• start projects early
• GitLab
• Continous Integration

How well do you think the course conveyed those takeaways?

The projects and exercises really helped with these takeaways.

Were there any other particular takeaways for you?

I improved with C++ and using GitLab and continous integration.

How did you feel about cold calling?

I was indifferent towards the cold calling. I did find it awkward the few times I stepped away.

How did you feel about grading?

I think the EMRN grading is heavily flawed. I was expected to recieve an A until the last week of the course but missed the mark by 2 quizzes. Mainly, I think the 1000 point system is better as a weakness in one category will not bring down the total grade. I think virtual tokens can be better by deducting them at the end and keeping track of potential uses. This way, the student doesn’t have to gamble between a letter grade boost or simply using the tokens to keep a letter grade. I think the best is a 1000 point system with slip days instead of a virtual token.

How did you feel about office hours?

Office hours were incredibly helpful because Amogh held them even when he didn’t have to in Discord. Overall they were very satisfactory and I was able to have all my questions answered.

How did you feel about support from Amogh?

I went to high school with Amogh and when I found out he was TAing the course I knew he would be great. Amogh helped me a lot with chemistry, differential equations, linear algebra and computer science in high school. He also helped me a lot with the Netflix project and was prompt with grading and making changes. I hope he continues to TA as he is really good at his job and being readily accessible.

What required tool did you not know and now find very useful?

I did not know that public test case repos can be merged with the initial fork and found that to be the proper way to merge test cases.

Give me your suggestions for improving the course.

I think the EMRN scale should be improved. This could be done by letting students use a token more than once in a category as well as having opportunities in class to recieve more tokens. Also the tokens should be deducted at the end of the term in case the letter grade boost is more helpful. This way students who tend to imperfectly maximize their grade are not penalized against students who slack and then use the letter grade to boost their grade.