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Re-Assessment Details
If you are registered to be retaking the module this summer (you should have received an email from me) then the details of the reassessment can be found in the link below.
CI4100 Retake Coursework (updated 21/7/16)
Those of you who responded to my email and have indicated that you intend to engage with the reassessment process will receive details of when the Boot Camp will take place by email very soon. If you have not received an email from me confirming the dates by the middle of next week and you ARE intending to participate then please let me know.
All the best,
Paul
Final Orange Event, final hand-in date, final codebash, and “Last Chance Saloon” for missed Orange Events
Dear all,
(The below message has been edited on 3rd April at 7:25 to reflect changes in the schedule. These changes were made due to popular demand.)
The final Orange event will take place during the lecture in last week of term on Monday 11th April. Please ensure you are there!
There will be no lecture on the first week back after Easter (Monday 4th April PM) but we will run the workshops in the morning that day, although the 9am workshop will start slightly later at around 9:30am.
Naturally everyone attends all lectures and workshops, so this should not come as a surprise to anyone, but I also wanted to remind you all that the final date for completing ALL NoobLab activities is FRIDAY 22nd APRIL @ 5pm. You will still be able to access NoobLab after this date but any medals earned beyond that point will not count towards your final module total.
Once again, with feeling:
THE DEADLINE FOR ALL PROGRAMMING 1 ACTIVITIES IS FRIDAY 22ND APRIL AT 5PM.
Remember that I am accepting submissions for “legacy” medals. So you are free to go back and complete missing activities from previous units, if you need to.
To help you get over the finish line I have arranged two events:
THURSDAY 21ST APRIL – SB2022/3 – 9am-5pm: CODEBASH
There will be one last Codebash on Thursday 21st April in SB2022/3. As with all Codebashes, the format is that you can drop in for as long or as little as you’d like. This will be your last chance to get supervised support so make sure you’re there if you haven’t completed all the medals before then!
FRIDAY 22ND APRIL – SB2022/3 – 9am-5pm: The Last Chance Saloon (for missed Orange Events)
For those of you who missed one or more Orange Events, there will be one and only one opportunity to do them on Friday 22nd April. If you intend to take up this opportunity it is important that you email me and book a place. IF YOU DO NOT BOOK A PLACE YOU WILL NOT BE ADMITTED ON THE DAY. Everybody will have different things they missed, so I need to know who is coming in advance so that I can make sure each attendee gets the right material.
One more, with feeling:
IF YOU DO NOT BOOK A PLACE FOR THE LAST CHANCE SALOON YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETAKE MISSED ORANGE EVENTS.
So, do be sure to take the opportunities we are giving you to help you pass. There is no reason why anyone should fail IF they are willing to do a bit of hard work, and we’ll help you with that as much as we can.
All the best and have a good holiday period,
Paul
Tuesday Workshops are no more / Marks issued / Retrospective Medals
Dear all,
This Tuesday there were five – count them, five – students in the workshop. This is obviously not sustainable, and having looked at the timetable none of you have classes on Monday morning. Consequently the Tuesday workshop slot has now been cancelled. Those who were in the Tuesday workshop should find that your timetable now reflects this and shows a workshop on Monday morning.
There are two workshop slots on Monday morning: 9am-11am and 11am-1pm. I tend to consider them one single big long 4 hour slot so I am happy for you to come at any time during that period. However, you are reminded that attendance at all scheduled teaching events is compulsory. YOU MUST ATTEND LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS UNDER UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS. From my perspective, my attitude is that if you are doing OK I am not going to chase you very much about missing the odd lecture but if you are a perennial non-attender and if you are also currently sitting on less than 30% then you are probably going to fail. If that describes you, then it is in your own hands to fix things. Watch the lecture videos, get yourself up to speed, come to workshops. Come and see me during my office hours to discuss possible emergency strategies.
In that vein, you should all have had an email from me detailing your current marks to date. Three quarters of the module has passed so if you have 30% currently, you should be on target to get 40% (a pass mark) by the end if you stay on target. If you have less than 30% (and there is an alarming number of you) then you are in trouble. If you’ve got 40%+ then you’ve passed the module already – congratulations!
Finally, as I mentioned in the lecture, after the success of the codebash I have decided to accept late submissions for all previous medal activities. In short: if you go back and do medals from past units (e.g. Thinking Like A Programmer, the first Java unit, etc) they WILL count towards your final mark.
Good luck and see you all on Monday,
Paul
Deadline today (Friday 19th Feb) / No Workshops Next Week (Mon 22 and Tue 23 Feb) / Lecture Venue
Dear all,
The current deadline for any outstanding NoobLab activity is today, Friday 19th February, at 5pm this evening. As always, after this point you will still be able to win medals but not get any additional credit for them.
Next week there will be no practical workshops on either Monday or Tuesday, in part due to MSc teaching commitments and in part due to the fact that the Monday workshop is scheduled before the lecture and there is nothing we can actually do at that point!
Please note that after the break the lecture venue moves to JG0001 on Monday afternoons. Team Solo take the 2pm to 4pm slot and Team Skywalker the 4pm to 6pm slot. Sorry to those now on the graveyard shift; unfortunately, they’re the slots we have and there’s not much I can do about that. At least this way is fair – everyone has taken a turn on the late session.
See you next week and all the best,
Paul
Orange Event Wed 10th Feb / Code Bash / Deadline for Java
Dear all,
Most of you should know that there is an upcoming Orange Event for the Java unit tomorrow (Wednesday 10th February) during the usual lecture. I am dependent on South West Trains tomorrow so I will say that the official start will be 9:15. The odd 15 minutes is to cover you (and me) for transport difficulties, so it does not mean “you can wander in some time before lunch”, it means “aim to be there at 9am for a 9:15 start”.
We will start with a brief discussion of the mid-module feedback before going into the Orange Event.
The usual rules will apply:
- Once the test starts we will not be able to admit latecomers.
- You may use handwritten notes on the day (or printouts) but no phones, laptops, tablets/iPads or any digital devices.
Good luck in that, everyone!
Meanwhile, we will be running a Codebash all day next Monday 15th February. This will take place in SB2022/3 and will run from 9am-5pm. This will be a good opportunity for you to grab any outstanding medals. If you needed any convincing to attend, here it is:
During the Codebash, if you want to go back and pick up medals for previous units (other than Java) then these points WILL count towards your module total! So, if you didn’t do so well on TLAP, JavaScript or the Web unit, this is your chance to go back and make up for it!
Finally, the deadline for the Java unit is 5pm on Friday 19th February. After that we’ll be going on to the final unit.
All the best,
Paul
URGENT: crucial lecture tomorrow – starting time will be 9:30am NOT 9am though
Hi all,
Just to remind you all that tomorrow’s lecture (Wednesday 27th January) will introduce OO concepts in Java. It is crucial that everyone attend – anyone who does not and isn’t already an expert will almost certainly be very very lost for the rest of the year (and possibly, their university career in Programming 2 and 3!)
Unfortunately, to an unavoidable personal commitment tomorrow’s lecture will start at 9:30 rather than 9am. However, it WILL start at 9:30am SHARP. This doesn’t mean “Paul is arriving at 9:30 so I can arrive somewhere between 9:30 and 10am!” It means “Paul will start talking at 9:30 and will heckle anyone who comes in after that point”.
See you all then – 9:30am sharp!
All the best,
Paul
Codebash Monday 21st December – CONFIRMED
Dear all,
I am pleased to announce the Codebash will indeed be going ahead this coming Monday.
I don’t yet have room details I’m afraid – as Timetabling have seemingly ignored my booking I will just have to identify an appropriate computer lab and take it over on the day. I will send an email either over the weekend or early on Monday with the room. So, if you are planning to come along please keep an eye open for the room details!
The codebash will run from 9:30am to approximately 2:30pm.
All the best,
Paul
No lecture Monday 14th Dec / Hand-in date / Possible Codebash
Dear all,
Next week’s Lecture (or not!)
THERE WILL BE NO LECTURE ON MONDAY 14TH DECEMBER. I did consider running a session devoted to the Team Obi-Wan material but I thought it might perhaps be too specialist an audience. I will run a codebash instead just before Christmas (I’ll talk about that later).
Next week’s workshops
ALL WORKSHOPS WILL BE RUNNING NEXT WEEK. So the Monday 9am-11am and 11am-1pm sessions in SB1025/1026, the Tuesday 9am-11am session in EM0001 and the Friday 11pm-1pm session in SB2022 will all be running. IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED YOUR PRACTICAL WORK YET YOU *MUST* ATTEND AT LEAST ONE OF THEM. FAILURE TO ATTEND WILL HAVE REPERCUSSIONS.
Hand in date for Javascript / Web Apps
As announced in some of the workshop sessions, the hand in date for the current unit (Javascript for Team Skywalker, and Web App for Team Solo) will be 5pm on Wednesday 23rd December. ANY MEDALS WON AFTER THIS POINT WILL NOT COUNT TOWARDS YOUR FINAL MODULE MARK.
Codebash
With all that in mind, and in lieu of next Monday’s lecture, I will be running a codebash (subject to sufficient interest) on Monday 21st December. This will be all day on that day and it will be your last chance to complete your workshop tasks with my support. PLEASE NOTE I WILL NOT BE PROVIDING ANY SUPPORT VIA EMAIL. Between four hours of consultation hours next week, six hours of workshops next week and eight hours of codebash the week after you have 18 hours of support available to you. There is ample opportunity for you to get the work done but you must make the effort to get the support you need. If you’re not willing to get off your backside to make that effort, well, I have little sympathy for you!
IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THIS CODEBASH IT IS IMPORTANT YOU LET ME KNOW. I WILL ONLY RUN IT IF THERE IS SUFFICIENT INTEREST. PLEASE EMAIL ME AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND.
After Christmas
After Christmas we’ll be bidding a fond farewell to the Games students – for you guys, I would just like to say it’s been a pleasure to have you and I hope Ahmed treats you just as well as I have. Keep wearing the funny hats, guys! For you Programming 1 people, you’ll all be coming back together (both Team Solo and Skywalker) for the first five weeks to do Java. Check your timetable for updated details – don’t forget locations and times are subject to change.
I won’t say “have a good Christmas” because I’ll see all of you in the workshops and/or codebash before then, won’t I? 
All the best,
Paul
Workshop attendance and etiquette
Dear all,
A few things recently have made me think it might be worthwhile sending you a brief message to clarify our expectations with respect to workshop etiquette and attendance on CI4100/CI4520 (Programming 1/Object Oriented Programming).
First of all, you must attend all scheduled events in your timetable including workshops. Informally, I am happy for you not to attend a workshop if you have completed every single gold medal to date beforehand. Otherwise, as per university regulations, attendance is compulsory. Failure to attend scheduled workshops if you have not completed all outstanding work will be treated in the same way as non-attendance at lectures.
This leads me on to etiquette. In one of the workshops this week, there was a little cluster of people who arrived while I was introducing the workshop and proceeded to hold their own little conference while I was talking. As you know, I like to run a fairly informal ship but the one thing I ask is that if I am talking, nobody else should be. Even if what I am saying is not something you are finding useful, please show some courtesy not only for me but also for your peers who might actually NEED to listen. I will usually introduce the workshop at the beginning and then I will leave you to work while I mingle and help out. If something interesting takes place during the session I will go back up front and address the whole class again. When I do that, I ask that you please be quiet and ideally listen, but failing that, at the very least be quiet so others who want to listen can do so. If nothing else, it is the polite thing to do.
All the best,
Paul
Early module feedback: Response
I will talk about this in the lecture today, but I am required to post my response on Studyspace too. So here it is:
Many thanks for all the positive feedback – I am glad to hear I am doing something right.
On the critical comments:
Timetabling
I share your frustrations with timetabling; some of you have probably heard these frustrations spilling out verbally from me! Every year I specifically state on the paperwork “workshops must be AFTER lectures”; every year this is ignored. I have had discussions with timetabling in the past and to be fair, they have been supportive this year in terms of getting the Team Solo/Skywalker groupings set up. However, your feedback is useful in that previous complaints from academics have had no effect about the workshop before lecture factor. If I can feed back complaints from students too this may help – so thanks for your comments.
Carol is either too simple / too difficult and you need extra support
So on one hand, Carol is too difficult and students need more support. On the other hand, the pacing is too slow! I’d say that when I combine the two I’ve got it about right! Do remember that students come on to Programming 1 from many different backgrounds. Some students have a comprehensive background in programming either from college, school or through hobbyist activities. Other students have zero experience and are completely new to the discipline. The Carol/TLAP exercises are designed to establish a baseline, get you thinking in the right way and then let me assign you each into a group that will be best for you. So, now that the groups are established the pacing should be much more ideally suited to each of you.
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