CS371g Final Entry

How well do you think the course conveyed those takeaways?

Professor Downing does a great job of explaining new topics and keeping his students engaged in the topics we learned about in this class. I think what helped the most especially with the online format of classes for me is that Downing calls on every student he has through the roster of the class. This keeps students on their toes and ready to answer questions.

Were there any other particular takeaways for you?

Coming into this class I had no experience in git & C++. I also was shaky with using white/black box testing & makefiles. This class was a huge and valuable asset to my future as a programmer. Downing is praised for being a great professor, but he proved to be better than that especially if your background in using the tools introduced in this class is limited. I went to office hours and always stuck around to hear students ask him questions and I recommend anybody else that has him to do the same.

How did you feel about two-stage quizzes and tests?

I’m glad the quizzes were two-stage. I did well on the quizzes, but I could’ve done better. They were quite frustrating because most of the time it was hard to get a perfect score. The nice part was that was only worth half your grade on that quiz. The second attempt is with your group which is a guaranteed 5/5.

The two-stage HackerRank exams were great at testing your knowledge of programming. I felt that the exams were graded fairly and that Downing gave very reasonable problems to solve. On top of that, your grade on the first part is 60% of the test. The second part is typically completed pretty easily by you and your group.

How did you feel about cold calling?

I loved the cold calling personally. I feel like it’s a must to a professor’s curriculum during these times. It does a great job of keeping students engaged in the topics being discussed throughout the class. Even if you don’t know the answer Downing will help guide you to help you find the right answer to the question.

How did you feel about office hours?

I felt like Downing gave a lot of good advice during office hours. If you don’t have questions you should still just tune in to the office hours because there might be something said that will be useful to you.

How did you feel about lab sessions?

Personally I can’t answer this question because I could never make it due to work, but any outside resources offered in Downing’s classes are well worth it.