A216
Digital Multimedia
Concepts and Technologies.

[RIP] Ray Dolby [1933 - 2013]

Instructor: Jeff Whitmer

• Office: Luddy Hall 2050.
  
• Office Hours:
  
  
  • Luddy Hall 2050 (IF2050) Monday/Wednesday: 12:30 - 3:00pm.
  • Appointments also available.
    
    
  
  
• Office Hour Special NOTES:
  • Any changes to my office hours will be posted here.
    • Monday, August 23, 2021: Classes Begin.
    • Monday, September 6, 2021: Labor Day holiday. Classes do not meet.
• Phone: 855-3974.
  
• E-mail: jwhitmer@cs.indiana.edu.

Meeting Times:

Fall 2021: MW: 11:15am - 12:05pm (section 32395) in Luddy Hall IF 0117.

Lab Times:

Fall 2021:

• Thursdays ONLY: 1:10 - 2:25pm in Luddy Hall IF0006 (section 32396)

Fall 2021 Students: Please note the following:
[Updated: 12/13/2021]

• PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: Active Course Engagement Scores, Final Averages and Final Grades: are now posted on Canvas. Final Grades have been submitted to the Registrar and should be visible to you tomorrow, 12/14/2021.
  
  The A216 Active Course Engagement score represents my evaluation of your preparation and participation both in the Monday/Wednesday class meetings and in the course overall. As noted on the first day, just being the one saying the most doesn't mean you will get the highest rating. Similarly, being quiet doesn't mean you'll get a low score. I see a great deal from my position, including who is paying attention, who is asleep, who is using their laptop to take class notes and who is using their laptop/mobile to surf the Web or check Facebook. Just being in class doesn't insure a good Engagement score because merely being "present" does not mean you are engaged. ALSO NOTE that you cannot expect a high participation score if you missed 25-30% or more of the class meetings. You can not be engaged when you are not there. The Engagement scores this time were all in the 90s, reflecting the fact you were in class and actively engaged. Thank you.
  
  Here are a few details on Final Grades. Grading Scale Adjustment: The work during this semester, for the class as a whole, was outstanding, which an overall average above 90. However, in order to address any small issues here and there I made a very small change in the original 90-80-70-60 grading scale. I dropped the entire scale by 2 points, to 88-78-68-58. Again, everyone did very good to excellent work in almost every part of the course this semester. Everyone worked hard and I've tried to be sure that is reflected in the final grades. Remember, the +/- grades are determined but the upper and lower 2.5% of each range, respectively. IMPORTANT NOTE: The final grades displayed on Canvas are correct, using this adjusted grading scale.
  
  Remember, your final average was based on the following "weights" for each course component as published on the website the first day of class:
  
  Attendance: 5% (.05)
  Assignments: 25% (.25)
  MINI/CAT/JIT/Quiz: 10% (.1)
  Participation: 10% (.1)
  Final Project Average: 50% (.4)
  Together, these add up to 100% and if you multiply your averages by these percentages, you will get your final average. NOTE: While final averages are published to 2 decimal places, they are stored and calculated to 6 decimal places.
  
  The final distribution of grades was: 2 A, 0 B, 0 C, and 0 D. Thanks to everyone for their hard work. I hope you found the course interesting and useful. Best of luck in the future to each of you.
  
  A NOTE ON "BORDERLINE" GRADES: After the new grading scale was set and initial final grades were determined, several students were on the "borderline" for a higher grade. PLEASE be careful to note that "borderline" in this course means within .1 -.3% (tenths of a percent), NOT within 1-2% (full percent). For each student, I looked carefully at every aspect of the course, from projects to attendance to assignments. If the work was of consistent quality in all areas, the higher grade was probably given. HOWEVER, if there were one or more areas where the scores/averages were consistently lower, or if there was missed work, i.e., got a 0 (zero), then the higher grade was not given. Just so you are clear, since I have taken the time to review all this information already, unless you find a mathematical error in your averages, I will not be open to a request for a grade change.
  
  Again, thanks to everyone who participated in the course. I hope you found it fun or interesting or useful, or even all three.
  
  
• Final Project Phase 3 scores posted and emails sent. Final Project Official TOTAL score posted.
  
  Final Project Phase 3 emails with detailed scores and some comments have been sent. PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: Phase 3 was graded by both of us and the 2 scores in every category were averaged to arrive at the Phase 3 score. The Phase 3 submissions were very good, with both scores in the 90s.
  
  Final Project Official TOTAL scores are also posted and that is the score that will be used to calculate your final average. Remember, this score is a combination of your Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 submissions for the Final Project. Scores here were also good but the small enrollment keeps me from sharing specifics for privacy reasons.
  
  I expect to have the Active Course Engagement scores, as well as the final grading scale and Final Grades posted either Monday or Tuesday, when I submit the Final Grades to the Registrar.
  
  
• CAT 9 scores posted, MINI/JIT/CAT/Quiz Average and Rollcall Attendance Average on Canvas confirmed accurate. The MINI/JIT/CAT/Quiz Average you see on Canvas matches my records and will be the average used for that part of your Final Grade. The overall average for the class was good but with our small class, I cannot share details due to privacy policies. The official average is a low average in large part due to those students who were chronically absent from both the regular meetings and lab meetings, resulting in many scores of 0 on CATs and Quizzes. Those of you who were reqular attenders did very well on these various exercises.
  
  The attendance average is also confirmed accurate, rounded to the nearest whole number. Please note that Canvas rounds that average but I do not. So your 88% could actually be an 87.51% and your 66% could actually be 66.49%. I will use the more accurate value in all my calculations. Overall, this was another good performance but I cannot share details as noted above. Again, the official average for the class is low due to those who did not attend, as already noted in the details about the MINI/JIT/CAT/Quiz average.
  
  

Undergraduate Laboratory Instructors and Graders, Fall 2021:

Gandhali Marunmale

Email: gamarunm@iu.edu

• Office Hours: Usually part of lab. Appointments also available.
  TBA
• Lab Times:
  • Thu: 1:10 - 2:25pm in IF0006 (section 32396)