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A290/A590
Tools for Computing/Topics In Programming:
Introduction to SQL Programming.
"What one man can invent another can discover."
-Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of the Dancing Men"

- Office: Luddy Hall 2050 (IF2050).
- Office Hours:
- Spring 2021: By Appointment Only.
- Office Hour Special NOTES:
- Any changes to my office hours will be posted here.
- Tuesday, May 9, 2023: FIRST DAY THIS CLASS MEETS.
- Luddy Hall 2050 (IF2050) Office Phone: 855-3974.
- E-mail: jwhitmer@cs.indiana.edu.
Meeting Times: (Summer Session 2023)
- Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday: 12:30 - 1:45pm (Section 10701 and 10702) in Luddy Hall 0006 (IF 0006).


Important Updates for All Students
enrolled in Summer Session 2023

[LAST UPDATED: 6/19/2023]

- 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,
6/20/2023.
- I have been able to modify the Canvas grading scale so it matches
the modified grading scale explained below. This means your final
average and Final Grade as displayed on Canvas are official and
confirmed accurate and correct.
- A note on the ACTIVE Course Engagement Score: The
A290 ACTIVE Course Engagement score represents my evaluation of your
preparation and participation in the class meetings, as well as your
overall engagement in the course. As noted at the beginning, just
being the one making the most inquiries doesn't mean you will get the
highest rating. Similarly, making no inquiries doesn't mean you'll get
a low score. ALSO NOTE that you cannot expect a high participation
score if you missed a substantial number of the class meetings, even
if your absence was excused. I did my best to advise everyone of the
possible consequences of these issues at the beginning of the
course. You can not be engaged if you are not present. All ACTIVE
Course engagement scores were in the 70s, 80s, or 90s..
Here are a few additional details on Final Grades. Grading
Scale Adjustment: While the performance by the class as a
whole was very good, I could still justify making a modest adjustment
in the grading scale to reflect this. The original scale was used,
90-80-70-60 with the top and bottom 2.5% being the +/- grade. I
decided to drop all the ranges by 3 points. This makes the new scale
87 - 77 - 67 - 60 with the top and bottom 2.5% still representing
the +/- grade. Everyone worked hard and I think that is reflected in
the final grades each of you. Again, I think most of you were actively
involved and this is reflected in the scores.
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/Programs: 75% (.75)
MINI/CAT/JIT/Quiz: 10% (.1)
ACTIVE Course Engagement: 10% (.1)
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.
A NOTE ON "BORDERLINE" GRADES:
After the new grading scale was set and initial final grades
were determined, some students may have been on the "borderline" for a
higher grade. PLEASE be careful to note that "borderline" in this
course means within .1 -.2% (tenths of a percent), NOT within 1-2%
(full percent). For any such student, I looked carefully at every aspect
of the course, from MINIs to CATs to Assignments at least
once, if not twice. 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 any missed work,
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.
Federal privacy laws bar me from sharing the final grade distribution
details publically, but the distribution was consistent with past
version of the course, both in the summer and during a regular
semester. 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.
- Assignment 3 scores posted and and Assignment Averages
confirmed correct, emails on the way. Assignment 3 scores are
posted on Canvas. Everyone should receive an email with their
Assignment 3 score and some comments by the end of today. This was an
good set of submissions as a group. Almost everyone showed a
good, clear understanding of what was expected. The average on
Assignment 3 for the class was 87.75%, which is very good. The most common
oversights were to not declare a Primary Key (PK) for each table or
not realizing that CONSTRAINT had to be used to create the Composite
PK for Enrollment and then ALTER had to be used to establish the
Foreign Keys for Enrollment.
The overall averages for the three Assignments was also
outstanding. For the class, the average was 83.58% NOTE:
The Assignment average calculated by Canvas have been
confirmed correct. ALSO NOTE: Active Course Engagement scores, Final
Averages, and Final Grades will be published sometime tomorrow
(Monday), as previously announced. PLEASE NOTE: I realize you may be
looking at your current average and have concerns about your Final
Grade. Keep in mind what you currently see on Canvas does not include
your Active Course Engagement score nor does it reflect any
adjustments I may make in the final grading scale. Please be patient
and allow me time to consider these rather than contacting me with
concerns that are not well founded at this point. I appreciate your
cooperation with this.
- CAT 4 scores posted. Canvas MINI/JIT/CAT Averages and
Attendance Averages confirmed correct: Just a quick note to
let everyone know I have posted the CAT 4 scores and confirmed the
MINI/JIT/CAT averages on Canvas match my records. Overall, the
individual averages varied greatly. Federal Privacy Laws bar me from
sharing detailed information publicly when the class size is small. I
can point out, as noted at the beginning of the course, missing one or
two of these small point value assignments would have minimal impact
on your final average, but as some of the lower averages reveal, some
students missed a fair number of these assignments which impacted
final averages.
I also have confirmed the Attendance averages on Canvas are accurate,
keeping in mind that on Canvas they are rounded up or down to the
nearest whole number when displayed. A 71.43 would display as a 71 and
an 85.71 would display as 86. The precise, accurate values are still
maintained in my records for the Final Average calculations.
As per Course Guidelines, every student was entitled to 1
"undocumented" excused absence and I went through and applied this
policy for everyone who was eligible. Keep in mind this reduces your
total possible Attendance points, so each remaining meeting was worth
a little more.
- Your input greatly appreciated. I will mention this in class today but I also like to post a brief message about the Online Course Questionnaire (OCQ). You each should have received an email late last week about the OCQ and how to access it for this course. I would be grateful if you could find the time in the next 2 days to complete the questionnaire.
NOTE that it locks up at6 7am on Friday, June 16.
The most useful sections for me are those where you can write in your opinions about what when well, what can be improved, and so on.Some of the things we do in this class now are based on this sort of feedback offered by students in prior semesters/sessions.
I hope you can find the time to make your comments about how this course can be improved.

Undergraduate Assistants, Summer Session 2023:
Nick Van Burk

Email: ndvanbur@iu.edu
- Office Hours/Appointments: No formal office hours. Preferred appointment times available and appointments strongly encouraged.
PREFERRED Appointment times:
- Mondays: 10:00am - 12:00pm and Thursdays: 11:45am - 1:45pm. These are both earlier and later in the week and both are on days we do not have class to give you more options.

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