After this course ending, I have no possibilities to take care of late labs, because then I will start up a new programming course at intensive speed. If you then still have labs left to report, I may after agreement correct them during the “re-exam” week 35, when I’m back at work again. But please note – such an exception must have been agreed with the course leader in good time before June 3! PLEASE NOTE – the condition for correcting is that the labs are in the mailbox latest by August 26 at 11:59! (The next opportunity to examine course assignments is by re-registering for the course in the coming academic year.)

While still active on this course web, I would like to ask for a last – but crucial – contribution! A link to perform a course evaluation will – on May 30 – be sent to your LNU student e-mail address. I am very grateful for your feedback on the course, which will help us improve it – therefore I would be very happy if you spent a little time to share your experience!

Finally … I will be back to each one of you with personal grading information via email, and to anyone I who I don’t get in touch with in other way, I would like to wish a good continuation of this beautiful summer!

I remind you all: Carefully read the information in the previous post! … and say “hang on!” to all of you, struggling with the very last course assignments!

Important! Course’s final step test (4_A) is an overview test and therefore more extensive than previous tests. This means that the majority of questions are based on the content of steps 1 – 3 and only a small portion covering the issues from the final step 4. The number of questions will be 32, and therefore you will also have more time available, ie. 2 hours. In order to clarify the focus of the test, the emphasis is on basic knowledge from the first three steps, while about 25% of the questions concern the final step.The final test is performed according to same procedures as the other tests, with one exception – the result can not be improved by later re-tests. If you don’t pass the test (< 50%) you will be offered a re-test, but you cannot affect an already approved result through retesting. Therefore, it is important to be well prepared for the test on 20-21/5. The last opportunity to do any re-test for this course is given May 27-28.

I wish everyone good luck with the final sprint!

Right now I note that the frequency of lab submissions has decreased a bit since start, which could indicate that you experience C++ lab work difficult to master? Naturally, we understand that the new abstraction level of advanced C++ is tough, especially when having other (perhaps time consuming) courses or job in parallel. Although preferable, it’s not always possible keeping the pace, particularly not if already from beginning being delayed. Then please note that it’s still acceptable to submit tasks after regular deadlines. This affects the possibility of higher grading but of course I still correct all labs as long as course is running.

So - just do your best to report your assignments when you are able to, taking the time needed to gain a well understanding on each new C++-issue. Single residual labs may be presented even during the last “re-collection weeks” after course deadline, or at the end of summer (the week before the autumn semester begins). Such exception should be requested and agreed with course leader in due time before regular course deadline on June 3!

We can not often enough remind you to take advantage of  the lab assistance offered! If you need support regarding your programming work, you are always welcome to visit the “Online tutoring room” in Adobe Connect (Tuesdays at 10:00-12:00 or Thursdays at 15:00-17:00). If time doesn’t suit your schedule you can also ask for an individual advising session. This request should be done at least a day before preferred tutoring time.

Good luck in finalizing the ongoing step and with upcoming step-test!

The predefined files, which are sometimes attached to the labs, are intended to work well in Visual Studio 2017. But over the years it has been found that certain types of files e.g. .obj files) are not always compatible with other VS versions or compilers. In such cases – please don’t spend time trying to resolve such errors! Instead, you may exclude current .obj file and use the source code (.cpp files) that in most cases is present. Alternatively, contact me as soon as possible so we can solve it another way.

Problems may also occur (e.g. in Lab1, “A Text Handler”) with the character encoding applied in attached .txt-files. This can usually be solved by saving the current file in another format; Open the text file, select “Save as” and choose desired “Encoding” (Unicode, UTF-8 … etc.) in the lower dropdown list next to the “Save” button. Please let us know if the problems cannot be solved in any of mentioned ways!

In step 1, code quality (readability, comprehensibility, efficiency …) and quality of the program (ease of use, fail safety, usability …) are important factors in assessment of your programming skills. Hence, I place great emphasis on that when correcting your first assignments. The same requirements will be set on your programming skills in professional contexts, so I hope you may regard my correction remarks as useful improvement tips! (By following them, you will certainly increase your competitiveness in the software market …)

Quality issues are not always easy to understand - nor easy to apply! What may seem pointless and overkill in a small lab can be crucial for performance or usability in larger-scale. If certain lab requirements or correction principles seem difficult to grasp right now, so… keep in mind, that most often this serves a greater purpose

Well… finally reminding about step test 2, approaching the upcoming weekend – April 22-23! If still not passed Step 1-test (or wanting to improve last result), you may now take a “re-test” for Step 1!

I also remind about the “mandatory roll call” (see previous news), which will be performed today, April 9, to give the university confirmation of your course attendance. You, who wanted to continue being registered to the course, have now responded to this “call” by carrying out the examinations that were present at our first deadline (= reported labs or made step test). If you considered yourself to have special reasons for deferral of deadline, you were expected to have made contact with me before the deadline. If you don’t answer this call, we take this as confirmation that you no longer wish to participate in the course. Anyone not been in touch regarding such requests to specified deadline, will therefore be automatically de-registered.

Finally, I wish you all good luck with the awaiting challenges of step 2 – keep up the good work!

Also – read the important information in the menu section Examination:

• The page “About examination” describes the assessment criteriathat applies for the course’s two examination forms, which are …
  1. Step tests, that examine the theoretical part of the course.
  2. Practical applications, that examine the practical course module.
• The page “Step test – instructions” deals with the forms for the first part. A must-read to ensure how you avoid login problems or “crashed tests”!
• The page “Laboratory instructions” describes the general conditions which applies for reporting and approval of submitted assignments (see also previous course news!).

When doing theory test in the “QuizMaster” tool, you need to use our Virtual Classroom. (Please note – this is not the virtual tutoring room in Adobe Connect). To ensure access, you should – in good time before the weekend – log in and do the “practice test”, which is always available in order to test environment and function.

(You, who take the test from other than a Windows computer, may use an alternative “remote desktop” client, according to suggestions in previous blog tips.)

Please NOTE – Do not risk being deregistered from the course because of a missed deadline!
We remind about our obligatory “roll call”, which is always performed 3 weeks after the course start, when the university wants a confirmation on that you actually take part in the course. You participate in this roll call by performing the first examination (step test + lab assignments).

You, who have not been active in the course until the first deadline, will be automatically deregistered unless you have received special dispensation for later examination. Therefore, if having specific reasons to not submit Step 1 assignments in time, please let me know as soon as possible! If this is due to problems with current labs, contact me during lab tutoring times, to get the help needed or to find other suitable solution. If you think you have other valid reasons for some kind of dispensation, please send me an email before Step deadline on Sunday!

Wish you all a happy and relaxing Easter weekend!