2020-01-27
The midterm exam will be held on February 28 and March 5 during the scheduled lecture periods. The exam will be split into two one-hour exams and will be open-book. See last year's course for an example of the exam and solutions.
2020-02-27
| ELEX7860 Tentative Schedule for Winter 2020 | ||||||
| Week Of |
Week | Lec Mon 11:30 |
Lec Thurs 1:30 |
Lec Fri 10:30 |
Lab Thurs 2:30 |
Hours |
| Jan 6 | 1 | Lec | Lec | Lec | 3 | |
| Jan 13 | 2 | Lec | Lec | Lec | 1 | 4.5 |
| Jan 20 | 3 | Lec | Lec | Lec | 1 | 4.5 |
| Jan 27 | 4 | Lec | Lec | Lec | 2 | 4.5 |
| Feb 3 | 5 | Lec | Lec | Lec | 2 | 4.5 |
| Feb 10 | 6 | Lec | Lec | Lec | 3 | 4.5 |
| Feb 17 | 7 | Holiday | Lec | Lec | 3 | 3.5 |
| Feb 24 | 8 | Lec | Lec |
Midterm 1 |
4 | 4.5 |
| Mar 2 | 9 | Lec | Midterm 2 | Lec | 4 | 4.5 |
| Mar 9 | 10 | Spring Break | ||||
| Mar 16 | 11 | Test Lec | Lec | Lec | 5 | 4.5 |
| Mar 23 | 12 | Lec | Lec | Lec | 5 | 4.5 |
| Mar 30 | 13 | Lec | Lec | Lec | 3 | |
| Apr 6 | 14 | Lec | Lec | Holiday | Exams | 2 |
| Apr 13 | 15 | Holiday | Exam Week | 3 | ||
| total | 55 | |||||
2020-03-15
As you're probably aware, BCIT is transitioning to on-line learning.
At our lecture on Monday, March 16 at 11:30 AM I will review the solutions to the midterm exam using the Virtual Classroom feature of the Learning Hub.
This lecture is optional in the sense that we will not be covering new material but it will give us an opportunity to work out any issues with on-line delivery of lectures before next Thursday's lecture.
You should be able to access the Virtual Classroom feature by signing in to Learning Hub (D2L) and going to Activities > Virtual Classroom. You will be redirected to a list of lectures.
At least initially I will not have live video (either to you or from you) but I will use two-way audio and will share my desktop. The experience should be similar to that of a real lecture except for not being able to see each other (so it will be even better :).
One of the items available under the Help link on this page is a way to test your system before the lecture.
See you then...
2020-03-15
The midterm marks are available. Each student's marks are encrypted with a different key (password) that can be retrieved from the Grades section of the course web site. To view your marks, open the marks document and enter your BCIT ID (A0 number) and your marks password.
The course final mark is based only on the items marked thus far.
Labs 1 to 4 have also been marked.
2020-03-18
In order for me to return your marked midterm and final exams, please submit an empty text file named null.txt to the Exam Return assignment folder. Scans of your marked exams will be returned as feedback files to this submission.
Unfortunately, Learning Hub will not accept empty files (!) so you'll need to edit the file and add some text (a couple of spaces will do).
2020-03-30
BCIT Procedure 5403-PR1 specifies that course outlines will carry a formal disclaimer that "unforeseeable circumstances may necessitate the alterations of course content, sequencing, timing or evaluation and that, as much as is possible, students will be given adequate notice of any such changes". Such a disclaimer appears at the end of the ELEX 7860 course outline.
Due to concerns about the impact of switching to on-line learning, the final mark in the course will be computed by using the set of weights from the column below that will result in the highest final mark.
| Original Weights | Alternate Weights | |
| Lab | 30 | 42 |
| Midterm | 30 | 43 |
| Final Exam | 40 | 15 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
The final exam will be conducted on-line. Questions will be available on the course web site at the start of the scheduled exam period (1 2:30PM Friday, April 17). Students will write the answers on paper and then scan and upload their answers to an Assignment folder on the course web site. Students will also need to copy and sign an agreement that they complied with the exam rules and BCIT policy on Academic Integrity while writing the exam.
2020-04-16
I've created a practice final exam. This is last year's final exam with different instructions. The solutions are available on my course archive site.
Your exam is available under Content > Practice Final Exams. There is a different exam for each student. Please make sure you answer your own exam.
Submit a PDF document with your answers to the Assignments > Practice Final Exam submission folder when you are done. The document can be created using any method you prefer (write on paper and scan, use a tablet or use a word processor). Please remember to include the statement on academic integrity at the end of your document.
Please let me know if there are any issues.
Note: This practice exam will not be marked so writing it is completely optional. However, I strongly recommend you spend a few minutes making sure you can:
There will also be a Learning Hub virtual classroom running during the exam in case you have questions. It will start 15 minutes before the exam (at 2:15 PM).
2020-04-16
I've set up a virtual classroom session tomorrow (Friday, April 17) at 10:00 AM to answer any last-minute questions that you'd prefer to ask "in person".
You can post questions to the course discussion forum at any time.
2020-04-19
The final exams have been marked and returned (please ignore the page appended to your exam -- only the mark is correct). The solutions have also been posted.
The course final marks have been computed. Note that each lab and midterm exam is given equal weight. Your final mark is the maximum of those computed using the two different weightings below.
Please let me know if you have any questions or believe anything was not marked according to the marking scheme.
The distribution of final exam marks is:
The distribution of the final marks is:
