Evaluation Comments

Summary View

What are the major strengths and weaknesses of the instructor?

• The instructor answers questions with great detail.
• Well versed on programming languages. Provided a very inclusive atmosphere regardless of your level of understanding. Very responsive on Discord and often replies were very researched and detailed.
• Detailed explanations when asked. Occasional tangents when demonstrating programming concepts in console.
• Professor Riely was a very good instructor. He conveyed concepts clearly and was always prepared and fair.
• Engaging the students in class. The edited lectures were to the point which saved time.
• funny and personable instructor
• Very responsive to questions.

What aspects of this course were most beneficial to you?

• Learning the idea of concepts in programming languages.
• The deep dives into many different languages, a lot of which I have used. Not many places other than this class to have this discussion.
• Looking at a programming language from a conceptual point of view allows me to see how different programming languages share some features more than expected.
• I liked the prerecorded lectures that we're posted to YouTube. It was very helpful to be able to watch/re-watch them whenever I wanted and at the pace that I wanted. Being able to test the answers to the homework before submitting was also very beneficial.
• I liked learning scala. It helped me understand other language syntax better like kotlin and swift.
• Online/live sessions were great! I appreciate the class setting even if it is online. Thank you for taking extra time to answer everyone's questions during those sessions- I know we'd go over, but those sessions were very beneficial.
• The lecture videos were very clear and well explained! I like their availability on YouTube for convenience. Instructor was very active in chat to answer questions.

What suggestions do you have that could help improve the course?

• I can’t think of anything. I thought the course was fine as it is.
• A TA/SI to help review some rusty material would help some concepts stick maybe. I don't always know what to ask because of the speed of the course. And some review before the main lecture would help understand some of the lectures more.
• The quizzes, worksheets, and homeworks didn't always seem related. I wish we had done more practice that was similar to the format of the quizzes/exams to help us prepare. Alternatively, instead of having only one attempt and showing the correct answers after the first attempt, students could have multiple attempts and after which they would be shown which questions they got right or wrong, but not what the answer was. It would also be helpful if we spent time going over the entire worksheet for each topic in lecture.
• The grading is not fair. The homeworks and quizzes are are much easier than the midterm. Give students a clear picture of how tough the exams are, so they can prepare appropriately.
• I am somebody who really benefits from one on one conversation. The discord was extremely helpful, but I feel like follow up questions (very few) were possibly lost in the void. I'd occasionally need some clarification and by the time somebody answered it, it was lost on me. I know it's also a little frustrating when people don't show up to dedicated office hours on a weekly basis- however I think some of us could benefit from having a dedicated time and asking students to let you know ahead of time when they'd like to show up for those office hours, so you don't have to spend time waiting for students to log on.
• I would suggest organizing D2L's quiz list by due date, not by quiz title (ex quiz vs worksheet). I found it a little annoying to have to triple check what is due and when because it wasn't organized by due date.
• I think a homework assignment that tied things together might be a bit helpful at the end.

Do you have comments on the grading procedures and exams?

• No comments
• Quizzes and exams were graded immediately which was good, but there was a bit of a lag with homeworks.
• Having multiple choice exams in a computer science class does not make sense. Maybe have exams where people can can show the work and get partial credits. That is a learning process. Choosing the wrong answer and not doing well is demotivating.
• not really, I appreciated the quick grading turnaround time

Other comments?

• No comments
• I don't always know what to ask during the lecture so discord helps when I have a question that comes up outside of class.
• Jumping from one language to another multiple time each lecture can be confusing. Maybe focus more on scala as it can be to used teach both functional and object oriented programming. This will help students learn different concepts and also help them get better at a specific language.
• I'm upset that the course lectures were all posted on youtube. I'm not paying thousands in tuition just to see that the lectures are posted for FREE on youtube for anyone (even non students) to view. This doesn't sit well with me.