This course involves a number of programming (or programming-related) activities. For each activity I will request that you comment, hopefully after some reflection, on the experience in a google doc I create and share with all class members.
These assignments serve several purposes. They allow you (and me) to see how much time you are spending on this class. Some classes require a little outside-class activity and some require a lot. The expectation or average is about 2 hours outside of class per week for each hour of credit per week and majors courses typically expect more than that (so perhaps 4-6 hours for this 2-credit course, minor course). If class work is getting done satisfactorily and students are not being substantially overworked, things are good. If neither of those is true, there is a problem and this may help me see the problem. The most important purpose of the PAC assignments is that they encourage reflection on what was learned during the prescribed activity.
Each of the PAC assignments is to be completed individually, preferably not in the presence of your programming partner. At least two comments are expected for each programming (or programming-related) project—the approximate time it took to complete the activity (to the nearest half hour) and some comment on the activity. Some pre-defined comment topics are supplied. You may comment under one (or more) of those topics or you may comment on another student's comment or you may create a new topic to comment on (and supply your comment). As indicated in the syllabus and in reflection document, I hope some reflection will occur before you comment on the activity.
Grading will begin with checking to see that each person supply the minimal two comments. Your time should be recorded in the suggested place beside your name. Additional comments or insertions under your name will then be examined. Having both the time spent comment and a minimal report/reaction comment will merit a grade of C-. Additional report/reaction comments will increase the grade. Comments that are more reflective will increase the grade to a greater extent. It is possible to get an A with the time report and a single outstanding reflective comment. Comments added after the due-date/time but before I grade the PAC will be accepted with a late penalty. Comments added after grading will not be counted. The syllabus provides additional information about grading.
Somehow the previous (before Sept.26) comment files got deleted. I had access to a (hopefully complete) copy of all but the code.org comments file. If you know what your comments were, you might wish to double check that they are all still there. I will not be able to check for lateness on the files I had not yet graded.
It might be advisable for you to type and proofread your comments in a file of your own, then copy and paste them into the google docs file. That way if something happens to the file, you have a copy of what you did.
The programming-related activity here is to explore each of two kinds of robots and to create some basic programs. No programming artifact will be submitted; only the PAC comments. The PAC due date is 5:00 pm, Friday, December 8. The URL for the comment document is https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dSyqBCBoDA-H_HkrZJ8ItcgcR2GbQojduT8KcOWyuNs
The programming-related activity is similar to the Scratch initials program. The program due date is 11:59pm (midnight) on Thursday, October 26 so the PAC commenting should be done by Friday, October 27 at midnight. The URL for the comment document is https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lKqLDH4cGOU5DfdajqVSD39-6A0VIZ6qvxyAkbWHojM
The programming-related activity is following tutorial directions to create four different NetLogo programs. The assignment due date is actually after the PAC due date. The PAC due date/time is 12:00pm (noon) on Thursday, October 19. The URL for the comment document is https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fNyAOs7n9qrRq2cu6sdbVlu-G1X-rbKXZUwsr21NjuI
The programming-related activity is the planning and implementation of a program/project for displaying mad libs and adding user data to them. It is to be shared in Scratch and added to our course studio. The tentative due date & time for that activity is 11:59 pm (midnight) Tuesday, October 3. Thus, the due date for the PAC will be Wednesday, October 4 at midnight. The URL for the comment document is https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iEzbS1Zmkyx5U5EZM1n2vysu7xxYvGF_fiNCdz4A9I0
The programming-related activity is the planning and implementation of a program/project for playing a game. It is to be shared in Scratch and added to our course studio. The tentative due date & time for that activity is Wednesday, September 20 by 5:00 pm. Thus, the due date for the PAC will be Thursday, September 21 before 5:00. The URL for the comment document is https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uNvzSavYjJ11GYhs5rPj5ZYUSOeXVd8zOWIFkyuU0b4
The programming-related activity is the planning and implementation of a program/project to draw initials. It is to be shared in Scratch and added to our course studio. The tentative due date & time for that activity is Wednesday, September 13 by 5:00 pm. Thus, the due date for the PAC will be Thursday, September 14 before 5:00. The URL for the comment document is https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aej1wJXWS9GBeIMEgg05MyBceqpVbrJyALluUJimay4
The programming-related activity is the planning and implementation of a storytelling program that is then shared in Scratch and added to our course studio. The tentative due date & time for that activity is Tuesday, August 29 before midnight (by 11:59 pm). Thus, the due date for the PAC will be Wednesday, August 30 before midnight. The URL for the comment document is https://drive.google.com/open?id=19F6LbJcIaoyMX_sHcSbLijs_48JEAQh1UlYokyyAxyg
The programming-related activity is the completion of the code.org
course. The tentative due date & time for that activity is Tuesday, August 29 at 5:00 pm. Thus, the due date for the PAC will be Wednesday, August 30 at 5:00 pm. The URL for the comment document is https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N2TWvD8jjzM6w1ryolfJ42cPID0qInrTAYTisF2k8BI