Click on the question to read the answer.
ALERT: Click here to see the new state law on Withdrawal limitsThis law applies to students who started college in Fall 2007.
State law permits students to withdraw from no more than six courses during their entire undergraduate career at Texas public colleges or universities. All course withdrawals automatically count toward the limit unless:
The student withdraws from all courses;
The student or course is exempt from the rule; or
The student receives an exception authorized by college officials.
Students who reach their withdrawal limit must remain on the class roll unless they request and receive approval for a withdrawal exception.
Required Textbook: Learning to Program with Alice - 2nd edition
Authors: Wanda P. Dann, Stephen Cooper, Randy Pausch
Publisher: Prentice Hall
ISBN-10: 0-13-208516-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-208516-8
Software: The software package used in this class is Alice. You can download Alice free from http://alice.org. See more information about Alice at http://www.alice.org/faq2.htm
2. When will the online orientation...?
The online orientation will be available during the following dates - September 22 - October 2, 2008
This is a distance learning course taught in the PCM format. PCM courses require students to have access to a computer with an Internet connection and a personal email address to complete coursework online. Students may use computers from home or work, or they may use the ACC Computer Centers. In this course, assignments will be disseminated online and students will submit the assignments through Blackboard. As the assignment is graded, I will enter the grade in the Blackboard grade book. Students can access the grade book and view their grades online. Grades will not be sent through email for reasons of confidentiality. Students will also participate in the online discussion board in Blackboard. This will count towards your class participation points.
All tests will be taken in the Computer Studies open labs. You can view the open lab hours, room and phone numbers by clicking here. In order to take the test, the student will go to the Computer Studies Open Lab during the hours it is open. You will present your ACC student ID to the lab technician and they will hand the exam to you and guide you to a computer.
Note the room number of the lab where you will take the test. In fact, print the open lab hours page and take it with you. There are several open labs on each campus - you will need to specifically go to the Computer Studies open lab. The tests will NOT be in the testing centers or in the library or in the learning labs.
In order to log into Blackboard you will need your ACCeID. Click here for more information.
Click here to log into Blackboard AFTER you have your ACCeID. Please bookmark the Blackboard login link in your browser as you will be visiting it often during this course.
Please review your profile in Blackboard to ensure that your email address is correct. Your email address is automatically populated with the email address that ACC has assigned to you. You can see more information about the ACC email by clicking on this link: http://www.austincc.edu/google/
If your email address is not current you will not receive any email I send through Blackboard. A valid email address is also required to use the "forgot your password" feature.
You can reach more information about Blackboard on the student information page.
Relax! Read the manual on Getting Started with Blackboard at http://irt.austincc.edu/blackboard/student.html This site is also linked directly from the Blackboard main page. Ask if you have any questions. My sole purpose of being here is to help you!
Now, take a deep breath!!
PLEASE NOTE that as of September 15, 2008, ACC requires all faculty to communicate with students through the official ACC email address assigned to all students. Please follow this link to see more information: http://partnerpage.google.com/g.austincc.edu
You can email me at akahlon@austincc.edu. Yes, you MUST (MUST - repeated on purpose) include your class synonym in the subject line of the email. This ensures that your email is filtered into the right folder. Messages sent without a synonym in the subject line may not get a response.
Your synonym number is 25214.
75% of the mail I get is unsolicited spam. The only recourse I have is to protect myself. Thus I have strict filters set up. Any messages with a blank subject line will be automatically deleted by my email client.
I generally do not respond to email messages on the weekend.
Make sure your full name is included at the end of the email wherever you are sending the email from - whether an ACC email address or from outside. I cannot tell who is sending an email if the email address is something like funky_dancer_cool_student@yahoo.com!! It is even more confusing when I have two students with the same name in the class. Thus an ACC email address such as adam.smith@g.austincc.edu will leave me to wonder which one of the two Adam Smiths is trying to email me. At my age the brain does not tolerate confusion too well and may even explode!!
Labs must be submitted electronically through the course Blackboard site. There is a document under the Assignments link in Blackboard that details how to submit the labs.
This is NOT a self-paced course. Projects and exercises are due on or before the dates specified in the course schedule. You may pace the course in such a way that you can finish the whole course early. However, assignments may not be handed in late. Tests need to be taken by the deadlines given in the course schedule. You may work on the projects, exercises and tests early and submit them before their due dates. Late projects and exercises will be penalized according to the late lab policy listed in the syllabus. Tests deadlines will NOT be extended. - there will be no exceptions made to this rule. Please plan your time accordingly.
The software package used in this class is Alice. You can download Alice free from http://alice.org. See more information about Alice at http://www.alice.org/faq2.htm
10. What if I am stuck..........?
If you are in a position where you don't understand any part of the lab or the text you should do one/both of the following:
- You post your question on the class discussion forum.
- You email/ call/ visit me in my office.
Do not struggle on your own till the last minute! I am here to help you.
11. Can we work on the labs........?
All labs are individual assignments and NOT group projects. Any labs that are found to be suspiciously similar will receive a maximum grade of 0. See the Academic Honesty policy in the course syllabus.
You may discuss the lab requirements and software use with other classmates in the discussion forums.
Cheating is any of the following:
- Taking the work of another student and turning it in as your own.
- Giving your work to another student to turn in as their own.
- Getting information about the exam from another student.
- Giving information about the exam to another student.
- Copying material off the Internet and turning it in as your own.
- Copying material off the Internet without giving credit to the source.
- Getting someone else to do your labs for you.
I consider cheating to be a serious offense. The first incident will earn you a grade of 0 or F for that particular lab or exam. A second offense will result in an F in the course. You can view the ACC Student Handbook at http://www.austincc.edu/handbook/general.php
Your lab grade will be posted on the grade sheet on the Blackboard course site. The general grading scale is included in the course syllabus. Any grade questions should be emailed to me and NOT posted to the class discussion list. Once you submit your lab, you will see a red exclamation sign appear as your grade. Once I grade the lab, the exclamation sign will change to an actual grade. If you still see a grade of 1, it means there was a problem with your lab. If you click on the grade, you will see a message from me. I generally do not grade on the weekends.
In Blackboard, click on the My Grades button to view your grades.
14. Where can I take the tests..........?
The tests can be taken at a Computer Studies open lab at any main campus. Please DO NOT go to a testing center or a learning lab to take the tests. See the open lab hours and locations at: http://www.austincc.edu/cit/labHrs.html
There may be a short multiple choice/short answer section in the test. You do NOT need a scantron answer sheet. Most of the test will be hands-on and is open-book/open-notes.
You may address me as Professor Kahlon or Ms. Kahlon or simply Amardeep (note the spelling). One of my pet peeves is people spelling my name wrong. I have many other pet peeves but will not list them here. I am still looking for a pet (dog, that is)