COSC 122 Computer Fluency

Fall (Winter Term 1) 2012 - University of British Columbia Okanagan

Overview

The seventh offering of COSC 122 was a major success. The course content is very exciting to students with a variety of backgrounds and gives the opportunity to be creative and understand how everyday technology works.

This course goes beyond Microsoft Office and teaches about computer hardware, some programming, and other topics in a broader introduction to Computer Science. Students did some basic programming in HTML and JavaScript. Many students really liked the HTML. The JavaScript was a little harder as it is exposes some of the difficult issues with programming.

On-line Resources

• Syllabus

Student Performance

Of the 95 registered students who started the course, 77 (81%) received a D or higher and 77 (81%) received a C- or higher. The average GPA was 2.69 or a B-. Charts showing the mark breakdown are below. More students stayed engaged and were able to pass the course.

Comments

The instructor rating was 4.70. The course rating was 4.60. The course remains moderately challenging (3.50). Students learn to appreciate programming as "creative problem solving", although it may be challenging at first.

The labs were very good with excellent TAs. Some labs are easy (Lab 1, Word, PowerPoint) and other labs (programming labs 6-8) are considerably harder and the TAs cannot keep up with the questions. For Lab 2 on creating a unique picture, the best picture I have ever seen was made.

The course will always be challenging to teach as it is considered an "easy science credit". However, there is no reason that it cannot be inspirational, fun, and allow students to learn a lot about technology that will be extremely valuable to them. The goal for this course is to grow it considerably so more students have the opportunity to truly understand the technology they use everyday.

Strengths of the Course

• "Dr. Lawrence took time to make sure that everyone understood the material. It was made sure that everyone felt like he would help them pass the course."
  


• "This course has lots of incentive and opportunities for students to do well! The course content is very clear to all students and there are lots of resources to help with studying. The instructor understands his audience and aims to engage students every day. We get free candy in class, and lots of clicker questions help with assimilation. The course is well paced and the content is clearly communicated. I found the content extremely interesting and I am really glad I took this class."
  


• "Professor Lawrence knows what he is talking about, and engages students during class time with questions and activities. He makes sure everyone understands the material and makes it easy to get extra help, and gives incentives for in class participation and good test results."
  


• "I wasn't expecting to enjoy this class but I really did. Ramon is an amazing professor, probably the best I've had in my university career. He clearly cares about his teaching and it really shows. Your clicker quizzes are a great way to keep people engaged and reading ahead!"
  


• "Students were all treated with respect. The instructor encouraged classmates to work together and ask questions. The instructor cared about each and every student's mark and wanted us to learn as much as possible. He marked assignments and tests fairly. Very thorough teaching style, his lectures were always clear and easy to follow/understand. He came to class with a positive attitude and enthusiasm each day and I felt that almost everyone attended class because the class was thoroughly enjoyable."
  

Weakness of the Course

• "The TA's were not always able to help us with our lab material and would spend much time with one student trying to learn what we were doing by trial and error."
  


• "I don't know of any weaknesses really, the only thing I would have like would have been more practice when we got to doing the programming labs. Had I more time with the TA I think it would have been helpful. However, the lab sessions were planned out fairly according to the course."
  

Most Enjoyable Part of the Course

• "It's my favorite class and Dr. Lawrence is the best professor. He made the class so much fun, he treats every students with respect and calls our names, he makes us more involved in the class and give us candies, he makes sure every student learns something from the course, he dresses up at Halloween....."
  


• "The instructor rewards students who do well in the class by displaying their work and giving them gifts. My favorite part was getting 7th place ranking for my webpage because before this class, I had never coded anything in my life. I enjoy all the candy we get from clicker questions and class participation. This course was like a game with lots of incentive to get to the next level and lots of rewards for hard work. I thoroughly enjoyed this course."
  


• "His chocolate bars!!! Professor Lawrence was enthusiastic, has a sense of humor and a pleasure to listen to in class. The professor is what makes a course good or bad. And as far as I'm concerned he did a great job. This was my favorite class!"
  


• "I enjoyed the engaged atmosphere the entire class had and how everything we learned was relative to any faculty."
  


• "I enjoyed the fact that I could learn everything thing I needed to know in the class without buying a $130 textbook. I really felt he looked out for his students."
  


• "I enrolled in this class originally as just a required credit for my degree and ended up completely loving it. I even signed up for his class next semester! He really engages the students and puts in a lot of effort to make sure they do well. There are not enough words to describe how amazing this professor is. He really deserves to be recognized for all that he does. He is incredible and it is so nice to finally see someone who cares so much about what they do. I have never had a professor that has cared so much. He makes the course fun, but also ensures all the students understand the material. I would recommend this class to any students that are aspiring to become teachers because this is how it should be done. All I can say is keep up the amazing job and thank you, thank you, thank you!!"