How

First, how to take a quiz. Use the Quiz Code that I mailed to your: e.g., b:37. (Prior to receiving the code, or if you forget it or lose the email, you may use b:00.) Use an email address to which you would like the acknowledgement sent. Do not delete the acknowledgement, in case I lose my copy somehow (it has happened!). The comments in the box at the end are sent to me, and can be used to convey anything relevant. Please note that the score you receive immediately upon taking the quiz is tentative in the sense that sometimes I make mistakes in my grading software, or I accidentally misphrase a question. In these cases, I will circulate a post-quiz adjustment to those affected.

Rules

Second, the rules on taking quizzes:

  1. They are completely open book. You may use our textbook (recommended!--half to 3/4's of the questions are directly out of the assigned reading), but also any other source: My posted class notes, searching on the Internet, etc. You may use a calculator or any other computational aide.
  2. The only source you may not use is another human being: no student, no friend, not the TA, no blog forum, etc.
  3. You may ask me clarifying questions (e.g., by email), and if I think the issue raised is relevant, I will write to the whole class.
  4. You may take the quiz twice. I added this feature in because sometimes a rushed job leaves you surprised at your score. If this happens to you, you can retake it, and if you get a higher score, I will use the higher score instead. (If you get a lower score, I will discard the second taking; so it is risk-free.)

Advice

Third, a few pointers and advice on taking the quizzes. Here is how I think it best to handle them.

  1. Print out the quiz first. Read it over, perhaps guessing at the answers.
  2. Then read the assigned pages in the textbook, answering each question as you encounter the spot in the text that addresses the question.
  3. For those (few) that are not answered in the reading, look over your class notes, my notes for each lecture, revisit the Lab(s).
  4. Sometimes you may have to just think about what should be the answer, without finding it anywhere.
  5. Feel free to write me (102b@cs.smith.edu) with clarification questions.
  6. Only actually take the quiz when you have it completely figured out, with all answers written on your sheet. (It is not timed, and until you hit Submit, I never see it.)
  7. It may be harder than you initially think to get everything correct. It will usually not suffice to know roughly what's going on--often you will have to know precisely what's going on, the precise meaning of technical terms, etc.
  8. Answers will not be posted until Thursday evening or Friday morning (or even later if for some reason several students are late taking the quiz).