WEEKLY PROGRAMMING QUIZZES

Only quizzes in weeks 3, 6, 9, and 11 are assessed and are worth 5% each. All students will get a chance to attempt the quizzes a second time, and the best of two attempts for each quiz counts towards the final mark. The first attempts are during the practical class. The second attempt will be during sessions in which you can self-enroll. Further details are to be announced on iLearn closer to the date.

PRACTICAL EXAM 1

The first practical exam, structured as a 1-hour closed-book iLearn quiz with CodeRunner questions, will assess students on weeks 1 to 5 lecture (and weeks 1 to 6 Practical class) content. All students will get a chance to attempt the practical exam a second time, and the best of two attempts counts towards the final mark. The first attempt is during the practical class. The second attempt will be during sessions in which you can self-enroll. Further details are to be announced on iLearn closer to the date.

PRACTICAL EXAM 2 HURDLE

The practical exam, structured as a 90-minute closed-book iLearn quiz with CodeRunner questions, during your practical class (or a time organized with the student wellbeing team, if applicable), will assess students on topics discussed over the entire session. All students will get a chance to attempt the practical exam a second time, and the best of two attempts counts towards the final mark. The first attempt is during the practical class. The second attempt will be during sessions in which you can self-enroll. Further details are to be announced on iLearn closer to the date. 

IMPORTANT: This is a hurdle exam because it is the only assessment where we assess all topics taught during the session. You must get at least 40 out of 100 to clear this hurdle. If you fail this hurdle exam, you will not pass the unit (even if your raw mark in the unit is 50 or more).

Attempt 1: Week 13 (during registered practical class, or a time organized with the student wellbeing team, if applicable)

Attempt 2: Final exam period (time, and location to be advised around week 12)

ASSIGNMENTS

The assignments will assess students on various topics discussed during the semester. Each assignment is composed of two parts, Part A and Part B.

- Part A (group component) will require you to submit your assignment files online using the relevant submission box on iLearn. Only one group member should make the submission.

- Part B (individual component) will be a live coding session structured as a 40-minute closed-book iLearn quiz with CodeRunner questions, assessed during your registered workshop (or a time organized with the student wellbeing team, if applicable).

Part A will allow for late submission following the standard late submission policy as detailed below. Due to the assessment nature of Part B, late submissions will not be accepted for Part B.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration.

For example, if an assessment is worth 100 marks, and you submit it 15 hours late, getting an original mark of 76, the mark after penalty will be (76 - 5) = 71. If you submit it 26 hours late, the mark would be 66, and so on.

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted

• Assignment 1 - Part A: YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 
• Assignment 1 - Part B: NO
• Assignment 2 - Part A: YES, Standard Late Penalty applies
• Assignment 2 - Part B: NO
• Weekly Programming Quizzes: NO
• Practical Exam 1: NO
• Practical Exam 2: NO

Requirements to Pass this Unit

1. Achieve 50 or more marks overall.
2. Achieve 40 or more marks in the second practical exam (you have 2 attempts).

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

CLASSES

Each week you should attend

• two hours of lectures (details to be announced via iLearn),
• two hour practical class

For details of days, times and rooms, consult the timetables webpage.

Note that Lectures and Practical classes commence in week 1.

You should have selected a practical class during enrolment. You should attend the practical class in which you are enrolled. You won't always get the class of your choice. Check availabilities via eStudent regularly. If ALL practical classes are full, only then, contact the convenor.

Please note that you are required to submit work regularly. You will get the help that you need by attending your practical class. Failure to submit work may result in you failing the unit (see the precise requirements in the "Grading Standards" section) or being excluded from the final examination.

TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS

Lecture notes, Practical classes and Video teaching materials: details to be announced via iLearn

Recommended Textbooks: 

1. T. Gaddis, Starting out with Java: From control structures through objects (Pearson), Global edition (6th). ISBN 9781292110653
   • Online edition of this book is available through MQ Library. There can be up to 5 simultaneous accesses.
2. Kathy Siera, Bert Bates, Head First Java, 2nd edition. ISBN 9780596009205

TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

Audio and Video Lecture

Digital recordings of lectures are available from within iLearn via Active Learning Platform.

Technology

• Java SE - download the latest Java SE to be compatible with the labs.
• Eclipse (preferred, troubleshooting provided) or Visual Studio Code (if you are proficient, independent) - the IDEs we shall be using during the session.
• Learning Management System iLearn.
• https://code2flow.com/ for a better understanding of control flow.
• http://codingbat.com/ for programming exercises.

Discussion Boards

The unit makes use of forums hosted within iLearn. Please post questions there, they are monitored by the unit staff.

Methods of Communication

We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn.

COVID Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

Note that three important themes will pervade the entire unit:

1. Problem-solving. A crucial skill for all of the weekly topics will be to write appropriate code to meet a given problem specification. This theme relates to the first two learning outcomes for this unit.
2. Software development. The use of JUnit testing framework is an important development practice that will be taught from the beginning and used throughout the unit. This theme relates to the third learning outcome of this unit.
3. Comparing different solution methods. Very often different algorithms are available for the same problem. Another important skill to develop throughout this unit is the ability to compare different algorithms in terms of efficiency and other criteria. This theme relates to the fourth learning outcome of this unit.

Unit Schedule

NOTE: This is a tentative schedule and is subject to minor changes.

1. The best of the two attempts for the four assessed quizzes will count towards the final mark.
2. The best of the two attempts for practical exam 1 will count towards the final mark.
3. The best of the two attempts for practical exam 2 (HURDLE) will count towards the final mark.
4. Change in weeks when assessments are due.
5. Non-assessed quizzes can be done at home.
6. Assessments are locked until the diagnostic quiz is completed.

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*      In S2, 2022, there was a 10% average improvement in marks for COMP1010 students who used its service           *

*                compared to the ones who didn't (Based on relative diagnostic and final performance)                    *

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COMP1010 is supported by the Computing Drop-in Centre that operates daily (weekdays) from,

• 09:00 to 11:00 (trial, at least during the first half of S2 2023),
• 12:00 to 14:00, 
• 15:00 to 17:00,
• 18:00 to 20:00 (online)

The web page at https://students.mq.edu.au/study/faculties/science-and-engineering/drop-in-centre contains further information including,

• location,
• the service agreement about what the centre can and cannot help you with,
• week in which the service begins,
• other units supported by the centre,
• roster (as not all time slots will have staff supporting every unit),
• zoom links for the evening sessions.