Writing task 2.1, one more day

I decided this morning to extend writing task 2.1 until Wednesday night, another 24 hours from original deadline.

So this makes the following deadlines:

• Writing task 2.1 due Wednesday, 11:59 PM
• Writing task 2.2 due Thursday, 11:59 PM

And don't forget: Exam 3 is Friday!

Writing assignment 2.2 is ready!

We now have the last writing assignment in place, Writing Task 2.2, due Thursday, 11:59 PM, 15 points, one or two sentences.

Sneak peek: it is about compasses and electric currents.

Look in Module 3 part B.

Make it part of your exam prep.

Concept guide 3 B is ready.

The last concept guide is up and ready, Concept Guide 3B. Look in Learning Module 3 B.

It covers just one chapter for this week. Exam 3 on Friday is not cumulative like a final exam. It only covers Module 3, parts A and B.

Extra iTunes U podcast about resistors, Chapter 21

I just created a new podcast about the reisstors exercise #9 in ch. 21 of the problem solving manual. It is in the "Electromagnetism" folder of the iTunes U area.

It is extra, above and beyond the concept guide 3A, but I think I will ask a bonus question or two on the final over this topic. It is centered on concepts in the textbook, p. 437 and thereabouts.

New podcast episode, coffeemaker exercise, p. 445

I just made a new visual podcast episode about the coffeemaker exercise on p. 445 of Chapter 21. It involves "I²R heating" which is part of concept guide 3 A. Look in Discussions, and use the link to our iTunes U to view this podcast.

UCF has iTunes U, and I have podcasts there.

UCF recently activated an iTunes U service. Our course is the very first on UCF's iTunes U.

I have two podcasts on there now: Pressure, density, thermodynamics and Electromagnetism. I published the link and some basic specs in the new iTunes U discussion area inside Webcourses. let me know, in Discussions, how it goes for you.

Writing task 2.1, on thermodynamics

Writing task 2.1 is ready for you to work on, due next Tuesday, July 29.

However, it is a deluxe task, so you should read the instructions page, "Read before attempting Writing Task 2.1," or you might blow your one attempt.

Look in Module 3 part A.

Exam 2 grades are now UP

Look at your My Grades page to see your Exam 2 grade.

I will try to set up some Writing Task 2 items today, but not with TurnItIn... they will be normal Webcourses items. Keep an eye here on Announcements for news that the new writing items are activated.

41 questions on Exam 2, 50 points

Exam 2 will open up for business at lunchtime today. You will have 60 minutes to earn 50 points.

Note: there are a few matching items, which, in Webcourses, have to be for points greater than 1, so instead of 50 questions, there are only 41. Don't worry, though, because the total pointage is still 50 points!

Be prepared for action!

Exam 2 on Tuesday after lunch

Your exam 2 will open for business tomorrow, July 22, at 12:05 PM, during the lunch hour. It is a one-hour test and will have to be finished, saved and submitted by 11:59 PM. So schedule out a 60 minute block of time that starts after 12:05 PM and ends by 11:59 PM.

You will have one attempt only, so make sure your web browser and internet service are ROCK solid. Use the battlefield mini-quiz again if necessary.

Serious trouble in GradeMark: further writing tasks postponed until Wednesday or later.

It is the Monday before a midterm, so naturally, there is another serious software problem on Webcourses. This time it is in GradeMark.

For this reason I am postponing further writing tasks until Wednesday or later. This means the Writing Task 2.

So get ready for tomorrow afternoon's exam 2. It will be available at 12:05 PM right at lunch time, and get it finished and submitted by 11:59 PM. (This means you have to start by before 11:00 PM to get a full hour to take it and CRUSH it.)

Concept guide 3 A is now UP

Your third module formally starts today, a combo module of thermodynamics and some more electromagnetism. There are also three new mini-quizzes.

Look in the Module 3 part A page.

By the by, next week is Easy Week -- one last chapter, "Electromagnetism," chapter 22.

Pop ups

I notice lately that popup blocking in my browser, Safari 3, really shuts down a lot of Webcourses features like my mini-quizzes and other features that we faculty have. Maybe I am just imagining things, but Webcourses did not seem so blockable earlier this summer.

Anyway, be careful about your settings for blocking popups. AOL is especially heinous in this regard.

Writing task 1A, item 2 is done. YAY

YAY. I just finished grade both versions of writing task 1A, item 2:

1. fuzzy dice
2. net forces

Everybody got one or the other. However, both lines exist in your My Grades page, unfortunately, so you will have a regular score for one of them, and a 0/5 for the other. Ignore that 0/5.

Webcourses down...again! and back UP

Students, I just got an email from the webcourses admin:

Notice from UCF to faculty:
Beginning at approximately 1:05 pm this afternoon, Webcourses@UCF began experiencing a connection issue. The server admins are already working on the problem. An update will be posted here as soon as there is more information.

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So we wait to do our work this afternoon!

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more:

Dear faculty,

Webcourses@UCF was restored at 1:30 pm today. Thank you again for your patience.

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So I guess we can get back to work....maybe.

GradeMark comments icon

When you look at your TurnitIn assignments, and if it is graded, you should be able to see a little icon. Click on it and you will see my comments, and exactly where and why you might have gotten points taken off.

Typos in chapter 8 mini-quiz are fixed

Go take the chapter 8 mini-quiz again. There were two questions that were all discombobulated with typos. I just fixed them, but it changes the correct answer for them, so go back in and run through it again, just to be sure.

Sorry for the mixup!

WHEEEW, writing task 1A, item 1 is done.

I just finished grading writing task 1A, item 1.

Be careful next time when submitting your answers. Type carefully or cut-and-paste carefully, because I had a few students with time on the attempt but nothing actually submitted.

Concept guide for Module 2 part B is UP

I just activated your concept guide for this week, "Concept guide for Module 2 part B," which

1. starts us on the topics of pressure, temperature and density and
2. begins the sequence of electromagnetism topics.

There is a ton of exercises to work on, vocabulary to learn and pages to read.

P.S. I am still working on grading the writing assignments. Stay alert.

Code for Writing Task 1A, item 1

Writing task 1A, item 1 is actually a Webcourses assessment, so it does not have a built-in rubric like the other tasks. But it is easy to grade if I use a simple code.

If you see that you have 5/5, then you snagged each item on the rubric. Everything A-OK, and many of you are doing so.

If you are 4/5 or less, then you got dinged for one or more of the rubric items. If you click on your "attempt" you can read my comments. It will look a bit like this page (click for full size), which is my demo-student page. Here is the code that you will see in my comments:

• -D if I take -1 point off on the DETAIL criterion.
• -G if I take -1 point off on the GRACE criterion.
• -C if I take -1 point off on the COMP criterion.
• -O if I take -1 point off on the ONTPC criterion.
• -T if I take -1 point off on the TRUE criterion.

If I take off more than that, it will look like -DG for points off on the DETAIL and GRACE criterion.

For the other writing tasks, you will see the criteria directly, no codes.

Remember, be patient as the writing task grades come dribbling in over the next few days, and concentrate on plenty of study concepts in concept guide 2A.

Writing task scores

Just so you know: you ought to start seeing writing tasks scores showing up in your My Grades page in dribs and drabs after the deadline passes tonight.

After the deadline passes, I will start grading about 500 sentences, one at a time. So if you get antsy, resist the urge to ask me about them -- the more you pester me, the less time I have to grade... slows things down like crazy.

So buckle down on your Module 2 part A studies.

Blurb sheet on momentum and kinetic energy

I just activated a new blurb sheet that combines chapter 6 and chapter 7 concepts in a short workout. You can review it and check through your other calculations from the main study tool, Concept Gide for Module 2 part A.

Look in the learning module 2 part A.

Enigma machine for some chapter 6 work

There is now a weblink in Module 2 part A that links to an Enigma Machine on the UCF Game Server. It is like a sideways version of Jeopardy, and it walks you through a brain-burner recoil problem, step by step,

1. from basic tasks with the momentum formula for 100 points
2. to the the high level target calculation that depends on the three previous steps... which snags you 400 points.

It is just a practice tool, so no points on your semester grade come from it, but you can take it any number of times and you might find it helpful by the time Exam 2 rolls around.

Exam 1 scores are UP

Exam average was 76%, and there were some good questions that...

1. distinguished higher performing students from lower performing students, and
2. over half the class answered correctly.

The two matching sets, which covered basic vocabulary and concepts and which everyone had, were good, averaging 75% correct for the big one and 70% for the smaller one.

OK, get moving on the writing tasks, if you have not already done so. They are due tonight, 11:59 PM.

ALSO: time to dig in on module 2 part A!!!!

Scores on the books but not visible til sunrise tomorrow

By the by, your exam 1 scores will not show up until tomorrow morning first thing.

This is normal. I have to look over all the attempts and verify that everything was done in a kosher manner, and I do not verify at midnight. I usually do all that first thing in the morning.

So if your exam score seems to have disappeared from your My Grades page tonight, do not panic. Get some shuteye and check back in first thing Wednesday.

Exam 1 is open for business

Exam 1 is now open for business, until 11:59 PM.

Excellent.

Webcourses looks better now: Exam 1 is GO for launch.

As of about 9 AM, Webcourses looks better, no more conniptions, so we are looking good for Exam 1.

Time t -2 hours 37 minutes.
PSC1121 students, you are looking GOOD for launch.

Mini-quizzes open today until 11:30 AM

Since Webcourses was so messed up last night, I re-opened the mini-quizzes so that you can use them until 11:30 AM this morning for some extra study.

Be ready for exam 1 during the 12:05 PM - 11:59 PM time window today.

Emergency version of Concept guide 2A

In case the Webcourses server continues to have conniptions today, I have parked an emergency version of Concept guide for Module 2 part A on the Physics Dept. server. If things "go south" today for Webcourses, you will at least be able to study ahead in Module 2.

Writing tasks postponed; exam is ON.

Due to the Webcourses service being off the air tonight, I have decided to postpone the due date for writing tasks until Wednesday. More about that tomorrow, as soon as Webcourses is back on the air.

So get ready for the midterm exam 1. I expect Webcourses to be ready by lunchtime tomorrow for sure, so plan on taking the exam. Exam 1 is still ON.

If you want some old help files from last summer and if you have iTunes, you can look at some of the homework podcasts from last summer. if they work for you, great. If not, you still have the concept guides.

Be ready for 12:05 PM tomorrow, when the first exam becomes available.

I am sorry we have had this UCF network meltdown on this night!

Webcourses down, part 2

Another message from the computer guys at UCF:

We are having a partial networking issue, affecting webcourses and some other services. Our staff are actively working to resolve the issue at this time.

--Director, Systems and Operations
Computer Services and Telecommunications

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Stay alert and be ready to scamper back in as soon as Webcourses goes back ON.

Webcourses down

"The server is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Thank you." ← Not sure why this is happening right now.

Be ready to hit your writing tasks later tonight, as soon as Webcourses goes back on the air.

Reset battlefield version of chapter 3 mini-quiz

I modified the battlefield version of the chapter 3 mini-quiz, so that it has more graphics files embedded. These will make it an even better test tool. The new version is capitalized:
BATTLEFIELD version, ch. 3 mini-quiz.

To do the new graphics, I had to re-set all attempts. A bunch of you have already tried the battlefield version, but re-setting means I had to ditch your attempts. So: If you have already tried it, do it a few more times, just to be extra sure.

REMEMBER: make sure to take the "battlefield" version of the chapter 3 mini-quiz, before you take exam 1, to make double sure that your browser and internet service can handle the exam process. If your computer flakes out on you in the middle of the exam, there is noting I can do, and you'll be stuck with whatever points you have scored before the failure.

If your web browser or internet sevice cannot handle this one, you had better make it your business to find a place to take the test.

Our first exam: Tuesday after lunch

July 8, Exam 1 specs:

1. 50 points, approximately 50 questions*
2. Time to take exam 1: 60 minutes.
3. Availability: 12:05 - 11:59 PM.
4. Schedule yourself for a one hour block of time that begins after lunch and ends before 11:59 PM.
5. You see questions one at a time and Webcourses allows questions to be revisited.
6. One attempt only.
7. No re-takes, no make-ups, no early takes.
8. Topics, concepts, diagrams and calculations from Module 1 only.
9. Be ready to think. ← will be your biggest challenge.

Make sure to take the "battlefield" version of the chapter 3 mini-quiz, to make double sure that your browser and internet service can handle the exam process. If your computer flakes out on you in the middle of the exam, there is noting I can do, and you'll be stuck with whatever points you have scored before the failure.

^* Sometimes a matching question will have several items to match, so the question count goes down. I.e., Webcourses counts 4-item matching as one question. So if that were on the test it would be a 4-point question, and there would be only 47 questions. So no matter how this exam stacks up, you will have 50 points.

MODULE 2 ready to go

We are now in the middle two weeks of Summer B. Time to start working on Module 2.

Look in Module 2 part A for the new concept guide and some mini-quizzes. Our exam over module 2 is in two weeks from tomorrow.

TOMORROW: Exam 1, covering module 1. In case you are a bit behind schedule, you have today and tomorrow to get finished up with module 1.

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Photo: Corey Dellenbach, Shawano Leader/AP

Writing task 1B item 2 is GO for launch.

OK, students. Writing task 1B item 2 is UP and ready to work on. I made it a two-sentence assignment, so it is worth ten points on your semester grade, and for this reason, it completes the writing tasks for module 1.

Make sure to read the full instructions for this assignment.

It is due July 7, and I will use same grading criteria as on all writing assignments.

Some extra blurbs

I just set up three extra study blurbs on chapter 4 and chapter 5 topics. They have some numbers worked out to help with some of the exercises in the concept guide for module 1 part B.

Look in Learning Module 1 part B.

Writing Task 1B, item 1: one sentence about projectile motion.

OK, the next writing task is up and ready to go, one sentence about projectile motion. It is due next Monday evening. Look for this in learning module 1B.

It is a TurnitIn assignment, so it works a bit differently than the previous tasks. But just click through and look over the assignment, then upload a text file, one sentence only, when you are ready.

Note: there will be two more writing tasks this week, so get this one finished and out of the way.

Time for more bonus points: question for first midterm exam

OK, time to open up the discussion area for suggesting a question for midterm exam 1. Post a question that you think will represent a fair challenge to your classmates. If it is good enough, I will include it on midterm exam 1, July 8, and give you 2 bonus points.

We will do this again for exams 2 and 3.

Battlefield conditions, test your web browser

Use the "battlefield" version of the ch. 3 mini-quiz to test your web browser and internet connection BEFORE you take the exams. It works just like the exams will work: one question at a time, etc.

Your browser and internet service have to work 100% rock solid on the exams! If they fail for any reason, you are stuck with the score on the record before the failure point, and there is nothing I can do about it.

So be paranoid about testing your browser with this battlefield version of mini-quiz 3.

Look for the Bumblebee vehicle icon on the home page.