http://www.CourseReviews.comCourseReviews.com - Georgia Institute of Technologyen-usCopyright 1997-2008 CourseReviews.comSat, 13 Sep 2008 12:59 ESThttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssdylan.feed@coursereviews.com (CourseReviews.com)dylan.webmaster@dylangreene.com (Dylan Greene) hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.CourseReviews.com/u579/review18832/i-would-recommend-roubides-no-doubtfinally, a teacher who doesn't spend 50+ minutes on a useless proof very good explaining stuff in class; makes my life easy!!!!noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student)http://www.CourseReviews.com/u579/review18832/i-would-recommend-roubides-no-doubt#comments2002-10-02T08:46:00-05:00http://www.CourseReviews.com/u579/review18832/i-would-recommend-roubides-no-doubthttp://www.CourseReviews.com/u579/review4794/A-bumpy-gravel-road-to-an-intresting-placeProfessor McCracken is the type of guy I love to sit around and talk with, and I think he has a lot to give CS undergraduates. His personality is erratic though: a true Jekyll/Hyde. I would like to think it is a facade; a trial-by-fire or rite of passage for students. (Or, as the Polish proverb would put it, "the harder they beat us, the stronger we become".) However, this guy is just *random*. Random topics, random quizzes (literally), random outrage, random policies... in short, he lacks coherency and professionalism. In Industrial/Organizational psychology, the term "procedural justice" describes the fairness assciated with how rewards (promotions, raises, etc) are distributed. McCracken has none of this; while some professors are systematically shafty or systematically lenient, McCracken is an earthquake. A gentle, mild earthquake to be sure... his class isn't that hard if you play it smart (go to lecture!), but it sure can be unbalancing. Tips: --Keep your diaries current. While he has never explained his justification for the diary assignment (you'll find out), it does affect your grade. --Come to class... with random quizzes, you can't afford to skip your officially scheduled time. Arriving at the wrong time for a quiz will shaft you. Also, if Georgia Tech does something silly like, oh, changing the Wednesday before Thanksgiving from a holiday to a non-holiday, then you had better cancel your plane tickets and go to lecture at the correct time. Can't miss good old McCracken! While he probably won't lecture during that time, he will take roll in order to allocate bonus points. --Software Engineering has its own esoteric vocabulary... pay close attention to the words McCracken defines. Also pay big attention to the lists he gives in class. Great quiz fodder. --Take reference books to lab... at least, take them if you know there is going to be a charrette. Reference books are faster than man pages. In cs2331, you'll need your C book and your lex/yacc book. In cs2341, no books are required, but be familiar with UML layout tools (or learn how to use "xfig", a general unix drawing program availble on all of the linux boxes... much nicer than Boost [yuck]). --Take something from the class. For all the quirky stuff this guy does, he can teach you some valuable lessons. For example, he encourages the use of tools to assist you in your own development of software. Spend time "moving horizontally" (as I call it) by learning about technologies (emacs, RCS, CVS, etc.) that make "vertical movement"--the actual assignments of cs2330 or whatever soft ware you are developing--more possible.noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student)http://www.CourseReviews.com/u579/review4794/A-bumpy-gravel-road-to-an-intresting-place#comments2000-03-28T03:46:00-05:00http://www.CourseReviews.com/u579/review4794/A-bumpy-gravel-road-to-an-intresting-placehttp://www.CourseReviews.com/u579/review4592/Delusions-of-grandeurHe gives great lectures, but then goes and assigns projects and gives quizes that often have little or nothing to do with said lectures. He once gave a quiz on topics a day before they were even covered in a lecture in a totally different class. And when virtually nobody got anything higher than an F- on it, "too bad, so sad". The homework was wildly out of proportion to the credit received in the class as well.noemail@coursereviews.com (Anonymous Student)http://www.CourseReviews.com/u579/review4592/Delusions-of-grandeur#comments2000-03-27T04:21:00-05:00http://www.CourseReviews.com/u579/review4592/Delusions-of-grandeur