EECE485 (Spring 2011) Announcements/Comments

 

April 24

1) Grades are now posted.  Congratulations, and good luck with all of your personal and professional endeavors!

 

April 15th

1) Notes for the Final Exam have been added here and to the main page.

2) You are allowed 1 double sided 8 ½ x 11” page of notes

 

April 13th

1) Assignment 4 can be picked up in a box outside Kaiser 3080.

 

Apri1 11th

1) Solutions have been posted for the midterm, assignment 3, and assignment 4.

2) An opportunity to pickup assignment 4 will be made available on Wednesday or Thursday

3) A sample final has been posted to give an idea of the format and difficulty

4) Grades will be posted once assignment 4 has been marked, likely Wednesday or Thursday.

 

Mar 27th

1) Lab 5 added.  Apologies to the Monday lab for its lateness; I thought I’d updated it earlier.

 

Mar 22nd

1) Assignment 4 posted early to provide time to complete it.

2) Bonus Assignment 5 posted which can add up to 5% to your letter grade.

 

Mar 19th

1) Assignment 3, Question 2 has been updated and clarified.  In order to fit the K-maps into the PAL more than one device may be necessary.  See the updated assignment.

 

Mar 12th

1) Assignment 3 is posted.

2) Lab 4 is posted.

3) Grades are posted, listed via student #.  Missing assignments or labs are marked in yellow.  If you feel this missing mark is in error please come see me during office hours.

 

Mar 2nd

1) Assignment 2 solutions posted

2) Midterm is Friday at 8AM.  Good luck! 

 

Feb 27th

1) Annotated notes from module 5 are posted, as are notes from module 6

2) Example midterms from 2009 and 2010 are posted, along with solutions.  It is recommended that you work from the blank version before checking answers.

3) Midterm is Friday March 4th in class at 8AM.

 

Feb 14

1) No class this week due to reading week.

2) Lab 3 has been posted so you can get an early start on it

3) Solutions from assignment 1 are available online.  The state diagram in question 4 uses only 3 states, however a 4 state version was preferable.  Average for the assignment was 8/10

4) Midterm is coming up March 4th.  An example midterm will be posted next week to help you study.

 

Feb 8

1) Annotated notes are now online.  These are annotation from last year, as I have no means of annotating myself, but they should be helpful in understanding how to solve the problems that are covered.

2) Assignment 2 is now posted online

3) Assignment 1 solutions will be made available shortly.

 

Feb 1

1) Assignment #1 is Due Feb 2nd in Class.  The assignment erroneously says Feb 3rd.

2) Lab #2 is now underway.  Be sure to complete the lab on time as lab 3 builds off of this one.  I expect you to use google to lookup the methods you can use in the programming side of this if you’re unfamiliar.

3) No tutorial on Friday

 

Jan 23

1) Those who completed lab 1 in the Monday session need to email code to their TA (Alex) in order to get marked on their documentation for the lab report section.  Please be sure to do so.

2) Module 4 is now posted on the website.

3) Office hours are now set for 9-10AM Mondays and Wednesdays, or by appointment on those days.

 

Jan 18

1) Lab 1 is underway.  Please make sure you complete it on time.  Labs are due before the end of the second lab.

2) Assignment 1 is posted, Due Feb 2nd.

 

 

 

Jan 5

1)      Welcome to the course. Please check here for new announcements regularly. For messages of a more urgent nature, e-mails will be sent to the address you provided to UBC.

2)      Dr. Yan will be subbing the first few lectures as I’m away at a conference until January 16th.  I’m looking forward to meeting you all on the 17th.

3)      The tutorial this week is cancelled so the first tutorial will be on Jan 14.

4)      Regarding pre-requisites:

a)      You should have some experience programming in a procedural language such as C or C++ (e.g. CPSC152 or APSC160).

b)      You should be able to analyze basic electrical circuits (e.g. EECE 251, EECE 263 or Mech 221).

5)      Regarding lecture slides:

a)      The slides provided were initially prepared by Dr. Rohling, subsequently modified by Dr. Blazek, Dr. Yan, and now by me.

b)      I’ve left the old slides available for now, but will likely be making changes as we go along.  In the future, slides will be posted online with links as they become available. Print them before coming to class and annotate them appropriately during class.

c)      I will make my own annotated slides available only after a module is completed in class (so it would be best if you annotate your own set).

6)      Regarding assignments:

a)      There will roughly be 4 assignments given out over the course of the term.

b)      Assignments are to be completed individually. Students are allowed to seek help from classmates but copying is not allowed.

c)      Many times, the answers to questions might not be found in the lecture notes. As this is a senior-level course, you are expected to be resourceful (use other references, as necessary).

7)      Regarding labs:

a)      These will start on Jan 17.

b)      You need an ECE computer account to access the computers in Mcld 410. If you had an account from a previous ECE course, then that account will still be active. Otherwise, a new account will be created for you and information e-mailed to your UBC address. You will need to change your password

c)      Laboratories will normally be performed in teams of two (partners should ensure that they are registered in the same lab section). Each lab requires you to write a computer program and/or wire up a circuit. Only one lab report needs to be submitted for each student-pair.

d)      Two 1.5-hour lab sessions are scheduled for each lab and TAs will be available in the lab room during your scheduled lab times.

e)      If you already have a fob, it will grant you access to MCLD  410 during the hours of 7:45am-3:30pm M-F. You are welcome to access the lab outside of your usual section hours provided that there is a spare bench and it does not interfere with other scheduled lab sections. If you do not already have a fob, you can get one from the ECE storeroom (MCLD 112B). There is a deposit required for the fob. Some students in the past have found that the labs take longer than expected so you’re encouraged to study the lab instructions, write your program and/or design your circuit before the start of your first lab session. (It’s not necessary to have a fob as many of you will be able to complete the labs during your scheduled hours and the TAs will be present.)

f)        Lab Marks will be based upon both a written report (~70%) and oral responses to TA questions (~30%).

i)        You must print your program and demonstrate it to the TA before the end of your second lab session. (Only one attempt is permitted so the onus is upon you to carry out extensive testing before requesting to demo.)

ii)       The TA will ask each student questions to make sure they understand the material. You are responsible for understanding the entire lab, even the aspects done by your partner. If you are absent during the questions, you will receive a mark of zero for the entire lab.

iii)     After answering the TA’s questions, submit a short lab report that includes a brief description of your program or circuit, source code listings and/or schematics, and answers to any questions posed in the lab notes.

iv)     The equipment available in the lab changes during the term so there are no late submissions.

v)      Students are allowed to seek help from classmates but copying is not allowed.

8)      The MT is tentatively scheduled for Mar 4. More information will follow about the format.

9)      If any graded component (assignment, lab or exam) is missed, the student must provide a medical note explaining the absence, as soon as possible. Extenuating circumstances will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.