APT at UoM

My APT students are progressing very well. I had several one-on-one sessions this week for clarification, technical advisement, and progress report. At UoM, I noticed that most students are very proficient in programming and problem solving. This type of student preparation makes it much easier to offer a number of APT courses in a semester's time. CS students at JSU should take notice :)

The CS program in UoM is concentrated mostly on the technical side. Students do not take courses on literature, history, ethics, music, foreign languages and art. Although the computer laboratories are decently equipped, a good number of students tend to bring their own laptops to school.

I really like the idea of an APT (Applied Practical Task) course. It is either a group project or an individual task. Third year students take 3 APTs in the Spring semester--two individual APTs and one group APT. The completion of these APTs is everything for the entire semester--i.e. no other class work. I will try to emulate a similar setup for our CS499 (Special Topics is CS) course at JSU when I get back.