CIS 338: Getting Help
Dr. Ralph D. Westfall
March, 2011
Learning Visual Basic.NET
objective of class is for students to
learn Visual Basic.NET programming
if you get help that makes you a better
programmer, that is good
if someone else writes code for you,
that is NOT good

you will not learn as much as you need to
learn to get a 'C' in this class
Acceptable Help
tutoring


someone explaining how various aspects of
Visual Basic.NET work
demonstrating or helping you write code
samples in a general way (not as a specific
part of an assignment)
 e.g., for loop, if...then...else
Acceptable Help - 2
someone helping you find bugs

after you have already tried
general suggestions about what you
need to do next if you are "stuck"
there may be other things which could
be acceptable

check with me
Acceptable Help - 3
getting help from instructor
"self-help" class Discussion List
Blackboard>Discussions>
can also check postings from previous
quarter e.g.,


Exercise A – Fall 2009 Introductions
some postings lost?
Unacceptable Help
other person writing (or dictating) code
for you
person "solving" the problem for you

explanation of all (or most) of the steps
copying someone's code
letting someone copy your code


directly, or
not maintaining adequate security of code
Too Much Help on One Project
student did poorly on all but the last
project, and poorly on midterm and
final
got a good score on last project

enough to raise grade from an F to a D-
I gave the student an F for the course
anyway

"Let's get real!" (someone else did work)
What Goes Around …
student asked after first Project if I saw
a diskette dropped on classroom floor
same student's and another's Project 3
were very similar



Student: I dropped it on the floor.
Professor: Again?
Student: Yes. [caught before in another
class. Suspended for 1 year.]
Bottom Line
60% of course grade is from tests
each test will have a number of short
programming problems
if you can't solve simple programming
problems on the tests, your grade will
be lower than a 'C'

even if you do very well on the projects
Getting Lucky Will Help!
click this link to see how to get lucky in
this class


also tells how to get lucky in your career
who was Thomas Jefferson?
Discussion
identify problems (as many as you
can) that cheating could create for the
following "stakeholders"





other students at Cal Poly
employers who hire Cal Poly graduates
Cal Poly as a university
the student who cheats
others (not mentioned above)?
2nd Discussion
what could be done at Cal Poly to
discourage problems associated with
cheating:


by faculty/administration?
by students?
Honor Code (also in Syllabus link on
Blackboard)
Role Playing Exercises
what would you say to a student who
asks you to give him a copy of your
code?

the person says, "I won't copy it, I just
want to understand it."
what would you do if you saw someone
trying to steal a friend's car?

what if someone was trying to steal a
better grade in CIS 338?