Student "edition" found at {csi dot journalspace dot com}.

Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

Digital Design or Switching Theory laboratory is very time consuming.

The last time I taught it, for the 2003 batch of computer science students, we almost didn't finish half of the experiments slated, it took so long for them to complete each experiment.

The recommendation had been for them to buy their own breadboard and chips so that they could construct them at home, then have them tested in the lab instead of wasting their time constructing them there - as well as reading the procedure.

In this, my latest class, that is threatening to happen again as we finished the second session where they were still only performing the second experiment. So I just told them to finish the experiment on three other days of the week when the lab would be free (and I could supervise them) and that they would have to start on experiment three next meeting.

Of course the individual report can only be submitted a week after they submit the group report, which will be graded when they decide, on the percentage completion. So there really is a lot of pressure on their side to speed up their process of finishing the experiments by performing a lot of the preparation out of class beforehand, at the very least of which is reading up on all the procedure and making the diagrams.

Now, I know there is potential for abuse not giving a system for them to finish each experiment at a certain time (other than at best once a week) for they can delay the submission of their notebook until the end of the term but that would mean submitting also all their individual reports at the same time.

But they're third year students. I have to be able to give them some leeway for them to make their own decisions, just to see how much rope they'll take or if I have to reel them back in.

At least, that's what I'll tell them before I cut them loose with their zero-point-zero graded course cards at the end of the term.

Session 2009 is looking for the closest thing to a whip. Class dismissed.