cs161ers,
I'm not sure if once you will be able to read this, it will do you any
good (because FAS is down), but there are copies of the exam sitting
outside of Margo's office (M-D 241). Good luck!
-jonathan
Dear students,
It is 5 PM, and you can start working on the final. As usual, though, FAS
is down when we need it most. So I have posted the final here:
http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~fedorova/cs161-final/final-2003.pdf
Please put your answers on this answer sheet:
http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~fedorova/cs161-final/answer-sheet.txt
I am hoping that at least the mail server machine is up and you will get
this message.
Anyway, the exam is due at 5 PM tomorrow at Margo's office
(Maxwell-Dworkin 241). We'll have cookies. If you are from extension
school, you can submit the answers electronically, unless you also want
cookies.
-- Sasha
We have one extra CS161 T-shirt, it's size L. If you haven't ordered one
before, but would like one now, let me know. It's Fruit of the Loom heavy
cotton 5.6 oz T-shirt in athletic heather. The design is here:
http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~fedorova/161-tshirt/tshirt.html
-- Sasha
hello cs161ers:
in less than an hour, you'll start the 24 hours devoted to your cs161 final
exam. 2 years ago, when i took 161, professor seltzer provided a very wise
suggestion of how to tackle this that i'll now summarize (with my own little
bits added).
but first, to quickly summarize overall message: this exam is not designed to
take 24 hours. when the course staff took it, it didn't take anyone over 5
hours (and that mark involved considerable amounts of multitasking). to do
well, you need to stay calm, stay alert, and make the best possible use of
your time. but most importantly:
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER TO DO WELL!
in fact, pulling an all-nighter will probably result in you doing worse,
rather than better. you need quality time for this exam, not quantity time.
when you don't sleep, your IQ decreases hour by hour. this is not what you
want.
disclaimer: this is provided merely as a suggestion, and is not guaranteed to
improve your final grade. as always, YMMV.
good luck! relax! its almost over!
-gwa-
geoffrey werner-allen : 617-694-7261 : www.eecs.harvard.edu/~werner
today -------------
5PM download the final exam online. start looking it over at a very high
level.
6PM dinner. bring the exam in your head, not on paper. try to relax.
7PM go somewhere quiet that is not your room. continue looking over the
exam. start deciding what resources you may need to answer each
question. if you need to read large portions of the book, papers, or
lecture notes, now is the time to do this.
between 7 and 11 spend some time reading a book for pleasure, or doing other
classwork... something non-cs related. watching hockey also falls into this
category, although triple-overtime games should be avoided.
10PM enough coffee!
11PM look at the exam a bit before bed so that your brain can ponder it
over night.
12PM go to bed. set an alarm. set two! have a roommate provide a wakeup
call!
tomorrow -----------
early wake up. have a good breakfast. read the paper. read yesterdays
paper.
then find a quiet place where you can concentrate. restrict access to
email. focus on the exam. budget your time wisely: don't get stuck
on any one question. email the course staff as appropriate.
5PM confident and well-rested, turn in your exam in margo's office.
perhaps receive customary end-of-161 goodies and/or t-shirt.
note: burnt offerings for tfs/professor will also be accepted at this
time :-)
then post-161 gathering? proposal to follow.
The final exam will be made available at 5 PM for download (watch for a
message in your mailbox specifying the URL). Or you can get a hardcopy at
5 PM in Margo's office (MD 241).
-- Sasha
Hey, gang,
The T-shirts are here, and they look awesome! You will be able to get
yours tomorrow when you turn in your final at Margo's office (MD 241)
between 4 and 5 PM. They are $15. (Cash is preferred, I could also take
checks).
-- Sasha
The final exam for the class is a 24-hour take home exam. It will be made
available on Monday, May 12th at 5PM. You will be able to either download
it or get a hardcopy (most likely at Margo's office, in MD 241). We will
announce the location of the download at 5 PM on Monday.
You will need to submit it at 5 PM on Tuesday, May 13th at Margo's office
(MD 241). You will be able to pick up a T-shirt, if you ordered one, when
you submit your final. Don't forget to bring $15 if you have ordered a
T-shirt.
-- Sasha
