First Week

Hello, I am a student at the University of Texas in Austin and am currently taking the CS327e: Databases course to help qualify for the Elements of Computing certificate. Thus far the course is a mix of good and bad qualities. The good quality is that the professor, Glenn Downing, is very enthusiastic about teaching the course and seems genuinely interested in the students’ experiences.

The issues arise in the course material. First and foremost is the fact that Python 2.7 is the language used. The reason this is such a significant issue is because the two prerequisite courses where most, if not all, of the students learned Python. However, it was the latest version of Python, Python 3. Thus the course asks us to use an older version of a language where there are fewer features than in the latest version as well as there being differences in the remaining functions. It is just a bit rough trying to navigate the older syntax while trying to write elegant and efficient code. The reason for the need to use this is to use a program called GitHub, which is another issue. It isn’t too bad though the program does kind of confuse me and we haven’t really covered much of how to use it, but the Professor did mention the start of a study group which sounds like it can help, though if it is after the due date of the first project it becomes a moot point. The next issue is the quizzes which are kind of hard given the time allowed for them. They are useful for the class and helping to prove a point he wants to make about the class and the current assignment, so they are a mixed issue. On the one hand they are hard, which can negatively affect one’s grade in the class which is a big deal, but on the other hand they are useful in emphasizing the Professor’s lesson plan.

Overall the course looks promising, but it won’t be till later when it will be more evident whether or not the class is doable, which is mostly based on how easily the transition from Python 3 to Python 2.7, the learning curve for GitHub, and the act of getting accustomed to the quizzes turns out to be.