Table of contents
Announcements Page
Date change for last-minute drop-in
Hi, everyone!
It turns out that the January 8th drop-in clashes with the PLC exam - the dangers of timetabling in advance - so we’ve shifted that back by a week to January 15th, still at 2pm-4pm in Priory Road. This should show up in your timetables soon.
We’re still trying to get TA support over the holidays sorted out, but I’m going to go ahead and say start asking questions on the unit team now and I’ll step in to answer them at least until we get something more concrete in place.
Best wishes,
John
Cat of the day: Here!
Exam information, help over the holidays
Hi, everyone!
This is a quick announcement about various forms of help that are now available for the exams.
- Final information about the exam format is now available here. Importantly, you will be allowed to bring in up to four pages (eight sides) of A4 notes into the exam room - make sure you have these ready! (Preparing them is also a good focal point for revision - you can’t condense the unit down that far without having learned most of it already…)
- There are now three practice papers available here with questions drawn from past papers and adapted to the new format and model answers available. Now is also a good time to try some of the extra questions from problem sheets that we didn’t go over in classes.
- The Blackboard quizzes have now reopened here. There’s no marks attached to these, but they can be a useful revision aid. There’s also a version which just draws ten random questions from past quizzes.
- More details to follow, but we’re expecting to have TA support available over Teams for at least some of the holiday period.
- There’s a last-minute drop-in session scheduled from 2pm-4pm on January 8th in Priory Road - I’ll be there along with all the TAs we can muster to answer questions.
Best wishes,
John
Cat of the day: Here!
Week 8 Monday drop-in session
Hi, everyone!
If you plan to go to the Monday drop-in session next week (Week 8), be aware that the venue is MVB 4.01 instead of the usual MVB 2.59. The time is the same (1 PM) and Andreea Catrina will gladly assist you during that session as usual.
Have a great week!
Feline(s) of the day: Here
Cezar-Mihail Alexandru
Reading week Drop-in sessions
Hi, everyone!
It’s finally reading week and I am coming up with a small surprise. The drop-in sessions are also holding this week. So, if you want to catch up with the material this week, this is the opportunity for you.
Just one small observation, if you plan to go to the Monday drop-in session, be aware that the venue is MVB 4.01 instead of the usual MVB 2.59.
Be aware that problem classes and Q&A sessions do not take place during this week. But, Teams forum is still monitored.
Have a happy reading week and happy Halloween!
Feline(s) of the day: Here
Cezar-Mihail Alexandru
Drop-in sessions announcement
Hi, everyone!
I have been reported that not many students attended last week’s drop-in sessions. I would like to remind you that drop-In sessions run each day of the week starting from Week 2.
While there was already an announcement about drop-ins times and locations, the webpage has only been updated this week with the drop-ins. We apologize for this.
So, if you have any questions about the unit, you can come in to one of the drop-ins where one of our brilliant TAs will be available to assist you with anything as long as it is about the unit material.
Feline of the day: Here
Cezar-Mihail Alexandru
Drop-ins reminder
Hi, everyone!
I have been reported that not many students attended last week’s drop-in sessions. I would like to remind you that drop-In sessions run each day of the week starting from Week 2.
While there was already an announcement about drop-ins times and locations, the webpage has only been updated this week with the drop-ins. We apologize for this.
So, if you have any questions about the unit, you can come in to one of the drop-ins where one of our brilliant TAs will be available to assist you with anything as long as it is about the unit material.
Feline of the day: Here
Cezar-Mihail Alexandru
Problem class date confusion + Re/Play issues
Hi everyone,
If you checked the unit page this week there were some dates for the next problem class like on Friday 14th of October, or on Monday 16th of October. These are incorrect dates. The actual date is 9th of October from 3pm to 4:20 pm and from 4:30 pm to 5:50 pm depending on the time you were allocated at the start of the year.
Furthermore, Re/Play issues with problem classes should be sorted from next week onwards. (The first class RE/Play just recorded the screen, not the whiteboard - IT services informed us it will now include the room camera as well.)
We apologize for this confusion. See you there as many as possible!
Cezar-Mihail Alexandru
Feline of the day :Here
Drop-in session times, quiz extension
Hi all,
Drop-in sessions are now running every week, starting from tomorrow (the 4th) - or today, if you’re checking your email at a sensible time! These are optional but useful chances to ask a TA questions one-on-one outside of problem classes and Q&As, and without having to wait for a response on Teams. I know some sessions will clash with some people’s timetables, but every degree programme should have access to at least a few sessions.
Monday 1pm-2pm: MVB 2.59
Tuesday 1pm-2pm: MVB 4.01
Wednesday 3pm-4pm: MVB 4.01
Thursday 11am-noon: MVB 4.01
Friday 4pm-5pm: MVB 4.01
The quiz link for this week is also now fixed - to account for it going up late, I’m pushing the deadline back to noon this Monday (the 9th). Sorry about that!
Best wishes,
John
Cat of the day: Here! (Sound)
Welcome
Hi all,
Welcome to Algorithms II! Our main unit page is hosted on GitHub Pages here - in previous years Blackboard gave us a lot of trouble with file permission issues, and hosting on GitHub helps us mitigate them. The first video gives a much more detailed introduction, but in short, this unit will cover material on a rolling basis. For example, for Week 1, I released video lectures this morning, we’ll have an online Q&A on Thursday, there’s a Blackboard quiz on the material with a deadline of noon this Friday (i.e. September 29th), then we’ll have a 90-minute in-person problem class on it the following Monday. On the same day, week 2 will have its own material release, quiz, and Q&A to match a problem class in Week 3, and so on.
These weekly quizzes do count towards your unit mark, and are essentially free marks - don’t let them slip by! Again, the first quiz deadline is noon on Friday September 29th.
I hope you all enjoy the unit - see you on Thursday for the first Q&A!
Best wishes,
John
Cat of the day: Here!