1. When will get our papers back?

As most of you know, you got the papers before the exam. It takes time to get through grading a foot of papers. And I too would like to see smaller classes, with a much more rapid turn over between the completion of an assignment and its return, a closer connection between reading and lecture, and material that fits the specific needs of students right now. I will suggest that there are elements of the class that will become clearer as they are applied. You can't see the larger picture by looking simply at details, or organize your thinking or class materials simply by reader more and more. You have to find ways to organize what you know.

As for class size there is a trade off between size and availability. You could have smaller classes, but then find them always closed. You should fight for both! The department/s only have so many resources themselves, and have to figure out how to provide the best education for the most people.

2. What is the meaning of the letters in the grade break down on some papers?

Kyle and I worked out a framework based on the hand out "Quick Guide to a Successful RTF/Com 309 Paper." This document, as you will remember, covered what we wanted to see in the final papers, which is also what most professor would want. Based on the sections of the Quick Guide, the grading system is this: F (Format) 10 points; S (Sources) 10 points; T (Thesis Statement/Framework) 10 points; E (Evidence) 35 points; C (Conclusion, 1-2) 15 points; O (Overall organization) 10 points; Sp (Spelling/Punctuation/Grammar) 10 points. The URL for the online version of the quickguide is: <http://www.actlab.utexas.edu:80/~paradox/quickguide.html>

3. What is the meaning of the numbers and letter grades side by side on some papers?

I wanted to show the correspondance of letter and number versions. Here's the system: A+=97,96,95; A=94,93,92; A-=91-90 B+/A-=89,88; B+=87,86,85; B=84,83,82; B-=81,80 C+/B-=79,78; C+=77,76,75; C=74,73,72; C-=71,70 D+/C-=69,68 The presence of the B+/A- type grade means that I know you are on the border. It is lower than an A- (and the other grades accordingly).

4. Where are the comments on my papers?

There should be some there! I ended up with 40 pages single space full of comments for the one's I worked on. These comments should be stapled on the final page. All papers should have some comments. By the usual irony of school, the better the paper, often the shorter the comments!

5. When and where will we find out about our exam grade and our final grade?

Grades are due on 5/15/97. They will be posted outside my office door on the 7th Floor CMA sometime that day. If you have a secure web browser like Netscape Navigator, you can get them online later at <https://dpweb1.dp.utexas.edu/registrar/grades.wb>

6. How much did UseNet count? How much did the quizzes count? Etc.

See the syllabus. You were supposed to do each component. Even if you knew how to post on UseNet, you should still follow through and post!

7. Will I be teaching another course soon?

Currently, I am going to be writing up several large research projects. Teaching is a possibility, but has to fit into the larger picture. I would love, for example, to teach something on the social frontiers of bio-computing, but I need to write down what I have already taught.

8. How can I make money off of the things you taught in the course?

The economy is changing, and you will often find it hard to find a 'job' in the newspaper. Internships can be found, but often are hard to come by, and hard to live off of if you have any other expenses. So you should think about ways that you can 'go into business' for yourself. Assess what you know and organize something for people. This is yet another plus of being able to see the 'larger picture' of how the economy, locally and globally, is changing. If you tell people you are a web designer, then soon they will believe you. You will need some cash flow, and you will need health care pretty soon if you don't have it, but think of ways to 'do it yourself.' Beyond that, know how to package yourself in interesting ways for employers, and figure out ways that they will both trust and be sure that you will help them make money. After all, if you were in business, who would you hire. And there is always higher education. In the case of advanced education, check out how much competition there is for the jobs that you can get when you get out.

9. How much longer will these UseNet messages be around?

At most until the end of the month. This is the era of the electronic library where a whole semester of messages (almost 900) can be eliminated with the flick of a switch. Click.

10. How can I reach you if I have a comment or question?

Try email. If my address has changed then search for me by my last name on a web search engine like Yahoo. With a last name like Uncapher, I am not that hard to find!

Good luck during your summer.