ANONYMOUS wrote:
> - If someone writes their code perfectly, but does something stupid naming files or whatever, the system will not process the code, resulting in zero marks.
>
> - If someone doesn't fully understand a question on the first attempt and makes mistakes, they will lose all grades for that question. That's an 100% penalty factor.
>
> - My head hurts when I have to scroll forward and back to find table definitions for questions and code in many different text files.
>
> - There is no instant feedback on grades after submission. I need to worry about that in the foreseeable future.
>
> Why can't we have an online interactive platform like Moodle to handle quizzes and labs? Students are paying thousands to enroll, and I think they deserve a more modern learning experience. No offense, just a suggestion.
Dear Anonymous,
Thanks for your query.
Following instructions is part of the unit and your degree at UWA. Most of you are first year students and playing around with file-extensions, using command prompt, traversing directories will help you improve your skills. If you are already good at those things then this assignment should be a breeze for you.
There is an auto-grader that will mark the queries. I have provided simple and explicit instructions regarding how to test whether your sql files are valid or not.If there is a doubt, we are providing 25 hours of lab support every week, and we will be happy to help you out. I do not intend to award zero points to anyone who has done the assignment right. It is for this reason there is extensive support available.
I have experience teaching this unit using automated Moodle-questions as well as using other sorts of grading methods. Based on the students' feedback we are not teaching it on Moodle. I'll keep your feedback in mind while deciding the assessment items for the next semester.
Also remember when you are going to work in the industry, data will be very messy. Learning to playing around with data right at the beginning of your degree will rather be helpful.
To make matters easier for you, we will upload snippets of expected output for each question.
Mehwish.
