QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT MY PROGRAMMING LAB (MPL)

• How do I associate the MPL account to this course?
  
  
  • If you did not register yet in MPL:
    Go to the MPL website . There indicate that you do not have an account but want to get one. Choose the book by Lewis and Loftus', 7th edition, with a green apple in the cover. You can choose to get access with e-book or not. In the registration process you will be asked the course code. You should provide the following: SIMO-7060-RJNZ-11
  • If you registered already and did not include the course code when you originally did your registration:
    Once you enter in your account, go to the help section, and there you will find an option to register in this course (referred to as "section" there). Use the code as indicated: SIMO-7060-RJNZ-11
    
    
• What will the MPL activities consist of?
  
  MPL marked activities will include answering several questions available in the MPL system at different moments in the course and related to different topics. You need to correctly answer the questions to get the points.
  
  
• Will I be able to work together with a partner with MPL?
  
  YES. You can work individually or together on practice exercises and you will be able to submit individually or together (TWO OR UP TO THREE PEOPLE) as well. You can create the MPL user so that two or three names are there (although one and only one student number should be there). When submitting a required MPL exercise, you will be asked to also submit a brief file via CourSys to indicate who you partnered with.
  
  
• When will we start working with MPL?
  
  You could already start working with it as practice. Some exercises were recommended already as practice among the weekly lab exercises , and you may work on those and others exercises. Required MPL exercises will start to be assigned after the reading break. If you have worked on exercises as practice before they were assigned that is to your advantage.
  
  
• Do we really need to buy the code access to MPL?
  
  It is up to you whether to buy or not the access to MPL. You can buy it together with the hardcopy textbook, together with the e-textbook or only accessing to the exercises. (Details about these options can be found in the Course Description → Textbook and references section).
  
  MPL provides additional support by providing questions and automatic feedback. However,no new material is presented in the MPL system. As instructor, I believe that working on those exercises could be useful for you, but I cannot guarantee how useful it will be for each individual.
  
  As instructor, I do not believe that the % assigned to the component should be the only criteria to decide about working on this component or not, there are other considerations and benefits, but you can use that as another consideration to decide. (See questions below). Again, the choice is yours.
  
  As mentioned in class, if you have special financial concerns that stop you from getting access to this system please contact me.
  
  
• What is the percentage that the MPL component in the course?
  
  MPL will count at least as 1% and at most 3% of the whole course. The 2% difference is considered MPL bonus points, that can be "used" to top up "lab participation", "lab exercises" or "brief assignments", in that order, depending on whether you need to top up any of those categories, in that order. The final result can only be seen at the end of the semester.
  
  
• If I do not do any MPL exercise, will I still be able to get 100% of the course points?
  
  Yes. The 1% MPL required component can be transferred to the final exam percentage.
  
  

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT CODEWRITE

• How will CodeWrite Work?
  
  It will be explained in the assignment and in class, including via a long distance class.
  
  
• How will the marking of CodeWrite work?
  
  It will be explained in the assignment.
  
  
• What will the percentage of CodeWrite be within the whole course?
  
  The same rules as explained for MPL will apply to CodeWrite with respect to bonus points, if there are such CodeWrite bonus points. However, unlike MPL, the 1% required percentage for CodeWrite cannot be transferred to the final exam.
  
  
• If I do not do any CodeWrite exercise, will I still be able to get 100% of the course points?
  
  No. You would at most get 99%.
  
  
• Do we have to pay to access to CodeWrite?
  
  NO. CodeWrite has free access for our course as part of a unique agreement and joint project with the developers of CodeWrite in the University of Auckland, New Zealand.