Information in the 21st Century

General Questions

What is the difference between Computer Science and Informatics?

In short, Informatics is applying information technology within another discipline (major), for instance, how IT affects people. Some people refer to it as applied computation. Computer Science is more focused on programming (usually more math and theoretically focused). CS is more about understanding the mechanics and fundamentals of how computers work. Informatics focuses less on the technical details and more on the impact and application of the technology. This article will provide a more detailed explanation. https://www.soic.indiana.edu/prospective/_doc/why-info-groth.pdf

I have to miss a class section, what should I do?

Sometimes students have valid, unavoidable reasons for missing class. To deal with these situations, this class has built in safety valves for these absences. Please see the safety valve section of the course syllabus on blackboard. To catch-up on missed material from the lecture, you should (1) check blackboard, (2) talk to your fellow classmates and (3) come to office hours to fill in any gaps. There is no need to notify the instructor regarding absences, as handling these situations is built into the structure of the course.

What do I need to purchase for this course?

You will need to purchase an iClicker2 and The Power of Infographics textbook.

iClicker Questions

What do I need to bring to class?

Bring your iClicker to EVERY class session.

Should I buy or rent the iClicker?

It is strongly recommended that you purchase the iClicker for the course. Other classes you take at UAlbany will likely use the clickers. Therefore, the most economical way is to purchase the clickers then to rent them. Cost of purchasing an iClicker from the bookstore is (New $56.00 / Used $42), renting an iClicker (New $36.40 / Used $28.60).

How will I know if my iClicker was successfully registered?

We will be sending emails to your UAlbany email account letting you know that you have NOT registered an iClicker.

I have an iClicker version 1 is that okay?

No problem. The iClicker version 1 will work for this course. However, any other model (that is not an iClicker) will not work.

I don't have an iClicker for the class, what should I do?

I take the best 80% of your iClicker response score. It will come out of the drop portion of the grade. Please see the safety valve section of the syllabus.

Grading Questions

I think my grade is inaccurate or unfair, What should I do?

You can appeal your grade by filling out this form. Grade Appeals form You must make a strong argument to justify changing your grade, so please be thorough. Appeals must occur within 1 week of the grade being release on blackboard. We will respond to your appeal within 1 week of the submission.

CrowdGrader Questions

For some reason I have not been getting my Homework assignments on CrowdGrader.

You are having trouble submitted because you are not logged onto CrowdGrader with a registered account. You either did not register your account at the proper time, registered the wrong account, or are using the wrong account Please follow these steps to address the issue:

Go to this site and look up your Google Account: Google Account LookUp
If you did not register, fill out this form to Register a New Google Account. Please note, there will be a delay in getting you access, since we need to add your account information.

I can't figure out how to submit the assignment on CrowdGrader, can I email you my homework submission?

A primary goal of the homework assignments is to familarize and expose you to the peer review process. Therefore, all assignments must be submitted on CrowdGrader. Homeworks submitted by email will not receive credit.

I do not see the homework on CrowdGrader, what should I do?

You must be logged in under the wrong Google Account. Seach for your proper Google Account information here: Account LookUp If you are unable to find your account information, please send an email to inf100.class@gmail.com

I am trying to conduct the peer review on CrowdGrader, but I can not see any submissions to review?

This occurs because you can only review one review at a time. You need to resume your last review session that you did not finish. To do this, go to the CrowdGrader homework screen. Click on Your Reviews. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the screen. Most likely, you will see some text labeled: Missing. Click the edit button to the right of the Missing review. This will allow you to resume reviewing your last review.

Homework Questions

What is my assigned country?

You can look up your assigned country at this link: Country Search If you can not find your assigned country, please contact inf100.class@gmail.com

I can't update the Fillable PDF Form?

Couple options. First, try updating your version of Adobe Reader. You can download it for free from here. If that doesn't work, you can always get help during office hours (check blackboard for the next available time). Always make sure to submit the assignment before the deadline. For the first homework (assignment #1), it is okay to submit the assignment directly into CrowdGrader. No need to submit the assignment as an attachment.

Where is the homework assignment on Blackboard?

All homeworks are listed under the Learning Modules. Click on Learning Modules on the left hand panel on Blackboard. Next, click on the current learning module. You will see the homework assignment and associated reading material listed within the learning module.

When is the homework due?

Homework is always due at 2pm on Mondays. Check the Blackboard Calander for specific details. The peer review is due on Thursday before midnight.

I am having a lot of trouble with the homework, can I submit it late?

There are no late homework submissions. The homework deadline is enforced electronically. Any homework not submitted on time will be counted towards your 2 dropped homework assignments.

I am unable to get Zotero working on my machine. What should I do?

There are a few options to deal with this problem. First, you can always use the UAlbany library computers. The Zotero Firefox plugin is installed on the campus machines. To fix the issue on your own machine, I recommend the following. First, update your version of FireFox to the latest version and reinstall the plugin. If that does not work, you can try using the stand-alone version of Zotero (https://www.zotero.org/download/). The stand-alone version can be used with Chrome or Safari browsers. If you all else fails, please bring your laptop to the office hours. Myself or the TAs will be glad to assist.

I accidently submitted a blank assigment, can I have my grade fixed?

I understand your frustration. Couple ways that the course is designed to handle these situations:

You will still receive some credit for the assignment, since you submited something
This will not impact your peer review portion of the assignment. You will get full credit for your reviews.
There will be extra credit opportunities available throughout the semester
Beyond that, you can still not have this impact your grade. Since I have very generous safety valves in the course to deal with these types of situations (I drop the lowest two assignments).

Please make sure to test your submission next time.

Annotated Bibliography Questions

What do you mean by a data source?

You want to find data about your problem. It could be a statistics, graphs, charts. Certain countries have open data websites that contain a lot of information. For smaller nations, it is helpful to look at the international organizations that collect data. Examples include the world health organization, the united nations, unicef, the CIA world factbook. There are a lot of examples. Make sure to find a data source relevant to your problem. You will want to use the same sort of evaluation criteria (CRAAP test) to these data sources (just like traditional sources). Discuss the source of the data in the same way that you would any other source in the bibliography.

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