Most of my online presence has been in other venues recently, but I’ll at least make sure my semester before/after chain here remains unbroken.
Taking CS571: Computer Networks
I’m pleased with the general design of the course. There is nice mix of textbook structure and primary document context, and the assignments look to offer the generally desirable mixture of explicit problems and programming. Unfortunately, while it is well designed, the instructor seems a little weak in classroom execution, so the lectures are fairly traditional and not particularly good at that. I’m also a little weirded out about differences in background affecting which things are expected context – wire encoding and line delay are being presented as more novel concepts than packet encoding and topology, while I think of of them as things we do with sophomores. I’ve long felt guilty about my lack of formal networking background for ages, so it’ll be good for me.
Taking CS535: Intermediate Computer Graphics
Taking to finish out my core requirements, because it sounded more fun than numerical methods. The instructor is a bit of a slide-reader, and so far we’ve had more context than content. I’m all for context-heavy instruction, but it’s getting to the point where it’s misleading because what we are being provided is out of date and slightly hand-wavy, and what content we have had has been distressingly shallow. It’s a small class and we’re almost all pretty friendly, so it’s working out anyway. At worst I finally have an excuse to learn some rudimentary OpenGL.
Taking EPE672: College Teaching & Learning
Like all Preparing Future Faculty program courses, it’s a room full of jaded grad students, being jaded. That situation is always fun, and it’s no more grim than all those courses. We’re mostly reading a whole bunch of primary publications and discussing, which is a good course format that I don’t get to do often because it’s unpopular in engineering disciplines.
I’m a little pissed that it manages to block both the weekly Keeping Current seminar and Collexion open hours every week, but I’ve been trying to get into it for over a year, so I’ll take it.
Teaching: EE101
I’m not a standard instructor, I’ve been brought in to run the embedded systems unit that I helped design a couple years ago. Leading 230 freshmen through recognizing all the little embedded systems their world is built out of, and building neat shit with Arduinos and bags of parts to get an appreciation for them.
I’m not exactly being well-compensated for doing it, but they are paying me, and both the material and course composition are always a good time.
It’s not lining up to be a terribly stimulating semester, but it also won’t be terribly difficult, and will get me fundamentals and basic credentials in some things I should have them in.
