2009/7/24 Minh Nguyen <[email protected]>: > > On Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 9:07 PM, David Kirkby<[email protected]> wrote: > > <SNIP> > >>> Any instructor who has been asked, after a particularly beautifully >>> delivered lecture/demonstration, "Will this be on the final?" >>> may have to say, oh, I guess not. You won't be using a computer >>> during the final. >> >> Do univeristies in the US have projects as part of degree courses? >> That is the time to be using advanced software - not in a final exam. > > I have taken a one-semester course on numerical analysis using Maple. > The final exam was worth over 50% of the total mark. We were required > to use a computer with Maple loaded, write Maple programs in response > to exam questions, and submit Maple worksheets to the examiner. I'm > dead serious. > > -- > Regards > Minh Van Nguyen
Were the downsides to using a proprietary system explained to the students? If not, I think that is wrong. If I were head of an academic department, I think I would put a stop to lecturers insisting students use software that they are unlikely to be able to use outside the university. To me, any non-trivual piece of software takes a long time to learn very well. That's a lot of time virtually wasted if you can't use the program any more. Apart from C, I can't recall being told I must use package X for a task. Dave --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-devel URLs: http://www.sagemath.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
