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# General Announcement Emails Sent to IT 480 Students
# Fall Semester, 2011, Professor Don Colton
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Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:10:00 -1000 (HST)

These are the grading components. We will discuss in class how best to
use our time the next two weeks to maximize everyone's grades.

2115 IT 480 (E8) IPv4 Subnet Calc (204) 4%
2115 IT 480 N101 (193) 30%

2115 IT 480 Lammle Ch.1 (203) 1.0%
2115 IT 480 Lammle Ch.2 (207) 0.9%
2115 IT 480 Lammle Ch.3 (210) 2.8%
2115 IT 480 Lammle Ch.4 (215) 0.9%
2115 IT 480 Lammle Ch.5 (216) 2.3%
2115 IT 480 Lammle Ch.6 (217) 1.6%
2115 IT 480 Lammle Ch.7 (206) 0.5%
2115 IT 480 Lammle Exams (213) 10%

2115 IT 480 Lammle Readings (208) 26%

2115 IT 480 Number Conversions (200) 4%
2115 IT 480 VLSM (212) 6% (2 + 2 + 2)

* NetLabs 24% (2 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4)
2115 IT 480 Grade Book, Fall 2011 (211) 100%

Thanks! Bro Colton

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Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:45:00 -1000 (HST)

Tomorrow is Nov 30. Counting that day, we have 7 days of class left,
plus the final exam. I must concede that we will not cover everything
I hoped for this semester. I am revising the grading.

(a) The Lammle reading and skimming assignments will stay as they are,
260pts.  The deadline for all Lammle readings is Dec 12, at the start
of class.

(b) The Lammle exams (not counting reading and skimming) will be worth
100pts total. They will consist of questions already asked (for the
most part), and will end with Chapter 7 (EIGPR/OSPF).

(c) The NetLab points will be doubled. Each 10 point lab will be worth
20. Each 20 point lab will be worth 40. That will raise their total
value from 120 to 240.

(d) The Networking 101 readings and exams will stay as they are,
305pts.

(e) Number conversion will be worth 40pts. We will redo that test.

(f) VLSM will be worth 60pts. It will consist of your top three VLSM
scores from this point forward, each worth 20pts.

That all adds up to 1005 points.

(g) The NetSim that you spent about $85 on will be worth extra
credit. Each lab you complete will be worth 5 points. It will be
reported on the honor system.  You will tell me which labs you did and
I will add the points to your score.

I will set up a grade book (or books) that you can see online, and
post your grades.

Thanks! Bro Colton

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Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:35:00 -1000 (HST)

I finished grading the exams and transferring the scores into the IT
480 grade book.

Please verify all your scores and holler if there are things that need
attention. I am planning to revise the tests and re-use them for the
IT 280 class since we are done with them, and I would like to resolve
any issues before that.

Especially check out E4 (n101d, Wi-Fi) before the end of class on
Friday. I plan to nuke your scores at that time and update the test
before giving it that afternoon to the 280 class.

Also, I have fixed the Grade Book scoring. Until this afternoon, it
was using the percentages from the 280 class, which are far different
than the 480 class.  You can see the percentages on the current 480
syllabus. The grade book shows a total of just under 700 points. The
missing points will come from the Network Simulator that you
purchased.

I am still a little nervous that I are trying to fit too much content
into the semester, so there may be some additional adjustments as we
go along. But for now, the syllabus and grade book represent my plan
going forward.

So, for Friday (a) verify your scores.  And (b) prepare to take the
IPv4 calculation exam, which will happen toward the end of class that
day.  And (c) dust off your copy of Lammle and start looking at
chapter 1.  We will talk about it in class.

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Date: Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:10:00 -1000 (HST)

I have uploaded a another new copy of the syllabus.  It organizes more
clearly the points that are assigned to various things that were
mentioned before, and spells out a few things in more detail.  The
calendar is reliable up through Oct 24.

There are 105 points for reading the Networking 101 book. The reading
is due by Monday, Oct 24, at 8:40 AM.  Points are for reading entire
units.  There are seven units normally worth 15 points each. We can
talk more about it in class.

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Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:22:00 -1000 (HST)

The exam from today is graded and open for review.

I am revising the syllabus and calendar. You can see the current draft
by linking to the syllabus on the class homepage at
http://byuh.doncolton.com/it480/

The revisions are incomplete, but they are accurate regarding the next
few weeks of activities and points toward the final grade (the
Networking 101 part).

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Date: Sat, 24 Sep 2011 14:20:00 -1000 (HST)

The first exam covering chapters 1 through 4 of Networking 101 is now
graded and open for review. I was very pleased by the performances of
the top students, one getting 97 out of 98 points. Wow.

For those that did not do quite so well, there will be another
opportunity, a retake, later in the semester. Scores on retakes will
be limited to 90% of the total points possible, and will require you
to abandon your old score.

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Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:28:38 -1000 (HST)

Today in class we passed out the Network Simulator software. 13 out of
15 students picked up their copy. One was absent. One thinks he might
already have it, and is checking.

Please go ahead and install it on your personal computers. If you run
into trouble, bring your questions to class on Monday. If you have
trouble with a laptop bring it so we can try to solve the problem
right in class.

I completed the grading of the OSI test.  Here are the scores:

Totals: (14) 145 123 116 112 109 99 90 85 84 81 79 72 60 15

That means that 14 people took the test, and the top score was 145,
and the bottom score was 15.  There were 164 points possible.

So, the good news is that I will give you a chance to retake the test
later in the semester. You can replace your current grade with the
grade you earn then.

Calendar: I will be updating the syllabus so that it has an improved
calendar.  I have not done it yet, but I will do it soon. We will
spread out the exams a bit more.

Monday we will do in class NetLab 2, changing IP addresses.  And we
will review the OSI test and talk about anything that you might want
to ask about.  We will not have the Exam 3 on Home networking on
Monday. Maybe Wednesday.

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Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:16:07 -1000 (HST)
Subject: IT 480 update: Lab Sim Software

As mentioned in class, we are requiring all students in the IT 480
class to own a copy of the Lab Simulation software mentioned on the
course homepage:

http://byuh.doncolton.com/it480/

The software was ordered on Monday (yesterday), 15 copies to cover the
15 students that are being sent this email.

When the software arrives, it will be distributed to the students, and
your accounts will be billed for the cost of the software.  Right now
that appears to be just a little bit less than $85 per person,
including shipping. It should arrive later this week, so you should
probably have it by Friday. We don't need it that soon, but that's
probably when it will show up. When you get it, you should plan to
install it on your personal laptop or desktop computer and try doing
the first couple of labs so you get a feel for the software.

(If you bought it yourself, the cheapest price I have seen is $109.)

For your part, you also have the assignment to purchase your own copy
of the Lammle book. It has an estimated cost of around $27 new from
Amazon. You are free to use an older copy if you can find one. You are
free to share. You are free to use my copy that is sitting at the
front of the room in GCB 101, but *please* do not take it from the
classroom. Leave it there so others can share it too.

The syllabus says that tomorrow (Wednesday) we will have Exam 2
covering the OSI model. Please do your best to prepare for it. We may
have it, and we may put it off a day or two, but do your best to be
ready.

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end