Multiple choice

Why are there so many exercises in the course?

A

So it's hard to get a good grade in the course.

B

The course author is wicked!

C

So exercise difficulty goes up in small steps.

D

Lots of busy work, to justify the tuition.

Ray

Sounds like I'd better keep up with the exercises.

That's true. If you get behind a few days now and then, that's not a disaster. But get behind a few weeks, then you're in trouble.

Adela

How will we know we're caught up?

The timeline

If you're logged in, there's a timeline on the left of the screen:

It shows what exercises are due when, and the status of each exercise. The hourglass in the screen shot shows that you're waiting for feedback.

Adela

What does that little arrow on the left of that screen shot mean?

If you click it, the website will hide the timeline. That gives you more space on your computer's screen. Click the arrow again to show the timeline.

Exercise submissions report

You can get a list of your submissions, with Your stuff | Submissions.

That will show you the status of everything you've submitted.

Emoticon

There are a lot of exercises, and you might lose track of how you are doing. That's why (when you're logged in) there's an emoticon in the main menu.

The expression ranges from insanely happy (if you're way ahead), to freaked out (if you're way behind). The emoticon in the screen shot is happy. If you saw that, it would mean you're a little ahead.

Messages from your instructor

You might get emails from your instructor. Don't ignore them! Otherwise, you might get so far behind that it's impossible to catch up.

Let's talk about cheating in the next lesson.