Assignments
Links to assignments will be listed here as they are posted.
In order to view an assignment, click the corresponding link below. You will be asked to confirm acceptance of the assignment. Then you will be taken to a GitHub repo with instructions, source code, and other materials that will help you to complete the assignment.
Links will show up here when the assignments are ready to start. Generally, I love students working ahead but if you work ahead before I've updated the assignment you may have to delete your repo and start over.
Assignment Breakdown
Table 1: List of required course tasks
| Task | Components | % | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basics | Cloud9, GitHub setup | 15 | Aug 29 |
| Web | Site published on GitHub Pages | 15 | Oct 5 |
| Text | Create formatted text documents | 15 | Oct 27 |
| Data | Create and format spreadsheets using scripts | 5 | Nov 6 |
| Database | Create and script a database | 15 | Nov 17 |
| Present | Create and record a presentation | 15 | Dec 5 |
| Participation | Come to class; Speak up; Share resources | 10 | N/A |
| Community | Get involved & learn something | 10 | Oct 19, Dec 7 |
Assignment 1: Get on GitHub - Done!
This assignment is very simple.
You will have completed most of it in class by the end of the week.
It involves: 1) setting up a GitHub user account; 2) using that account to log into Cloud9; 3) create your first assignment repository using the Github Classroom link; 4) taking a brief (6 minutes) questionnaire about yourself.
This Assignment is done!
This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade. It is due on Monday, 29 August 2016 at midnight.
Assignment 2: Build a website
You will build and deply a web page using GitHub Pages (Jekyll). Most of this assignment will involve creating content in Markdown and editing style in CSS.
The goal is to make your website an attractive place online where you can place information about yourselves, your interests, and your skills. Or your site can be about a project or hobby that you would like to put online. This assignment is intended to help you create an online space that you can actually use while also giving you new skills related to working with web content.
Link to assignment instructions: /inls161fall2016/assignments/assignment2
This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade. It is due on Wednesday, 5 October 2016 at midnight.
Assignment 3: Create documentation
This assignment is about converting your plaintext source files into different polished output formats.
You will create and convert a document from a markdown source file into multiple output formats using Pandoc. You will also write a simple script to automate this workflow so that it can be done using any document source specified.
Link to assignment instructions: /inls161fall2016/assignments/assignment3/
This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade. It is due on Thursday, 27 October 2016 at midnight.
Assignment 4: Make data
This assignment aims at strengthening our scripting skills and learning how to create a well-formed dataset to work with. You will extend what you do in this assignment in the next one, so keep that in mind.
You will learn how to aggregate data and script the data generation process. You will create a short questionnaire and then use Bash to script collection of answers. Your script will write the output of that questionnaire to a CSV file.
You will work with your designated teams to complete this assignment.
Link to assignment instructions: /inls161fall2016/assignments/assignment4/
This assignment is worth 5% of your final grade. It is due on Sunday, 6 November 2016 at midnight.
Assignment 5: Organize data
This assignment aims at further strengthening our scripting skills and working more closely with a database. In this assignment, you will use scripts and the MySQL shell to create a database and use queries to get information from it.
You will work with your group to modify your data collection script so that it interfaces with a database. You will take the questionnaire script that you developed in your group and make a new version of it that interfaces with a MySQL database.
You will work with your designated teams to complete this assignment.
Link to assignment instructions: /inls161fall2016/assignments/assignment5/
This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade. It is due on Thursday, 17 November 2016 at midnight.
Assignment 6: Be presentable
This assignment aims to extend your markup skills while also working with creating beautiful presentation materials in a durable and platform-independent framework. You will create a presentation using reveal.js. In addition to creating the presentation, we will record and add audio objects to create a self-narrated, automated presentation that runs more like a documentary or movie.
Link to assignment instructions: /inls161fall2016/assignments/assignment6/
This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade. It is due on Monday, 5 December 2016 at midnight.
Participation
Attendance is mandatory. You need to come to class, but you should also be present and attentive in class.
This is not a lecture-only class. It is mostly hands-on work. If you are in class and you are not doing anything, there is probably something wrong. You should likely be following along in a workflow or trying out examples on your own.
Take notes. Speak up in class. Tell us what you know. Feel free to make mistakes. No one will judge you here. If you are uncertain about something, speak up and ask! We will address your uncertainty and get you on the right path.
Participation is worth 10% of your final grade.
Community
Attend two tech-related community events, including at least one workshop. The first of these is due sometime before Fall break. Campus events, OIT workshops, and meetup events are examples of the kinds of things I'm looking for. After each event, submit a small writeup about the experience and what you learned. This writeup should be a page on your website
Community is worth 10% of your final grade.