We will use a Google Group for class related communications.
The Google Group is basically used as an e-mail reflector. When someone posts a message to the class Google Group,
every group member will get a copy of it. You can also reply to the entire class Google Group and everyone will get
a copy of your reply.
You are REQUIRED to be a member of the class Google Group because all important announcements are sent throught the class Google Group and I can ask exam questions based on my posts to the class Google Group! So, please read this web page carefully.
As it turns out, it's a bit tricky to use the class Google Group just right. Therefore, please read the explanations
below carefully.
There are two ways to use the class Google Group: When the semester starts I will send an e-mail to your USC e-mail address to invite you to join the class Google Group. You must accept that invitation so you can receive all the important announcements as early as possible. Then you need to decide if you would prefer to go with Optin (2) above (which is the PREFERRED way of using the class Google Group). If you decide to stay with Option (1), you don't have to do anything else. (Again, if you read your USC e-mail using Google Apps at USC, you have to go with Option (2).) But if you choose Option (2), please do the following:
In this group, you can ask course related and project related questions. Please make sure to use this Google Group to clarify any questions that you may have on the assignments specifications and grading guidelines. Please refrain from posting code or pseudo-code or anything that can lead to any sort of plagiarism. Be mindful about what you post. Posting more than 2 lines of code OR pseudo-code will be considered cheating! Please keep in mind that one line of pseudo-code can easily turn into 10 lines of code! So, if your pseudo-code has any details and can turn into more than 2 lines of code, it's considered cheating! Try not to post pseudo-code. Try to explain things to your fellow students using language that doesn't sound or look like code at all. If you post more than 2 lines of code OR pseudo-code, first offense (in the entire semester) gets a warning (unless you posted a lot more than 2 lines of code, in which case we will skil this step). Second offense, you will lose 50% of the corresponding assignment points and lose posting privileges in the class Google Group for the rest of the semester.
Since the programming assignment and exam grades will be sent to your
USC e-mail address, if you don't use your USC e-mail address
to receive e-mails, it's best that you forward your
USC e-mails to your other e-mail account, for example,
your gmail account. It's easy to setup e-mail forwarding!
Just follow the these simple steps.
I get the following question a lot:
I'm receiving all the messages that got posted to the class Google Group. But when I go to the class Google Group on the web, I cannot see the discussions or use the search function. What do I need to do?You need to remember that if you want to see the discussions, you must have done both of the following:
Go to the class Google Group at: http://groups.google.com/group/usc-cs402-f20Which message do you see? Do you see (1): "You cannot view the group's content or participate in the group because you are not currently a member", or (2): "You must be signed in and a member of this group to view its content"? If you see the first message, it means that you have already signed into Google (with your Google login e-mail address, whatever it may be); you are just not a member of the Google Group. In this case, you should click on the "Apply for group membership" link and then enter your USC e-mail address in the "additional comments to the manager" field to apply for membership. If you see the 2nd message, it means that you are not signed into Google (not our class Google Group, just Google). In this case, you should sign in (i.e., click on the "Sign in" link in the right top corner) first. If you don't have a Google account, you can click on "Create an account" and then enter your USC e-mail address as your account's e-mail address and go from there. |
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