Exams in this course are done in a computer lab, with a specific application for this purpose. The application has an interface that shows you a bunch of “text file” pages. These pages include all textual content from the course: the class notes, interpreters, homework solutions, and solutions to past exams (that are given out for preparing to take the exam). Also, there is one such page for each problem, and an editable page for you to write your answer.
The editor is based on DrRacket and has similar functionality (includes most of its keyboard bindings, syntax highlighting, and indentation). You will not, however, be able to run your code (this is to avoid hard exams where you spend time debugging code). In addition, the application has a simple text messaging facility, which is used to send you notifications (e.g., when a question has been clarified), and for you to communicate with the instructor.
The application doesn’t save any content on the machine that you use. Instead, updates are sent to the server every few seconds, and that’s where your work is saved. You do not need to explicitly save files, they are always kept up in sync. This makes a robust system: you don’t need to remember to save or submit your work, and even if your computer crashes, you will be able to continue using a different machine, and at most you could lose a few seconds of typing.
The application works in “Kiosk Mode”: shown as a full screen, and locks out any other access to the machine. There will be one machine per student, so you may work, leave, and come back to the same machine whenever you like. (Note that the server logs all activity, which means that attempts to cheat the system are easy to find.)
There are two formats that exams can be given in, and it is up to the class to decide which option they would prefer. Note that no matter the option, the same exam will be given. The midterm should take roughly a class period to complete, and the final exam is a little longer (about two hours). As said above, all lecture notes, homework solutions, and past exam solutions are provided. You can also bring any printed materials that you’d like to have, but please ask before you kill a small forest for your printouts. Since the testing application is interactive, you can also ask for additional relevant texts during the exam, if you think that there is something that will help, and they will be added for everyone to see.
Note that the two options are relevant for both the midterm and the final. In the latter case, the “in-class” option is basically using the standard (2-hour) exam slot that the university allocates for final exams, while the “out-of-class” option means the same unlimited format.
A final decision on which style of midterm should be made about a week beforehand. (Usually, the same choice is taken for the final.)
The “standard” in-class test. You will have the full class period to complete the test.
A day for the exam will be agreed upon by the class. For most of that day, a lab room will be reserved (late morning through evening, actual hours TBD). You may come anytime during the day, log in, and take the test. There will be no practical limit to how long you stay, and you are free to leave and come back later as you wish.
Note that while this is mostly true, there will be a specific rough time to start, and if you want to come much later (or earlier), then you should let me know. Also, you’re free to leave and resume the exam later, but let me know when that happens: such breaks can be very counter productive, since you’ll need to spend time again getting into your test mode when you resume. Finally, while there is no practical time limit, if you end up staying for 6 hours and up then you are very likely not going to make any real progress so do not plan to actually spend the whole day in... The exam is still planned for finishing under two hours, and most people will do a second pass to check their answers so by the end of the third hour most people leave. Staying for much longer than that will not help, as your diminishing returns get close to zero...
While grades are not really curved, the numbers usually come up the same. In case of a disastrous test (e.g., if a few questions turn out to be confusing for most people) I tend to do a more lenient grading. This is more likely to happen with an in-class exam, though in my experience the overall performance is roughly the same.
Note that in most cases the possible exam score goes well above 100. This is done so you can skip a question and still get a 100. When all grades are weighted and summed, the exam grades are still considered to be “out of 100”, which means that if you do all questions and get more than a 100, then it will serve as a a bonus for your overall grade.