Sat, 09 Oct 2021, 00:08 a few announcements...

My students,

Just to be sure you all got the messages:

1. We will move to in-person classes in WCH 1.120 on Monday.  You have the
choice to attend in person wearing a mask or stay home and continue over Zoom
remotely.  Our classroom is not ideal; we will not have ideal social distancing.
In fact, in many cases students will be seated less than one inch from the 
person next to them.  I have contacted all of you, and those who want to attend
in person have agreed to wear masks.  As long as everyone is masked, I am happy
to lecture in person.  I know that the educational environment is much better
in person than it is over Zoom.

By the way, my TAs have told me that the first three rows of the classroom is
problematic as far as seeing what I am writing as I lecture.  Therefore, please
leave the first three rows of our classroom empty.  I would rather use the 
blackboards at the front of the classroom, but apparently I am not able to
do that and have it coveyed over Zoom, so I am pretty well restricted to using
the document camera which will be simultaneously broadcast over Zoom and 
displayed on the screens at the front of the class.

2. Discussion sessions.  I am not sure we have the kinks worked out on which
discussion sections will be remote and which will be in person.  We will start
with Ali and Ying-wei on Zoom and the rest in person.  If that does not work
for you, please let me or one of the TAs know.  Hopefully, we will get it right.
Even more hopefully, we will soon be past the pandemic and have everything in
person.

3. Office hours.  Office hours for now will remain over Zoom.

4. The midterm exam will be in person on Wednesday, from 3:30pm to 4:50pm.
We have two very large rooms assigned for the exam.  There should be adequate
social distancing between students.  Please wear a mask during the exam.  We 
will post on the course website by the end of the weekend which room you should
go to to take the exam.  

5. The exam is essentially closed book, but you may bring into the exam three
sheets of paper that you have prepared with any information you don't want to
memorize.  The sheets can be as large as you wish, and the writing can be as
small as you wish.  My only restriction is that it be in your own handwriting.
That is, I do not want to start a cottage industry of selling "three sheets
of paper"!  We will supply with the exam the instrution set, state machine, and
data path, so there is no need to copy those.

That should do it!  Good luck getting the first program in by midnight Sunday 
night, and good luck on the first midterm next Wednesday.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me or my TAs know.

Yale Patt