Evaluations CS3432 Assembly Language Programming Fall 2002

• I have really enjoyed the course except for the exams. I feel as though I know and understand the material. I just couldn't pass the exams given. I recall helping other classmates with their labs and noticing they ended up doing better than I on the exams. It doesn't make sense to me, unless I consider that I'm better at demonstrating my knowledge visually and physically rather than on exams. I know other friends that are the same. So basically I am saying yes, I know the exams are very important for the individual knowledge, but if there is a lab, I feel the lab should be considered to weigh more than the exams, since labs show how we actually applied what we learned. But all in all, I appreciated the way he taught and explained things. Dr. Roach is a good instructor.
• The exams and labs/programs are weighted equally. It is quite easy for students to turn in work for the labs and programs that is not entirely their own. It is much less likely that they will be able to do this on the exams. The new policy is that students must pass both parts in order to pass the course.
• He is a good instructor. I liked his lecture style although I could not take good notes. I don't know why he did not use the power point presentations, but I think I would have understood better by if he had used projectors for his lecture. I also think the final project (maze) should be given earlier in the course. About the exams I think they were somehow long because some problems required many time to solve, although this issue was taken into consideration by the instructor. I also like the idea of the base group.
• I liked his personality, but he always scared me by telling us in the class that this class is a fun class while after this class will be very hard. Well, this class was hard enough for me. He was very fair to students and gave us to finish the programming assignment. When I went to ask him questions about the materials in his office, he asked me so many questions until I got it, in a way I liked it, but he almost gave me a heart-attack because many times, I couldn't just answer. I think many times I disappointed him because I couldn't understand what he was talking about and what he was asking. Believe or not, was more disappointed than he was for sure. One time, his word broke my heart so bad that I just wanted to die, so "please be careful what kind of words you use." I tired so hard that I couldn't sleep more than 3 hrs a day this semster. Finally, it was very hard to understand what he was asking in the test, so please be more considerate about it.
• Dr. Roach starts the class off by telling you that this class will take up all of your time and this is no lie. However, I can say that there is no other class I've taken to this point that has been as fulfilling intellectually as this one. This class moves quickly and I was amazed at how much I've learned. The lab equipment could use some upgrading but I'm very satisfied with my experience in this class. If you are serious about learning Dr. Roach is the man!
• Easily the best CS instructor I've had so far. He is extremely demanding, relentless and genuinely concerned with our education. Twice he held review sessions for us on the weekend. Every class started with "any questions." His knowledge of the subject material is superb. Special recognition also should go to our TA, Ferris. I don't know how he put up with our excessive whining. Only complaints, have nothing to do with Dr. Roach or Ferris, the robots are very tempermental and difficult to work with. Also, there are too few of them. We need more computers in the lab as well. If I remember, there are 255 CS majors and maybe 40 PC's in the main lab. Unacceptable considering we can only use the robots here at school.
• The department is addressing the issues of space and equipment to the best of its ability. The robots, PCs, and lab space are not cheap.
• The class is well designed and taught. We covered everything that I expected. The assignments are though but that's what is required for an in-depth comprehension of the material. The laboratory manual is the only weak point. The wording is not clear in several problems and some programs to which the manual refer are not in the proper places in the server or have wrong permission. Overall, an excellent class.      
• We publish the lab manual each semester and appreciate knowing about corrections or clarifications.
• Definitely Dr. Roach knows the subject, be makes it easy to understand the concepts, but my only suggestions would be to leave homework related to what's going to be on the test. Despite the fact that the class was great, I would like to suggest the CS department to offer this class earlier.
• This class demands lots of time and dedication. The thing I didn't like even though there were taken considerations of the situation are the exams. I was not bothered because it contained hard material. I was startled because it contained many pages, many pages. Some of the questions demanded great time. And it was at that moment that I pressured myself. And as a consequence I did bad because I wanted to answer all of the questions.
• This course is challenging and requires effort and a motivation to succeed. The instructors interaction with the class was excellent, though intimidating at the beginning of the semester.
• You should pass an ugly yoda head around class like prof. teller.
• It is a very good class, you learn a lot, the only difficulty is that test are long and you don't have much time to answer it, it is a hard class. But Dr. Roach tries to make it easier, however don't expect a good grade without putting a lot of effort. The TA is excellent, always willing to help, knows the material well, excellent explainer, the first TA that I have seen do his job.
• The class was great. This was one of the most awesome classes because I learned a great deal. Instructor is great, he knew his stuff and had good answers to all questions. Workload felt pretty good once it was completed and I realized how much I've learned. The only thing that I believe can make the class better is to buy new robots since a lot of them are really bad and are a pain to work with. Overall, class rocked; it was awesome.
• Very good teacher in stimulating the subject, but sometimes the clarity is blor, but I can tell that Dr. Roach is a very good teacher. CLASSES SHOULD BE EARLIER!
• Dr. Roach is a very good professor. He knows a lot, but I would like to have more notes in my notebook. It's a little difficult to take notes in his class. It would be a little better if he gave the class with power point presentations for example.
• CS 3432 has challenged my ability to program all while learning a substantial amount of material. Dr. Roach has presented all material clear and effectively although the degree of difficulty of exams fail to depict the difficult of the rest of the course work in the class. Overall, the class was very helpful and more than surpassed my expectations even if here to take it over again.
• This class was by far the hardest class I have ever taken in my life! I do have to say that I have learned more in this one class than all the other classes I am taking this semester. If you are serious about computer science, this class is for you…but don't expect it to be enjoyable. I would recommend fixing the robots so it's not so tiresome to work on the final project.
• Dr. Roach your tests are extremely challenging. Before the test, I thought I understood the material, but after I saw the grade I got, I knew that I didn't understand well enough to do your test or at least get a passing grade on your test. You talk too fast. Sometimes, I really feel I'm so stupid to ask the same thing over again. Could you ask us more questions in class to see if we actually understand your lecture? If we do, then you can move on, otherwise, could you explain it again because we are afraid to ask you questions.
• This is the toughest class I've had at UTEP but also one of the classes I have learned the most out of (even though my grades probably don't show). The biggest complaint I have is not having enough time on the exams. You should make them a bit shorter. If I were to have enough time I think I could have gotten at least 10 extra points.
• He is very enthusiastic in teaching the material. The only thing is that personally I would have more examples about how to implement the code, other than that the material was very well taught.
• I had a lot of frustrations from this class and I got a lot of grey hairs, but I did learn a lot. Although, I do think the exams were a bit long for the amount of time given to us. Very very difficult class, but I think it'll be worth it in the end.
• Cool class. Learned a lot. Was a challenge. Approach was unconventional (no babying) but was cool. Throughly enjoyed.
• Good professor. Way too much work for 4 credits. This is not the only class we have. Professor is very knowledgable on the subject matter.
• Robots were broken and hardly ever worked, the simulator was extremely helpful. Dr. Roach is a really great professor. He teaches extremely well. He is sometimes a bit unapproachable. He tries extremely hard and is very well prepared. He gets excellent marks otherwise and I look forward to taking another class with him.
• My experience with the robots was that they worked the vast majority of the time. Fares has been very good about monitoring the status of the robots, and we have been aggressive about keeping them in working order.
• I really enjoyed this class. Dr. Roach is an excellent instructor.
• I thought it was a very well taught class. I learned well above average and it was thanks to the well taught material.