A2b - Databases - Grading Comments

The grading is complete for all A2b submissions except those who received an extension.  Overall most people did well, though some comments are worth making.

• Links
• Those of you who just followed the tutorial had no problems with links.  Those who struck off on their own (admirable) had more problems.  The subject of the different kinds of links and how to make them is not intuitive for most of people, myself included.  It takes work and mistakes, and does eventually come clear.
• Dropdown Boxes
• I didn't want to make dropdown boxes required because it was one more layer of complexity.  Nonetheless they are almost essential in practice for data entry into forms.  One creates them using a "Combo Box".  There are reasonable explanations in the help files.  Without them one has to keep referring to other views (tables or queries) to determine what is the appropriate ID #.
• Extending Access
• As my comments about links and dropdown boxes indicate, to become a proficient database users takes considerable work.  
• Planning initially is extraordinarily important.
• Learning to import data is very helpful - one person did so.
• There are multiple types of queries, many of which are very helpful.
• To get really proficient you need to learn to use VBA - the programming language (:
• Sensor Information
• As I said in my comments to many of you, one of the purposes of this assignment was to give you a gut sense that picking the right sensor isn't as easy a process as one might think.  Manufacturers very often don't provide the information you know is important.  Tracking that down can be a pain and sometimes impossible.  In a work situation, a call to the representative is often the best solution.
• A related issue is how you set up your sensor information table.  Most of you had only a few fields in it.  In fact there's no problem in having many fields, with only a few fields being appropriate to each sensor type.  You can generate good reports by using a query that displays on the relevant fields.  You can also write queries that concatenate info from different fields or leave it blank if there's nothing in a field.
• Sensor Characteristics by Building System
• No one really tackled the criteria addressing whether there were differences between sensors by building system (structure, HVAC) etc.  The kinds of things that might have been addressed here are comments on:
• Size
• Ease of installation
• Appropriate frequency of measurement
• Other Databases
• There are many databases available - I used Access because you all have it with Office (though in future that won't be true thanks to Microsoft's business relationship with Drexel).
• My own favorite (Mac and PC) is FileMaker.  Unfortunately it's expensive, an expense I've found worthwhile because I do so many things with DB.
• Open Office (I prefer the LibreOffice version) has a free DB modeled on Access, but it's been buggy for years and doesn't operate the same way.  The latest LO version seemed pretty good to me when I tested a week ago, though it has some different interface design approaches.

P3–Term Project Draft–Comments

I’ve completed the grading of the term project drafts. 

• For those who provided Word documents I returned the marked-up draft with my comments at the end, and often pasted into the VBB comment box if they weren’t too long. 
• For those who submitted as PDF, I only pasted my comments into the text box of the grading form.

Overall Comments

A few students took a specific idea and pursued it in depth, providing information about the sources and drawing a specific conclusion(s). 

A number of you, however, had problems that I identified in the comments, with at least one suggestion of how to correct the problem.  The kinds of problems I identified included:

• Staying far too general in what you’re saying.  In several cases the papers read as though they could have been prepared without the benefit of anything we’ve discussed in this course.
• Not developing a logical argument leading to a conclusion.  It’s important that your paper first identify and then develop an idea, providing supporting (or sometimes contradicting) evidence for it.
• Not providing evidence for your assertions, either experimental or citations of sources.
• Not taking seriously into account the material that we’ve addressed in this course so far.  This was particularly important for those dealing with BIM issues.  Some of the papers read as though you’d had no experience with BIM and were just reciting manufacturer’s claims.

For those of you addressing the implementation of an “Intelligent Building” in some way I would have hoped that you’d consider the definition that I gave early in the course.  Only one group did so.  It’s not that you have to agree with my definition, it’s that it exists and should be considered, if only to be rejected.

A2a & A2b Clarification on Requirements

I discovered today that I was inconsistent in what I asked for A2a.  The grading form expected a word document describing what you'd done and problems you have, but that was not made explicit in the assignment itself or in what I said yesterday in a blog post.  I'll stick with the lesser requirement this year.  You do not need to provide a Word document for A2a,  everyone who turns in the assignment will get those points automatically.

Today I updated the assignment to reflect this clarification.  I also made it explicit that I do expect a word document for A2b. I also updated the grading form for A2b to reflect this expectation.  The total points are not changed.

P2–Project Outline Grading Comments

I’ve graded your project outlines and made returned specific comments to each group.  I’m happy to respond to any questions you may have about your specific topic or the project as a whole.  Below are several general comments.

Definition of intelligent building

A number of groups were explicitly addressing Intelligent Buildings in some manner.  Several of them adopted what I would regard as a somewhat narrow definition, albeit one that is accepted in the industry – the most used being one from CABA.  You’re welcome to adopt whatever definition you choose, but I’d at least ask you to explain why you’ve chosen that definition which tends to leave out BIM, databases, robotics and other topics that I’d argue make sense.

Topic Breadth

In almost every instance I advised groups that, given the time available and the number of words in the paper, the ambition for the project exceeded what seemed likely to be accomplished.  I urged narrowing the focus and doing some aspect in depth rather than a journalistic broad sweep.

Building Lifecycle

In many cases there seemed to be an assumption that only one of the phases in a building’s lifecycle needed to be considered.  I urge all of you to think about how your topic may be considered in respect to each phase from project conception, through design, construction, move-in/commissioning, occupancy, renovation and demolition.

Cumulative Grade Visible

You can now see your cumulative grade in AE-510, current through Reading-4 and Assignment-1.

R2–Grading Comments

I’ve now completed review of all but one of your submissions.  Here are some general comments.

How I graded

• Checked that comments were submitted as required
• Checked that references were submitted to the Google Docs spreadsheet
• Note that I’ve created a database (FileMaker) containing the references and created a PDF that is now in the resources folder.  I’ll add an additional one each week.
• Read the posts and graded them using the grading form, usually with a short comment.

Overall Results

• You did a good job, taking all elements of the assignment seriously.
• One or two were fairly short.  I gave full credit this time, but will be more strict in future.
• There were a wide range of articles providing an excellent starting point for anyone pursuing a robotics term project.

Improvements for Future

• Many of you did not make much of a comment on the assigned reading.
• In future I’ll expect that integrated into your blog post
• Please include a link to the reference in your post
• Many of you did so, but a number did not.
• If you use a book rather than a website you can give the Amazon link to that book
• Professional Language
• There were a few instances of colloquial language.  I’ll be tougher about expecting professional language in future.
• Labels/Tags
• Most of you put at least one – good.
• Please try to use established tags where possible, but don’t be afraid to add a new one.

Gradebook in VistaBB

• As you complete more assignments I’ll calculate the cumulative grade as well as the ones for individual assignments. 
• I may not update that cumulative grade each week.
• I’ll announce here when I’ve updated.