Students liked getting real-world programming experience and working on the team project. They enjoyed having the freedom to develop a project they wanted to work on. Students did not like that the professor did not return graded homework assignments. Suggestions for improvement included retuning the homework and having more lab time during class. Students should know that the course is mostly focused on the group project. Make sure to start the project early and schedule a lot of time for working on it.

The best aspect of this course was that students were able to choose and create their own projects for the class. Students liked the hands-on aspect of the course, and thought that they got the support they needed to complete their projects. Students found that many of the other assignments they had in class were peripheral and did not directly relate to their final project. They believed that the workload was significant and cut into the time they had to work on their projects. Students suggested reworking some of the lectures to provide more practical examples of techniques and focusing less on Java and UML to spend more time on generalized situations. Prospective students should be aware that the workload is intense and should get started on the project as soon as possible so that they have the entire semester to build and test their projects. Because the project is group based, students wil need to find members they can rely on to pul their weight. 82

Students thought their favorite aspect of this class was the opportunity to work creatively on a group project over the duration of the course. Students also appreciated the opportunity to learn design principles. Students found that the weakest aspect of the class was the homework assignments which they thought were not always relevant. They felt the course could be improved by focusing the workload more on the group projects and less on the homework assignments. Students thought it was 95valuable for potential participants to know that it was important to find group members that they felt comfortable working with and that the class required a substantial time commitment outside of class.