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Succeeding in BA271

Most people do well in BA271—but some fail miserably. Since I want you to succeed, this page contains information about how to earn a good grade.

This class does not follow the usual "cram-and-flush" model of college learning. You will not be tested on your mastery of computer jargon or understanding of theoretical models. Instead, you will be asked to complete realistic tasks in front of a computer during "hands-on" exams. This means you will not be able to guess the right answer on true-false or multiple-choice questions. Instead of reading books, you should spend your time interacting with a computer. In that sense, this class is more like a tennis class than one in calculus or geology. You need to develop practical skills that you can demonstrate.

An analogy with riding a bike may be useful. When I first learned to ride a bike, my attention was so focused on making my feet stay on the pedals and keeping the bike upright that I ran into a parked car. With more practice the mechanical part of riding a bike became second nature, and I began thinking about rules of the road and the scenery. In a similar way, when you use a computer, you should not think consciously about which command to give next—that should come naturally. Instead, you should think about what you want to accomplish and how you want things to look. The best strategy for developing this sort of skill is to practice, practice, and spend yet more time practicing.

OK, enough general philosophy. Here are practical tips to help you succeed

  • Read the syllabus. It contains basic ground rules about how the course will be conducted.
  • Know the due dates. Complete the assignment at least one day before the due date.
  • When writing, take your time and edit carefully. I care about writing quality. Poorly worded ideas and editing bloopers tell other people a lot about your mental abilities and attention to detail. Don't convince me or your colleagues that you either have fuzzy thinking or sloppy habits.
  • When completing the Wiki Activities, do some research, bring innovative ideas, and put them in the right context to make sense with the rest of the wiki. A substantial portion of your grade will be determined by whether you add real value to a public wiki. Just posting a bunch of out-of-context ideas or point-of-view opinions in a wiki is likely to detract value from the wiki -- and that will result in very poor grades on this portion of the class.
  • Practice, practice, and practice.  If your goal is to get through the assignments as quickly as possible, you are likely to find exams confusing and lengthy. Most people require more than one repetition before they become comfortable using a new idea. A particularly useful exercise for most assignments is to do them twice. This might sound silly, but it's not. The second time through the assignment your attention will be on entirely different aspects of the work. The first time through, you will be trying to figure out how to do the work.  The second time through, you can think about doing it comfortably and efficiently.
  • Attend the lectures in Wiegand Auditorium. These lectures will describe learning objectives and provide context about how to use personal computers effectively. While these lectures should provide many helpful ideas about using computers effectively, their goal is not to provide keystroke-level instruction. 
  • Attend lab sessions. While the lab sessions do not cover exactly the same material as the assignments, they provide detailed examples showing how to complete similar tasks. 
  • Use the Bexell Computer Lab. The computer labs in the basement of Bexell Hall have software specifically configured to work well for BA271. The college has put a lot of money into buying many workstations, linking them together with a robust network, and installing software. I recommend working in these labs.
  • When you have questions, ask for assistance. The lab monitors in the basement can often answer about the software used in BA271. Alternatively, come to the help sessions in Bexell 324. Also, feel free to drop by Dave Sullivan's in Bexell 406 to ask questions.
  • Sit near the front of class. Sitting near the back of the class makes it harder to see and hear but easier for your attention to wander.
  • Begin work on each assignment immediately after the relevant lab session. If you wait even one day, most of what we did in class will have faded from your memory.
  • Work with a partner. That way you both can explore how to complete tasks together. Although you are to do your own work on the assignments and projects, most people learn best when they exchange ideas and explore solutions together.  Take pride in your personal mastery of the skills--don't depend on your colleagues as a proxy for your own mastery of a skill.
  • Talk with Dave Sullivan if things aren't going well. Often I can make adjustments or provide guidance that will get you back on track.

Student Tips and Hints

As an optional activity on the Fall 2005 final exam, I (Dave Sullivan) asked students to fill out a quick survey with just one question: "Please tell next term's students your best advice for how to succeed in BA271." This page contains every response -- I didn't edit them at all. Thus, this page contains the unvarnished thoughts of your colleagues, spelling bloopers and all.
--Sullivda 14:12, 8 January 2006 (PST)

Here is what they wrote:

Don't fall behind on your work. It builds on itself. And GO TO CLASS yes that is very important. Asking questions also very important. Emailing the instructor a lot, very important.

The only advice I can give is to practice, practice, practice!

You will have to spend a lot of extra time in the computer lab learning all the different programs and techniques.

Go to class! Both the lecture and the lab. Do all the tutorials that are suggested. Do all the homework. Do these things and you'll have no problems whatsoever.

The best way to exceed in BA271 is to listen carefully to the instructions in class and spend some time practicing the assignments. The more time you can spend practicing the better- especially when writing queries.

My advice to students coming into this class would be to always do your assignments by yourself. This is important because when you have a midterm or final you already know how to accomplish the test because you yourself covered all the material.

The best way to succeed in this class would be to take your time with your assignments and go to all of the classes. My advice would be to do your assignments on two different days so that you can check your work and make sure that everything works.

Go to all the lectures. Do the practice problems. The videos are quick and easy to watch. Setup your computer at home to do the work.

Go to the lab and do the assignments. I didn't learn that much during the lecture and the recitations. Just do the assignments and spent time practicing!!!

Don't get frustrated. If you think about the question being asked it's actually quite simple.

BA 271 Really is not a hard class if you attend the labs, and do the practice exercises. Its always good to study them a few times and do different practice quizes or exams so you know what to do as Mr. Sullivan covers a wide variety of items in his assignments. Overall Not A hard class, just hard to work with the programs at first. Once you get the hang of it its pretty self explanitory!

I would study all of the on-line examples that he gives you for your tests and make sure you know how to do all of the things that are covered well, and without the use of a book. using the book on the exam is difficult and time comsuming. Good luck

Do all of the assignments and make sure that you understand them. Also, before the exams (query quiz, midterm, and final) do all of the practice exams and practice quizzes he gives you, trust me they help. Go and ask Dr.Sullivan if you ever need help, and go to the help sessions.

Go To Class

Do the tutorials before you do the assignments. It helps a lot. Oh, and go to class. It's impossible otherwise.

Do all the work, and go to all the classes or you will miss a detail

Make sure you get started on the assignments early--especially the Access assignments. It takes a lot longer than you would expect because you may run into some problems that you didn't run into in class.

I found it really helpful to do the tutorials before trying to complete the assignments. You do not want to put things off until the last minute in this class. It is really imortant to attend the hands on class time, they help alot.

I would strongly recommend attending the labs and doing the assignments - you really will be tested on what you learn. Also, take advantage of the help sessions, especially in the Access portion of the class. The book can be misleading at times, and it helps to have a human available to clarify instructions. Last, take notes! Since your tests are all open book, having good notes will save you a lot of headaches. Good luck!

The class is a lot easier if you keep up with it, and do not fall behind. When Dave Sullivan recommends an additional exercise, do it! It will help you tremendously.

Practice, practice, practice. Access is something that needs to be practiced over and over. Also, ask questions whenever you can, it will really help you in the end.

I highly recommend you do the practice exams and problems. Dont try to get creative in this class...creativity is not welcome in this course, it is dry and boring.

I think to be successsful in this class you need to attend all the computer lab lectures and complete all the assignments. Definitley take advantage of the help session, it is at this time when you can have all of your questions answered. Completing the Assignements is vital to your test grades because the Tests are just like the HW so if you know how to do the HW properly you will have no problem with the tests.

This course is as easy as can be, but it requires your full commitment. Pay attention during labs because you'll get vital information in getting your assignments done. If instructions seem vague, Dr. Sullivan is always there to assist you.

Know the material, know how to build queries, and use the examples provided. Use common sense and a little creativity, and you'll succeed just fine.

Don't miss the Access lectures. It is extremely difficult to figure Access out on your own if you miss class. Plain and simple.

Make sure to study hard for the query parts of the course, and make especially sure you have the right number of tables with the right names in your queries.

Go to all of the classes, including the evening lectures.

I found it extremely helpful to go to all the lab sessions.

Don't be cocky if BA131 was a breeze, Access is an new program that takes much more practice to get good at.

Go to class and do the work. I know it's tough to go to a 6:00 lecture every week but suck it up and be there. It does wonders for the brain.

My best advice would be to attend all the lab sessions. They help you better understand the actual hands on portion of the activities.

Make sure that you take this class sersiously!!! Just because it is a 200 level class and you may have taken some easier 300 level classes, you will need to devote more time to this class to get the "A" grade we all crave than just about any other course at this university. You will learn alot or becoming frustrated and suicidal, possibly both!! Good Luck and I'm Rootin' for ya!!!

Don't slack off and think you can get this stuff without studying.

I think that this class is not easy to take but that doesnt'mean that I hate this class..I learned a lot from this class about making website and deling with access program...However, you need to practice a lot for this class exams...I think homeworks help a lot...so just try to do as many times you can do...

Make sure to got to the Computer Lab lectures each week. These really help you when you're figuring out how to do the assignments. Also, don't put off doing them until the last minute, try working on them over the space of a few days to give your brain a break.

Stop and ask the instructor questions. You are not stupid to do this, what you are doing by asking questions is learning and also helping others to learn. Other students are wanting to know the same information, but they are too shy to inquire.

Take some time and make notes of the odd little things along the way especially in Access, instead of zoning out on the monitor during lecture. Bring these to the final, then if you forget you won't be digging through the book.

Best Advice to succeeed in BA271 is to do the online practices. After working through those going into a quiz or an exam is a breeze because you have practiced. Also, if possible work on the assignments as soon as you can after you have the lab because then it is all fresh in your mind.

Be prepared for the exams, especially queries.

Go to class and do the homework yourself. Follow along in lab sessions and listen carefully.

Practice all of the skills so that they come naturally and stay on top of your assignments.

Access is hard and complicated but gets easy with practice, which is what this course is focused on; practicing your computer skills. I hear many complaints from my other classmates that you have to be an expert to pass this course and the professor goes too fast. I don't believe this is true...What we were taught was definently reasonable and we should be doing what is expected out of us. The best way to pass the course is to practice with the software a few good times, get a clear understanding of how it works, or shall we say behaves...especially with Access

Practice Querying at least twice a week during the Access weeks of the class.

If you want to do good in the class, then all you have to do are the obvious things. Don't skip class. Go to the 6pm lecture. Do the assignments, and don't feel bad about calling Sullivan on his mistakes. Otherwise, it should be pretty simple.

Basically don't miss class and you need to watch out when access comes up. I had a good grade going into Access but access is a hard program to learn. Even when you study on the test there could be a function you haven't seen before and your screwed. It's hard to make sure you are prepared for anything, so you just have to hope dave asks questions similar or identical to the homework... good luck

The best advice I can offer is to keep your attendance high, especially when doing Access Tutorials, it will save you a lot of time when doing the assignments. Also, ask questions and seek help. The first half of the course may be too easy for some, but it picks up in the second half and doesn't let go, work hard to master your skills at building and editing queries. Be sure to study for both the query exam, and if you do well on that, practice reports for the Final. All in all, hands-on attendance and practice are the most beneficial in my opinion. The only way to study is to practice and learn through trial and error. There's nothing you can really memorize or regurgitate, but if you sucessfully create what's being asked in class or for homework, you should do fine on the quiz, midterm, and final. Also, something I wish I would have done was take advantage of the optional activites like the fluffy compititon and the online book assignment. After taking the final, I already wish I had some of those bonus points to level out my disaster on the Reports section of the Final. That's about all I can say, or offer, as far as advice goes. Other than that, good luck!

The Query Quiz can be brutal, so be ready for it.

Go to the help sessions on Thursday, even if you dont have questions it is good to make sure you get your assignments done on time.

PRACTICE QUERIES!!!!!!!!!!!! Trust me...its a difference between night and day!

This course is much like studying a language or a musical instrument. Take it out every day and use it, practice it! I would have done much better if I had set aside more pockets of time to accomplish this goal.

When it comes to Access, be careful, check your work, and make sure you really understand how things work in the program!

I guess the one piece of advice I would give is that practice make perfect. All the midterms and quizzes are exactly like prior quarter's exams, so if you can perform well on those exams you should have no problem on the actual exams.

Do All Homework Twice.

While attending the lecture and help sessions is important, the best advice I can give is to practice practice practice! The best way to succeed in this class is to spend some time in the computer lab every week going over the key concepts that were covered. Prof. Sullivan has provided a wide array of resources to assist students in understanding the material, and if you use these resources (say by completing the exams given in other terms) you will have gained sufficient experience to succeed in this course.

This is a great class that will teach you the skills you need in the future. One very helpful tool is the video clips that Mr. Sullivan records. Watch as many of these as you can. Good luck and remember that you are not learning these skills to pass the class but to be successful in the business world.

Always start your assignments atleast the day before their do if not more than a day before, the earlier you begin the better. I know from personnal experience that doing an assignment the day it is due can be very stressful and usually results in a lower grade.

Make sure that once you get into access you attend all of the help sessions, it makes the assignments easier to understand and can save you a lot of time.

Stay on top of your assignments and keep up with the reading. When it comes to exam time, you'll be glad that you kept up with the material!

 

This website was created and is maintained by Dave Sullivan.
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