1. First thing

This document contains a short instruction of how to do the reading quiz. Please read through this document, before trying to do the quiz.

2. Login first

You need to login to this site first. Create an account if you have not done it already. For more information, please start by reading FAQ (itmes 3--6).

3. How to find reading quiz questions

When you enter the forum site, you will see a list of questions. Some of those quesions are reading quiz questions. You will need to answer them. If there are many questions, then it may make sense to display the current reading questions only, by filtering or searching. You can do so by clicking on "Tags" tab and then clicking on a tag that corresponds to the current reading quiz. All tags related to quiz will start with "rq" and end with a date string. For instance, the tag for the first reading quiz is rq1-jan9, where jan9 is the date of the lecture, for which the reading quiz is designed.

A direct link to the quiz question due before the next class will be posted as a news item on the front page of the course web site.

4. How to answer quiz

For the first two quiz questions, I have provided some possible answers. You answer by voting on them.

For other quiz questions, no answers are provided by me. If any student/person provided an answer that you agree with, then vote for it. If not, provide your own answer! Please do not create redundant answers. If you basically agree with an answer, but have some more thoughts to add to it, then comment on it. Do not answer it.

Please note that you can change your vote any time. Clicking the hand symbol again will make you un-vote, and then you can choose some other answer.

You can also vote for multiple answers. For a certain problem, this may make sense. However, a pattern of giving random multiple answers mindlessly, would be forbidden. If such a pattern is noted, then it will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

5. When am I done? How many questions are there in a quiz?

You are done when you either vote or answer on all questions. In each question, there should be links, "Previous link" and "Next question" link, at the bottom of the question. If you start from the first question, and then answer or vote on all questions following the "Next question," then you are done!

6. Is there anything to submit on paper?

No.

7. When is the reading quiz due? When is it up?

The quiz is due before the corresponding class ("the next class") starts. Technically, it is due 3:01 AM on the day of that class. This can be noted from the tag described above. For example, if the tag is rq1-jan9, the the quiz is due 3:01 AM on Jan 9.

The quiz will be up approximately 24 hours before the actual class starts. So, a new quiz will be posted 9-10 AM every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, assuming there is a regular class the next day.

8. Tags in the forum site

If you filter questions with a tag and then filter it again with another tag shortly after, then both tags will be used for filtering. So, tag filtering is cumulative. If this is not what you want, use "start over" link that appears in the tagged question list view.

9. Your courage will count

Sometimes it may seem a bit scary to give an answer. Or, give another answer, when a popular answer exists. To say what you believe requires a courage. Even if you do not get it right, this courageous process is very important, since if you do not know what you believe, how can you learn anything? (Mistakes are essential steps for learning.) For this reason, I never hold you responsible at all even if your answer turns out not to be the best answer. What I generally do is quite the opposite -- I will generally consider the courage of providing an answer, or providing genuine opinion, in a very positive way.

Here is another way to think about it. Any dogmatic, and popular, answer has some hidden thing that makes it stink.

10. How do I get credit for quiz? How much?

As long as you participate in quiz (vote or answer), you will get credit. If you actually get correct answers, your credit will be marginally greater. However, the participation is the main mechanism for credit.

Please focus on understanding what the quiz is asking and why some answer is more correct than the other (or equivalent).

I cannot control how students do the quiz (or homework for that matter), nor am I aware of any other quiz/homework systems that can control how sincerely students use them. However, it is precisely this -- how you do the quiz/homework -- and not the minute differences in the quiz/homework scores, that will eventually separate who do well and who don't.