Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Georgia Tech Cracks Down on Learning

Posted by chrisd on from the as-told-by-third-person-limited dept.

The Washington Post has an article today on a Georgia Tech student who almost flunked his intro to comp sci course for just discussing his homework with someone else. Note that no one including the faculty accused him of actually copying any code from anyone. However, the "honor code" at Georgia Tech "forbids its introductory computer science students from seeking any help from other students on their homework." The faculty recorded part of his violation on the forms as "He was trying to learn it." This is something that high school seniors might want to keep in mind when selecting which university to attend.

4 of 916 comments (clear)

  1. Go to the U of Illinois@ CU by Ghoser777 · · Score: 2, Redundant

    Every CS course I've been in has ENCOURAGED group work. It's not like humans are social creatures who learn best in social situations. I'm glad I didn't go there... or all my friends would be screwed ;)

    F-bacher

    --
    James Tiberius Kirk: "Spock, the women on your planet are logical. No other planet in the galaxy can make that claim."
  2. Similarities in code can flunk you out! by ZiZ · · Score: 0, Redundant
    So just remember, next time you're going to write a Hello World program, don't just write

    #include <stdio.h>
    int main()
    {
    printf("Hello, World.");
    return 0;
    }

    because that will have similar code to other students...No, instead you must look to the code of great IOCCC winners for your homework projects...

    --
    This flies in the face of science.
  3. Re:So? by justletmeinnow · · Score: 0, Redundant

    heh, have you talked to one of these 'TEACHERS' before? 75% of them can provide about as much help as my drunk college buddy who copied code straight from the book!

    --
    Just because I AM paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT out to get me.
  4. Re:If they learn from each other... by Stu+Charlton · · Score: 2, Redundant

    " have made ABSOLUTELY NO EFFORT to find the answer on your own, then why should I put in any more effort to solve YOUR PROBLEM than you did?"

    This is such bunk.

    Every question asked in a CS program has been asked before, and been solved before. IF I ask someone answer & how they got there -- and procede to incorporate that lesson into my skills & knowledge, I have learned that lesson.

    Results are all that matter. Effort is for masochists.

    This is how the real world works btw. Once you get out of university, it's all about leveraging the knowledge of others. Which is why I see so many majors writing their own search algorithms and data structures because "dammit I don't want to use that stinkin' class library".

    Universities that don't encourage collaboration are useless, imho.

    --
    -Stu