CS-A1113 - Basics in Programming Y1, Lecture, 14.9.2021-9.12.2021
This course space end date is set to 09.12.2021 Search Courses: CS-A1113
Topic outline
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Exams in study year 2021–2022
The following exams are available for the study year. Exam dates will be updated here as the are arrangements are decided.
- December 8th to 21st, 2021: Course exam using the EXAM studio platform (with instructions below), enroll to exam 9.12.2021
- Retake exam in Feb 2021, approximately during Week 8 (arrangements subject to change)
- Retake exam in May 2021, approximately during the last week of Period V (arrangements subject to change)
The following instructions are available on this page:
- Enrolment to the exam: How to sign up for the exam in the EXAM classroom
- Arriving to the exam: How to come to the exam and start it
- How to code Python in the exam
- How to submit exam answers to A+ to initial grading
- What material is available during the exam
- Structure of the exam and how to time answering the questions
- Submitting the exam i.e. ending the exam attempt
- Grading of the exam and publishing the results
The bolded parts of these instructions are available during the exam as an attachment, but you should familiarize yourself with them beforehand so that you have more time to think during the exam. Information related to the contents of the exam is available in the Course Requirements section.
The EXAM studio offers exams in a separate space under video surveillance with a restricted environment. EXAM's own instructions are here, describing the general process and instructions. There are differences that concern the exam of this course, and they are given below. Here you can find a guidance video of the EXAM Studio. The usage terms are given in Student's EXAM guide, under Guidelines and terms of use for Exam.
The exam arrangements are done by university lecturer Sanna Suoranta (responsible teacher of the Finnish version of the exam).
The instructions below are crated November 8th, 2021 and updated November,15th.
Modifications:
- How to get parenthesis and other characters (15.11.2021)
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Arriving to the Exam
1) Entering the building at Otakaari 1 (Undergraduate Centre / "Kandidaattikeskus")
Come to the main door (map below) early enough before your reservation starts. Remember to go to the bathroom beforehand (the main lobby of Otakaari 1 has several toilets, up on the third floor there is only one), because you cannot leave during the exam.
You may wear a mask during the exam (coronavirus information for students is here). However, if/when someone comes to check your identity, you must show your face.
Your exam time starts when your reservation starts, and your reservation is 175 minutes from that time, regardless of when you actually start taking the exam. When your reservation ends, the computer logs you out automatically. The EXAM studio shows the time that is left in the upper-right corner of the screen. Remember to submit your answers to A+ during the reservation, because there is no last-minute automatic save function.
2) Outside the exam room
Leave your belongings in a locker. Take only your ID card or student card (a phone is not allowed for this because it cannot be shown during the exam) because your identity may be checked during the exam. Do not take anything else to the exam with you (check the EXAM instructions).
Before entering the room, check your reservation for the number of the machine you are supposed to use. Next to the door, there is a map that shows the locations of the machines. You can only use the computer you have reserved, others will not let you log into the exam.
3) Exam time: start and end
You can enter the exam classroom when your exam time begins. The door is open.
Your exam time starts exactly when marked on your reservation, and it lasts 175 minutes from that time, regardless of when you actually begin working.
When your exam time comes to an end, the computer will close down. The EXAM studio will show the remaining time in the upper right-hand corner. Remember to turn in your answers to A+ within the time limit, because there is no automatic turn-in at the end of the allotted time.
4) Logging into the EXAM machine
First, log in using the common account, not your own Aalto account. The common account’s username is on your cubicle wall. The password is on the bottom of the computer display.
Then, once the computer is logged in and has launched a browser window, you log in to the browser with your own Aalto account. This will redirect you to the front page of the EXAM platform (picture below). If the computer does not let you access the browser, you are using the wrong computer.
(Despite the language of the user interface in these pictures, the UI will be in English during your exam.)
5) Starting the exam and the A+ system
The EXAM system randomly assigns you questions that you will have to answer. Any answers to any other questions are not graded. For this reason, navigate between the tasks ONLY on the EXAM platform. However, the answers still need to be submitted to the A+ system.
Each EXAM studio question has a link to the A+ system (this is similar to the A+ platform that was used during the course but it is not the same instance). You can access the questions by clicking the link, but the first time A+ will require logging in. (The EXAM studio A+ is not connected to A+ used during the course, so it does not know you nor what you have done earlier during the course.)
When logging into A+, choose "Aalto-yliopiston käyttäjät" (users of Aalto university) i.e. Aalto login (A+ uses single sign-in, so it probably won’t require a password, because you already logged in to the EXAM studio).
In addition, you have to "ilmoittautua kurssille" (enroll to the course). So, when you try to submit your first answer, you will get a warning. Click the "ilmoittaudu" (enroll) button to proceed.
After this, you may end up on the front page of A+, but do not get confused. Go back to EXAM and press the link to the question, so you can get back to your task.
Always check that the assignment on the EXAM studio window has the same title as the assignment on A+. Only the assignment that the EXAM studio randomly assigned you will be checked.
The course material is available in the menu on the left, and there is also a link to Python documentation.
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Writing your answers and submitting the tasks
The exam environment
EXAM studio uses its own "Safe Exam Browser" environment, which is restricted. It is based on the Windows operating system. Note (particularly for Mac users): some familiar buttons do not work the same (and the mouse scroll wheel works the other way). The Finnish keyboard layout for Windows is as follows:
The EXAM environment utilizes the Finnish keyboard layout. If you are not familiar with it, the above diagram shows some common character locations. The most useful ones are also listed below.
Hold down Alt Gr to type the characters that are marked on the bottom right of the keys on this keyboard diagram (blue), e.g. the following examples:
- Hold Alt Gr and press 7 results in {
- Hold Alt Gr and press 8 results in [
- Hold Alt Gr and press 9 results in ]
- Hold Alt Gr and press 0 results in {
- Hold Shift and press 1 results in !
- Hold Shift and press 2 results in “
- Hold Shift and press 3 results in #
- Hold Shift and press 5 results in %
- Hold Shift and press 7 results in /
- Hold Shift and press 8 results in (
- Hold Shift and press 9 results in )
- Hold Shift and press 0 results in =
- Hold Shift and press + (next to 0 key) results in ?
- Hold Shift and press ‘ (next to Enter key) results in *
- Hold Shift and press . results in :
- Hold Shift and press - (between period . and Shift on the bottom right) results in _
PyCharm in the exam
On the bottom of the screen, there is an icon for PyCharm that you can use to write and run your code. Other programs are not available. If you have not used PyCharm during the course, it is strongly recommended that you install it on your own computer and try it out before the exam.
When you run the PyCharm for the first time, it asks you to accept the license (nothing else can be done).
You can create new files by clicking the right button of the mouse on the Project part of the window. Name your files so that you can easily find them later for submission (more below).
You can write all your answer files to the same project (despite that the exam tasks talk about separate projects), you do not need many projects. However, each task should have its own file (and you have two files with specific names for the fifth task).
Running the programs can be done through the menu (Run → Run) or with the right mouse button, this time clicking it within the coding window. They can also be run with Ctrl+Shift+F10. The Debug option is also in the same menu. The output of the run code will appear in the bottom part of the PyCharm window.
Navigating between the task webpage and PyCharm
The Exam environment opens the A+ task page to the right. If you shrink it a bit vertically, you can see the clock in the Exam. If you open PyCharm after this, it is handy place it on the left. The windows fit side by side, especially if you close the Project part of the PyCharm.
You can also navigate between different windows by clicking on the button in the bottom-left corner:
Copying given template files into PyCharm
Some of the tasks come with either text files for testing purposes or Python files as templates for code. These can be copied to PyCharm by clicking the “Näytä pohjatiedosto” (Show template file) button on the title bar of the A+ assignment. This will open a window, and the code in the window can be copied by pressing the blue “Copy to clipboard” button near the top of the window. After copying the code, switch to your PyCharm (with an empty python file open) and press CTRL+V (hold down CTRL and press V) to paste the code.
Submitting the answers to A+ for grading
A+ does the initial grading, giving feedback similarly as in the course assignments. Try to not get stuck on one task for too long!
In order to get the initial grading, you have to submit your answer. For this, you have to know where that file exists. PyCharm's Project window shows the path to the location where the files are stored. You need this information when you choose which file to submit.
When you press the “Lähetä” (submit) button in A+, you get a file system dialog that you can use to find the file. The default PyCharm directory can be found from the folder aalto-exam -> PycharmProjects:
Inside the folder PycharmProjects, you can find the project directory. Inside this are the files you wrote for the exam tasks:
A+ gives feedback the same way as during the course. Each task can be returned 99 times. For safety, it is good to submit even unfinished answers, especially in tasks that have several parts (this can give partial points, depending on the task).
Remember to go back to the EXAM system between the tasks! Do not navigate between tasks using A+.
