Here we explain what information can be accessed where, how we will communicate what with students, and how we expect students to communicate with us.
Website
The course website is the main hub to reach all lecture-related materials. From the website, we link to lecture slides, exercises, homework assignments, and homework submission links. Here we also share the schedule for the course and other important information.
Ed
Ed is our main communication channel. Important announcements will be sent via this platform only, so it is important to enable notifications. Here is a list of guidelines on how to use Ed properly:
- You can access Ed via the ADA page on Moodle, or you can access it directly at https://go.epfl.ch/ada2023-ed (using your Moodle credentials).
- In order to receive alerts and notifications for class announcements in a timely manner, verify your notification settings, making sure that you receive notifications for course announcements.
- Questions to assistants should be asked using Ed only. We will not provide answers via email.
- Questions should be posted in dedicated “categories” (e.g., “Homework 1”, “Project”, etc.). This way, the other students can also become aware of the questions and answers.
- Before posting a question, it is important to check that it has not already been answered. (Please also use resources such as StackOverflow. Most questions regarding Python, Pandas, etc., will already have an answer there.)
- Ideally, always create a new “thread” within a category to make navigation easier. For example, if your question is about whether you are expected to normalize the data in Homework 1, you should create a thread “Normalization” in the category “Homework 1”.
- Alternatively, questions can be posted as private messages (visible to staff only), but this should be done only for questions that aren’t of general interest; otherwise, use public messages.
- Ed also makes it possible to start a thread “anonymously”, but note that this will only hide your name from other students, not from the staff.
- Generic threads (e.g., “General”, “Random”, “Social”) can be used for informal discussion among students. The teaching team will not answer questions there.
- Set your full name in the account settings and add a picture so that others can recognize you!
- When replying to a specific comment, use the “reply” functionality. This way, the context of your reply will be clear.
- Be organized and use the communication platform early, well ahead of the deadline. The assistants will not provide answers during the final 24 hours before the deadline.
- Please keep the communication respectful, even when the semester is in full swing and the going gets tough. :)
GitHub
We use GitHub as the main platform to share exercises, homework assignments, and the final exam. Similarly, students use our GitHub organization to submit their homework and exam solutions and their projects.
The GitHub repository will be updated with fresh content as the semester progresses. The links to new released content are always published on the website. Similarly, on the website we share the link that is used by students to create assignment solutions. Stay tuned!
GitHub is the de-facto industry standard for collaborative code development. Data scientists use it on a daily basis. So, by using GitHub as part of the class, you will acquire an important meta-skill.
Google Slides
Lecture slides will be available in Google Slides format. They will be linked from the website.
Google Forms
We will occasionally send forms to collect information such as team names or to gather feedback on lectures as well as exercises. The links to these forms will be shared in lecture slides and on the class forum.
Moodle
Moodle will only be used for the online quizzes (during Friday lab sessions).
Complaints
If you think that an error has occurred in grading your deliverable, you may fill this form. We will then re-grade your entire deliverable, independently of the previous grading. The re-grading assistant will not know the number of credits you previously obtained, so the re-grading might result in an unchanged, higher, or lower grade than initially. After the independent re-grading, no further requests will be possible, and the updated grade will be considered as final. Please keep this risk in mind when deciding whether to request a re-grade.