by m. zaidan
the fundamental mods, and your intro mods
Programming Methodology taken in AY2023/24, Semester 1
Boyd Anderson, Low Kok Lim, Martin Henz, Sanka Rasnayaka
Ratings: (out of a scale of 5)
Difficulty (the higher, the more difficult): 3 Workload (the higher, the heavier the workload): 5 Usefulness (the higher, the more useful) : 5 Enjoyability (the higher, the more enjoyable): 5
The module is honestly a really good introduction mod to programming, and centers itself on the idea of wishful thinking. The workload is honestly quite crazy for a introduction mod in my opinion, but the amount of exercises and practices given actually really help to improve your ability to problem solve. Definitely a highlight.
Tip 1: Start grinding this mod from the start. Finish your Source Academy requirements early.
Unlike a lot of the other mods here, this mod was not particularly heavy on a single assessment. The finals were only 30%, and the assessments were spread across the entire semester, with the first assessment happening pretty early on (in Week 5?).
The Source Academy system and how the XP is calculated means that someone who grinds the weeklies and extra missions in the first half of the semester will be able to finish the requirement by end of midterms. If you do that, you can literally focus your energy on other mods, which you will need to do so.
Tip 2: Keep asking your Avengers for help if you really need
For new programmers, there will be a transition period where you try to understand how to think the way they want you to in this module. Keep asking your Avengers, because as ex-students of the module, they have interesting ways of thinking which can help aid you slowly understand the content and concepts better.
Discrete Mathematics taken in AY2023/24, Semester 1
Aaron Tan, Chin Wei Ngan
Ratings: (out of a scale of 5)
Difficulty (the higher, the more difficult): 4 Workload (the higher, the heavier the workload): 3 Usefulness (the higher, the more useful) : 4 Enjoyability (the higher, the more enjoyable): 4
This mod is fun and really challenges your ability to logically and systematically prove in a mathematically rigorous way. My only issue with this mod is the fact that the paper is literally 60% MCQs, and it's so easy to get careless mistakes. Exam papers were effectively IQ tests in terms of speed and otherwise.
Prof Aaron is honestly one of the most interesting and charismatic lecturers I've seen. Very fun, and if you're gonna skip lectures, I heavily recommend not skipping his. He makes it interesting, and he's really helpful if you need to clarify your doubts.
Calculus for Computing taken in AY2023/24, Semester 1
To Wing Keung, Liu Chun Chun
Ratings: (out of a scale of 5)
Difficulty (the higher, the more difficult): 5 Workload (the higher, the heavier the workload): 2 Usefulness (the higher, the more useful) : 3 Enjoyability (the higher, the more enjoyable): 2
I came from Poly so...... this mod was extremely difficult for me. I had a very low understanding of a lot of the concepts they considered prerequisite knowledge. Went to Dr. Liu's lectures, and I think she's a good lecturer, but this is an EXTREMELY fast paced module.
Finals were also 65%. Pain. Pretty sure I failed the paper. Still got a B+. That should tell you enough about this mod.
Tip 1: For Poly students, this is the module you should preread.
If you are coming in from Poly, and want to pre-read mods before going into Uni, Calculus is the one you should pre-read. You'll be on the same starting level with majority of your coursemates in all the other courses (and even higher, for 1101S), but you will definitely lose out in Calculus to all the JC FMath demons. Preread this mod.
International Relations of Asia taken in AY2023/24, Semester 1
Akiko Ishii
Ratings: (out of a scale of 5)
Difficulty (the higher, the more difficult): 1 Workload (the higher, the heavier the workload): 1 Usefulness (the higher, the more useful) : 2 Enjoyability (the higher, the more enjoyable): 4
GEC mod. It's not going to be that useful directly obviously - since I'm a CS student, but I found the module really interesting, and it gave me a lot of context on Pan-Asianism and Asia's current state that I find really useful in understanding current affairs.
The midterm essay was an essay where effectively the mod transformed from a history mod to a literature mod (kinda) by asking us to analyse views of important Asian intellectuals in the 19th century - and I found this really fun honestly. Group project was kind of a highlight - the concept of soft power and illustrating how it has affected international relations was the entire gist of the project. Finals were extremely easy IMO, just copy and paste from notes.
Super enjoyable mod, but I know it won't tickle everyone's fancy.
Economics for IT and AI taken in AY2023/24, Semester 1
Kyung Nakyung
Ratings: (out of a scale of 5)
Difficulty (the higher, the more difficult): 1 Workload (the higher, the heavier the workload): 2 Usefulness (the higher, the more useful) : 2 Enjoyability (the higher, the more enjoyable): 2
Fluff mod. I can't lie, I didn't enjoy this mod. I know it's a introductory mod of some sorts, but I found it too on-the-surface to really teach anything new. The mod teaches some economic concepts, and then in the middle jumps into AI, which I thought was a bit abrupt, but it's not the worst thing to be honest.
Group project was pretty light. Everyone'll do well for it, so finals and midterms will probably be the difference makers.