Here at YorkU the bells ring for AI. We're all in on AI in all kinds of systems and services. We've declared that each student will have their own AI "private tutor". While we keep being told there is no money for building maintenance or new teaching initiatives, there seems to be an unlimited supply […]
This past year has seen the release of an update to jUnit, arguably the most important testing framework in software engineering and computer science. Now in its sixth release, jUnit makes a significant jump to eliminating support in anything before Java 17. When I got started with Java in 2020 most of the teaching material […]
This is the parts list for the EECS 1011 & 1021 lab kits. It supercedes the 2025/26 version. For students or clubs using the older kit you can use this list to update your kit. Description SEEED SKU New in 2026 SEEED link alternative source Grove Beginner Kit for Arduino (1 unit) 110061162 no https://www.seeedstudio.com/Grove-Beginner-Kit-for-Arduino-p-4549.html […]
I'm updating the lab kit for the intro to programming courses, EECS 1011 and EECS 1021. The goal is to find a variety of 5v-compatible, low-current micro servo motors that can be used in student lab kits. These micro servos are sold by multiple vendors, both online and in brick-and-mortar shops, like traditional hobby stores […]
This past semester I realized that I was struggling to get grades out to students in a timely fashion. Every semester I start the grading spreadsheet from scratch and add to it as we progress from one assessment to the next. I populate a Google Spreadsheet with the official student list (the class list post) […]
Recently, York University's Information Technology (UIT) department blocked access to our Learning Management System with a message about AI called "AI Features in eClass". You could not get to eClass without clicking on the "I acknowledge" button. I didn't click the button because I actually read the message and I don't accept it. And, because […]
Here at YorkU we have an asinine policy of forcing students to identify themselves using their phones. It was imposed on us by the division that runs payments for food services, the YUCard office. The silliness leads to contradictory announcements like the ones you regularly hear in the "Sobeys Stadium" exam centre : “Cell phones […]
This page describes an effort to automate the process of watermarking course material with unique identifiers to discourage the unwanted distribution of faculty-created documents by students and others. In my opinion this is a reasonable measure to counter existing problems with And, in the context of sharing of course material between instructors, it provides a […]
At York University management tells us that Microsoft Copilot can "[enhance] your productivity with our advanced AI tools—YU AURA and Microsoft Copilot. These services streamline tasks, improve efficiency, and support your everyday activities." (source). Policy documents exhort the work potential for Copilot and Copilot Premium, with helpful tips about guardrails and data types: It's hard […]
Today we're going to write a program that can compile, from the command line, with the Espressif IDF tools. (India-Delta-Foxtrot, not India-Delta-Echo) It's assumed that you have installed those tools already. If not, review the instructions online or in class. You can follow along here in this blog post but also in a YouTube video […]