CSC 216 F09/Who Wants to be a CSC Major

The Problem

In this activity, individuals will be able to quiz themselves on Java related objectives covered in N.C. State's Computer Science Curriculum. This Java Review Game serves as a medium that helps those who took CSC116 during a Spring Semester and did not practice any/enough Java over their summer break, get back into the swing of things. The material also introduces topics covered in CSC216 to help give them an overview of upcoming objectives, in case they would like to do some independent study.

Participants and Props

The game is designed for one individual to play at a time. The game is not targeted towards a larger audience but allows each person playing the game to gain a true understanding of where their skill sets lie. The only props needed for this exercise is a computer running Microsoft PowerPoint projected on a screen/wall and a great attitude!

Game Materials Covered

  1.  Inheritance
  2.  GUI Layouts
  3.  Data Types
  4.  Loop Construction
  5.  Java keyword Identification
  6.  Java method Syntax
  7.  Method Identification
  8.  Interfaces
  9.  Arrays
  10. Exceptions
  11. Inner Classes
  12. Delegation
  13. Override/Overload
  14. Code completion
  15. Linked-list

The Script

Never heard of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"...

Well "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" is a television quiz show which offers very large cash prizes for correctly answering 15 consecutive multi-choice questions. Once in the hot seat, the contestant is asked a series of predetermined questions by the host that escalate in difficulty. Questions are multiple choice: four possible answers are given (labelled A, B, C and D), and the contestant must choose the correct one. Other participants include a studio audience. There are several prize caps, in which a player will lose all of their money won thus far, if they do not make it to the minimum cap with out missing a question. Each contestant may choose to stop playing after reaching the next cap and "walk away" or "take the money" that he/she has already won. The player also has access to 3 different forms of help. The player may decide to have half of the answer choices eliminated, have the audience vote on the correct answer, and the choice to call a friend for help on the current question. The player gets a single chance to answer each multiple choice question correctly.

CSC Version

"Who Wants to Be a CSC Major" contains review material from CSC116 and CSC216. The game is played similarly to "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?". A student(contestant) will go to the front of the class and the teacher(host) will start the PowerPoint. The teacher will ask the contestant questions in various formats that include conceptual, fill in the blanks, etc. about Java subject matter. Contrary to "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", "Who Wants to Be a CSC Major" will allow each contestant to answer a question multiple times in an effort to instill in them the concept at hand. For each correct answer, the player will move onto a more difficult question pertaining to a new Java objective. Extra Credit may be awarded to anyone who is able to complete the entire game without exhausting any of their lifelines. Do not forget to adhere to the rules of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".

Rules

• Contestants may use the Internet or pick someone in the class for the "phone a friend" option.
• The annotation tool in PowerPoint can be used to eliminate 2 incorrect answer choices when the player choices to exhaust his/her 50-50 lifeline.
• The "ask the audience" lifeline is just a poll taken from the class that can aid the player in deciding on a final answer.
• A time limit of 15 seconds per question will be enforced unless a lifeline is used in which the contestant will have an additional 60 seconds to make his/her final answer.

Example Questions

1) Which of the following operators represents the modulus function in Java? Answer: (B)

• A) ||
• B) %
• C) &&
• D) !

2) How would you cast the variable name double oldChange = 21.75; to an int? Answer: (C)

• A) double oldChange = 21.75 (int);
• B) double oldChange = new int 21.75;
• C) double oldChange = (int) 21.75;
• D) double oldChange = (int) + 21.75;

Game

View the PowerPoint game here: http://www.slideshare.net/cruzanboy21/csc-millionaire

Example Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGn6ybWawLo

Flash Animation:

Acknowledgements

The PowerPoint template used for "Who Wants to Be a CSC Major" was licensed to Terri Street in 2000. This Wiki page however is accredited by KaMar Galloway, Julian Washington and Allan Evans.