Getting Course Help

Course personnel will have in-person and on-line consulting hours. Consulting hours are also available by appointment.

On-line Consulting Hours: Microsoft Teams

We will be using Microsoft Teams to provide real time video help to CS146 students. Help is offered in two formats: individual help and group question/answer sessions (consulting hours).

But first, you need to install Teams.

You can use Teams through your browser at teams.microsoft.com or you can download the app from Microsoft's download page. We highly recommend that you use the app. We have had stability and connectively problems with browser-based connections. If you choose to use a browser, Chrome seems to work better than others.

As of 2020-09-04 the Linux version of Teams was missing some functionality such as hand-raising.

When launching Teams, you will be prompted to sign in. When logging into teams, please shorten your username to 8 characters.

Examples: So, if my quest username is nebody, then I would use nebody@uwaterloo.ca. If, instead, it is ne999body, then I would use ne999bod@uwaterloo.ca.

If everything is correct, you will be directed to the uwaterloo sign in page. Once you sign in, you should be signed in as a member of the team, not as a guest. Once you are in Teams, you need to select the "Teams" section(on the left sidebar):

This should take you to a list of the Teams you're part of. One of the teams will be called "CS146 - Winter 2022". The screen looks like this:

Clicking on your CS 146 Team, you will see a list of channels, similar to the list at the far left. One of these channels will be Consulting (Office) Hours, shown here.

Click on this channel. This will take you to a new screen. At the bottom, there is a section labeled "Start a post".

That's where you'll be posting to let us know you'd like to talk. In your wait list, you will see different student names. Your post will be labeled with your name. It is very helpful if you indicate what you need help with. It is OK if it is multiple things. Either pick one (perhaps the most important), or indicate multiple issues.

Also, if something comes up and you have to leave the channel/wait list, please do delete yourself from the wait list so we know to skip you. You can do this by hovering over your message. Along with reactions, you will see a "..." which brings up a series of options. One of these options is delete. Pay attention as we get close to you. As soon as we're able, we will call you through Teams. If we can't connect, we will go on to the next student.

If we do go on to the next student, click on the "reply" button on your message. We will try to monitor any recent missed connections, but, unfortunately, if you miss your slot, you may need to go to the back of the queue. When we call, it is a video call, but you do not need to use a webcam. We are using video calls so that you can show us your screen. If you do not have a microphone, you can use the text chat during the call; however a microphone is highly recommended. During the call you will see the interface bar. It hides itself automatically, so you may need to wiggle your mouse.

From left to right, the important buttons are "Camera On/Off", "Microphone On/Off", "Share Screen", "...", and "Chat Window". (Depending on your screen size, chat window and/or share screen might get moved into the "..." menu).

You show us your screen by "Sharing" your screen".