Michael Norton - James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Professor: Michael Norton

Department: Computer Science

College: James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CS159
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This class is the hardest thing I have ever done. The specifications for PA's are 30 pages long (just requirements). I have spent so much time doing work for this class its ridiculous. Class average for one of the PAs was a 47%. No matter how hard you study for tests you will still bomb them because the questions are so difficult :(

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CS159
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The amount of homework in this class was ridiculous. There's three homework assignments each week, and the PAs are huge and take a really long time. Lectures were pretty light and a lot of students that I talked to felt consistently confused. Dr. Norton is a nice person and cares about his students, but I don't like how his course is designed.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CS474
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Pros: -not too hard -Slides have all the information you need for tests Cons: -Reads off slides -group projects -his projects are based around fixing and using a really poorly made database about medieval manuscripts Overall: If you want a database course that is a bit easier than other professors but don't learn as much then take him.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MUS373
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Norton is primarily a CS professor, so having him as a music professor was weird and also hard to connect with him more. His teaching technique is not the best; he expects you to read, go to class, and read again which I did not find helpful at all. Would study for hours and his tests would be made of things that I didn't study for class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CS474
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

While other sections are building web-apps using SQL, we're trying to figure out what on earth a medieval musical manuscripts parts are, and convert a spaghetti database from the University of Waterloo into something reasonable. Conclusion: I will be a godless heathen who uses Mongo, burning in damnation, before I ever touch SQL again.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CS159
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Had to retake 159 due to not doing well enough to get into the major my first try. Norton had the best lectures I've heard and every assignment was extremely structured withing clear grading criteria. Extremely detailed feedback/Great help Attendance matters. Tough but comprehensive exams. Favorite CS teacher by a mile. Got an A and into the major.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CS159
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Just took him for CS 159, you need to have known a lot about the material before hand to not have a hard time. If you know nothing of the material you are going to have to work hard to get the grade you want. There are a lot of homeworks and 4 PAs and 2 midterms. Everything from the homework and PAs will be on the tests. He is an ok professor.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CS159
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Extremely knowledgeable on his topics and genuinely interested in helping you understand. Really wants you to ask questions even if they should be obvious. Would definitely recommend.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CS159
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Assigns homework almost every class so be ready for it & make sure you do it because you will see it again in tests and PA's. Grade consists of the 3 tests and 4 PA's along with hw/attendance. Lectures are boring and his answers to questions are always vague. TA's are the truly helpful ones so go to their office hours. For 159 hes not the worst...

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CS139
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

For CS149, was very helpful whenever we needed it. He wanted to help us succeed. Sometimes I wouldn't understand his lectures as well as I wanted, but overall I learned the content well. He says the book is required, but I never used it, then again I took a course for java the last semester so half of the class was review. Great professor!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CS149
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great guy, good teacher not that this stuff is really hard to pick up but he RIDICULOUSLY harsh on grading programming assignments and wants everything exactly his way with absolutely no exception. These 5 assignment count for 40% of your grade and can absolutely destroy it unless you get wording and spacing exactly right. Be careful taking him

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CS139
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He make lectures a little boring because he reads straight off the notes which are online but labs are fine and attendance is a bonus grade. He is always willing to help especially during office hours. Test really aren't that hard too. They're pretty easy if you know what's going on on the labs and PAs.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CS139
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Learned more from the TA's then Norton. He is a nice guy but for people who have never coded before like me I'd say try and find another professor.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CS139
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Norton is such a kind man. He helped me so much throughout my first semester of programming. If you put in the work for the Programming assignments and make sure you check the style guide so you don't get any points taken off, you will do well. Don't be afraid to ask if you don't understand something. He's one of my favorite professors =]

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CS139
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Probably one of the better programming teachers. Lectures are kind of boring because he reads off the lecture notes which are online, but if you do all the labs and PAs the tests aren't bad. He really helps during office hours too.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CS239
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Norton was an awesome programming professor. His teaching style is an excellent mix of labs and lectures and his programming projects are actually interesting.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CS139
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great 139 professor, highly recommended. Treated students fairly and changed a grading practice due to this. Big into style of programming - pay attention to style guide or you will lose a bunch of points. If you can, take 139 with him.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CS139
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Norton is such a sweetie. I'm so glad he was my 139 professor. He is always calm and willing to answer any questions you have. He realizes programming doesn't come natural to everyone so he doesn't mind explaining the same things multiple times. Watch out for the style guide, that's where you can easily lose points. And the tests arn't bad at all.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GMUS200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This class was far more work than I thought it would be. In order to well on the quizzes, a lot of studying is required. Drops the lowest quiz grade, but you still need to study to do well. Attendance counts for bonus points, but it's not required. He knows his stuff, but there's a lot of material covered.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GMUS200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Personally I did not enjoy this class, but Norton is a great professor. He tries to be as clear as possible and provides you with everything you need to know for the quizzes/test, but they are still challenging. He really likes teaching the subject. If you need to take Gmus 200 for a gened then deff take it with him.