1.4 Impact Analysis

 

This program would impact the ease at which an instructor can teach a class. First it would reduce the amount of time the teacher spends calculating grades. Not only would this program calculate the overall grade, the professor can easily adjust the curve of a grading scale without having to recalculate every student’s grade in addition to inegrating electronic handin. This would be especially helpful in large classes. In addition the students can go online to see their up to date grade without spending time during the professor’s office hours.

Some potential negatives include those that would occur due to poor design and implementation. This could hinder the professor instead of improve his or her efficiency. Flaws in the programming could result in miscalculation or a breech of a student’s right to privacy. Privacy is a top priority when it involves grades, which results in a major concern. If our grader program has any weak spots, unauthorized users could change grades, view another student’s grade, and possibly have access to many restricted files. One possibility is that grades could be intercepted during transfer amoung local and server machines. Aside from privacy, clever students may also be able to alter electronic turn in dates which could result in unpenalized late work. Another drawback of an electronic grading program is that it might not allow for exceptions or flexible grading schemes.