Technical Paper Assignments

CS 5073 — Artificial Neural Networks and Evolution — Spring 2022

You will review in writing two approaches from the technical literature and will present one of these approaches to the class. These approaches may be related to your Large Project but they are not required to be. All technical papers must come from the primary, peer reviewed literature in artificial neural networks and/or artificial evolution. You will turn in draft reviews that three of your classmates will examine and use to provide feedback that you should use to improve your reviews for their final versions. These reviews may be integrated into your Large Project if the topics are related. Likewise, you will turn in a draft set of slides for the technical paper presentation and three of your classmates will provide feedback that you should use to improve your final slides.

The Assignments

All assignments are due by 11:59 PM Central Time on the listed due date, unless otherwise specified.

Topic Paragraph

The first step in this assignment is to determine your topic. This may be the same topic as the one for your Large Project or it may differ. If you choose the same topic for both assignments, you should only turn in one topic paragraph and label it as covering both assignments. If you choose separate topics for these assignments, you should turn in two separate topic paragraphs, labeled accordingly. In either case, follow the directions in that assignment in completing your topic paragraph.

References

The second step in this assignment is to conduct a literature search. If you have chosen the same topic for your Large Project and for this assignment, you should only turn in one list of references and label it as covering both assignments. If you have chosen separate topics for these assignments, you should turn in two separate lists of references, labeled accordingly. In either case, follow the directions in that assignment in completing your list of references.

Draft Reviews

You will write two reviews, describing two different approaches to your topic. For each review, you need to write an approach summary and a critical evaluation.

You should submit an electronic copy of your draft reviews through Canvas. First Draft Review Due: Tuesday, February 8. Second Draft Review Due: Thursday, March 3.

Final Reviews

The final reviews will consist of all the same elements as the draft reviews. However, because you will have received feedback based on your draft reviews, the final reviews should be of higher quality. In addition, your final reviews will be accompanied by brief explanations of how your final reviews address each the shortcomings noted in the feedback you received on your draft reviews. You should submit an electronic copy of your final review through Canvas. Both Final Reviews Due: Tuesday, April 26.

Draft Technical Presentation Slides

For your presentation, you must prepare draft slides.

You should submit an electronic copy of your draft slides through Canvas. Due: Tuesday, February 24.

Final Technical Presentation Slides

Three of your classmates will provide you with feedback on your draft slides to aid you with your revisions. You should submit an electronic copy of your final slides before class through Canvas. In addition, your final slides will be accompanied by brief explanations of how your final slides address each the shortcomings noted in the feedback you received on your draft slides. Due: Thursday, April 19, 8:30 am.

Feedback on Classmates' Draft Reviews and Slides

You will anonymously provide feedback to three of your classmates on each of their draft reviews and their slides. You will be randomly assigned classmates to review via Canvas for each assignment, so you are unlikely to provide feedback the same classmates for each assignment. There will be forms in Canvas for you to complete your reviews. These will be similar to grading rubrics. Feedback on First Draft Review Due: Thursday, February 17. Feedback on Draft Tech Slides Due: Tuesday, March 22. Feedback on Second Draft Review Due: Tuesday, March 29.

Technical Approach Presentation

You must also actually present one of the technical approaches to the class. The presentation dates are Tuesday, April 5 through Tuesday, April 26. As stated previously, your presentation will be 12 minutes long with up to 3 minutes for questions and answers. I may call on you to give your presentation on any of the scheduled presentation days. You will not be graded on your actual speaking (except that you will lose points if you fail to give a presentation). The presentation grading will be for the slides. As stated above (under "Final Technical Presentation Slides"), you will need to turn in the final draft of your slides for grading.

Technical Presentation Responses

Finally, you will listen to your classmates' presentations and provide brief responses to them. You will be given a review form with a few simple questions for you to answer to complete these reviews (e.g., "What is the domain or application of the paper being presented?"). Due: Tuesday, April 26.