Don't bother buying the textbook, everything are in his lecture slides which he posts online! Labs can be time consuming, but get a lab partner and it should be fine.
Matni's lectures were entertaining (for a CS lecture, at least) and his explanations of concepts were very clear. He would also post his lecture slides online afterward, which were very thorough and helpful to look through before a test. Overall, the class requires a decent amount of work, but is definitely doable.
He is very helpful when students need clarification. You should definitely read the book or at least skim it. Test questions are tricky. Gives a good amount of extra credit. The end grade is curved up so your percentage grade is the worst you are going to get in the class. Usually curves by 2-4 percentage points.
Matni is a great lecturer and is very entertaining. His homework is easy and so are the tests as long as you pay attention in the lecture. Reading the textbook is largely unnecessary as he covers all relevant material quite concisely in his lectures. Overall an excellent professor and one that I would gladly choose again.
Organized lecture slides with encouraged class participation. Weekly section exercises due at section, 1 research paper due towards the end of the quarter. Midterm and final sample questions released a week before the exam. Some review is done in class. Typical comm grade scale which is based on improvement. Extra credit opportunities available.
Don't take this class if you don't have to. Labs are time consuming and tough... Computer Science isn't for everyone and it definitely isn't for me. Requires a lot of effort but can be fun if you enjoy Computer Science. Matni knows his stuff too and is a personable professor, but gives a lot of work.
Genuinely wants you to succeed, but also expects you to put in a considerable amount of effort. Their are two homework assignments every week and some lab assignments can be challenging and/or extensive.
Go to lab and do the homework (easy 100% for both). In lecture, he has some good examples, but not quite necessary as long as you look over the lecture slides posted and actually do the homework. Lectures can get pretty boring. Pretty easy grader and he allows a sheet of notes for the tests.
I liked Dr Matni and thought he was nice. His lectures were clear and not difficult or overly demanding. He posts lectures online. The group project guidelines were very unclear, but it ended up fine in the end because he graded subjectively with room for variation.
Matni is one of the best CS professors at UCSB. The subject matter is pretty tough but he gives you the tools to succeed. Show up to lecture and actually do the labs and you will do fine in the class.
He's a very sweet and caring professor. Always answers his emails and dedicates a portion of his day answering questions on Piazza. In fact, he genuinely wants you to do well. However, it doesn't mean that his class is easy. You have to put in the work if you want to do well!
The NICEST teacher at UCSB. Has a huge heart and wants his students to succeed. His lectures are clear and easy to follow plus he doesn't try to trick you on his tests. He wants to best for his students/wants them to take as much away from the class as possible. I would highly recommend taking a class taught by Matni!
Easy fun and interesting class if you go to lecture and pay attention you'll do well. Matni is a great professor one of my favorites at UCSB
The people giving Matni a low rating for CS16 are some of the softest college students I have ever seen. He genuinly cares about teaching the material as best as possible. I think most of the low ratings came from freshmen who have no idea how hard CS is going to get down the line. IT IS A NATURALLY HARD SUBJECT AND IT WILL ONLY GET HARDER.
Matni is a really nice man & genuinely cares about his students. His lectures are a little boring, but the information isn't too difficult at all. His tests were fair. I skimmed over the reading and did a minimal amount of studying for final/midterm. Also, he assigned 2 papers (both easy). Takes roll every lecture. I got an A-.
He's only taught one class at UCSB and I was in it. Some of the people in this class shocked me with the attitude they dished at him. Like welcome to college? It was gross and undeserved--this class was easy and Matni is a reasonable, kind and knowledgable teacher. SMFH. I barely did anything and got a B+. Just show up and do the FEW assignments...
Tons of homework. Hard midterm 2 with very limited time. Avoid if your are not CS major.
Rushes through powerpoints during lecture which is hard to grasp the concept for beginners but he posts the slides online after. 2 HW'S assigned per week which are due beginning of lecture. HW is easy if you read the textbook and go over lecture slides. 1 Lab every week which is challenging which takes time and effort. Final medium-difficult.
Too many HW assignments (16), he assigns too much work and does not grade it in time (midterm grades appear 4 weeks later, hw grades from week 3 appear week 10), TAs are useless, midterm 2 was challenging but it was curved. he isn't a harsh grader but some aspects could be improved. avoid him if you are not a CS major/interested in topic.
I don't understand the critical reviews. Matni is a clear lecturer, he answers questions and is somewhat active on Piazza. As long as you don't leave hw/labs to the last minute you should be OK. The first midterm average was about a 90, and he allowed a page of notes. He's approachable and knowledgeable about the subject material.
Lectures not very friendly towards CS beginners. Poor and little instructions on basic terminal commands and c++ editor. He prefers teaching with PPT than actual coding demonstration. TONS of work (2 written hws + 1 programming assignment per week). Exams are okay. Took me a lot of reading, googling, self-teaching to earned a good grade. AVOID!!!!
Avoid him if you can. Lots of confusions, too much work.
