Bill is fantastic. Full of energy and passion during lectures even if the materials are basic. Kind of arrogant sometimes but hes a nice guy if you get to know him (which you should). Programming assignments are easy but hes pretty hard when marking written proofs (similar to math 122 marking). Best hair at UVIC.

Absolutely hilarious and sarcastic. Lectures are entertaining and interesting. Midterms were marked the day of. Always available to help. Best prof I've had

Probably the smartest person I've ever met. Overly sarcastic but if you can get past it hes amazing

Always willing to go above and beyond to help.

great prof

Bill Bird is heart and soul of the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science. He is a GOD among mortals. Highly recommend the Bird. Seriously, like or hate coding, you will love him. Extremely funny and helpful.

Bill's class is a unique experience that you should absolutely take. He is hilariously sarcastic, and lectures are always entertaining. You should definitely drop by his office hours and get to know him, his passion for what he does is really impressive. He sometimes hides how much he cares about his students behind his sarcasm, but he really does.

Bill is the best prof who has ever taught me. EVER. He is super funny, super lively, super helpful during and after office hours and just really cares (you might not think he does, but trust me... he does). If you can take a course with him, do not miss it!

Bill Bird is the one true messiah. No matter what course you take, he is the best professor and lecturer you will ever have. Never missed a lecture unless I got sick because you do not want to miss a single thing this guy says. Makes the course material fun and pretty easy to grasp, would recommend for anyone who wants a fun course.

Bill Bird was by far the best Prof I've had and made intro to CSC my favourite class when it was the one I was most afraid of my first year having no experience. Change into his class if at all possible, I did and it was well worth the early morning class I had to take to make my schedule work

Bill is an exceptional instructor. He'll make you work for your grade, but you will learn a lot. He is very engaging, knowledgeable, and always available to help students. I would take any class with him.

He makes uninteresting content fun. He's very witty and knows a lot about what he teaches. Bill's office is always open if you need to ask him a question or just want to chat. I think he's the best instructor at UVic.

Best professor I've had in Computer Science courses. Assignments and classes were pretty fun. Will take any class with him.

Best prof I've had last year. Made the course material easy to learn and lectures were much more entertaining than Hausi's. Attend his classes for the fun and ask him any question at any time, even at the grocery store - it's his rule.

Amazing teacher, very sarcastic. You cannot miss his lectures - they were the high point of my week. He always managed to make them hilarious, while also providing a good grasp of the material. You don't need the textbook, just show up to lectures, do the assignments and you'll be fine. Midterms and finals are very doable.

Bill Bird is a marvellous human being, made class interesting and was something I was very excited to go to.

Funny and nice instructor, sometimes impatient probably because he is pretty busy. i didn't do well in the first assignment and midterm but im still trying:)

Bill can spend 3 hours talking about pointers, and have you so engaged that you don't realize that you are laughing out loud like an idiot. His office is always open, and he is always open to making you feel dumb for not understanding something so simple. Literally a shining gem, he sets the standard that all future profs must strive to achieve.

BEST PROFESSOR YOU'LL EVER HAVE . DONT THINK TWICE.

My favourite professor by far. I was a bit intimidated at first because he's pretty assertive, but he's genuinely a very nice guy. He cracks a lot of jokes (sometimes at the expense of students) but never in a malicious nature. Almost ALWAYS available outside of classroom hours and is more than willing to help with any kind of question.

A Gifted Instructor. Makes loads of time for his students, highly skilled in computer science as well as math, sarcastically charming orator, hilariously witty, and yet still able to teach you everything you need to know without picking up a textbook. Take CSC111, you'll then understand what a person who loves what they do can inspire in others

Best professor so far. Interactive class, responds to all questions in class. Makes hilarious jokes, clear and easy to understand the lectures.

Bill is very hilarious in class and has a popular slang "Lets Write/Run Some Code"

Will go down as one of my favourite profs. Managed to keep 2 hour lectures fairly entertaining (no easy feat). Super funny and his rants are what make the lectures. Show up to class and you'll pass. If you can't make it to class, just read over the slides a couple times and get an A on the midterm.

Doesn't take breaths between his sentences, goes off on wildly insane tangents, and is the first professor to ever call me "dude". Take his class.

Best prof I've had. Somehow his rants are always hilarious and somehow relevant to the lecture material. Great hair. Also first person I've seen eat a dynamically allocated chocolate bar. Marks midterms ridiculously fast, (like within under 12 hours.) If you can take a class with him, you should, even if it means switching to an 8:30 lecture.

Bill Bird is a legend. Post his time doing Head and Shoulder's commercials he became the best CSC prof to walk UVIC. 11/10

I had no previous interest or experience in coding, but switched my major to computer science after taking Bird's class as a requirement. Do whatever you can to take his class. He makes abstract concepts seem tangible, returns tests incredibly fast, and evidently cares about his students.

Bill Bird makes the most boring topics imaginable into your favorite course. The only danger with him is getting lost looking at his luscious hair instead of at whatever he's typing

Bill Bird is highly knowledgeable and makes himself available to students. He jokes that, "If you can find me, you can ask me a question," meaning that his office hours could be at the grocery store if you're so lucky as to run into him. He's a fair marker and makes his expectations of students very clear. Would definitely take another class of his

His TA is hot, keep getting me distracted in tutorial ;)

Bill Bird somehow manages to combine a comedy act with fundamental (and sometimes dry) topics of computer science. Most could do well in CSC106 by skipping lectures in favour of reading the slides posted online, but there's a reason his class is always packed with students - he presents the material so concisely and lively that it's enjoyable.

The teaching style made me roll my eyes because of all the showmanship, but to say he makes it work is an understatement. Bill Bird is an excellent educator, you will learn a lot. He makes it hard not to if you attend the lectures. Bill, you're a rock star.

Bill Bird is an amazing teacher and really accessible to students. He marked our exams on the same day. The assignments are very interesting and useful.

Bill is the ULTIMATE teacher! Hilarious, easily approachable, he knows what hes talking about and he knows how to teach. He's always around campus and if you see him you can stop him to ask questions or talk, he understands the student struggle and his class is so fun to be in. Highlight of my week!!! Take any of Bill's classes, you'll have fun!

Do yourself a favour, stop reading this and take whatever class Bill is teaching. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who pours their heart and soul into lectures like he does. Fair, well-structured assignments and tests, and he's super empathetic to student life. Be warned, you might find yourself switching majors to CSC after a class with him.

I registered to take another CSC class that I don't have to, just because Bill is teaching it. Truly one of a kind.

One of the best profs Ive ever had. Hilarious and has amazing explanations. Would take any of his classes again in a heartbeat

I was actually sad when we had our final class of CSC106 and I miss his teaching. Looking forward to taking another course with him in the future!

Great prof. Difficult class but that's just the nature of the course; he does everything possible to make it more manageable. Only thing I didn't like is that he doesn't believe in part marks.

Best Comp Sci prof by far. I've taken 3 CSC courses but have never had a prof as engaging as Bill Bird. His lectures are quite straightforward and he, unlike other CSC profs, demonstrates his examples by writing out code from a scratch. If you ever have to take a CSC course, definitely try to take a class with him

These classes were always the highlight of my week. If only my other profs were even a fraction as entertaining as this legend! My only regret about this class was not putting more time into it. The lectures were so much fun that I forgot I needed to put in effort, or something. This guy could lecture about ANYTHING and it would be worth hearing.

Astoundingly energetic and enthusiastic about the course material. Cares about his students. 10/10 bae.

Bill seems to clearly remember what it was like to be a student, and teaches in a very fun and relatable way. His assignments are fun and feel meaningful, he's always around to answer questions, and his lectures are the best around. I'd take any and all classes he offers in the future, no question.

He teaches really well, but in turn, expects you to understand the topic in depth. His assignments were quite challenging and really tested your knowledge. Don't even think about plagiarizing anything in assignments though, it really gets him riled up. Midterms were fair and he was always accessible outside of lecture to ask questions to.

Hilarious guy (obviously). Tests are the typical Bill difficulty, but there are plenty of other ways to get marks and pass with a good grade. Super helpful in his office hours, but will make you work to get the grade you want. Absolutely don't miss the chance to take a class with him!

Basically a human adonis. Hilarious and helpful lectures. Always available outside of class. My friend even saw him at the grocery store and got some questions answered there lol

Most sarcastic, hilarious, yet informative prof I've ever had. Returned every exam within the day. Lots of care for students. Great analogies with clear explanations. Hip with the youths. Hates the textbook industry and pineapple. Favorite quote: "I can't promise miracles, but I can deliver them." Take the miracle. Take Bill.

Even though I'm not a CSC student, Bill is one of the best profs at the university. The class was very tough but fair. Be prepared to work and take detailed notes. Take him. Its worth it.

Best prof Ive had so far. Kids are lucky hes teaching the fall term now. Spends a lot of time on the things that are important and cuts the things that arent (I experienced the class before with a different prof. Terrible). Take the class seriously though, more than a handful of kids were caught cheating in a relatively small class. Hell get ya

Nice guy

Bill is my all-time favourite prof at UVic. His lectures are engaging and make you interested in the material. Class is hard but the interest he sparked in me made me want to learn the material.

Bill Bird is the best ever. Do take a course with him if given the chance.

Even though bill talks at about 200 words per minute the things he says are to entertaining to listen to. I'd totally recommend his classes because even if the course material is difficult he is always in his office and ready to help you to figure it out.

Bill is the best.

Bill is hilarious, always a good lecture with him.

If I was Bill and I was sad I would just go on this site and read my reviews, knowing all the praise people give me is well deserved. Bill is a great lecturer, a real homie, a real bro

Bill is evidently extremely smart, and has a passion for teaching and lecturing. His courses are very difficult, but in a rewarding way where you can tell you're really learning the material with useful applications. Cool assignments too.

He is the most amazing professor I have ever come across. He knows what he is doing and is passionate, if you think you can out wit him think again. I wish he taught all the courses!!

Bill was very passionate and knowledgeable about what he taught. The assignments increased in difficulty by the end of the course. To succeed, I'd make sure you go to all the labs and practice to get exposed to programming as much as you can.

Inspired me to take software engineering. He makes it look so easy!

One of my favourite Profs at Uvic. Always available to help with assignments. Assignments are tough but you learn a lot and the expectations are clear and inline with the point of the course. Very funny lectures. This course was about compression. Highly recommend it. Handled the shift to online very well. The best! LOTS OF WORK, but worth it.

he's okay

his classes were so much fun to attend and the assignments were fair and I really felt like I learned a lot in his class.

Cannot say enough good things about Bill Bird. Would 100 percent take again. He makes lecture enjoyable (and funny) and has a unique sense of humor. He is amazingly accessible though Microsoft teams. All content is taught through lecture so you want to attend those. Assignments and tests were fair.

Bill is one of my favourite people in the world. He makes everyone laugh with all his ridiculous references and quotes. Cares about every student and will spend as much time as necessary to help you out. Online University has been tough, but Bill always makes me smile.

Bill Bird will be your favourite professor once you take him

Bloody brilliant. This man is funnier than most "comedians" these days, very helpful, easy to listen to, and gives reasonable assignment with reasonable deadlines.

Definitely don't skip the lectures, both because they'll help a lot with the midterms, and they're so fun. The material is easy enough with a bit of practice. He's strict with deadlines and certain aspects of grading, but he makes his expectations and reasoning super clear. My only critique would be that 70% of the grade is exams.

I took a course with him in my first semester, and he is still the best professor I've had. He makes the content interesting, is engaged with the students, and is never afraid of a good joke to improve the understanding. If you're in a course with him, take a look at the student reviews he shares in the first lecture, they're golden.

Bill Bird is an incredibly captivating speaker, and he is the reason I decided for major in Computer Science. You can really tell from the energy Bill brings to his lectures, and the effort he puts in to crafting metaphors about the material, that he is incredibly passionate about his work. I couldn't recommend him more strongly.

He really tries to get students to actually understand material and explains concepts in ways that actually make sense

Very funny and entertaining lectures. Teaches very well so that everyone fully understands.

Bill's great. His lectures are hilarious and the assignments, while initially tricky, can be solved with a bit of effort. He seems to be spiritually connected to the C language, and you will learn something every class.

There's a cult of bill bird, that should tell you something. Good luck trying to get to his office hours though, be ready to wait in line, quality time there though

Has great analogies for people new to computer science. Also posts notes and videos on every topic so you can catch up easily. Very engaging and passionate.

Overall very good professor. Often over-rated/overhyped because his lectures are above and beyond amusing/interesting, but everything else balances out. Everything about him feels very structured and rehearsed, even his random tangents. However, this actually works out quite well. Tests are relatively fair, assignments are practical and helpful.

Bill has got to be one of the best prof's at UVIC. Even if comp sci isn't your main interest area, bills class will be worth your time.

Not an easy class if you don't plan to go into software but Bill is a very entertaining character and his lectures are always engaging. You want to be in this guy's class

Bill is a great professor who shows enthusiasm about material in CSC 445. He is an entertaining prof who knows his stuff and can explain them well. However, this course isnt easy since you need to spend a lot of time studying outside of lecture to understand the material fully because the tests are conceptually hard. Overall, this is a fun course

Incredibly entertaining lectures that are clearly well practiced and refined. Clearly a professor who cares about their students success.

The best profs are always the ones who have a lot of passion for their subject. Bill Bird is the perfect mix of funny & passionate. Dont get me wrong the material in this course is quite tough and you will need to pay attention to Bill's lectures (as they can get off track sometimes) in order to be successful in the course, but definitely worth it.

The Goat

Bill is a hilarious lecturer! He is always happy to talk about coding, but sometimes lets students derail lectures, which can be good or bad depending on how much you want the information from that class. He posts lecture videos from 2020, and its it definitely important to review those as the class progresses.

Bill is hilarious. Surely one of the best profs at UVic. While he jokes around a lot, he gets through the lectures well and is good at explaining and answering questions.

I agree with the other reviews here - Bill is an amazing prof. However, I got of kind of easy since I already understood the coding process well enough. However, not everyone is that lucky, which is why it would have been nice to have an archive of more exam-like questions to work through.

Bill's lectures consisted of the most informative yelling I have experienced thus far.

One of the only professors who can hold my attention through lectures. Very entertaining. With a little coding experience this class is pretty easy.

Bill Bird is a really amazing prof who explains things well and is super funny in and out of lecture. He is also super helpful at office hours! This was my first coding class and I didn't find it super hard with some effort put in, but I would definitely recommend working hard in the labs because they really help with course content

Easily one of the best professors at UVIC. His lectures are funny, well-organized, and informative. He will sometimes go off on a tangent about toasters though. Also, I think he doesn't like pineapples.

Great professor with multiple different ways to keep the class entertaining (especially at 4:30pm after a long day). His lectures seem to make sense if you have no coding experience at all (before this class). He also seems to like to go on tangents for like 40 minutes. Maybe ask him how he makes his toast...

Funny man. Lectures can get tiring after the first month of listening to him yell and blabber about various things but it is also very easy to gain a proper interest in CS after taking his class. Would strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a little chaos in their day (in a good way, he's a good guy). Can be judgy but he does provide good help

Basically young Sheldon on 400mg of caffeine. This guy is the best. He's very fluent in the material and created a very well-designed course. Just don't ask about the pineapple.

Bill knows what he's talking about. Lectures are entertaining, and he's easy to reach outside of lectures.

Bill can capture and hold your attention throughout an entire lecture. He has an amazing ability to link the most random everyday activities (like making toast) to CSC in a way that makes perfect sense. He also has a weird obsession with raspberries, pears and pineapples.

Bill Bird is an amazing prof that does the most to keep your attention for the entirety of the lecture. He tends to use the most random analogies to explain concepts within the C language and it just works. He is also very available outside class and will gladly give you over-the-top explanations to any question you may have, course-related or not.

Bill Bird is a great prof, if you can take a class with him you should. I went from knowing nothing about programming to understanding the basics of C within four months.

Most engaging lectures of any prof. Some may find course material difficult, but everything is covered clearly in the lectures and the assignment criteria are extremely specific. Very entertaining guy.

Bill is a bot.

loud but effective, go to your labs, don't get in your head you'll learn everyone feels like their failing. I think he's on vacation right now...

Very entertaining lecturer. His videos were life savers during exam prep. It sometimes feels like you're super behind in this course but just use the resources provided, do the labs, and you'll be fine

Best teacher I have ever had in University I would recommend to take CSC 111 with Bill Bird.

Best CS Professor @UVic, best prof I ever had! the way he introduces the programming concepts (which often arent natural to us when we first learn it) is really amazing. He is the best If I could go back in time, and choose my 1st cs course, it would be with bill He genuily cares about you! He has a yt channel too! Many other CS courses covered too

Bill bird is a cult classic among first year engineers. His lectures were awesome, and his office hours were fun. This course wasn't very difficult if you paid attention in lectures. The assignments were fair, the labs were simple, and the midterms were fair as well. Highly recommend Bill!