Professor Barker is the best! Very helpful, he really wants you to learn

Although decidely not hot, Prof. Barker is a good 235 teacher. He explains concepts well and seldomly grows impatient.

Very good teacher, he's not a deadline nazi, not much homework. His classes are very relaxed, and he has a good sense of humor.

A darned nice guy, and unbelievably patient with the whiney people in the class. He explains things well, and gives extra help if asked.

One of the best teachers at BYU. He's funny and his lectures are great. He explains the concepts really easily and prepares you well for labs and tests. Just be prepared to work hard, do the work, and you'll be fine.

Dr. Barker mentioned this site in his class. He says that he wants to be rated harder, but so far I haven't even purchased the book, so I can't say that he is hard. He is a helpful teacher. And he explains things clearly, though I have to ask questions.

Dr. Barker is a great teacher. He's one of the few professors who doesn't get upset when students make jokes at his expense, as long as the jokes are given in the spirit of fun... he's pretty easy-going, and even let us keep our "sheet of notes&quo

Dr. Barker was an excellent CS professor and probably one of the best I've had. He really knows his stuff (Java) and doesn't mind fielding question about anything. He'll stop his lecture if a student has a question. He also has a good attitude.

Help sessions are five points extra credit, whereas other instructors require them (or you will loose points on your lab).

Great teacher. Explains concepts with clarity. Good sense of humor.

Good teacher, but the labs had problems. One lab had a fatal bug in the provided test driver which the TAs couldn't fix, another lab someone passed the comprehensive passoff driver but failed the test driver. Also, coding quality is completely ignored.

Dr. Barker is one of the best CS professors I've had. I recommend him to anyone.

Dr. Barker is so far the best CS professor at BYU. If you can take a class from him, do so. Lectures are VERY good and enjoyable. Funny and smart, Dr. Barker does a great job. If you know Java, this class is a piece of cake. Otherwise it will be more like a pice of fruit cake... just choke it down.

Awesome professor. He is always in a good mood and very prepared to teach. Great teaching skills.

Very kind and a good teacher

The best computer science professor at BYU. He knows his stuff and will help you whenever you need it.

Overall good teacher, nothing spectacular though

Dr Barker is an excellent teacher for this difficult class. He's very helpful with questions, and did his best to explain the difficult concepts clearly. The textbook for the class is horrible, and he knows that so he doesn't put much emphasis on it. Would definitely recomend him as a professor.

He knows his stuff, but lectures can be dull. If you don't do the readings before class, at least skim the sections (it helps to know a little of what's going on before lecture.) For CS235, DON'T BUY THE BOOK AT THE BOOKSTORE!! (ISBN: 0201748355) Its an older edition and can be found for around 15/20 bucks online (amazon, half.com just look around)

I had Dr. Barker for CS142, and I liked that class, but I hated CS235. It is an extremely boring class, although that's probably not his fault; the labs are very time consuming. Homework was worthless, usually not worth the time. I couldn't finish the AVL-tree lab and had to skip it (after working 50+ hrs on ). START EARLY ON THE AVL LAB!!!

Take his class! If you like computer programing in Java you will love this class. The labs are like 55% of the grade! There is one midterm and a final and of course homework. Barker is really great at explaining difficult concepts. He also appropriately brings the gospel into his class with a hymn, a prayer, and a spiritual thought.

Dr. Barker was great! The class was fun and we learned a ton. Some of the projects were quite hard, but that's C S for you! And he's really nice and teaches easier stuff at the end, so the last project is really easy.

CS 235 has very little book work; most of the homework is writing programs. A couple of the labs are pretty challenging, the rest take about 5-10 hours for an average programmer. Dr. Barker is very good at explaining the more abstract and complicated elements of programming; I rarely had to turn to the book. Overall a very fun class.

Dr. Barker is one of the best computer science professors I've had. He presents the material by doing examples on the board and in code, all of which are quite easy to follow. Labs are challenging but are given plenty of time for those who need a head start, homework assignments are few and short, and exams are easy. Highly recommended.

Prof. Barker is amazing! He is one of the best professors I've had. He prepares you well for all projects and exams, and is willing to work with you and get you the help you need. I felt everything was always fair and he presented material crystal clear. It's a hard and time-consuming class, but he is a great professor. No complaints!

You won't regret taking a CS class from Dr. Barker. I took both 235 and 236 from him. You'll be in the CS labs 10-20 hours a week programming. Computer Science classes take a long time. If you've got to take CS 235 or 236 take it from Dr. Barker.

Great teacher! He really knows how to explain things well, is very excited about teaching, and really helps his students learn. I would recommend taking any class from him.

Dr. Barker is an excellent teacher. He explains the material well, better than the book. The class requires time (5-15 hours/week in the lab depending on your programming ability) and effort, but an A is easily gotten if you do the work.

He teaches better than the book does, and the projects are challenging but very useful. We did not use the book in class or for homework. Discrete mathematics is fairly boring and abstract by itself, but his teaching and the application to programming made it much more interesting and useful.

Great Prof! I went into the class knowing a lot of the concepts so I wasn't expecting to learn much but Dr. Barker showed me a ton of new things to apply to the concepts I had already known.

Perfect at answering questions and enjoyable, dry, nerdy humor.

I would recommend Dr. Barker to everyone. He makes sure that students understand the material being taught before he moves on in the lecture. And his dry humor makes this seemingly boring class fun!

Good professor. Labs aren't too bad as long as you don't get behind, HW is pretty easy with the TA's help. Make sure you go to class. Only complaint is his use of emacs for class notes instead of powerpoint. Pretty dull. Other than that, great guy, good class.

Nice guy, but this class disappointed me. TAs are typical CS TAs. (They think they know everything but are easily proved wrong). Homework seemed useless and a waste of time. The material was great, tests fair, labs alright. You could learn everything you need in this class by reading the book and writing your own programs for practice.

Wonderful teacher. He may have been too easy; he probably could have covered more material. As long as you keep up on your lab work, the rest of the class is easy. Homework is due at the end of class; it's perfectly possible to walk in without your homework done and finish it by the time the bell rings. I never got less than a 90% on the midterms.

He is the BEST CompSci teacher period. Take his class, love his class, participate and thank him for being awesome.

Professor Barker is a very lively teacher. He will answer any question you have in class. Just make sure you pay attention in class. Once you leave class it is a lot harder to figure things out. He does put his notes online but they wont help if you didn't pay attention.

I had him for Spring semester. From any department professor, this class will be difficult. Attendance and reading assignments are a huge boon. Dr. Barker was very helpful and always helped with difficult homework problems or project issues. He also had great TAs for his class that were competent and helpful. I'd take another class with Dr. Barker.

Very good professor. Is very willing to help and loves it when you ask questions.

Great Professor. He really tries to help you understand the material. However, there is a lot to learn and so the projects really push you. There is homework but its easy and helps you understand. The only hard part about the class is the crazy hard projects, start them early and ask specific questions about them in class and he will help.

For those who have to take CS 236, take it from Dr. Barker. He presents the materials in an easy to understand way. He makes the textbook optional, saying that it doesn't explain the concepts real well. The TAs were very helpful. Be careful with the labs, though; You have to write good code, and not have things like 100 line functions in there.

Doctor Barker is awesome. I plan on taking every class I possibly can with him. He makes the concepts really easy to understand. Labs can be kind of difficult, but he gives you a lot of helpful pseudo code, and he will really help if you ask questions. His tests are a breeze because he tells you exactly what will be one them and you can use notes.

This class is Satan. I ended up with a C- because I couldn't do all the labs. If you don't have to take the class, don't. However, Prof. Barker is an awesome dude and helps a lot during class, just attend the lectures and he'll write half the lab for you

Barker is a very good professor. He teaches the subject good and is fun, though the class is hard. But if you like programming it is a fun class. I learned a lot and enjoyed it. It was tough, and I got a B.

Dr. Barker is a great lecturer. Very nice and does a great job explaining difficult concepts. Be prepared to put in time to pass off the labs. That is to be expected with most any CS class.

This was a great class. Very good experience. I would highly recommend Cory Barker.

Clearly explained the concepts. Labs can be difficult, but they are definitely doable. Go to class and take good notes, and you'll do fine. Tests were straightforward.

A very fun and informative professor. He jokes around to keep the class light, but does all he can to help you understand the material. Highly recommend.

Dr. Barker is an absolute boss. He's very helpful and tries his best to cater to every student's needs. He gives great examples in class and is pretty fun. Take this class from Dr. Barker, he is the man.

Professor Barker is a great professor. He keeps the class fun and entertaining while teaching the content and clearly answering all questions. The labs do take quite a but of work, but this is expected. They are easily doable. Strongly recommend!

Cory Barker is a gift from God to an undeserving world. His class lectures were great, and he made a tiny cramped classroom a fun place to be in. The exercises, in class and out of class, were challenging and educational. If I could take every class for the rest of my life from Professor Barker, I wouldn't even hesitate for a second.

This class is a yawn and a half. Most projects can be finished in 5-10 hours. Spent about 2 hours in class the whole term. Videos on Youtube explain the material just as good as Barker and they are half as long. Easy class.

my best cs teacher.

Dr. Barker's lectures are excellent. He explains concepts clearly, and gives relevant examples. He is a big help in structuring the lab assignments well. Also, he is super entertaining. He interjects fun and humor into what could otherwise be profoundly dry material. Would definitely take more classes from him!

Prof Barker's classes are outstanding. He makes complex topics simple through examples, with the expectation of participation. He wants the student to hear, see, then practice. Straight forward tests. Programming projects can surprise, and not completing one will devastate your grade. The class is great preparation and education for programmers.

Difficult but if you show up to class and do your work you will do fine.

Dr. Barker is hands down the best teacherprofessor I've ever had. The material is intimidating, but he makes things as clear as possible. The projects build on each other, so make sure you design them well and finish them early. If you do this and take good notes you should walk away with a decent grade.

Great lecturer. Keeps my attention. Made sure we were prepared for the midterm. The labs are a lot of work, be prepared for a lot of hours in the CS lab. His lectures were very clear.

A good teacher. His lectures are nice and thorough and explain what the book doesn't really well. He uses his own code and examples and doesn't just recite the book. He explains everything that you need to know for the midterm and the final just pay attention in class and know how to do the study guides. The labs are time consuming so get ahead

Proessor Barker himself is a helpful and very real professor. He makes hos own lectures, uses his own code, and generally explains very well. If you pay attention and go to class, it isn't too terrible. The course material itself is very challenging, and professor Barker does his best. But be prepared to spend hours upon hours on labs, that's CS.

Professor Barker is a great professor. He teaches the concepts simply and well. The major part of the course is the labs, the homework is almost trivial (but if you don't go to class you might get confused). Be ready to spend quite a bit of time on labs (like any CS class), but this is a great class. Learned a lot. Never got or used the textbook.

He has class really well organized and we get through all the material. The help he gives for the labs is really useful. While class can be a tiny bit boring at times, he does have a sense of humor.

Crystal clear lectures with notes available online. Seems like a nice guy. DO NOT BUY THE TEXTBOOK, it's really confusing and totally unnecessary

Prof. Barker is a really good guy. He's funny, he's got a good attitude, and he does a good job at simply explaining the concepts he wants us to know. The labs were somewhat time consuming; this course becomes a lot easier when you commit to get working on the labs well before their due dates, particularly some of the ones toward the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking CS 235 from Dr. Barker. He really knows the material and clearly explains concepts in lectures. I feel like his organization was good, and you knew exactly what was expected of you. Get help on the labs from the TA's if you get stuck. Like any CS class, you will need put in the required amount of work, but it's doable.

If I could take all of my CS classes from Barker, I would. He is very clear and gives enough homework to help you understand the material, but not enough to take up all of your free time. The labs are shared through all of the professors for this course, so the difficulty won't change, but he does give enough time for you to complete them.

Brother Baker is legendary in the CS department. He respects the students and doesn't make us jump through hoops like other professors. He is honest and truly wants us to learn the material. His teaching is very interactive and effective. I especially love the spiritual thoughts he shares. I recommend taking every CS class from Professor Barker.

Professor Barker is a stud! Everything in the class was super clear. Whenever he throws new ideas at you, he gives you time to think through it and internalize it before moving on. His humor is a little different, but I loved it. This class is is the reason I changed my major to CS. Take as many classes from Barker as you can!

Your best choice for a CS class

I have taken three classes from Dr. Barker (235, 236, 252) - and I recommend everyone to do the same. He is a very fair grader and his homeworks are meant for attendance purposes. The labs are very manageable and he is very accessible outside of class. Great lecturer, fair with due dates. Fantastic CS professor.

Professor Barker is the man! He is hilarious and very approachable. His teaching is very clear and to the point and if you follow along you'll see that what you are doing is exactly what's on the exams. Don't miss out, take a class from Barker. I echo the comments on the textbook. It's terrible. Never bought or used it and did fine.

Dr Barker is very organized and really helps his students succeed in the course. That being said the course was still pretty demanding for work if you really wanted to excel and get an A in the class.

You'll actually learn if you go to class (unheard of in the CS department). His lectures are brilliant, he gives plenty of leeway with deadlines, and he explains all the labs. He really understands how students learn and how people actually think. He'll guide you to the right answer through teaching a programming mindset. 10/10 would take again.

Easily the best CS professor. Dr. Barker is patient and respectful to the students who do not understand (which are many of us). He doesn't simply repeat his statements when asked to explain, he approaches the idea from an entirely new angle. Unlike other CS professors, he understands where and how people get confused. He is a dedicated teacher.

7 labs. 1 midterm 1 final and easy hw. 60% weighted final and midterm. The midterm and final are easy if you learn the study guide, hw. His lectures are funny and enjoyable and useful. The Labs are most difficult! Tutors don't really help so you are on your own. Get private tutors, read book, ask prior 235 students do whatever you can. Great prof

Easily my favorite CS professor. He has a great deal of flexibility built into the syllabus for which he makes exceptions in only the most EXTREME circumstances. Great at explaining difficult concepts from many different angles and very patient and respectful when addressing questions from the students. You will never feel like he moved on w/o you.

Dr. Barker makes a very difficult class bearable. His lectures are entertaining and insightful. He spends most of the time going over examples, which is super helpful. He is very willing to answer questions. His tests were MUCH easier than any other professor's. The labs are tricky, but he always gives you a good overview of what you need to do.

If you have to take CS236, take it from Professor Barker. He did a better job explaining and simplifying the material. Lectures were interesting. He was always available to help before, during and after class. You can also tell that he cares and respects his students.

His lectures are VERY clear and the homework is light. He's an easy-going guy and starts every class with a hymn and prayer. The labs can be difficult but he goes over what you need to do in detail. Do the practice problems for the tests and pay attention in class, and you'll be fine!

Professor Barker is a good professor who is helpful and explains concepts well. You have to go to class to know what is on the test and homework, because it isn't really in the textbook.

Difficult class, but Barker makes it a lot easier. Best professor I've had at BYU. Explains concepts very clearly, walks you through labs in class. Very good at helping students understand, and very willing to answer questions. Definitely take as many classes as possible from Barker.

This class is difficult. Its not a breeze by any standard. But this teacher is one of the most fair men I've ever been taught by. He has a grading system that gives you all the chances you would need to get an A. I got an A- because I didn't do the necessary studying to do well on the exams. However, the word I would use to describe him is FAIR.

Dr. Barker is a good CS teacher

Barker is a gifted teacher. I struggled in this course under a different professor, withdrew, and retook it the next term under Barker. Barker made all the concepts that I didn't understand before become crystal clear and simple. Now I'm taking CS252 from him.

Dr. Barker is a solid professor who knows his stuff. His homework assignments are minimal: just enough problems so that you know whether or not you know your stuff, but not so many that it takes more than half an hour. The projects in this class are challenging, but Dr. Barker makes them accessible.

This guy is a genius. He is probably the best at teaching crazy concepts. He gives you a week to take each exam. I took him for 236 and 252 and am really glad that I could do that. CS classes are all going to be difficult at times, anyone who gave him a bad rating is just mad they had to work. That doesn't change because of the professor.

Professor is good. Has an interesting sense of humor. Usually pretty good at teaching but sometimes it was confusing. The class is difficult conceptually but has a light work load. Way too little hw. 2 questions on each, if you get one wrong, that's a 50%. Adds up. Textbook is really good.

Dr. Barker is an awesome teacher. CS 252 is pretty hard conceptually. He did his best teaching it. There are a lot of homeworks, but they are each worth 2-5 points. There are two midterms and a final, each worth around 150 points. Half way through the semester the class becomes very difficult so be prepared.

I have a bit of mixed feelings about Dr. Barker. He is very kind and has a unique and effective teaching style but he didn't provide any useful learning resources; the book is confusing so I would've expected more but no, his notes were scattered and ugly, the test reviews never had solutions you could study, and things are graded really harshly.

Great teacher. Very funny, very straight to the point. Felt like he wasn't super happy to help outside the class, but other than that awesome teacher!

All I hear is many complaining about how hard this class is. I notice some feel this way because they skip, fall asleep in class, do not read and do not spend about 9 hrs a week outside of class, although I spent 6 and ended up fine. Dr. Barker has his imperfections, but he is an angel with his music, scriptures, and prayers.

I took Dr. Barker for CS 236, and I'm taking 252 from him now. He's uncommonly clear for a CS teacher, perhaps because he spends most of his time working through examples of the concepts rather than throwing endless slides of computer code at you. He's easygoing and manages to be very enthusiastic about what is otherwise a very dry class.

He is a great professor and very funny. I took multiple classes from him and they all were great. Attendance is not mandatory but all of the answers are provided in class and not posted online. Classes are usually very challenging but he provides the needed knowledge to get things done.

Dr. Barker has a good sense of humor and explains lectures very well. This class in CONCEPT HEAVY so you need a good professor and you need good TAs. I did my homework directly after class which helped me a lot. (It only took 10-15 minutes each day) Dr. Barker is a great professor. I had him for 236 and this class. I was lucky to have him

Seems like the average professor until you see someone else teach the same content, he makes incredibly difficult material seem simple and easy. Lets you know his practice tests almost exactly model the real ones.

Professor Barker is extremely funny. I loved going to class because he made it entertaining and interesting. I found he was very good at answering student's questions in class and focusing on what was relevant to the class. The concepts in this class are tough and I thought he did a good job explaining them. My favorite teacher here at BYU

Another TA-heavy CS class, nothing new. He's pretty funny and good at explaining things, though starting every class with a hymn and a scripture got kind of old. It felt like halfway through the semester he got spooked that the class was too hard and after that the tests and HW grading became very easy. It was almost kind of disappointing.

Do the readings. The readings for 252 will save you and actually help you learn something. For 224 and 252, pay attention during class. He gives lots of detailed explanations of the material and he will answer every question you give him. He's also a cute old guy so that's a plus

I really enjoyed Dr. Barker and as I write this I'm actually taking my third class from him. Specifically for CS 236 though, he does a great job of visually showing what is happening with the systems he's teaching about. He'll walk through step by step what the computer would see and diagrams what will happen. All of his class notes are also online

Dr. Barker is a great professor! Though he might not be the most lively and exciting professor out there, he's passionate about CS and really wants to see you succeed. He was always willing to offer help and further explanations as well. The class can be a tricky, but Dr. Barker does a great job in teaching the topics.

He is really good at explaining difficult concepts, and he takes time to answer student questions. Open note, take home tests! Funny and kind professor. The homework was short and doable. I enjoyed this class, even though the concepts were hard for me.

Prof. Barker is very good at explaining the content and answering questions, but he provides basically no outside study material. If you attend all lectures and complete all of the homework YOU WILL BE EQUIPPED TO PASS. If you miss lectures or don't resolve any questions you have in class though, you will need to rely on other students or the TAs.

This course feels more like an applied math course than a CS course (you don't code anything in the class), some familiarity with proofs will help a lot. Dr. Barker has a good sense for where students get lost, lecture is basically necessary if you want to understand the book. Take home open note midterm/final are worth 60%, nothing unreasonable.

Solid teacher. Explains the concepts simply and clearly. I enjoyed his class. You can work ahead on the first few projects as they are a lot of review from previous classes. It gets a little trickier later on with assembly. Heavily utilize the TA's. It will speed you up and help you gain better understanding. Tests are chill with his study guide.

I feel he didn't explain objectives/purpose of teaching topics very clearly, but once you understand the purpose of what is being taught it's relatively easy to follow along. He does not teach programming skills hardly ever so you either need experience in C++ or be willing to self learn (or re-learn) concepts.

Dr. Barker is an effective teacher. I found that by assisting his lectures alone, I understood the material well enough that I rarely needed to go out of my way to study for the exams. The only somewhat difficult part of the class are the projects, but if you have C++ experience, you should do fine. The TA's are also helpful with projects.

The key is to go to class bc everything is taught then, but if you miss class you will be lost. He doesn't have very good outside material. There is homework every class but later in the semester it can take 5 minutes. Labs and projects switch every week; labs are easy but projects are hard and those can take a lot of time. He is also very monotone

Dr. Barker is good at simply explaining things in class. The homework is really easy but the projects are difficult and time consuming. The exams are similar to the homework but are worth 50% of your grade. Always ask the TAs to look over your homework before turning it in.

I'm surviving in CS 312 because of how great a teacher Dr Barker was in CS 236. I didn't realize how clearly he explained things until I left. I'd definitely recommend him.

Professor Barker presents tricky topics in a clear way. While the projects can be challenging, his practice tests are spot-on. Keeping up with the lectures and using resources like ChatGPT and unstuckstudy really helps nail the material.

This class was kind of weird, and Dr. Barker is kind of a weird guy, but I love him. He is super nice, understanding, and helpful. Sometimes his explanations were a little confusing, but he was great at answering questions. He gave us all the resources we needed and his test reviews were extremely helpful. Don't get the textbook you don't need it.

Very clear teacher. Took some very complex topics and explained them so that everyone could understand. He always takes time for questions, whether on in-class topics or homework/projects. His lectures can be a little boring, but it's worth it with how well he explains everything.

I took Professor Barker for CS236 last year and did great, though I struggled a bit since I prefer the mathematical side of CS to the programming side. So far, CS252 has been a breeze! Professor Barker does a great job breaking things down in class and effectively answers questions. If you learn by example, this is your guy.

Prof Barker is a good professor; he knows his stuff and is good at answering students' questions. While he does post his slides, you do have to go to class to get walk-throughs of practice problems. Two midterms, a final and 5 projects.

The class itself was tough but Dr. Barker made it doable! He's a nice guy, willing to laugh with the students, and is super good at answering questions. Would recommend! I will be taking 252 from him because of this good experience.

Dr. Barker is one of my favorite CS professors. He explains things clearly and does lots of example code to help the class know how to apply what he teaches. This class had difficult topics but they were made simple through his lectures. Tests were open note and not timed, making them doable and not stressful.