A good intro to computers.

tate is the man...

Prof. Tate was a pretty good prof.

Good teacher. He knows computers.

good guy, cares about his subject

Good guy. Sometimes likes to call on people when they're not paying attention just to be a d!ck. Talks about a lot of obsolete technology for some reason. Overall nice and funny guy, can sometimes get a little annoying though. Not too hard but not easy.

Do the assignments, even if they aren't graded. Pay attention to the lectures, even if they're about obsolete or "useless" topics. Do the reading, even if it's boring. Otherwise, anticipate intense trauma. Very knowledgable, good prof.

Take this class with him, you wont regret it. Test arent hard, just do the practice ones online and you are going to get atleast a B. Hand in reports and it is an automate A. The class goes from slow paced to rapid paced near end of semster.

Great professor for multiple classes - was also my academic advisor. Graduated 4 years ago but he left enough of an impact that when I saw this website I felt compelled to leave a positive message about him.

Difficult, Challenging Class. But you will learn a lot. Mr. Redding is a really approachable professor, also serving as chair of the department. He has some papers, but the exams are reasonable to the content of the class. He gives you study guides and past exams to study. Fun Class, Great Professor!

Tate is a very good guy, cares about students but serious about material. Class was pretty boring, he just lectured from the book and added on a couple additional facts (which were essays on his exams). Exams were pretty easy if you can memorize stuff, just study homework answers and old exams. Papers were given full points if directions followed.

He takes great care for his students, and if you do the work, he's not a tough guy. Picks on students, but allows you to pick on him back.

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Complete ****. If you were 5 seconds late to class he would humilate you in front of the entire class. Very childish attitude. I think he stopped maturing at the age of 4.

Takes a genuine interest in your learning and is willing to joke around. This is not always a bad thing most instructors are too stiff. But you must do the work or he will call you out. If you think he is harsh on people who are unprepared wait to you are late to a meeting in the real world.

Pretty difficult class, but professor can TEACH. His tests are mostly multiple choices, and few short answer questions. But he gives out past exams which are very helpful.

Difficult, yet fair. Be prepared to read EVERYTHING, lectures, textbook, additional material from Blackboard (yea, he tests that too :P). The projects are very easy (2-3 hours each). Doesn't collect homework, but your HW grade does depend on being able to answer the questions in class. Lectures could be better, he mostly reads off his slides.

Great Professor, pretty difficult class. Assign alot of hw and readings. Must read all the assign readings, if not you be screwd for the test. Pretty much straight forward class, read the text, assign materials you'll ACE it.

easy class and easy exams. EXAM2 IS VERY HARD THO !!!! gotta read lot of material

Even if you don't like the class material, Tate is still a great teacher. He has well prepared slides and examples, and he is very clear. He also gives sample exams to study. If you need to take IS 310, I recommend him.

great professor and advisor. class is not too hard if you read everything and do all of the homework. Just don't come late to class

I recommend everyone take Redding for 310 if you can. He's a nice professor that will help you if need be. His exams are fairly easy, is you study the material and make sure that you understand it. His first two exams were only 2 chapters and then the last two were 5 which can kinda mess you up. Do not be late!

Quizzes from the book so read each chapter thoroughly. The hands on portion of the quizzes weren't bad. Lots of assignments but it's all peer programming which is a lot easier. Make sure to attend the class.

Lots of reading and little assignments. It's not too bad as long as you manage your time well and keep track of all the assignments that are due. Exams weren't difficult and he gives past exams which have a lot of the same questions that will be on the real exam.

If you don't skip class and you read the book when it's assigned and also study his slides, you'll be set. I got an A and I thought the class was easy. Redding loves the stuff and he will stare at you until you ask him questions. He wants to make sure everybody is on task. STUDY THE OLD EXAMS!! 75% of the questions are reused. Awesome class!!

He can be strict but overall e's really nice. I find his tests difficult but read the book and study past exams & you'll do well. His class consists of 4 exams, the first 3 have some short answer and the last one is all multiple choice. He assigns 3 reports which are not difficult and for HW you have to the review ?s at the end of each chapter.

Great class! If you can take it with Redding, do it!

Great professor. He made java fun.

very helpful professor, if you ask him questions with the time you have. gives out a lot of homewerk, start the homework early because most of the time you have to KNOW exactly what your doing to do well which he does not specify in class. MC questions on test pretty hard, and programming a little easier for me, depends from person to person.

fabulous. passionate. enthusiastic. fun. clear and concise. provides practice exams with solutions, problems show up on exams. homework from textbook - concepts. uses hw review as a form of attendance. really interesting. great atmosphere. organized, laid back and cheerful. highly recommended. no final. 4 exams. 3 3-6pg reports due throughout semes

Kind of a pic but very well taught class. Look at past exams they are very helpfull

Java is fun with Professor Redding! If you had previous programming courses in HS, this course should be a breeze. Anyways, he's an excellent instructor who can break down somewhat complicated concepts into easy-to-understand language. For example, he called variables "buckets." Also, his multiple choice quizzes are somewhat difficult.

Professor Redding is great! He is organized and laid back in the classroom. He made Java an interesting course. For each chapter, he gives a packet of notes that is used for labs and helpful for the exams. Highly recommend taking Redding, if you are able!

not an easy class if u dont have programming experience, but if u do all the work you will get an A. He is good at explaining the material as well... good guy and a good teacher

Overall, fair and good professor! Very knowledgeable and definitely has a passion for the IS field. All you have to do is come to every class and study bold words in textbook for exams!

MUST get the textbook. Show up, read, do the RQs (which he goes over for your attendance/participation grade) and you will do fine. There are 3 reports, which you should get 100% on if you simply do it!! IS 310 material is common knowledge now-a-days, but it goes into some detail!! Redding is very willing to help, so not too bad.

He's the kind of prof that pushes students hard but you learn well because of it. He's always willing to go over material again and he really knows his stuff. Definitely study hard for exams but if you put the effort in you should do well.

After hearing all the good things people had said about Tate, I said, why not? Excellent decision. The man knows what he's talking about, is laid back, but you're going to have to work for that A. Gives "Practice" exams on BB that are pretty much the same as what he is going to give. Do your homework, the 3 essay assignments, and you'll be fine.

After reading what the below person said, I had to comment. I think Tate is very good at what he does. He knows exactly what he is talking about. Sure, he puts some questions on tests that arent from book but he defenitevly talks about them prior to exams. Does give review sheets for his exams and they are pretty similar to what's on the test.

Professor Redding knows his stuff and makes sure you know it too. His classes are hard, but the material within these class is invaluable as you move forward in your IT career. If you want a challenge and really understand the material I would definitely take Professor Redding

His class is hard but you will learn a lot. His exams are not a joke and are very difficult but he does give practice exams and will endlessly help you to learn if you put in the effort. I hated the class but put in the work and got a lot out of it.

Tate is a great instructor. He knows what he's talking about and cares about the students who actually show up. It's a hard class with him but worth it!

Mr.Redding's an awesome teacher. He is always prepared and really forces you to learn a lot. I like the fact that he makes you do similar java problems over and over again on MPL until you get it. Is annoying and tedious but really helped my programming ability. Yeah he's tough but he is also helpful and extremely organized.

I'll maybe 90% of the multiple choice questions are exactly the same as sample test. Got 88.6, but gave me A as final grade. As long as you KNOW all the answers on the sample test, you should get at least a B. Easy pts for the 2 papers we had to write. He said only 10-20% were able to get A's, that means only 2-3 ppl because only 20 in my class.

He is excellent explaining. Very clear and he really throws challenging projects for you to learn. His exams are difficult and challenging, if you really really wanna learn Java he's the best professor to take. If you don't care, then try to avoid him and get an easier teacher to get a better grade.

Great professor. He is definitely a hard professor, but you will learn SO MUCH! He's intimidating at first, but once you get to know him, he's great. Tests are fair, but challenging. For 147, he lets you use your book for the programming part. Great, great, great!

Great Professor. Tells you exactly what you need to pass. Each test is 20% of your grade so study hard. Everything is verbatim out of the book, like the vocab definitions. A lot of his test also focus on what he says in class, especially if he repeats it. If you want an easy A, take it with another professor. If you want to learn a lot, take Tate.

Tate takes a little while to acclimate to. He's not the unreasonable monstrous professor many make him out to be. He provides quality instruction and really knows his stuff. His exams are not difficult and neither is the majority of the material. Yes, there are easier professors that teach IS 310, but you will not learn nearly as much with them.

Redding's tough, but if you actually want to learn how to program in Java and are willing to take the time to learn, you will be way ahead of your other classmates in 247. Use the sample textbook tests to ace his, and attend class! Fantastic professor

Despite his intimidating demeanor, he is actually super helpful and always available for help outside of class. His tests are somewhat tricky but his practice exams are almost identical to the actual. He does add high point value exam questions about things covered only in class (not textbook) so don't skip class too often

One of my favorite professors at UMBC! He's approachable and very helpful when you go to office hours. I'm not a programmer, so I wound up going to office hours every week. He was super nice and basically did the homework for me. He also gave hints on the exams. At the end of the semester, he raised my 88% to an A. GO TO OFFICE HOURS.

Straightforward guy, do the review problems and show up to class. Study the outlines and do the assignments and you'll get an easy B.

I heard a lot of bashing of him and was told to avoid him but took his class as it was the only open one left but he was actually a great guy and his class was very reasonable. The homework is tedious but it is only used as a participation grade and his tests are very reasonable. Lectures were usually somewhat entertaining. Would recommend.

Pretty good teacher, he knows his stuff. Took the summer class; the tests were pretty easy as long as you read the book/do the homework review questions and vocabulary.

Take readings seriously and do the review questions. Come to class prepared. Dedication and a good attitude will get you that A, Redding does not just hand them out. The tests are very important. Stressful, but rewarding. He curved the final course grade 4%. This class had a good lively atmosphere for 8:30am.

With most of your work being done either online or during lab periods, the class is much easier than you'd imagine. You've got more than enough spare time to either finish the work or seek out help for it. Tests are a heavy portion of the grade, but the questions come from practice Q's done online. If you truly understand the material, you're fine

Had him for one of my gateway courses. Don't know what more you can ask from a professor. His lectures are very easy to understand, complicated things are broken down into easy to understand pieces, very knowledgeable doesn't give too much HWs. Sometimes, he can be a bit arrogant, but that just makes the class not boring annd easy to pay attention.

Hilarious and insightful professor to have, but will make you work for that B. Textbook is mandatory, all HW comes from there and 85% of test is based on HW questions. Half MC, half short answers from supplemental readings. He cares about you if you attend and is patient with people like me who need concepts repeated. Easy final. Easy B/A.

Pros- Redding is an all-around good professor. He explains things pretty clearly in class and is knowledgable enough to answer most extra questions you may have. I think you will learn a lot from him. Cons- Few curveball questions on exams that don't pertain to the subject. A few questions on the final were never covered. Test heavy (90% of grade).

I had Professor Redding for IS 147 and I am glad I did. Lectures are only about and hour and 15 minutes, which is DEFINITELY not enough time. Most of the work for this class is done at home on Revel so go into the lectures already having read the chapter for the week and do the programming projects before lab. Overall, Redding was very helpful.

Prof Redding can definitely come across as mean. However, if you show initiative he will have no problem helping you succeed in his course. IS 147 is heavily based on the Revel online textbook/course. Following this and dealing with the picky homework questions will prepare you for the exams.

fair, knowledgable, motivational