Paul Beckman

Although as others said he can rambling up to the whole class time which is from 7 to 9:45.. he is the best teacher ever.

He is very generous about giving the points out to students and is very very very easy to talk to during the break or during the office hour.

His test is not hard, but you do need to study both the textbook and the lecture notes. When you only read the notes and no the textbook, your grade will be around 80 out of 100, but when you do study both, your grade would be at least 93 out of 100.

His final group presentation is very easy since he is very generous about giving out the points to students.

MUST TAKE HIS CLASS!!!!!!!!!!!

Dr. Beckman is articulate, energetic, explains topic thoroughly, answers e-mails in a timely manner, and always helpful. Homeworks (total of 5) are doable and easy to get 20 points each. Exams are straight-forward but could oftentimes require your thinking. Sample exams are available for your practice and review. If you do the sample exams and study/understand his lecture slides, you will be fine in the actual exams. His exam questions are all in the lectures so attendance is a must. Group project is to build database using Oracles SQL. Dont worry hell go over SQL in the lab. You have enough opportunity for exposure and ask him a lot of questions. Downside to this class: Youre seated for 2.5 solid hours of lectures that can be long, dry, and boring.

Prof. Beckman is one of those professors that really want you to LEARN the material. He is very laid-back, approachable, and ALWAYS willing to help. He replies to emails usually within the same day. He lectures using slides that are available on his website. The homeworks (5 of them) were okay, the Excel and Access exams are an easy A but you MUST DO the tutorials at home. The question on the practice tests are EXACTLY what you will find on the real test. The 3 other tests are multiple choice. The test questions were given to us prior to the tests. Of about 150 questions he'd select 50 questions for the exam. Sometimes the answers could not be found in the book and each person was only allowed to ask him for 2 answers. But only about 10 of the 150 questions were really difficult to answer correctly. I had a group get together to ask him 10 DIFFERENT questions but I still only got a 92% on the last test. The group project was to build a database. It was challenging and not an easy "A" at all. It was a one time thing worth 20% of our grade and not knowing whether we were doing it correctly was a bit tough but we managed to get an 85%. The only bad thing about him is that some of our final grades should have been rounded up. I was 5 pointsOF 500 short of an A-!!!!! All in all, he is a GREAT TEACHER!!!!

Mr. Beckman was a very good instructor for this class, ISYS 363. I took his class in Fall 03, and he was articulate, energetic and insightful, making this class interesting and worthwhile.

This class was taught in the classroom and was also video-recorded for posting and viewing online by students at our convenience if we didnt want to attend in person. This was a luxury, and the flexibility of watching the lectures when and where I wanted helped a lot with balancing the demands of my other classes. -Having a high-speed internet connection at home (or easy access to one) helps a lot with watching the lectures. Another good thing about the online lectures was that a lot of time at the beginning of each lecture was spent answering students questions and making announcements, so the occasionally boring subject matter in the lectures didnt take up the entire lecture time. This stuff, at the beginning of each lecture, was great to listen to at home while multi-tasking (printing-out the PowerPoint lecture notes, folding laundry, paying bills, etc.).

As part of the course, there were three 50-qquestion multiple-choice exams from textbook material (about 18 chapters were covered), lab work with both MS Excel and Access and an online exam for each, and a semester group project which was to build a MS Access database.

The lectures shouldnt be missed, because Mr. Beckman always provided very important and helpful updates on things that were necessary to know about exams, Excel and Access projects. So it seemed important to keep up with his updates/announcements by keeping as current as possible with the lectures.

The three multiple-choice exams were somewhat difficult (especially the first exam). They often had questions that didnt seem to be a fair determinant of what was learned. The questions sometimes had vague or too detailed of answers from what was learned in the chapters covered. But then again, there were students who did get As in the class, so take my disappointment on this for whatever its worth. The semester project, which was a group MS Access database project, seemed to be graded a little too harshly. As for the MS Excel and Access online exams, they were very fair, and a very good judge of how one knows these programs.

There were a few other things about this class that could use some improvement. It would have been nice if grades were posted online faster. And on occasion there were problems with the audio portion of the online lectures, problems that will most likely be worked-out over time. And Mr. Beckman kept adding requirements to the semester project as the semester moved on. This was stressful, even though it happens in the real world. So this made it even more important to keep up with the lectures, making sure that all of the additional semester-project requirements were understood.

Dont underestimate this class. It does involve considerable work. -And Im glad I had Mr. Beckman as the instructor for this class. His personality, teaching style, and dedication to his students made it an interesting class.

I got good grades on all my tests and got the best score in all the classes on the ISYS exam and ended up getting a B-. I don't know wtf he's smoking when doing his grades but he definately grades oddly. However, he has one of the best damn personalities you will ever see in a proffessor, especially in the ISYS department.

He is a good teacher who teaches very well. In this class ISYS363, basically, we have two lab exams and 3 in class exams and one group project. The lab exams are very easy. All you need to do is go over the online tutorial, especially the pretests for each chapter because the real lab exams are the same as the pretests. The in class exams are multiple choices format and he gives the study questions prior to the real exams. This helps a lot prepare and study the exams. All you need to do is just look through the text book and find out the answer for every question, but some questions are hard to find out the real answers because they are very implicit.

The group project is the hardest because we have to create an access database, so we have to understand Access very well in order to do well. Just find smart members and you will be fine.

ISYS 363 was fairly easy for the fall semester 2003 only because Prof. Beckman decided to give the students all of the test questions in advance and all we had to do is find answers to them and memorize them. He decided to do that after the first midterm when most of the class received grades below par. I recieved all A's on my tests and got 50 out of 50 on my two labe exams. But then you wonder why I got a B+ in the class. Well, Beckman for some reason graded the Acess projects very hard. Most of the class got a C on the project. Overall, he is much better than Garfolo, but this class is boring no matter who you take, even for ISYS majors.

Dr. Beckman is loud and animated, so his lectures don't lull you to sleep. However, I didn't find him necessarily superior to any of the other ISYS instructors. I went to his office a few times and did not see what made him "awesome" or "the best," much less "a real student's professor."

In fact, one gripe in particular I have with him is that his requirements for his database project are very, very vague, yet he's awfully nitpicky when it comes to grading it. In his office, he told me not to worry, that all he wanted was to make sure we could "throw a few tables together," and write some SQL. Yet when he posted grades, not a single project got full credit, and the average project grade seemed to be in the mid 70s. How can you succeed when objectives are so fuzzily stated? As much as it's obvious other people like him, I wouldn't sign up for a class with him again.

Prof Beckman makes this class as interesting as it can be. He is all about helping the students, not like the other teachers who are just puppets for administration. His exams are easy because he hands out the exact m/c questions for you to study!!No homework only 3 tests and one group project.

Bicman is coal! his thje best tueacher to BICS. I come to him becase his the eesest teeaher to undrestnad. I'm a esl student so i gonna be hard to write projects and so on whatver but he's not a care. You are a messed up but still his okay with that as long you trun in the stuff for class. I donot likes to wirte long massages about Bickman but he's so good. I will.

Hi s exums are touhg but I still like his and their hard to enrol always many people liking to take his suctions instead o f other pforfesorrs. You will be the best learn in SFS if yoo enrol in Bickman's clausses. Pls take him now.

Beckman is a superb instructor! The best ISYS professor period. He shows a lot of pride and interest in what he does which really motivates many students to learn. His lectures are crystal clear and very easy to comprehend. He is among a handful of SFSU professors where you really get your tuition's worth. He's the type of instructor you will remember years after you graduated for all the right reasons. A gem indeed!! Don't miss the chance to be in his class.

Prof. Beckman is by far the best instructor I've had at SFSU. His lecture stands out as clear and very easy to follow because he uses simple terms to explain complicated concepts. He also adds some humor to his lecture style which makes listening to him even more interesting. You'll do well in his class if you keep up with the homeworks (there's about 10 of them) and do an occasional review of the previous exams he's given in previous semesters which he posts online. His grading system is fair and based on a straight line so you get what you deserve. This guy just strikes me as a man who really enjoys teaching, respects students and looks out for their interests. He went the extra mile to get everyone in his classes a free pass to Oracle World Conference this Fall where you can learn lots of tech inside news and grab lots of goodies. His class was one that I really looked forward to attending each week. I highly recommend Prof. Beckman's classes to all who want to really learn about database management and information systems.

I never had chance to take Prof. Beckmans class even though I have been trying to enroll to his class. His class was always full before my priority registration time. He extremely cares all students no matter you are his student or not. He responds students e-mail right away. He respects everyone. I keep asking him all different kinds of questions out of his subject. He always answers my questions with much patience. He explains things so well that you actually understand what he's teaching you. You'll learn a lot from him. Some of the professors mentioned Prof. Beckman in the class and said that they never knew anyone more enthusiastic in teaching like him. Prof. Beckman is very famous in ISYS.He should teach more classes in ISYS.

Professor Beckman exemplifies what can go right in education if you have all the proper elements in place:

1. A good and thorough understanding of the subject matter. 2. Clarity of thought and expression. 3. Ability to clarify ambiguous material. 4. A willingness to abnegate one's personal time and ambitions for the benefit of others -(the students). 5. Conscientiousness with regard to educational quality. 6. Fairness 7. Enthusiasm 8. Sense of humor and the ability not to take oneself too seriously. 9. Basic human kindness

If you are looking for an "easy ride" this is not the place. If you want to find out what "real" college courses are like (as opposed to what you usually get in the academic abyss of the CSU system), then take this class. As an added bonus, you will have a teacher who genuinely cares about teaching and your success.

I believe I have made a concrete and unemotional case for the rare rating of A+.

If you're taking BUS782 take it with Paul Beckman. You wont regret it. He opens every class with current news articles which relate to the subject matter in a practicle sense. I found him very easy to talk to after class. His lectures are very clear and interesting. He posts all lectures, homeworks and grades on his web site so it's very easy to follow along in class. The textbook is pretty boring, but it's probably the most current one out there. The tests were difficult and required a lot of memorization. If you follow the lecture notes carefully you'll do well. The homework assignments and group projects were pretty straight forward and not too difficult. So take Paul Beckman next semester and thank me later.

Paul Beckman is a hell of a nice guy, probably because he's young and isn't tenured. Unfortunately, he taught us a class that was drier than a popcorn fart in July. The material, general IS theory and Excel and Access, was very easy to learn, and didn't require the constant handholding and babysitting. I'm sure he was more afraid of leaving some ignorant dumbass behind than helping those of us actually interested in the material to stay interested.

He posts his notes on his website, and follows them to the letter, so going to class after a few weeks was a waste of time. Beckman works hard; he brings in newspaper articles about issues relevant to the class and encourages discussion of them. He does not monopolize conversation, but really encourages folks to speak up and ask questions. I only wished he'd pick up the pace of class sometimes.

His tests required a lot of memorization, but I can't figure how they could be otherwise. Case studies of information systems in practice might be better. Instead of trying to list ideas in outline form, I think this class is begging for a case-study approach, where students evaluate corporate IS strategies, suggest alternatives, and use theories they learn in the meantime in the analyses. Otherwise, the class was boring and unengaging.

Outside of class, on e-mails and in person, he was one of only two professors who seemed to understand that we students are paying him, not the other way around. I think a lot of folks will like him, as a person if not because of the class. He's a great resource and will answer questions about technologies and strategies you read about in your spare time.

Dr. Beckman's lecture should be one of the best in SFSU. He can really teach you some boring stuff in a vivid way, and let you remember it too. Also, he treats students equally. Not like some, he is nice to all the students regardless your grade. To be more fare to students, he even ask you to write your name at the back of your exams, so your name will not affect him at when he grade your exams. To sum it, he teaches well, he knows the stuff, and he is cool!

Are you interested in taking Paul Beckman? Well I had him for two different BICS classes and what I like about him is that he has the knowledge to teach BICS. His teaching style is interesting and straight-forward because he made it that way. Too bad he does not use a MacIntosh computer because he has to deal with Microsoft, but he will get you to understand how to use Office '97 and other aspects concerning computers.

I rather have Paul Beckman than any other instructor because he respects people, but not Bill Gates. Also, he is one person that I would ask for help in any respect because he is committed in doing so.

I have heard so many horror stories about BICS 363 that I was expecting the worst when I took this class. However, I was in for a shock. Prof. Beckman wants us to do as well as we can in his class. Although it does appear hard to earn an 'A' in his class, he gives us opportunities to earn extra credit. The homework assignments are very useful and not mindless busywork. I like his enthusiam and the respect that he gives towards his students.

Yes, Prof. Beckman teaches with enthusiasm and always has time to meet w/ students when in need of help (as following reviews will say). The only point that I have to add, which I feel is very important is that Prof. Beckman's 363 class is a hard class to earn an A in. If you check the last Fall's semester's grades, you will see that the A percentage was very low in relation to the number of students enrolled. Either than that, Prof. Beckman's exam material can actually be retained in your mind after the taking the exam, unlike in many other classes. Prof. Beckman is a great individual, exams just a little hard. =)

Dr. Beckman is a very approachable person. He is one of the very few good professors in the BICS DEPT. He is very knowledgable in the computer field, you would find that he earns 5 degrees from some great Universities. Not only that he gives out understandable and easy to follow lecture, but he is also a working professional who can relates your learning experience with the reality in the computer industry. He encourages students to read articles for latest computer technologies by giving you extra credit. He is extremely helpful in his office hours.The only bad thing about his class is that all his lectures are posted on his website. With the classroom setting, you would have a tendency to browse the web rather than paying attention to the lecture. His first exam may throw you off if you are only relying on the cheat sheet. All his exams contain three part. The 1st part will provide you with a scenario and you will be asked a few short essay question to test you on your real understanding of the lecture. 2nd part is fill in the blank and M.C. which come strictly from the book. The 3rd part tests you on the software. The test is not tricky but you have to study for it to get good grade. The final project could be a bit challenging but it's not hard to get a good grade. One more comment, the way he started his first lecture is pretty interesting, I don't want to tell you here. You should go check it out.

Professor Beckman is awesome. I wish more teachers would be like him. He always has time for the students. He is very enthusiastic about his subject and teaching at all. Take his class, and you'll never regret it. His exams are mostly from his lectures, and there are no tricky questions.

Professor Beckman is the best!! He lectures are easy to understand. Compared to other professors the main difference with Professor Beckman is that he makes the material interesting. Computer classes are not easy but Professor Beckman made it easy for students to learn. He cares about his students very much and try his best to educate them. We need to have more teacher like Professor Beckman.

I remember taking BICS 263 with Prof. Beckman almost 2 years ago. It was an easy class and he made it enjoyable. An easy class may not be an enjoyable class but like what the other students have said, Dr. Beckman makes it really enjoyable and interesting. His communication skills with students are first class and he adopts a very positive attitude when approached by students with questions related to classes, regardless if you are one of his students. He is all smiles and has always answered to students' needs. Unlike the older professors, Dr. Beckman stands out amongst them as a viable personality, whom I feel has the ability to single-handedly transform the BACS department into a viable entity. It is time for those 'antique' professors to make way for younger blood.(those old professors are obsolete and are neither effective nor innovative. NOTE: How can we trust them to equip us with the skills needed in the next millenium when they themselves belong to the museum?) As they say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks! I strongly feel that the BACS department needs a major 'make-over'. And I think Dr. Beckman has that ability. Three cheers to Dr. Beckman!!!!

I have to say that this instructor is the best of the best. He is just a wonderful person and very caring. He makes teaching fun and he knows what he's doing unlike many BICS instructors. I would recommend Prof. Beckman to anyone who needs to take BICS 363. You will learn a lot from him the easy way...

Dr. Beckman is one of the best professors in SFSU. He teaches with enthusiasm and promotes students to learn. He grades fairly and the exams really test on what he has mentioned in class. He brings current subjects related to what we learn to class and encourges students to speak out. He treats students WITHOUT favoritism, attitide, or disrespect. His teaching skills and enthusiam in teaching are his strengths.

Mr. Beckman is the best teacher I have ever taken in my life...You will love the way he lectures... To survive in his class.. come to class everyday, do your homework and study from his class notes.. Mr Beckman are willing to answer all his students' questions, he always prepares for the class lectures, he always keep track the students' grade he motivates his students to survive in college...

Dr. Beckman shows his care to his students especially after each midterm, he will ask the students is that to difficult or is it too easy. I strongly agree with the previous reviewers. I think there is no others BICS 363 teacher is better than Dr. Beckman. I really appreciate his teaching style because he tries to make everything for people to understand easily.

Mr. Beckman is a great teacher. He is very approachable, fair, and kind. Mr. Beckman gives three tests and a final. He allows you to have a cheat sheet, 8.5"x11", back and front. The tests are really fair and the length is comparable to the time he gives you to complete the test. His homework assignments are interesting and deal mainly with Excel, Access, and creating your own Web page. There is also a group project which deals with Access. Mr.Beckman makes the subject really interesting by giving us many real world examples. The textbook is generally confusing but used with Mr.Beckman's lecture notes, he makes it really easy to understand. I learned a lot about computers from Mr.Beckman. I would recommend him to anyone!

He's an awesome professor I've ever seen at SFSU. Especially in BICS department. (BICS dept. lacks of valuable instructors, as you know) The greatest thing is his personality. He is always nice and fair to his students, and he welcomes any questions and comments at any time. He encourages students to study but never forces. Personally, I had a question about selecting BICS electives and went to his office to get some feedback or advice. He was so kind, caring, and listened to me for an hour, and gave lots of useful comments. Regardless of whether you like to learn about computer or not, he makes you like to learn more. I will encourage anybody who needs BICS363 to take his class. You'll never regret!!!