This course introduces students to some of the big ideas in computer science. It is intended for students who have no prior programming experience. It will excite students about the application of computer science to various disciplines, and show the social impact possible through the use of technology in developing regions, politics, medicine, and other fields. Several core concepts in computer science will be presented, including logic, problem-solving techniques, data representation, computer hardware, and hardware-software interaction. Students will leave this course with basic programming and problem-solving skills, increased technical literacy, and a greater ability to recognize problems that can be solved with technology.
Lectures in Saguaro Hall, room 101. Mon/Weds/Fri 9:00-9:50am. This course also has a section component. The time and location varies by section, so check the course schedule for this info.
None!
The course will be a combination of lecture and discussion sections. Both will include in-class discussions and small-group activities. Assignments will be done individually and (if specified) in small groups.
The successful CSc 101 student will be able to:
The main course website (benjdd.com/courses/cs101/spring-2018/) will host the majority of the content, including the syllabus, slides, lecture notes, and assignments. We will only use D2L for submitting assignments and posting grades. We will also use piazza for questions and discussion.
We will use Piazza as the primary platform for announcements, discussion, and Q&A. You should not email the instructor or section-leaders directly. If you have a general question, post it publicly. If you have a private question, or would like to include your work or solutions to a problem or assignment, post a private question to only the instructors. Never include your code or solutions in a public post.
The points for this course are distributed as follows:
Final grades will be assigned by summing up the points earned from the exams, assignments, and group quizzes. The final grade will be chosen based on the following rubric:
University policy regarding grades and grading systems is available at http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/grades-and-grading-system
The Department of Computer Science Grading Policy is as follows:
The exams will cover material discussed in-class, in the readings, and in assignments. They will also draw from concepts that the students learn when doing the homework assignments and may include any material covered up to the point of the exam. They will be graded within one week of being given.
There will be 13-15 homework assignments. The majority of these will be programming assignments. These assignments will be graded based on both program correctness (passing all of the test cases) and code formatting style (properly indenting code, good commenting, and following naming/style conventions). A few of the assignments may be written homeworks. In the written homeworks, students will solve logic problems, develop simple algorithms, write short-answer responses, etc. These will be graded within one week after the last valid submission date by the instructors and teaching assistants.
Homework assignments are due at the date/time specified on each assignment. Each student will be allowed 3 late days over the course of the semester. If a student chooses to use a late day, they may submit a homework one day (24 hours) late without penalty. Only one late day may be used per assignment. Once all late days have been used, a late homework submission will result in a grade of zero.
There will be 14 group quizzes throughout the semester. These will not be announced ahead-of-time, and they can not be made up under any circumstance. However, the lowest 4 grades will be dropped. The remaining 10 will count towards your grade at 1% each. When given, these will generally be on concepts covered within the past 2-3 class periods. Students must work in groups of two, and may talk amongst themselves. Section leaders will also be available to provide clarification and guidance. These will generally take ~10 minutes of class-time.
There are no scheduled extra credit opportunities, but they may be assigned by the discretion of the instructor.
Exams and group quizzes must be taken during the assigned class period. They may not be made up, except in the case of an emergency situation. If an emergency arises and a student is unable to take an exam or quiz because of it, students must provide documentation showing why they were unable to attend the exam or quiz.
The final exam will be on May 10th (Thursday) from 10:30am-12:30pm. Do not make travel plans that conflict with this date!
This class is being taught in a collaborative learning space (CLS). The room is structured in such a way as to promote collaborative learning and group-work. There will be a number of in-class group activities mixed in with lecture.
Attendance at lecture is not recorded, but you should still come. Attendance at section is required and recorded.
As a CS student, you have access to the computers in Gould-Simpson room 228. This is a computer lab operated by the CS department. You may use these machines for course-work.
In addition to attending lecture 3 times per-week, you are required to attend a once-per-week section. In section, you will work on problems, review concepts. Your section leader will sometimes introduce new concepts as well. Attendance at section is recorded by both a sign-in sheet and you submitting the work you have done. You must do both, and solve a sufficient number of problems to get the points for attendance. You have 2 “free” section skips. After that, each section you skip will result in a 3% deduction from your final grade in the course.
If you miss an exam due to a medical or other emergency, you may be asked to provide documentation before being allowed to make-up the points. You also must let the instructor know you will miss the exam with 48-hours notice before the exam, if possible.
Course communication and announcements will be made either in-class, on D2L, the class webpage, or on the course Piazza page.
Below are the required and suggested texts for this course. You will not be required to do any reading from the texts in the suggested section that are purchase-only. They are listed as a helpful reference, and will come in handy if the student is interested in more in-depth reading on some topics we will be covering.
The instructor may assign additiona readings from online articles, blogs, papers, and library resources.
Is is highly recommended that you own of have access to a laptop or desktop computer. Either Mac or Windows is OK.
The Processing IDE.
See the “schedule” section of the course home-page.
The UA’s policy concerning Class Attendance, Participation, and Administrative Drops is available at http://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/class-attendance-participation-and-administrative-drop
The UA policy regarding absences for any sincerely held religious belief, observance or practice will be accommodated where reasonable: http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/religious-accommodation-policy.
Absences preapproved by the UA Dean of Students (or dean’s designee) will be honored. See https://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/absences
Participating in the course and attending lectures and other course events are vital to the learning process.
Attendance at lecture is not recorded, but you are expected to attend, and are responsible for all information conveyed therein.
Attendance at discussion section is required and recorded.
Students who miss class due to illness or emergency are required to bring documentation from their healthcare provider or other relevant, professional third parties. Failure to submit third-party documentation will result in unexcused absences.
The Department of Computer Science is committed to providing and maintaining a supportive educational environment for all. We strive to be welcoming and inclusive, respect privacy and confidentiality, behave respectfully and courteously, and practice intellectual honesty. Disruptive behaviors (such as physical or emotional harassment, dismissive attitudes, and abuse of department resources) will not be tolerated. The complete Code of Conduct is available on our department web site. We expect that you will adhere to this code, as well as the UA Student Code of Conduct, while you are a member of this class.
To foster a positive learning environment, students and instructors have a shared responsibility. We want a welcoming and inclusive environment and one where we can challenge ourselves to succeed. To that end, our focus is on the tasks at hand and not on extraneous activities (e.g., texting, chatting, reading a newspaper, making phone calls, web surfing, etc.). Students are asked to refrain from disruptive conversations with people sitting around them during lecture Students observed engaging in disruptive activity may be asked to cease this behavior. Those who continue to disrupt the class may be asked to leave lecture or discussion and may be reported to the Dean of Students.
The UA Threatening Behavior by Students Policy prohibits threats of physical harm to any member of the University community, including to oneself. See http://policy.arizona.edu/education-and-student-affairs/threatening-behavior-students.
At the University of Arizona we strive to make learning experiences as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnancy, you are welcome to let me know so that we can discuss options. You are also encouraged to contact Disability Resources (520-621-3268) to explore reasonable accommodation.
Please be aware that the accessible table and chairs in this room should remain available for students who find that standard classroom seating is not usable.
Students are encouraged to share intellectual views and discuss freely the principles and applications of course materials. However, graded work/exercises must be the product of independent effort unless otherwise instructed. Students are expected to adhere to the UA Code of Academic Integrity as described in the UA General Catalog. See http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/academic-integrity/students/academic-integrity.
You may discuss homework assignments with other students at the conceptual level, but you may not do any of the following unless given permission:
The University Libraries have some excellent tips for avoiding plagiarism, available at http://www.library.arizona.edu/help/tutorials/plagiarism/index.html.
Selling class notes and/or other course materials to other students or to a third party for resale is not permitted without the instructor’s express written consent. Violations to this and other course rules are subject to the Code of Academic Integrity and may result in course sanctions. Additionally, students who use D2L or UA e-mail to sell or buy these copyrighted materials are subject to Code of Conduct Violations for misuse of student e-mail addresses. This conduct may also constitute copyright infringement.
Cheating on an assignment may result in the following penalties:
The University is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination; see http://policy.arizona.edu/human-resources/nondiscrimination-and-anti-harassment-policy
UA Academic policies and procedures are available at http://catalog.arizona.edu/policies
Student Assistance and Advocacy information is available at http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu/student-assistance/students/student-assistance
Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policy, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.