[Note: this webpage last modified Friday, 04-Feb-2011 19:44:51 EST]
This is the website for the 003 section of CS 151 Introduction to Programming offered in the fall of 2010 and taught by Jeff Kinne. This is the section that meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2:00-2:50pm in room A009 of Root Hall. The registrar's information about our section of the course is here. You can get the key information about this course by clicking on the links on the left of this webpage.
One important note is that we are using a different textbook in this section than in the other sections of CS 151. The required textbook for this section of CS 151 is Introduction to Computing and Programming in Python, A Multimedia Approach, 2nd edition by Mark Guzdial and Barbara Ericson. The approach taken in this textbook - introducing programming through manipulating pictures, sounds, and videos - has been very successful and well-received by a wide range of students at many different universities!
All course announcements will be emailed to you using blackboard. I will also duplicate important announcements here.
September 16: I put a link to the "Reference/Study" sheet that I created on the left-hand side of this webpage. I will keep it updated with "what we know" up to at least the first exam.
September 14: Office hours have been changed to be MW 4:00-5:00pm in A009.
September 8: My email message to everyone today...
Here are some more detailed thoughts responding to people's concerns in class today.
* Study sheet. Some of you seemed to want a "quick reference" about functions we know about, mistakes to avoid, etc. As far as I know, a good one does not exist. The best thing is to make your own. And as I said in class, you can turn it in (electronically - by email or in blackboard under Assignments, then "Study Sheet") before class starts on Friday. I will count it as at most half of the points you missed on the second homework (depending on how good/useful it is). Please also indicate whether I can post your study sheet to blackboard or the course website for others to use. For any that I post, I will remove your name first.
* Survey. I put a survey up in blackboard (click on "Assignments, Quizzes, and Survey", then "Surveys", then you'll see it). Please try and complete the survey before Friday's class. It will probably take you 10 minutes.
* Come and see me if you're having problems. Most days I am on campus 8am-4pm, and am in the office when I am not in class. I have class 2-4pm MWF and 2-3:30pm TR. But email or call (237-2136, listed on my webpage too) to make sure I am there.
* Quizzes. My temporary solution to the problem with quizzes (you can't see what you missed) is to put all the quiz questions into the "Practice for Quizzes". You can take the quiz, or just submit with no answers and you will see the correct answers and feedback explaining the answers. I will add the quiz questions the night after the quiz is due.
* Patience, patience, patience! Computers and programming can be very frustrating. But the more frustrated you are, the more you will be unable to think straight. If you are getting frustrated, it is a good time to take a break or reevaluate how you are trying to approach the problem.
* How to learn on your own. If you don't understand a homework question, ask me for clarification, look in the book for similar examples, look at the code examples I have posted on the course website for each lecture, ask each other for help, etc.
* You can improve! I have already seen a number of students drastically improve their homework scores and understanding from the 1st homework to the 2nd. It is normal, especially in your first year of college, to struggle a bit at the beginning of the semester. Then you get a feel for what is expected and how to succeed, and can improve throughout the semester. Don't give up.
* It's your education, take charge of it. If you are confused, it's up to you to seek help, and do it sooner rather than later. You don't want to get behind in a science/math type class.
* I am planning to count HW1 for half as much as the other homeworks. As mentioned above, you can get points back on HW2 by doing a study sheet. I don't plan to make these exceptions the rule. You need to start the homeworks early and ask for help if needed.
* HW2 stats. I gave these in the email but will not post them on a public website.
* "Total" grade stats. I think you can see a letter grade assigned in the total grade in My Grades in blackboard. This is a hypothetical of what I might assign if the semester ended right now. For now, I gave 5 points per +/- grade (so 95-100 A+, 90-95 A, etc.). I think this is very lenient, so it is likely to change as the semester goes on and your grades improve. I have some stats in the email but won't put this on a public website. I hope these improve, and they certainly should if you put in the effort and follow my advice. I will incorporate in the "drop the lowest score" stuff once we have more grades under our belts.
* You are paying for this education! I want to get you to learn as much as possible/reasonable for the money you are spending!
* I will try to incorporate in a few ore "easy" problems on the quizzes and homeworks to help build your confidence.
* I am willing to be a bit flexible right now, but you guys have to work on this stuff outside of class! That is the way this course works. You cannot succeed in this class if you don't work on the course outside of class time - at the computer, trying things in JES.
That's probably enough for now.
September 3: From now on, homeworks will be due before class on the Wednesday after they are handed out. The webpage and blackboard have been updated to reflect this.
August 28: It seemed at the end of class yesterday that some of you were a little bit lost and intimidated, while some of you had already mastered the material we were talking about yesterday, and many were somewhere in between. This is completely normal at the beginning of your first programming course, so DON'T PANIC.
That said, if you do not work on this course outside of class, you will likely not succeed in the course. Programming for the first time just takes a lot of PRACTICE and a lot of PATIENCE. Here are some concrete suggestions that I think will help you A LOT if you follow them.
1. Read the assigned reading!
There generally is only 10 pages or so per lecture, so I do not think this is asking too much. If you are confused after the lecture is done, then go back and do the assigned reading again. That is why we use a textbook!
2. Practice, practice, practice!
That means typing in ALL of the examples from the assigned reading. There is no replacement for typing in the examples and trying out other things that come into your mind (hmm, I wonder what JES/Python will do if ...).
3. Take the online quizzes seriously!
Some of the online quiz questions test your basic knowledge, while others will be "just a little" tricky. The quiz questions are there to confirm what you have already learned and help you to continue to learn.
4. Work together and help each other out!
You see me only a few hours a week, but you can help each other out much more than that - both during class and outside of class. Remember that it is okay to talk to each other about the homework problems. You do have to turn in your own work, but you can talk to each other about problems you are having and how to solve them. I personally learn a lot better by talking to others and working together.
5. Come to office hours if you need it!
I will be in the lab Monday and Friday 4pm-5pm. If that time does not work for you, then feel free to set up an appointment with me to talk about what is troubling you.
Finally, I will make a note about "how difficult" the quizzes and homeworks will be. I want the quizzes and homeworks to be difficult enough that they force you to learn. You will learn by doing the reading, by coming to lecture, and by doing these assignments. For the assignments to force you to learn, they need to be a little bit challenging or tricky. Don't panic if you are slightly confused at first - that just means you will be learning by doing the assignment (a good thing!).
In terms of what letter grades I will assign, I will likely be more lenient in assigning these because I am aware the assignments can be challenging. We will discuss the letter grades after the homework assignments. Just do your best, try to be patient and excited to learn.
August 20: I have been informed by the library that they will not place the required text on reserve because that may discourage you from buying the text.
August 16: This webpage contains information about this course. Please read it!