Course Information and Introductions

1. University of Northern Iowa Course Information and Introductions Intro to Computer Science CS1510 Dr. Sarah Diesburg

2. University of Northern Iowa Instructor Sarah Diesburg (diesburg@cs.uni.edu) Office: 311 ITTC Office hours: MW 2-3pm, TTh 3-5pm, by appt. Class website: • http://www.cs.uni.edu/~diesburg/courses/cs1510_sp15/index.htm • UNI eLearning

3. University of Northern Iowa Teaching Assistants • Jordan Baker – bakerjal@uni.edu • Lab Assistant (10:00am), Grader • Huy Nguyen – nguyehad@uni.edu • Lab Assistant (8:00am)

4. University of Northern Iowa Class Schedule • Lecture M W F 9:00-9:50am in 328 ITTC • Mandatory • Three lectures per week • Lab • Section 1 Thurs 8:00-9:50am in 112 Wright • Section 2 Thurs 10:00am-11:50am in 339 Wright • Also mandatory • Hands-on work on projects for points • TA and I are available

5. University of Northern Iowa Today • Passing along attendance sheet • For rest of lectures, please sign by your name • Class objectives • What is computer science? • Logistics

6. University of Northern Iowa What is computer science?? • Computer science is a discipline that involves the understanding and design of computers and computational processes • And it’s a REALLY diverse discipline

7. University of Northern Iowa Robotics Computer Vision Graphics Ubiquitous Computing Wearable Computing Bioinformatics VirtualEnvironments

8. University of Northern Iowa Digital Special Effects Databases Information Security User informationAssurance Human ComputerInterface Design High Performance Simulation

9. University of Northern Iowa What do these things have in common? • They all treat the computer as only part of a bigger picture • They all treat the computer as a tool!

10. University of Northern Iowa Which tool would you rather use?

11. University of Northern Iowa Just like other tools, we have to be careful they aren’t misused

12. University of Northern Iowa Bioinformatics But how do we turn a computer from that thing on our desk… To that powerful tool that helps us solve problems?

13. University of Northern Iowa Programming! • Programming is the process of writing, testing, and maintaining the source code of computer programs • Collection of instructions that describe a task, or set of tasks, to be carried out by a computer • While this course is an introduction to computer science, it focuses on how we can program the computer to be the tool we need!

14. University of Northern Iowa A Well-Educated Computer Scientist Should be Able to... • Apply the fundamental concepts and techniques of • computation, • algorithms, and • computer design • …to a specific problem

15. University of Northern Iowa Our Goals This Semester • Increase our problem solving skills • Design good solutions to problems • Test how well they are indeed solutions to the problem • Provide the solution as a readable document

16. University of Northern Iowa A brief look at course logistics • Take the time outside of class to thoroughly read the course syllabus. • Some highlights…

17. University of Northern Iowa Why two websites? • eLearning is for interaction • Submit assignments and labs, view your grades • Traditional website is for notes, labs, and other downloads • Demo…

18. University of Northern Iowa Prerequisites • None • Some of you may have programming experience, others may not • Either way is fine

19. University of Northern Iowa Required Skills • Time and patience

20. University of Northern Iowa Course Material • Lecture notes (posted at the class website) • Textbook: • The Practice of Computing Using Python (2nd edition), by William Punch and Richard Enbody

21. University of Northern Iowa Class Grading

22. University of Northern Iowa Grading Scale • 100 – 92 A • 91.9 – 90 A- • 89.9 – 88 B+ • 87.9 – 82 B • 81.9 – 80 B- • 79.9 – 78 C+ • 77.9 – 72 C • 71.9 – 70 C- • 69.9 – 68 D+ • 67.9 – 62 D • 61.9 – 60 D- • 59.9 – 0 F

23. University of Northern Iowa Your Responsibilities • Understand lecture and reading materials • Attend office hours for extra help, as needed • Uphold academic honesty • Turn in your assignments on time • Check class web page and your UNI email account and regularly

24. University of Northern Iowa Dos and Don’ts • Do share debugging experiences • Do share knowledge of tools • Do acknowledge help from others • Do acknowledge sources of information from books and web pages

25. University of Northern Iowa Dos and Don’ts • Don’t cheat • Don’t copy code from other people or websites • Don’t paraphrase code from others either • E.g., changing variable names & indentations • Will be using sophisticated plagiarism checker • http://www.uni.edu/policies/301 • Don’t post code to the discussion board

26. University of Northern Iowa Course Policies • Attendance mandatory • There are no make-up exams for missed exams… • Honor code: read your student handbook • Students with disabilities • Report to Student Disability Resource Center • Bring me a letter within the first week of class

27. University of Northern Iowa To see or not to see me & TAs • We are not psychics • Please let us know if… • Class is too hard • You don’t have the background • Class can be improved in certain ways • When in doubt, email us…

28. University of Northern Iowa Survival Tips • Do post messages and read the discussion board frequently • Sign up to receive emails • Do not post code on the discussion board • If you absolutely need someone to look at your code, contact me or the TA • Web search engines are your good friends

29. University of Northern Iowa Programming Environment • Python freely available online (www.python.org) • But get version 3.4.1 • Do NOT get version 2

30. University of Northern Iowa Guidelines for Success in this Course • Prepare for lecture! Read the text selections before the start of lecture and complete any class prep assignment • On previous course evaluations, the NUMBER ONEanswer to the question “I could have improved my learning in this course by…” was some variation of “read the textbook”

31. University of Northern Iowa Guidelines for Success in this Course • Be on time. Class sessions will start promptly.  I will collect assignments at that time and will often start with important announcements. • Write code on your own! Think of simple problems on your and solve them.  If you wonder "what if," TRY IT!

32. University of Northern Iowa Guidelines for Success in this Course • Start assignments early so you have time to ask questions. • Face to face questions are better than email questions. • If you email me the night before something is due you shouldn’t get mad if I don’t respond. • If you spend more than 15 minutes staring at the computer stuck on something, ask for help!  • Make use of the office hours early! Don't wait until late in the term to seek help.

33. University of Northern Iowa Guidelines for Success in this Course • You can (and should) program from home • Remember, programming takes practice • Make sure that your code runs in the lab • Verify that code that runs on another machine actually runs in the lab so there are no surprises at grading time

34. University of Northern Iowa Guidelines for Success in this Course • Finally, remember, programming takes practice. You may not get it the first time, but keep trying, asking for help, and caring. Eventually, you might find out that you are pretty good at this whole process!

35. University of Northern Iowa Rooms you should know! • ITTC 328 – Lectures • ITTC 305 – The departmental office • ITTC 311 – My office • ITTC 335 – Student Lounge • Wright 112 – Section 1 lab. Can also work in here outside of lab times. • Wright 339 – Section 2 lab. Can also work in here outside of lab times.

36. University of Northern Iowa To Do • Buy a class thumb drive for your labs and assignments.