CSCI 100
Seeing Is Believing

Basic Information

Course Description

Textbooks

Your Evaluation

Your Time Outside Class

Lectures And Calendar

LTI Assessment

Basic Information

Course Description

Catalog Description For CS100    "Seeing Is Believing"     Fall 2007

Here are more details than could fit in the catalog!

Class format will be discussion - you will have plenty of chance to contribute to what's happening in class and to ask questions.  In general you will have something you must prepare for every class; I believe that practicing on concrete tasks helps you understand.   We will be taking small steps, but there will be a new step every day.  I'm a believer in the class rolling along with this kind of flow:

                                 

The semester's classes  will divide up about as follows: 

1/4 - thinking about "Seeing Is Believing";  what does it mean, how do we go about doing it, examples from various disciplines, etc.   When you complete this section you will be able to talk about various ways to present data, be able to produce simple data displays, and have contributed to a discussion of when "Seeing Is Believing".

Textbook

Required:

Lewis and Loftus, "Java Software Solutions: Foundations of Program Design, Fifth Edition",  Addison Wesley, 2007,  ISBN  0321409493  $99.00!!

I recommend that you check out amazon.com for the best price on this book - it will generally be less expensive than the bookstore.

Materials that will be available in the Library:

Your Evaluation

Your evaluation in this course is determined by:

Budgeting time is always difficult for First Year Students.  So here are some guidelines:

I will be expecting you to deliver something for every class.  This could easily take you several hours of preparation; and sometimes it's necessary to learn more or get additional information before you can complete the assignment.  So the wisest course of action is to spread the preparation out over several sessions - in the first part, understand what it is you need to do, let that marinate for a bit, and then come back and complete the assignment, leaving time for last minute glitches.

In addition, for this class we will have a Peer Learning Assistant (PLA).  The PLA is someone who has gone thru this kind of course in the past.  He/She is in a position to give you concrete advice on assignment preparation.  The PLA  will be setting up weekly office hours at times convenient to you.  It is expected that you will meet the PLA during his/her normal office hours in order to get assistance.  For most problems in life, there are "ho hum" solutions and "elegant" solutions.  Your goal on any of these assignments is to do more than the minimum required but to find an interesting and unique solution;  this is what the PLA is prepared to do for you.

All told, the time required outside of class could be 5 - 7 or more hours per week.  Expect to make this kind of time commitment.

Lectures And Calendar