CPSC 181: Introduction to Computing
Spring 2008

Announcements

• 4/22: Computers and Society slides are here! PLEASE do the on-line course evaluation: go to http://pica.tamu.edu, click on Student Login, log in with your NetID and password, and choose CPSC 181 for appraisal. Deadline is midnight, Tue, April 29.

• 4/18: The deadline for the final report is posponed to 5:00 PM, Tuesday, April 29. You can deliver your paper to Dr. Welch's office or to Aaron's office.

• 3/24: Dr. Schaefer's slides from his presentation on Feb 5 are available here.

• 3/23: Lecture for week of March 31 is scheduled for TUESDAY, April 1.

• 3/14: Lecture for week of April 14 is scheduled for THURSDAY, April 17.

• 3/4: Lectures slides from today's lecture by Patricia DiCuffa on citing your sources are available here.

• 2/25: I have postponed many of the due dates to accommodate another round of feedback on your Final Report proposals. Please check the schedule below and update your own calendars accordingly. REVISED PROPOSALS DUE TUE, 3/4!

• 2/15: Don't forget about the peer teacher resource in the CS department! In addition to the peer teacher, Russell Allen, for our course, there are peer teachers for MATH 151 (George Lucchese) and MATH 152 (Annchen Knodt). They can also help with MATH 251. More information, including office hours and location, is here.

• 2/4: If you are interested in the history of the Internet, you might like to attend this Computer Engineering seminar: Dr. Guy Almes, TAMU, "The Internet: History and Dynamics", Tue, Feb 5, 3:55 PM, room 103 Zachry.

• 1/29: Peer teacher Russell Allen's office hours are Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:00 - 4:00 PM, in room 219 Bright.

• 1/29: Lectures slides from today's lecture (writing process and grammar) are available here.

• 1/29: Lecture slides from Jan 24 lecture (history of computing) are available here.

• 1/24: Aaron's office hours are now set to be Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00 - 2:00 PM; other times by appointment. He holds them in room 229 of the Reed McDonald building.

• 1/24: You may use any style of references that you are familiar with (e.g., MLA), as long as you are consistent within each paper. You are welcome to use the IEEE format, available here -- scroll down to section on References; also, no need for them to be double-spaced.

• 1/15: Today's lecture slides are available here.

• 1/15: The syllabus has the wrong URL for the course web page. The correct URL is http://parasol.cs.tamu.edu/people/welch/teaching/181.s08/. (Of course if you are reading this, you already figured that out.)

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Syllabus

Teaching Assistant: Aaron Wolin
Office: 229 Reed McDonald
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00 - 2:00 PM; other times by appointment
Email: awolin (at) neo.tamu.edu

Peer Teacher: Russell Allen
Office: 219 Bright
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 3:00 - 4:00 PM; other times by appointment
Email: rvallen (at) gmail.com

Class Meeting Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:20 - 3:35 PM, room 124 Bright. There will be 14 class meetings total, typically one each week. Please check course web page for exact schedule, which is subject to change.

Course Web Page: http://parasol.cs.tamu.edu/people/welch/teaching/181.s08. You are responsible for checking it regularly.

Required Text: Writing for Computer Science, 2nd Edition, by Justin Zobel, Springer, 2004. Readings will be assigned from the book. You are expected to read these sections, and use the information to aid your writing. The book should also be an excellent reference for the future.

Recommended Texts:

• Great Ideas in Computer Science, Alan W. Bierman, MIT Press, 1990. Not so new but still has good general material.
• Computer Science, An Overview, J. Glenn Brookshear, Addison Wesley, multiple editions.
• An Invitation to Computer Science, G. Michael Schneider and Judith L. Gersting, Brooks/Cole, multiple editions.
• A Balanced Introduction to Computer Science, David Reed, Prentice Hall, multiple editions.

1. to introduce you to the broad field of computing and
2. to introduce you to technical writing.

• Short Reports: Complete six short written reports with a grade of 7 or higher (out of 10)
• Final Report: Complete this report with a grade of 70 or higher (out of 100)
• Class Participation: You are expected to ask questions of the speakers. State your name before asking the question so that the teaching assistant can record the information during class. You must ask at least two questions, in two different classes. You must also visit either Dr. Welch or Aaron at least once during the semester (the point is to encourage you to take advantage of their office hours).
• Attendance: Attendance will be taken, and is mandatory for the class. At most two unexcused absences will be allowed. Students with more than two unexcused absences will fail the course. An absence is considered excused with proper university-approved documentation. More information is available at http://student-rules.tamu.edu/rule7.htm.

Academic Integrity: The Aggie Honor Code states "An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those who do". More information on academic integrity, plagiarism, etc. is available at the Aggie Honor System Office web site http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor, including:

• Definitions of academic misconduct, which includes plagiarism
• List of sanctions that can be applied if academic misconduct is found.

For the assignments in this class, discussion of concepts with others is encouraged, but all assignments must be done on your own, unless otherwise instructed. If you use any source other than the text, reference it/him/her, whether it be a person, a book, a solution set, a web page or whatever. You MUST write up the solutions in your own words. Copying is strictly forbidden.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy Statement: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal antidiscrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Services for Students with Disabilities in Cain Hall, Rm. B118, or call 845-1637.

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Schedule

Written Reports

Short Report 1: You are to choose six faculty members from our department, and write one long paragraph (6 to 8 sentences, taking about 1/4 to 1/3 of a page) about the research of each. You should choose two assistant professors, two associate professors, and two full professors. Each paragraph should give a brief summary of the research conducted by that faculty member. Do not just list buzzwords (e.g., "Prof. Smith studies underwater basket-weaving." is not sufficient), but try to learn a little more about the issues being studied.

Short Reports 2 - 6: For each of these reports, you are to give a brief review of a prior lecture from class that has occurred before the due date of the report. (The introductory lecture and presentations from the Writing Center are not eligible.) Each report should contain the following sections:

• Topic: In your own words, describe the topic discussed in class (1 paragraph)
• Summary: In your own words, provide the major points of what was covered in the class (at least 2 paragraphs)
• Personal View: summarize your personal view of the lecture (1 to 2 paragraphs)

1. Short Report 1 due Tue, 1/29
2. Short Report 2 due Tue, 2/12
3. Short Report 3 due Tue, 2/26
4. Short Report 4 due Tue, 4/1
5. Short Report 5 due Thu, 4/17
6. Short Report 6 due Thu, 4/24

• Spelling:
  • High: No spelling errors
  • Medium: One or two spelling errors, but not the type to make meaning obscure, and not of basic or common words
  • Low: Major misspelling of important or common words, or a number of minor errors that interfere with reading or comprehension.
• Grammar and Punctuation:
  • High: Punctuation and grammar are appropriate to the audience and genre and enhance the style. The grammar and punctuation conform to the conventions for edited American English. There are no punctuation or grammar errors.
  • Medium: Punctuation and grammar are appropriate to the audience and genre. They conform to the conventions for edited American English. Errors may occur but are few and do not markedly distract the reader.
  • Low: Errors occur frequently and mar the writer's intent and the reader's comprehension. Reading is frequently interrupted by error. The writer has not proofread.
• Completeness:
  • High: All sections are included and the content is consistent with the lecture/assignment.
  • Medium: One section is missing and/or the content is not consistent with the lecture/assignment.
  • Low: More than one section is missing and the content is not consistent with the lecture/assignment.
• Style:
  • High: The writing sounds mature and professional and reads clearly. The style is concise and to the point.
  • Medium: the writing is comprehensible but at times a bit unclear or wordy.
  • Low: The writing seems inappropriate for the professional or educated reader, is difficult to read, wordy, or unclear.

Final Report: Your final report should be about a computer science topic of your choice. You should pick a particular subarea of computer science; your topic may be either somewhat general (e.g., "graphics") or much more specific (e.g., "real-time ray tracing methods"). Your report should give an overview of that area, including:

• A summary of the types of challenges and problems that this area addresses
• the current state-of-the-art
• Major open challenges in this area

• Thu, 2/21: Final Report proposal due: Turn in a one-page typed document giving (in addition to your name) the topic you have chosen, along with an initial list of at least three references you plan to use. Be sure to use appropriate bibliographic citation.
• Tue, 3/4: Revised Final Report proposal due: If your original proposal was too vague or on an inappropriate topic, your proposal is marked "Revise and Resubmit". In this case, you must visit with Dr. Welch or Aaron for help in developing your ideas, and then turn in a revised proposal.
• Tue, 3/18: Final Report outline: Turn in a 1-2 page outline of your report, along with the full set of references you will be using.

• Tue, 4/8: Final Report draft: You are to turn in an initial draft of your paper. Feedback will be given. If this draft is satisfactory, then you do not need to do a revision.
• Tue, 4/29: Final Report due. This final draft should be revised to reflect the feedback you got on your earlier draft. (*due date updated 4/18*)

The meaning of levels for Spelling, Grammar/Punctuation, and Style will be as in the short assignments. However, a finer gradation may be used for the final report. Note that 70% is considered passing.

• Completeness:
  • High: The report addresses all aspects (e.g., state of the art, challenges) of the topic at a reasonably complete level.
  • Medium: One aspect of the topic is missing or is only mentioned with no exposition.
  • Low: More than one aspect are not addressed or are addressed only superficially.
• Content:
  • High: The material presented shows a clear understanding of the topic and the major challenges within it. It effectively synthesizes material gained from multiple sources.
  • Medium: The subarea chosen is reviewed, but there is not much depth to the presentation. The topic is reviewed at a level similar to that which might be found in an overview chapter of a textbook. It does not give more information than would typically be found in a single reference source on the topic.
  • Low: Only a superficial overview of the subarea of choice is given. The depth does not go beyond that which might be found in the introductory page of a text in that area.

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Source