CSCE 181 - Introduction to Computing
Spring 2014
Professor: Dr. Thomas R. Ioerger
Office: 322C Bright Bldg.
Phone: (979)458-5518
email: ioerger@cs.tamu.edu
office hours: Fridays, 2:00-3:00, 322C Bright
Peer Teachers: (check pt.cs.tamu.edu for office hours schedule)
- Nicholas Melnyk, melnynic1@tamu.edu
- Ed Cirilo, ciri116@neo.tamu.edu
- Thomas Klingshirn, tvkwoodlands@tamu.edu
Meeting: TR, 3:55-5:10, HRBB 124
Course Web Page: https://people.engr.tamu.edu/ioerger/cs181-spr14/index.html
Course Description (from the TAMU course catalog)
Introduce entering students to the broad field of computing; presentations
from industry and academia about how computer science concepts are used in
research and end products.
Important! - CSCE 181 will no longer be designated
as a Writing (W) class.
Prerequisites: None.
Textbook (optional): Networked Life, Mung
Chiang, Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Course Objectives
The objectives of this course are to inform students about the field of
Computer Science and Engineering, and to introduce them to the wide range of
exciting applications of computation and technology in society. We will
explain that Computer Science is not just about programming, but about
computational thinking and the study of algorithms.
Important terms and concepts in the field will
be introduced, as a preview to what will be learned in other courses.
We will explain the motivation for various aspects of our major, including
the core course sequence
in our curriculum, math requirements, supporting area, co-ops, etc.
We will also discuss
practical issues that are faced by Software Engineers (abstraction,
testing, ethics, teamwork).
In
addition, invited speakers will give guest lectures on current topics such as
parallel programming, artificial intelligence, and social networking, which
will be used to illustrate algorithmic ideas and give students an overview of
different areas within Computer Science.
Student Outcomes
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
- explain what computational thinking means, and how computation influences
many aspects of our technological society
- explain how computer science is about algorithms, not just programming
- be familiar with important terms and concepts in the field
- understand the rationale for the sequence of courses required of our majors
- understand different aspects of being a software engineer
Grading
The grade for the course will be determined as follows:
- attendance - 70%
- small project - 30%
- (There will be no exams.)
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting. Your
numerical grade for this component will be based simply on the proportion of
classes you attend over the semester. For example, if the class actually
meets 25 times during the semester, and a student misses 5 classes, they will
receive a grade of 80% on the attendance component. Excused absences for
legitimate reasons (see Student
Rules) are always allowed and will not be counted against the student.
At the end of the semester, each student's score will be calculated
as a weighted average using the percentages above.
Students with a score of >=90% will receive an A.
Students with a score of >=80% will receive a B (at least).
Students with a score of >=70% will receive a C.
Students with a score of >=60% will receive a D.
Students with a score of <60% will receive an F.
These are the minimum requirements. The actual cutoffs may be lowered
at the end of the semester, at the discretion of the instructor.
Schedule:
| date | topic | reading assignment |
| Tues, Jan 14 | first day of class - Welcome | |
| Thurs, Jan 16 | Computational
Thinking |
Google's
material on Computational Thinking
|
| Tues, Jan 21 | Algorithms | |
| Thurs, Jan 23 | in-class Computational Thinking exercise |
online article on
Computational Thinking
algorithm template
Vending Machine example |
| Tues, Jan 28 | About the Major (CS at TAMU) | |
| Thurs, Jan 30 | Word Clouds | I will be discussing this:
www.wordle.net. You might want to try it
out beforehand.
here is my partial
implementation we will talk about in class
|
| Tues, Feb 4: | Programming Languages and Software Engineering |
Teach Yourself to Program in Ten
Years (Peter Norvig)
|
| Thurs, Feb 6: | Five Key
Ideas in Computer Science | |
| Tues, Feb 11: | Data Science | |
| Thurs, Feb 13: | class cancelled |
| Tues, Feb 18: | Dr. Frank Shipman (TAMU Dept. of
CSE) - Humans and Computers |
| Thurs, Feb 20: | class cancelled |
| Tues, Feb 25: | Web Programming and
Markup Languages | Project handed
out
note - you can also use people.tamu.edu
to host your .html/.xml pages; any students can get a web
account on here
|
| Thurs, Feb 27: | class cancelled |
| Tues, Mar 4: | AI and Intelligent
Systems |
YouTube
video of IBM's Watson supercomuter playing Jeopardy
YouTube explanation of how Watson works |
| Thurs, Mar 6: | class cancelled |
| Tues, Mar 10-14: | (Spring Break) | |
| Tues, Mar 18: | Ethics for Software
Engineers
| ACM Code of Ethics |
| Thurs, Mar 20: | David McMahon, Career Center,
slides | |
| Tues, Mar 25: | class cancelled |
| Thurs, Mar 27: | class cancelled |
| Tues, Apr 1: | Dr. Jennifer Welch (TAMU Dept. of CSE) - Parallel and Distributed
Computing
| Thurs Apr 3: | Andre Thomas (TAMU Dept. of
Vizualization, formerly of Electronic Arts) - Game Development |
|
Tues, Apr 8: | Technologies that
make the Internet Robust |
Project due
Networked Life:
sections 10.1-2, 13.1, 14.1, 15.1-2, 17.1
|
| Thurs, Apr 10: | Social
Networking
(Algorithms behind Google, Ebay, Amazon, Facebook,
Netflix, Skype, etc.) | Networked Life: sections 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1-6.2, 8.1, 9.1
|
| Tues, Apr 15: | class cancelled |
| Thurs, Apr 17: | Dr. Dez Song, Robotics |
| Thurs, Apr 24 | last day of class - class cancelled | |
|
Academic Integrity Statement and Policy
Aggie Code of Honor: An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.
see: Honor Council Rules and Procedures
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy Statement
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination
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 Disability Services, in
Cain Hall, Room B118, or call 845-1637. For additional information visit
http://disability.tamu.edu.
Links
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