CS 111: Introduction to Computer Science

Computer science, especially when it is considered as one of the liberal arts, is perhaps best described as the study of formal processes for solving problems. These processes for solving problems, known as algorithms, are somewhat like recipes for baking a dish, or directions for navigating on road trips. It turns out that these marvelous devices that we call computers are wonderful at carrying out algorithms for us, and so they act as a remarkable testing and implementation environment for the algorithms that we create. Programming computers to carry out algorithms for us is probably the single-most common task that computer scientists do; yet, programming is only one aspect of computer science. In this course, we will engage in learning the fundamentals of computer science, both from a perspective of programming and of algorithms in general.

Said differently: some may argue that studying literature is relevant to all, since the ideas within are about life in general. Some may argue that studying chemistry is relevant to all, since everyone can benefit from an understanding of how the world is constructed. I argue that studying a bit of computer science is relevant to all, regardless of what one may end up doing, because the ideas within help one to formulate careful, rigorous, step-by-step approaches to whatever problems one needs to address in life.

• Instructor: Dave Musicant
• Email: dmusicant
• Office: Olin 321 (507-222-4369)
  
• Office hours: check my web site
  
• Prefects: Emily Litton, Sunny Kim
• Teaching assistants / graders: Jake Jasmer, Liam Keane, Anna Neiman-Golden, Ben Zhao

Python Programming: An Introduction to Computer Science, 3rd ed, by John Zelle. This book is a great source for learning the material that we will be covering in the course, and it has much better explanations (most of the time) than what you’ll find on random websites. It’s also well-priced. You can rent a used copy of it for the term from the college bookstore for under $25.

I will be regularly assigning readings from the textbook, and asking you to submit comments to help keep you up to date with the reading.

I would very much encourage you to make sure that you do use the 3rd edition of the text, as opposed to a prior one. You can probably get away with the 2nd edition if you had to, though the section numbering will be different, and there will be bits of content missing. The 1st edition is unusable for this course, as it is based on an older incompatible version of the Python language.

We’ve got a variety of ways of communicating with each other.

• In class! Bring general questions to class and I can answer for everyone.
• Office hours. I will be holding office hours in person; there is a link on the Moodle site for times that I will be available. You can find it in the “Course Blocks” section of the Moodle site; there’s a link for that on the top-right.
• I will use Moodle announcements for all general purpose announcements to the entire class. You will get an email copy of those announcements, and they are also kept in the Moodle announcements forum if you want to see them again later.
• You should also use the Moodle Questions & Answers forum for any questions related to the course. Please do so rather than emailing me, unless your question is of a personal nature (such as relating to your grade, or something like that). By posting your questions publicly, it’s like asking in class, and everyone in the class can benefit from the answer. Please also pitch in and help each other out: if you know the answer to someone else’s question, please go ahead and answer it. If you wish, you can post a question anonymously so that other students in the class can’t see who it was. Please use this sparingly, though; conversation tends to drop in quality if too much of it is anonymous.
• Frequency of communication: you should check the course Moodle site and your email at least once a day. I’ll be checking the Moodle Q&A forum and my email, and responding to people, three times a day: once early in the morning (likely before 8am CDT), once roughly in the middle of the day (sometime 11am-2pm), and once near the end of the working day (sometime 4pm-6pm). I’ll be less reliable on weekends. When engaging with course activities online, always use your Carleton Gmail/Google account rather than personal accounts.

The key goals over this term is for you to first learn to program in Python, and also to learn a number of other CS-related ideas.

To accomplish this, you’ll be doing a number of things.

• Participating in class!
• Working on CodeCheck labs. We’ll be taking a portion of each class to work on labs that you’ll mostly do in pairs. You should be turning these in. For the portions that you don’t have time to complete in class, you should submit them afterwards.
• Reading the textbook. After each reading, you’ll be posting a question or comment to Moodle.
• Doing assignments. I’ll have assignments posted to Moodle, with deadlines attached to them. You’ll need to submit those. Some of them will be individualized, and some of them will be done via pair programming. Either way, you can still talk with others about the assignment, and get help.
• Taking exams. The key goal of in-class exams is to check in that you’ve been able accomplish the goals of the class without needing help from others to be able to do it.

Grading for this course will be based on your performance on:

• paired assignments
• individual assignments
• CodeCheck labs
• exams
• postings on the readings

You will receive a separate grade for each of the above categories, and then it will be aggregated together to determine a final grade. Here are some more details on each, and then how the results will be combined.

CS 111 is an in-person class, and we learn a lot by being in a room together. This will not be a hybrid class that is simultaneously taught online. There are a variety of reasons that may pop up for which you might not be able to attend class in person. These include being ill, family emergencies, job interviews, and essentially any other reason why you might not be able to attend in person. You should make sure to get contact information for at least one other person in the class who you can contact if you were not present. A pair-programming partner is perfect for this. That person should share their notes with you, so that you can fill in the gaps for what you missed.

The opportunity to Zoom into class will not in general be provided, as it reduces the quality of the experience for the rest of the class. The only exception will be if you are in college-required isolation, or if you are feeling ill and believe that you may be contagious. In either of these cases, email me at least 4 hours before class in order to work out arrangements.

There are lots of resources for help in this course!

• I have lab hours.
• We have a course prefect, who will hold prefect sessions.
• We have many lab assistants who are happy to help, and who are available in Olin 310.

• Each programming assignment will either be a “paired” problem assignment or an “individual” assignment.
• When working on paired assignments, you and your partner should engage in the pair programming model. One of you is “driving,” i.e. actually using the keyboard and mouse. The other is actively engaged following along, stopping bugs, and providing ideas. I generally expect that you are doing this side-by-side, in person. If you are not and are remotely sharing a screen, you should use Zoom, Google Hangouts, Facetime, a phone call, or some other voice approach for communicating while working. You should make sure that over the course of an assignment that you spend roughly the same amount of time each “driving.” This means, for example, that if you are sharing your screen, then you swap whose screen is being shared every 15 minutes. I will also ask you to turn in a form rating the work that your partner does.
• If you are determined to work alone on the paired assignments, that’s fine. I will expect, however, that you do work of the same amount and quality as those students with partners. You can change whether or not you work alone each “cycle” that I assign new partners.

In these unprecedented times, we will need to exhibit flexibility and patience with each other throughout the term. I have done my best to design the course so that everyone can be successful, regardless of personal circumstances. Communication will be key; please keep me updated about your situation in addition to reaching out to the other relevant offices on campus. If you experience significant technological problems that limit your ability to participate, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at 507-222-5999 or helpdesk@carleton.edu. For announcements of known technical issues, visit the Helpdesk portal. If your personal situation (due to COVID-19 illness or other circumstances) begins to impact your ability to engage with the course, please contact the Dean of Students Office.

There are two different kinds of working together: collaborating and plagiarism.

Collaborating is good. Students are encouraged to collaborate on ideas and program design. Learning is often a social effort. However, it is important that students don’t slip into plagiarizing the work of others, or inappropriate use of work by others, which is explained below.

Plagiarism is when someone submit work that isn’t theirs, but that person takes credit for doing so.

Inappropriate use of work by others is when someone submits work by others that correctly cited, but the quantity of work taken is inappropriate because it defeats the entire purpose of the assignment.

Here are two quick examples:

• If someone takes a program that they find online and submits it without citing it, that’s plagiarism. This is because by not citing it, that student is implicitly taking credit for it.
• If someone takes a program that they find online that accomplishes the tasks laid out by an assignment, and they submit it with an appropriate citation, it is inappropriate use of work by others. This is because the student didn’t actually do the goals specified by the assignment. But because it was correctly cited, it isn’t plagiarism.

Inappropriate use of work by others prevents students from learning and achieving the goals of the course. It is generally acceptable to include small amounts of materials found elsewhere when cited correctly, and there’s some more specific information about that below. But the general principle is that the wholesale use of materials found elsewhere and submitted for assignments is not permitted, and results in an assignment receiving a grade of either “revision recommended” or “not assessable,” depending on the circumstances.

Plagiarism is problematic for all of the reasons that inappropriate work by others is, but it is also unethical, illegal, and a violation of college policy. I am compelled by Carleton policy to submit plagiarism cases that I find to the Academic Standing Committee. The academic penalty for a first offense is determined jointly between me and the Academic Standing Committee, but likely results in a grade of “not assessable” on the assignment. Furthermore, the college retains a record of the incident, and may respond with suspension or other sanctions on repeat occurrences.

In short, inappropriate use of work is considered as a poor submission, and is graded accordingly. Plagiarism is a deeper infraction that results in college-level disciplinary action. Students shouldn’t engage in either, but plagiarism is considerably worse.

The good news is that avoiding plagiarism is very easy. If you use work that isn’t yours, CITE IT. If you turn in an entire assignment with code that you got from the internet, and you cite it, it isn’t plagiarism.

This is a rough schedule of what we’ll be covering throughout the term. The actual Moodle page itself will be the precise and accurate description of what is due and when, and what readings you should be looking at. This overview is intended simply to give you a rough idea as to what to expect.

We will not always be covering everything in the textbook in the precise order that it contains. The textbook supports this well.

Schedule subject to change.