Syllabus	CpSc 120: Principles of Computer Science	Fall 2009

About this Course

Principles of Computer Science: Like cars, tv's, and phones, the computer has become an ordinary fixture in our lives. However, because it is so useful and powerful, and complex, it is sometimes imbued with human or supernatural traits. But, the computer is really like many other tools. On its own, it is really little more than a dumb (even if complex) collection of metal, plastic, and silicon. In this course, Principles of Computer Science, we will strip away some of the mysteriousness of the computer, and you will learn to understand it for the truly wonderful tool that it is. How do you understand something as complex as a computer? Like any complex task, you break it down into simpler, more manageable "pieces". We will look at how the numerous physical pieces of a computer are put together and even some details about how the electronic signals flow through its circuits. We will study how these signals can be translated into something that we can see and hear and understand. You will thus gain a more knowledgeable appreciation of the abilities and limits of the physical machine. We will also use various computer "programs" that others have written to make the computer do our bidding. For example, you will use a "browser" to explore the vast interconnected web of computers and programs called the Internet, and will use HTML to communicate through computers, with other humans scattered around the world. However, we won't be satisfied using someone else's programs; we want to control the computer with our own commands and using our own programs. In order to accomplish this, we will study some of the languages of a computer - not any languages it "knows," but languages that we choose to temporarily endow it with so that it can obey our commands. You will learn languages such as xTurtle and Python to get a flavor of the many programming languages that exist. Throughout our explorations, we will use computers. We will use them to perform tasks, because that is their primary function. Many tasks that computers perform are merely to relieve human drudgery, which they do very well. But more importantly, we can assign computers tasks to help us become more efficient, more knowledgeable, and more creative. The fact that computers excel at these things too, is what makes the field of computer science an exciting and rewarding endeavor.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this course is to help you develop an increased understanding of the capabilities of computers and how they work, and how you can harness those capabilities to work for you. But equally important, I want you to develop the expertise, and to experience the confidence and satisfaction that will be yours when you master this important, useful, and "most complex" machine.

Text and Resources: The Most Complex Machine, A Survey of Computers and Computing by David Eck. This text is very readable and it is expected that you will read it. We will start at the beginning, covering several topics in Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4. We will take a look at the World Wide Web from the computer's perspective and we will learn to speak a bit of "HTML" as well as some of the computer's own internal languages. In Chapters 6 and 7 of the text, we will begin our discussion of programming languages - the languages that we use to command the computer to do our will. We will then jump into Python, a real programming language, for which we will use Internet resources. We will wind up the course with the study of computer graphics. Along the way, there will be various handouts, and pointers to various resources, which I think will be of interest to you.

Computer Labs: Each Friday, class will meet in the Gulick 208 computer lab for "hands-on" activities. Usually this time will be spent exploring topics discussed in class, following a prepared worksheet, while I am there help you. Worksheets will be posted online prior to each lab session. Note: You will rarely have time to complete the worksheet and prepare the lab report during lab time. Completing the worksheets and preparing lab reports is to be considered homework.

Assessment Policies

Lab Reports: You are required to submit a lab report after each scheduled lab. Lab reports for each Friday's lab session are due at the beginning of class, usually on the following Monday. All lab reports will have equal value, and after dropping the one lowest report score, the total lab report score will be weighted as worth 100 points. Late reports will not be accepted.

Special Projects: Completion of three special projects will be required. Lab reports and special projects will not normally be due during the same week. The cumulative value for special projects will be 50 points.

Evaluation of Projects and Labs: I may occasionally ask you to meet with me to present your project or lab report and answer specific questions about it. In that case, your grade for that work will be partly based on your presentation and answers.

Exams: There will be three one-hour exams, each worth 50 points.

Final Exam: The final exam will be worth 100 points, and comprehensive in nature.

Attendance And Make-up Policies: You are expected to attend every class and lab, and attendance will be checked regularly. A grade of zero will be assigned for any lab report not turned in on time and for any exam not taken when administered to the class. The opportunity to "make-up" work missed will NOT be available except in instances required by The Colleges. In such cases, it is the student's responsibility to arrange for make-up work as soon as possible.(See HWS Catalogue, pp. 26-27.) This make-up policy will be strictly enforced.

Grading Scale: The exam scores, the weighted lab report score, and the special projects scores will be added together. The total will be divided by 400 and the initial course grade calculation will be determined by the overall percentages:

The final course grade calculation will include consideration of factors such as attendance, conscientiousness, and level of participation. This consideration may change the initial course grade by the appending of a "+" or "-" .

Other

• A Note about the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL): Hobart and William Smith Colleges encourages students to seek the academic collaboration and resources that will enable them to do their best work. Students who would like to enhance their study skills, writing skills, or other academic skills may visit the CTL web site at http://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/index.aspx or contact the CTL at x3351.

Disability Accommodations: If you are a student with a disability for which you may need accommodations, you should self-identify and register for services with the Coordinator of Disability Services at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), and provide documentation of your disability. Disability related accommodations and services generally will not be provided until the registration and documentation process is complete. The guidelines for documenting disabilities can be found at the following website: http://www.hws.edu/disabilities . Please direct questions about this process or Disability Services at HWS to David Silver, Coordinator of Disability Services, at silver@hws.edu or x3351.

• Hobart and William Smith Colleges' Principle of Academic Integrity will be upheld. (See HWS Catalogue, p. 23. See also HWS Handbook of Community Standards.) Specifically, work that you submit for a grade must be your own personal work.

• All work submitted must be detailed and neat in order to receive full credit.