CS302 Lecture 4 Guidelines
Spring 2008



Lecture information:


Instructor information:

Overview
   
    CS302 can take you from knowing almost nothing about a computer to being able to write simple games and programs.  Some people find it to be a very demanding course, but it can be extremely rewarding as well.  The class is very large--around 300 people.  It is taught by about 16 TAs and a full time coordinator.  As you can imagine, it is a major effort.  There are a lot of course guidelines and policies you should know--since the class is so large, the guidelines tend to be pretty strict.  You are in a small lecture and of about 23 students and these guidelines are for these 23 students only.  The rest of the guidelines can be found online at cs.wisc.edu/~cs302 and you should be familiar with them.

Instructor
    My name is Tim Bahls.  I am a teaching assistant and this is my first semester lecturing.  However, this is my fourth semester teaching CS302 and I have mad Java skills.  I feel that this class is considerably more important than the classes I'm taking, so I'll work hard for you.
    I double majored in Math and Computer Science at a small liberal arts college called Middlebury College, which is located in central Vermont.  I am now studying to get a master's in Computer Science at UW-Madison and I plan to graduate this Spring.  My wife's name is Magdalena and in late March we are expecting a daughter.  Hooray!

Grading

    The grades are primarily based on your performance on the exams.  The course site has the exact breakdown, but if you read carefully, you'll see that the "instructor determined" component can make up to 8% of your grade.  The rules are a little funny, but you need not get 100% to get full credit.  Here's how I am choosing to distribute these points:

Pop quizzes

    I will try to release unannounced quizzes in about half of the classes.  Since they are so frequent, they aren't exactly unexpected.  They will cover the readings due that day, the information from previous lectures, and review material.  They will not be designed to be difficult.  They are unannounced since I strongly believe that knowing the material at all times (rather than just before the exam) is important to proper learning and retention.
    The quizzes will be given at the beginning of class and collected soon after.  Since there is no need to get all of the points to get full credit, you may not make up quizzes.
    The quizzes have five purposes.  It rewards people that show up to lecture.  It rewards people that pay attention in lecture.  It rewards people that do their reading.  It lets me know how well my class is following along.  Finally, it lets you know if you are falling behind.

Mini Assignments

    I plan to release very small assignments (which only lecture 4 is required to do) and have them due about a week before course assignments (which all of CS302 is required to do).  They will be designed to give you a head start on the assignment by making sure you understand the basic ideas.  The style guidelines and comment guidelines are the same as those for the regular assignments.  You will hand them in by emailing me the files.  You may work with a partner in the same way as you would on the assignments (except that you may only work with students in lecture 4 for the mini-assignments).

T.U.S.S.G.

    TUSSG stands for Tim's Unnecessarily Strict Style Guidelines.  There are a lot of useful shortcuts in Java.  However, they are somewhat inconsistent and can be a little confusing if you don't really understand what is going on.  I have provided a list of shortcuts you may want to avoid.  You may want to follow TUSSG until you fully understand what the short-cuts stand for.

Cell phones

    Please turn them off during lecture.  If a cell phone does ring in lecture, please turn it off.  If it gets out three rings (or three measures of music), I reserve the right to answer it politely.

Readings

    I will post a schedule for when to complete readings online.  There will frequently be pop quizzes, so be sure to do your reading before it is due.

Academic Misconduct

    Do not cheat.  As of right now, you and I are friends and I'll work hard to help you enjoy this course and get the most out of it.  If you cheat, I am liable to spend that energy trying to get you in trouble.  I don't want that, and neither do you.  I think I'm a generally reasonable person (except where dishonesty is concerned), so if you are under tremendous pressure and begin to think cheating may be your best option, come talk to me--we can find a different solution.
    Academic Misconduct includes sharing code or algorithms with other students that are not your partners.  It includes copying on an exam.  It includes turning in work that someone outside the course did.  It includes working together on CodeLab.  It includes registering for attendance for a lab you did not attend.
    A word to international students--I know that not all cultures treat cheating in the same way.  We take it very seriously in this country and it is pretty easy to get kicked out of UW for cheating.  If you are not sure what that means, come talk to me.

Attendance

    I expect people to come to lecture.  If you are not going to come, please send me an email before class.

Last updated 2-12-2008