Announcements
- Classes start on August 25. Stay tuned here for updates; the syllabus and additional course information will be posted as they become available.
- Textbook: There is a required lab manual for this class! You will need to bring paper copies of the lab to your lab section each week -- this counts
towards your grade and is an easy way to earn points. You can either print out the lab at home
or you can purchase your lab manual from the SUNY Oswego Textbooks store. There isno additional textbook required for the course; you will be expected to bring parts of the lab manual with you to class every day, though this will not count towards your grade in the course, for you to take notes on. So it really pays to have a paper copy of the lab manual! - To buy the lab manual for $20.29 from the textbook store, go to the Textbook Lookup site and select: Fall 2025, CSC - Computer Science,
212 - Principles of Programming, 800 - Wilcox, Elizabeth, Reader for CSC Schlegel. (The textbook store calls our lab manual a reader and the primary author
is D.R. Schlegel, so that's why it's listed in this way. You do
not need additional materials for your lab section, so don't bother looking up your lab instructor.)
Instructor and TA Office Hours
Instructor Office/Lab Hours: M. 2 - 3, F. 12:30 - 2:30 and by appointment
TA Office Hours: M. 1:20 - 3:20, T. 2:30 - 4:30, W. 4 - 5, Th. 2:30 - 4:45, F. 1 - 5
All TA office hours happen in 446 Shineman (the computer lab).
OLS Drop-In Tutoring Hours: Tuesdays, 5 - 8 in 185 Shineman
Getting in touch with your instructor...
- Email: I actually read and respond to emails. I check email frequently during the workday but limit my email time after work hours and on weekends. Please be patient, but if I don't reply by the end of the next working day then feel free to email me again – there's always a chance your first email got buried under urgent emails (or spam ...) and I appreciate the nudge!
- Office Hours: Just stop by! You don't need an appointment to drop by my office. If you want to meet over Zoom, you will need to make and keep an appointment, because I am uncomfortable sitting on Zoom with no one there. I am also available over Discord (username in the syllabus, behind the SUNY Oswego login...). Join the CSA Discord server (link in digital syllabus) and send me a message! We can use the voice channels and the text channels to stay in contact. Just be aware that if you message me in Discord outside of office hours, I won't respond until office hours or until I'm free.
- Other times: If my office door is open then you are welcome to stop in and ask if I'm available. I may be! If I'm busy, we can make an appointment to meet up later on.
Course Calendar
Calendar
This Google calendar has each class day entered, with big events (like exams and deadlines) entered as "All Day" so you can see them clearly. The topics for each day will be entered into the description for each class day, too.
Useful Resources
- Required Lab Manual: Graci, C. and Schlegel, D.R. A First Course in Computer Programming: Laboratory Manual.
- Textbook Draft: A First Course in Computer Science by Daniel Schlegel. This draft of a textbook currently being written is available for our class to thanks to the author. The draft is in our Course Documents folder.
- CS1 Software and WebSite Materials
- Helpful Textbook Suggestions:
- Introduction to Computer Science Using Java by by Bradley Kjell, Central Connecticut State University. This is an online set of interactive notes, forming a beginning course in Java programming.
- Introduction to Programming Using Java, 8th Edition by David J. Eck. This is an online textbook with accompanying sample programs to illustrate the discussed concepts.
- Think Java: How to Think like a Computer Scientist, Version 6.3.1, by Allen B. Downey and Chris Mayfield. This is an online textbook covering many of the same topics, with a different perspective, that we will cover in our class.
- Helpful Websites:
- Student Wellness: There are a variety of events and concerns that affect a student's overall wellness. Learning is challenging, and life continues even while a student is learning. The college has a variety of resources available, and there are a variety of policies regarding student wellness. I've collected several of them on this Student Wellness site.