Announcements
- Fall Break week:
- PC#3 was extended to Monday 10/6 due to emergencies with our TAs. Penalty schedule for late demos starts Tuesday; last day to demo is still 10/17.
- Our first ex(am)perience is Wednesday 10/8 in class. It's open book, lab manual, and notes so bring your materials. It's good to bring the completed practice exam, too -- as long as you're the one who completed it! The ex(am)perience starts promptly at 9:10 so arrive at 9:00 and give yourself time to get settled and ready.
- No labs this week! Labs resume next week, with Lab 10 -- yes, it's out of order!
- No TA office hours on Thursday or Friday this week, and no instructor office hours on Friday this week -- no classes on Thursday or Friday!
- Extra office hours: On Wednesday, 10/8 the TAs will be in the lab from 3 until 5, and I'll have office hours 12:30 - 2:30. You're welcome to stop by either time for questions, homework nudges, etc. The TAs take demos 3-5.
- PC#4 is out, but not due until Friday 10/17. Be aware that there will not be TA office hours or instructor office hours over fall break. However, I will have office hours in the lab on Wednesday 10/8 from 12:30 until 2:30 and the TAs will have office hours on that day from 3 until 5 pm. We'll both take demos!
- To submit labs, you must post them to your CS1 Work Site. Most lab instructors will give you two weeks from the day the lab tasks are started in lab to finish and post, but some lab instructors have warned their lab sections that those sections only have 1 week to submit labs from the day the lab tasks are started.
- Save the date: our first ex(am)perience is on Wednesday 10/8, in class. Arrive on time, rested, and ready to show what you've learned! Prepare by setting several alarms and packing your bag on Tuesday evening -- you *don't* want to forget your lab manual and class notes ... you can use them on the exam! And, there's a practice exam posted in the Course Documents folder so you can practice, and get comfortable with the format and question style of the actual experience.
Instructor and TA Office Hours
Instructor Office/Lab Hours: M. 2 - 3, F. 12:30 - 2:30 and by appointment (in 458 Shineman)
TA Office Hours: M. 1:20 - 3:20, T. 2:30 - 4:30, W. 4 - 5, Th. 2:30 - 4:45, F. 2 - 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.