Syllabus for Introduction to Computer Science I - Honors

This is the first semester course in computer science. It is also an honors course so there is a little bit more to this course than the standard course. It offers an introduction to computer science and programming principles using python as the programming language of instruction. We will be using simple robots as the medium of instruction. (Note that this is primarily a computer science course and not a programming course.) We will cover basic object oriented techniques, including classes and objects. We will also cover the basic computer science tools such as selection, definite and indefinite repetition, methods and parameters. We will cover good programming techniques and will reinforce them in this class.

OutComes:

At the end of the course students should be able to:

• understand the fundamental syntax & computer programs
• understand the fundamental control and loop (iteration) structures
• program simple algorithms, such as counting, summing, and finding maximum/minimum
• Implement, test, and debug simple recursive functions and procedures
• understand the basic data structures used in programming (such as 
arrays and array lists).
• Demonstrate knowledge of basic recursion.
• argue effectively about the merits and possible unintended 
consequences of a computing implementation
• effectively write or present about the impact of computing on society. Students should extrapolate from historic lessons learned from unintended consequences of computing to the current computer solutions.

The midterm exam is scheduled on Wed March 2nd

The final exam will be Monday, May 9th 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Students with special needs:

Anyone who has special needs should contact me in the first week of classes so that reasonable accommodations can be agreed on.

Academic Integrity:

See http://catalog.bridgew.edu/content.php?catoid=9&navoid=718#Academic_Integrity_and_Classroom_Conduct  for a complete description of the academic integrity procedure at Bridgewater.

Academic integrity will be taken very seriously in this class. All individual work must be your own. If you cheat or otherwise represent the work of others as your own. You will receive an F for the course.

Guidelines for proper academic integrity:

Discussing problems with your classmates can help you understand the problems and kinds of solutions to those problems that you will learn about in this class. In an effort to make in clear what sort of discussions are appropriate and encouraged in this class and which cross the line to academic dishonesty I use the following guidelines: You may discuss any out of class problem I assign in this class with your classmates or other so long as no one is using any sort of recording implement including, but not limited to, computers, phones, pens, pencils, tablets etc. This lets you talk about theoretical solutions without sharing the actual implementations. As soon as anyone in the group is typing, writing etc, all conversations must stop. You may look at someone else's program code only very briefly in order to spot a simple syntax error. As a rule of thumb, if you find yourself looking at someone else's code for more than about 30-45 seconds it is probably time to stop. If you are having trouble with your program, come to the instructors office hours for more help.

All in class exams and quizzes are closed book and closed neighbor. If you are found using a data storage device of any kind during one of these evaluations, you will be failed for the course.

Standards for in class behavior:

You are all adults and are expected to act as adults in this class. While questions are encouraged in this class, if a particular line of questioning is taking us too far afield, I will ask the student to come by my office hours or to see me after class.

Cell phones, pagers, electronic organizers and other devises should be silenced while in class. If you work of EMS or something similar, please turn your cell phones/ pagers etc to vibrate mode so that you are not disrupting others in the class.

In the unlikely case of trouble makers in the class, those who are simply attempting to disrupt the class will be asked to stop; those who will not, will be referred to the college for appropriate action.

I do not take regular attendance. Because of the census day regulations, I'll have to take occasional attendance. You are adults and are paying for this class. If you miss a class, you are expected to get notes from a classmate and familiarize yourself with the material that was covered before returning to class. I do find from dealing with students in the past that attendance at lecture is highly correlated with doing well in my classes.