Course Description

This course presents an overview of computing technology and the field of computer science. Discussion topics will include the organization of modern computers, the history of computer technology, and the societal impact of technology. Since the World Wide Web has evolved into a universal medium for communication and computation, special emphasis will be placed on studying the Web and related technologies. Through class discussions and hands-on exercises, students will gain an understanding of Web technologies and learn to develop attractive, interactive Web pages.

Since programming is the central activity in computer science, a significant portion of the course will be spent learning the process of programming and problem solving on a computer. Applications will be studied from a variety of fields such as biology and economics in order to demonstrate the use of computers in solving real-world problems. Using the programming language JavaScript, students will be able to integrate programming skills with their knowledge of the Web and thus develop powerful, Web-based applications.

The specific goals of this course are:

• To learn the fundamental concepts underlying computer technology and gain a broad understanding of the field of computer science.
• To develop problem-solving and empirical skills through the process of designing, implementing, and executing computer programs.
• To experience the interdisciplinary nature of computing through the study of a variety of problems and their solutions using the computer.

Required Work

Most class periods will be spent working through online lessons that introduce programming and general computer science concepts, and contain numerous exercises to demonstrate and reinforce these concepts. Solutions to the odd numbered exercises in the online lessons will be posted immediately after the due date in order to provide feedback to students. Accordingly, late submissions will not be accepted. You will be allowed to drop your lowest lesson grade, however.

Interspersed throughout the course will be four lab assignments. Lab assignments focus on the application of programming and analytical skills to various interdisciplinary problems. In addition to some programming, lab assignments generally involve written components and data analysis. Lab assignments are due one week after their start date -- late submissions will not be accepted.

There are seven discussion days planned throughout the semester. Students will be assigned readings and must answer review questions via email before the discussion day. Attendance and participation in class discussions of the assigned material is expected of all students.

In addition, there will be two 75-minute tests and a cumulative 100-minute final exam.

The final grade for the course will be based on the above weightings. At the minimum, traditional grading cutoffs for the final average will apply. That is, 90% is guaranteed an A, 87% is guaranteed a B+, etc. Depending on class performance, some shifting of grades (in an upward direction only) may occur as final letter grades are assigned.

Regular attendance is expected of all students. If a student must miss class for a legitimate reason, it is their responsibility to make up missed work. Assignments and tests will not be rescheduled except in extreme circumstances.

Policy on Collaboration

The college policy on cheating and plagiarism is spelled out in the Student Handbook. In addition to this, the following guidelines hold for this course.

• For online lessons, you are encouraged to talk with your classmates and assist each other in completing the lessons. All answers and code submitted by you must be your own work, however. Thus, sharing answers or copying code is expressly forbidden.
• For lab assignments, you may collaborate with one other student in the class. You must identify that person on the submitted assignment, and may not collaborate with the same person more than once. As with lessons, the actual answers and code submitted must be your own work.
• Since the point of the review questions on reading assignments is to ascertain what you found interesting or confusing in the readings, no collaboration is allowed on the review questions.
• All test are closed book, with no collaboration between students allowed.

Tentative Schedule