Spring 2012 Weekly schedule (down below)
NOTE ROOM CHANGES FOR THE REST OF THE TERM!

CS161 Introduction to Programming and Problem-Solving

Computer Science Department
Maseeh College of Engineering
Portland State University

Instructor	Lois Delcambre (lmd with the usual address of cs dot pdx dot edu)
Office hours (Lois Delcambre)	By appointment in my office (FAB 115-12); before and after class in or near the classroom (EB 102).
Teaching Assistant	Dona Hertel
Office hours (Dona Hertel)	Mondays: 1PM to 3PM Tuesdays and Thursdays: 4PM – 6PM These will be held in the “fish bowl” – just outside the CS Department in Suite 120 in the Fourth Avenue Building (FAB)
Meeting Times	Tuesday/Thursday 18:40 – 20:30
Location	(Originally: Engineering Building, Room 103) but … we moved to EB 102 and we will use EB 102 for the rest of the term. Beginning on Tuesday, May 15 we will use the following rooms: Every Tuesday – we will be in EB 103 (our original room) Every Thursday – we will be in EB 102 (the larger room next door, the one we used during weeks 2 through 5 of the term)

If you need help:

… with Python or class material: post your question in Piazza.

Ask questions, answer questions, and check for other questions and announcements.

Every student must register for an account in Piazza for this class. Please type in your full name so that I can recognize it. You can register for an account for this class on Piazza here:

http://piazza.com/pdx/spring2012/cs161 You can access Piazza for this class there, as well or at: http://piazza.com

… with Python or class materials: visit the TA, Dona Hertel, during her office hours – posted above.

… with Python or assignments contact the CS tutors at: http://www.cat.pdx.edu/tutors.html or tutors@cs.pdx.edu or 503-725-4056.

… with your ODIN userid/password, including problems getting access to the videos for the class, visit the following web page to reset your ODIN password: http://oam.pdx.edu or visit the OIT Help Desk in the Smith Center.

…with your MCECS (PSU College of Engineering) computer account or if you’re having trouble using the MCECS computer laboratories or systems, contact the CS tutors http://www.cat.pdx.edu/tutors.html or the MCECS Computer Action Team: http://www.cat.pdx.edu/

Python for your personal laptop or desktop

If you have your own desktop or laptop computer and you know how to download/install programs, you may want to download Python Version 3.1 (or other version 3.x. This will allow you to use Python and complete your exercises directly on your laptop or desktop without using the MCECS computer labs. Note: do not use Python, Version 2.6.5 (or 2.6.6) from the Python web site: http://python.org/; it uses a different syntax from some of our class materials.

You may find it useful to look at the documentation available at the Python web site: http://python.org/
Be SURE to use version that matches the version of Python that you downloaded or that you are using. You can click on the Documentation link and then look at the Python tutorial or you could look at the Python Language Reference manual. (Or, you may find that these documents aren’t very useful. Perhaps later in the quarter you might find them useful. I just wanted to let you know that they are available.)

Course Description:

Introduction to fundamental concepts of computer science. Problem solving, algorithm and program design, data types, loops, control structures, subprograms, and arrays. Learn to write programs in a high level programming language. Surveys current social and ethical aspects of computer science.

Note: This course is designed for students who have no background or prior experience in programming. The purpose of this course it to gently introduce you to programming in a simple, easy-to-use environment, help you master basic programming statements as you write your own programs, and introduce you to computer science concepts. We will also focus on how to write/document and how to read programs; these skills are at least as important as learning how to write programs.

Textbook:

Michael Dawson, Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner, 3rd edition, Course Technology 2010.

Assignments/Grading

7 weekly assignments – each worth 5 % of your grade

7 weekly quizzes, given in-class on Thursdays. NO MAKEUPS will be given. Lowest quiz score will be dropped. The six remaining quiz scores will be worth 2% of your grade.

Two tests, one demonstration.
Thursday, May 3: written test 1 – worth 20% of your grade
Thursday, June 9: written test 2 – worth 20% of your grade
Thursday/Friday June 9/10: demonstration (in person, one-on-one with instructor/TA), worth 13% of your grade

Policies

If an extraordinary situation (medical, personal, work-related, or other emergency) prevents you from working for a period of time, contact the instructor at your earliest possible convenience to discuss your situation and arrange a special schedule for your classwork.

All assignments are due on time. Late assignments will not be accepted unless you have a medical, personal, work-related or other emergency and you discuss it with the instructor.

Makeup tests will only be given in cases of medical, personal, work-related, or other emergencies.  If an emergency arises and you are going to miss a test, contact the instructors at your earliest possible convenience.  

Requests for regrading must be submitted to the instructor in writing within one week of the time the graded assignment was made available for pickup.  You must be specific in saying why you feel your answer deserves additional credit.  A request for regrade may result in a re-evaluation of the entire assignment and your total grade may increase or decrease as a result.

Students with disabilities who are in need of academic accommodations should contact me as soon as possible to arrange needed supports.  Students are also encouraged to contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) for additional information on support services and available accommodations at 503 725-4150. More information is available at: http://www.pdx.edu/uasc/drc.html

Academic Integrity

The PSU Student Code of Conduct http://www.pdx.edu/dos/codeofconduct will be enforced for this class. Students have the responsibility to be familiar with the code and to behave in accordance with the code.

Weekly Schedule This will be filled in class by class, as we progress through the quarter.
The grayed out text is from last year when I used a different book and when I had 3 tests.

Week	Date	Topic	Reading Assignment	Handouts	Schedule
1	Apr. 3	Introduction; class web site; accounts & access; IDLE; what is a computer; print; expressions. Activity: using IDLE, Piazza	Chapter 1	lecture silly_guessing_game.py game_over.py
	Apr. 5	Introduction to CS tutors. Expressions, functions, modules.	Chapter 2	lecture type-of-input.py change-type-of-input.py
2	Apr. 10	Introduction to algorithms Functions vs. methods String methods Precedence of operations	No additional reading	lecture strings-dont-change.py ringbell.py	Assignment 1 Due: Monday, April 16 at 9PM (see assignment for submission instructions)
	Apr. 12	Functions vs. methods if statements (with elif and else) Logical expressions (conditions) Precedence of operations	Chapter 3	lecture complex-if.py
3	Apr. 17	(wrap up from last week) While loops	No additional reading	lecture	Quiz 1 answers Assignment 2 Due: Monday, April 23 at 9PM
	Apr. 19	While loops, continue, break Tuples For loops	Chapter 4	lecture guess-num.py	Quiz 2 answers
4	Apr. 24	For loops Tuples and Lists Subscripts and slicing	No additional reading	lecture palindrome.py	Assignment 3 Due: Monday, April 30 at 9PM Assignment 3 updated
	Apr. 26	Slicing Binary representations Dictionaries	Chapter 5	lecture palindrome2.py cnt-ltrs-list2.py ltr-count-dict.py	Quiz 3 answers
5	May 1	Discussion of test 1 Functions (and return) Dictionaries	Chapter 6	lecture lecture updated lecture updated again	(no assignment this week; study for test on Thursday)
	May 3	Test 1 reference material that will be available during the test
6	May 8	Functions Global variables Turtle module Dictionaries (if we have time)		lecture add_one.py see var. from calling pgm see var. from other functions change var. from calling program function with global variable draw_square.py	Assignment 4 Due: Saturday, May 19 at noon
	May 10	A bit more on functions A bit more on turtle Dictionaries		lecture ltr-count-dict.py	Quiz 4 was cancelled
7	May 15	A bit more on functions Programming style Introduction to files	Chapter 7	lecture Google style guide Elements of coding style	no quiz today
	May 17	Files & Pickle module Try/Except A bit more on functions		lecture blast.py recursive function try-except.py check for valid in put testing-add1.py a function that tests a function	Quiz 5 Assignment 5 Due: Saturday, May 26 at noon Assignment 6 Due: Saturday, June 2 at noon tictactoe.py
8	May 22	Guest Lecture: Dr. Michael Grossniklaus	A look at another programming language; a discussion of how to design/program/test		Attendance will be taken: it will count as quiz 4.
	May 24	Introduction to Unix Guest Lecturer: Rashawn Knapp		lecture	Quiz 6
9	May 29	More on lists Introduction to classes & methods; turtle, list, and string methods	Sections 10.1-10.6, 10.9-10.13 Exercise 10.3	lecture BankAccount.py tictactoe.py	Assignment 7 Due: Thursday, June 7 (at your demo)
	May 31	More on lists Recursion		lecture fib_list.py fibonacci.py recursive_fib.py	Quiz 7 Assignment 6 Due: Saturday, June 2 at noon
10	June 5	Ethics … for a programmer A bit about lists, dictionaries Review for Test 2 List of topics on Test 2 (and topics NOT on Test 2)	Chapter 11 (for those curious about dictionaries)	lecture count_letter.py count_letter.dict.py
	June 7	Test 2 Individual demos (June 7/8 or during final exam week)
11	Final Exam Week	Individual demos

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