Course syllabus

CSC 131 – Introduction to Computer Science 

Course Syllabus - Spring 2024

"This syllabus is subject to change, but only with sufficient notification."

 

Welcome to Dr. Ebrahimi’s Introduction to Computer Science class! This course will focus on Problem-solving methods and algorithms in a modern high-level programming language. Dr. Ebrahimi Introduces one or more programming environments. The emphasis is on a programming style and the design, coding, and testing of complete programs. This course is recommended primarily for computer science majors.  The students who successfully complete this course will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of basic programming concepts including data types, variables, modularity, parameters, conditional statements, iteration, and arrays.
• Demonstrate program development techniques to describe and understand the problem statement, think through input/process/output, leading to problem representation, and finally coding.
• Demonstrate the ability to use program control structures (i.e., iteration, conditionals).
• Develop and use algorithms to solve a variety of problems, for instance, those related to array processing, statistical calculations, image and audio processing, and text processing.
• Practice modular programming by developing, debugging, and integrating modules into a larger program.
• Demonstrate the ability to use programming language-specific software libraries.
• Demonstrate the ability to use basic file input and output.
• Demonstrate the ability to use software development tools from the command line to compile and run commands to an integrated development environment.

 

What else do I need to know about this course? A grade of ‘C’ (2.00) or better is required for taking any course for which CSC 131 is a prerequisite.  Satisfies University Studies I: Foundations/Mathematics and Statistics. Satisfies University Studies IV: Building Competencies/Quantitative and   Logical   Reasoning.   Partially satisfies   University   Studies III: Transdisciplinary Cluster/Modeling. Prerequisites: MAT 111, or MAT 115, or MAT 112, or MAT 150, or MAT 160.

 

What do I do when I need help? If you need help, talk to me or shoot me an email. I will do all I can to help you understand the materials. Teaching Assistant: Ian Pena Email Address: ip5880@uncw.edu

How to contact Dr. Ebrahimi? E-mail: ebrahimie@uncw.edu Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 11 am - 12 pm or by appointment Class Location/Time: Mondays and Wedensdays: TL 2017 || 9 am - 10:40 am Office Location: CG 2037   Office hours/Student sessions Link: Please email for the link Phone: (910) 962-3820 You can email me anytime, but I respond to emails from 8 am to 4 pm on weekdays. All the emails regarding CSC131 must be in the following format; otherwise, I might not open them in time:   CSC131 – your title   For example "CSC131 – Lab 2"

 

Textbooks 

• Optional: Introduction to Computer Science Using Python: A Computational Problem-Solving Focus, by Charles Dierbach
• Optional: Fundamentals of Python: First Programs, 2nd edition, by Kenneth Alfred Lambert.

Course Set-up

Please follow the instruction below and download Python on your personal computer (if you wish to use your machine) before the first session.

Downloading Python

Follow the steps in the following link

Download and install Python 3.11.x from http://www.python.org/downloadLinks to an external site.

 

Other Resources (More resources will be posted in different modules as well)

• CS Circle
• https://docs.python.org/3
• http://pythontutor.com/
• The search engine of your choice
• ...

 

Grading

A modified 10-point scale will be used to compute your course grade. Pluses and minuses will be assigned based on the following chart.

The Canvas grade calculation only is accurate when all the grades are entered. During the semester, only a portion of the grades is entered into your grade book based on the completed tests and assignments, which means the grade book is not an accurate reflection of your standing in the class. You can always calculate your standing in the class using the table below based on the entered grades. Please let me know if you need help calculating your current/actual grade during the semester.

 

Attendance: 

Please do not come to class when you are not feeling well or are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. If you have been exposed to COVID-19 or are concerned about exposure, please contact the Student Health Center at (910) 962-3280 for specific information about testing, contact tracing and quarantine/isolation requirements, which differ for vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals, according to CDC guidance. Remember, keeping healthy is essential to keeping campus open! Thank you for your help and compliance. 

I will take attendance at every session. More than four unanticipated/unexcused absences result in an F in the course. 

Anticipated Absences. Anticipated absences should be reported to the instructor at least seven days before the absence is scheduled. Situations in which an instructor is encouraged to approve a documented anticipated absence include:

• Attendance at university-sponsored activities in which the student is representing UNCW, e.g., a professional meeting in which the student presents his or her research, required varsity athletic events for team members, or required events for SGA officers. Instructors may require the student’s participation certification from the administrator in charge of the activity. Absences for university-affiliated, but not directly sponsored, activities (such as a club or Greek life events) do not qualify under this policy.
• Required court attendance as certified by the Clerk of Court.
• Required military duty as certified by the student’s commanding officer.

Unanticipated Absences. Students are encouraged to communicate with instructors promptly after unanticipated absences from class. Each faculty member determines how to treat such absences but typically will excuse absences due to health emergencies, death in the family, or a comparable emergency when supported by verifying documentation from the student. 

The Zoom link will be provided upon request and only to those who have a medical reason and are unable to join the in-person class. Everyone else must attend the class. The request for attending via Zoom must be sent at least one hour before the start of the class. Supporting documents must be sent to the instructor within a week of the request. The instructor will only open Zoom for the students who attend the class virtually, but she has no obligation to be checking the chatbox or record the session via Zoom. 

 

Lab Assignments, Quizzes, and CS Circle

• All homework must be YOUR OWN INDIVIDUAL WORK.
• You may be asked to explain any code you submit as a part of the assignment. Adequate explanations are an important skill that can be developed only by practice.
• Independent programming assignments will be assigned weekly.
• Some programming assignments/labs may carry more weight than others. The instructor will provide adequate instruction on how to complete each assignment.
• Lab assignments are typically completed during the lab sections at the end of the class on Mondays and Wednesdays. For a few labs, up to a few hours' extension will be provided, which will be announced either on Canvas or in class.
• There are NO make-ups for lab assignments, CS Circles, or Quizzes.
  • You have only ONE token to use on a lab of your choice for late submission or resubmission, no questions asked. 

Academic Integrity

University Policy on academic integrity will be followed for this course. Cheating will be taken very seriously, resulting in harsh penalties. Since the skills required in this class are also required in the next class, cheating will seriously hamper your ability to pass the next class. Please refer to this page for more information about the Univerity policies. 

Any dissemination of class notes, lecture slides, recordings, handouts, copies of exams, or any other course materials without permission of the instructor is prohibited by UNCW policy.  UNCW Copyright Use and Ownership Policy (http://www.uncw.edu/policies/documents/01210.copyrightpolicy.pdf) specifies that class notes and related materials are considered derivative of the original intellectual property of the course instructor. Therefore, the instructor (not the student) owns the copyright and must provide specific permission to distribute and/or reuse those materials for anything other than personal use and scholarship by the student. Commercial use, display, or dissemination of such notes, copies, or recordings—as well as posting to websites--will generally constitute an infringement of copyright and the Honor Code.  Materials that qualify as student-owned are listed in the policy.