WELCOME TO INTRO TO
COMPUTERS - SUMMER 2007
MOST OF THE INFO YOU NEED
IS ON THIS PAGE.
I
HOPE YOU ENJOY THE
COURSE. GOOD LUCK -Jt
Current Work last updated Thursday 7/16/07
[Thu 7/18/07] The grades will be
available on the Rutgers grade system thru my.rutgers.edu by Monday. The answer
key for the final exam is available below as are stats showing how
people did on the final. I have enjoyed teaching you all this summer. I
hope you learned something in the course and appreciate the efforts I
made to present the material to you. Enjoy the rest of the summer and
hope the rest of your life is full of much happiness. Take care. -Jt
Contact Info:
You can contact Jt at
jt@rutgers.edu
You can contact the TA Kooshiar at kooshiar@cs.rutgers.edu
Schedule of
Classes
Assignments:
Extra Credit
Finish one of these
five assignments by Monday July 16 to
earn
10 extra points.
(Software
HINTS) LATE
Powerpoint Slides from Basic Lectures
To make the
podcasts more watchable, I am using Powerpoint to teach BASIC. In the
past, I just talked lot and jotted some key info on the board. These
slides go with that style of quick-paced teaching and will be displayed
much faster than you would normally present powerpoint.
I know this will frustrate people who are in the habit of jotting down
every word that appears on the screen. Therefore, I have made the
slides available here in case you want a
copy to print before or after class:
Lecture
|
Taught
on:
|
Comment
|
Basic Chapter 2
|
Monday, June 4, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
|
|
Basic Chapter 3
|
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
|
|
Basic Chapter 4
|
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
|
|
Basic Chapter 5
|
Monday, June 25, 2007
|
|
| Basic Chapter 6 |
Monday, June 25, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
|
|
| Basic Chapter 7 |
Monday, July 2. 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
|
|
| Basic Chapter 9 |
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
|
|
Basic Chapter 8
|
Monday, July 16, 2007
|
|
Podcasts of Jt's CS110 Lectures:
Over the last year I have been podcasting my lectures. Quite a number
of students in the class have been using these podcasts. Therefore,
throughout the Summer I plan to continue to record and podcast my
lectures so they are available for you to grab.
Although it is very likely you will do poorly in the course if you skip
lecture and only rely on the podcasts, they are extremely useful as a
method of reviewing what you learned in class. It is important to note,
these are just simple recordings - these are not elaborate productions.
And they will only serve as reminders of what occured in lecture.
Not all that is taught will be preserved in the recordings. In fact, I
will turn off the recording of the podcasts, and give out special
"hints" that only those people actually attending lecture will hear. If
you miss class, you will miss this material and do less well in the
course.
To put it simply, if you decide not to attend lecture or pay attention
during them, and just rely on these recordings, it is extremely likely
you will not do as well in the course as you otherwise would. The
podcasts will be useful for going back and reviewing parts of lectures
you want to try to understand better. They can be used in much the same
way you would review your notes to find out some detail needed to do an
assignment, or to study for an exam.
Important: I do not give the above warning to you lightly. In the Fall
and Spring, attendance dropped in my lectures, probably because people
got used to just depending on the podcasts. Grades suffered. For
example, in the Fall semester 30% of the students in the class had
failed the course. Usually only 7 to 14% of the class fails. Dozens of
people failed just because they didn't pay attention to my advice.
Resist the urge to skip class. Remember I have said this. Later in the
summer, if you remember I have told you to resist this urge and thus
continue to come to class, you are likely to do very well in the
course, as thousands of my students have done in previous semesters.
Note, you do not have to use these podcasts in any way. Nothing
in this class will depend on your having access to the podcasts.
If you want the podcasts of my lectures, you can get access to
them by using the iTunes software made available from Apple. This
software runs on PCs or Macintoshes. (You can get the software
here: iTunes site ).
Make sure you have gotten the most recent version of iTunes or you will
have trouble accessing the podcasts.
Once you have iTunes installed, click the button at the end of this
section to "subscribe" to the lectures. This is a one time thing you
will never have to do again. iTunes will handle the rest. It will
automatically update the entry in the podcast section of iTunes
with the names of new lectures as they become available. (Depending on
your setup, you may have to click the Get button next to a
lecture name before actually playing it. ) So any time you reopen
iTunes, you will be able to access all the lectures, including any new
ones that have recently become available.
You DO NOT need an iPod to access these lectures. You can see them on
any computer that you have installed the free iTunes software on. Of
course, if you happen to have an iPod, iTunes will also automatically
synch the lectures down to your iPod, so you can play them on that too.
When you have the latest version of iTunes installed and are ready to
subscribe, click the iTunes button on the next line:
If you do not use iTunes, you can copy and paste this URL into your
podcast application:
http://remus.rutgers.edu/cs110/summer/PodCasts/Summer07/podcast.rss
Powerpoint Presentation Showing How to Use True
BASIC
Here is a powerpoint presentation about how to use
the TRUE BASIC software on the PCs. The TAs will show you a bit about
this in recitation but if you have powerpoint on your computer (or in
the lab), you can download the presentation and view it to find out
more info. http://remus.rutgers.edu/~goelz/cs110/TBASIC.ppt
(This should copy a powerpoint presentation to your computer. If it
does not autostart, find it and open it from within Microsoft
Powerpoint. Double-clicking the created file may be enough to trigger
it.)
Exam Info
Advice
How
to judge how well you are doing in the course.
Recitations
|
GROUP
|
TIME
|
Mon. Classroom
|
Wed. Classroom
|
TA's Name
|
TA Email Address
|
|
Everyone
|
4:55-5:55pm
|
Mac IML*
|
SEC204
|
Kooshiar
|
kooshiar@cs.rutgers.edu
|
|
|
SEC204 7/2/07 on
|
|
|
|
Note: MAC IML* is in the Computer Center in the ARC
building (AllisonRoad Classroom Building).
This is the Macintosh
Instructional Microcomputer lab within that computer center.
Lab Assistance:
|
When TAs Are In the ARC Mac Lab to Help Students With
Problems (go to either TA)
|
|
Mon 3:30-4:30pm
|
|
Wed 3:30-4:30pm
|
|
|
Kooshiar
|
|
Kooshiar
|
|
Old Announcements:
[Mon 7/16/07] The stats from quiz 3 are
available below. You will get them back in recitation tonight.
[Sat 7/14/07] Remember, the last
possible time to turn in any work for the course is at 6:15pm on
Monday. This includes Extra Credit.
[Mon 7/9/07] The answer key to quiz 3
is now available below. Stats on how people did will be available next
Monday when you get your quiz back in recitation.
[Sun 7/8/07] Note you must get all
remaining work,
including the extra credit done this week. Nothing will be accepted
after Monday 7/16. There is no late work accepted for the last
assignment nor the extra credit. If you do not get it in by
6:15pm on July 16th, we will be unable to accept it. The final
exam will begin at 5pm in our lecture room on the last day of class -
July 18. You must have your ID with you or your final exam will not
count. You will have 3 hours but most people will not need that much
time. The final is worth 175 points (1 point is given to you free) and
covers everything we learned this summer. There are ten parts to the
exam. The first half of the exam is on non-BASIC material. This breaks
down as - Part A: 9 Fill-in questions @ 2 point each; Part B: 12
Matching questions @ 2 points each; Part C: 12 Multiple choice
questions @ 2 points each; Part D: 5 Spreadsheets problems @ 2 points
including one questions on sorting and four on writing formulas,
including knowing about absolute cell references and all the built-in
functions; Part E: 5 Database questions @ 2 points each - two on
sorting and the rest on Find Requests. The second half of the exam is
on BASIC - this includes all chapters from 2 to 10, including chapter 8
which we learned about but did not have to write a program in. (Special
chapters and chapter 10 do not introduce any new ideas, but only
reinforce what is in the other chapters - that is why it is good to
read and understand them.) Basic questions break down as follows - Part
F: 9 short BASIC questions @ 2 points each (including using built-in
functions, being able to convert IFs into SELECT statements and DOs
into FORs; knowing how to deal with picking random numbers; being able
to determine what a line of code does, being able to count up how many
times loops go around); Part G: BASIC Finding Errors - there will be 10
runtime or syntax errors within 3 programs; Part H; BASIC Tracing - 4
programs to trace, each worth 5 points. Also, you will need to write 2
programs from scratch, each worth 15 points. Hints on those programs,
Part I - program uses a DO loop, Part J, program uses a FOR loop and
arrays. You will find practice Find the Error and Tracing
problems in each chapter. You can pick any programs in the book
to practice writing code. This may seem overwhelming, but be brave. The
fact is, whether you believe it or not, you have learned a lot in
previous weeks and much of what seemed harder when you did it on
quizzes will now seem much easier. Good luck studying.
[Mon 7/2/07] There is a
quiz next
Monday (7/9). It is half on BASIC and half on other material.
BASIC questions will conver Ch 4(IF), Ch 5(SELECT), Ch 6(FOR) and Ch
7(DO). There will be two Find The Error programs with 3 errors in
each program. There will also be 4 tracing programs. You also will need
to write a program from scratch - worth 12 points - using FOR and
SELECT. For the non-BASIC material there will be questions on
Spreadsheets, Graphics and Database. You will be shown a complete
spreadsheet and have to answer 5 questions about it, including a
sorting question and 4 formula-writing questions. You need to
know how to use all the built-in functions we covered in lecture.
For Database, you are shown a complete database and asked a question on
sorting and two others on doing Find Requests. For graphics, you will
need to have an understanding of making Charts in Excel and know a
variety of features and tools in the Paint and Draw components of
AppleWorks.
[Mon 6/25/07] The stats
showing how
people did on the second Quiz are available below. The Extra Credit
assignments are now available. You should read through these now and
pick out which assignment you plan to do, so you can prepare properly.
If you wait until later you will discover you do not have enough time
to learn new software and finish the extra credit. All remaining work
for the rest of the summer is now available, so feel free to work on
things early. The next quiz (July 9th) will have graphics,
spreadsheets, database and Basic chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7 on it - that
is, everything up to and including HW12.
[Wed 6/20/07] Answer key
from Quiz 2 is
available below. Stats showing how people did will be available
Monday. Quizzes will be returned in Monday's recitation. HW6 is due
Monday and HW7 on Wednesday. HW8 on Graphics has already been
officially assigned. HW9 and HW10 are being assigned this upcoming
week. A number of people have asked me if low quiz scores are
worrisome. Hopefully you have read the Advice section below by now, but
if not read it to get a better handle on how well you are doing. (Advice: How
to judge how well you are doing in the course.)
Monday is the last day recitation will be help in the computer lab,
after that you will only report to SEC204.
[Tue 6/12/07] All remaining
assignments
are now available below. (Extra Credit will be posted in a week or so.)
There will be a quiz next Wednesday (June 20th.) It will cover the
topics of Software, Communications, and Spreadsheets. It will also have
True Basic Chapters 3 (LET) and 4 (IF) on it. The half of the
quiz on non-BASIC material will have multiple choice, matching and some
spreadsheet questions on it (writing formulas, knowing built-in
functions). For True BASIC, there will be some short answer
questions (write a statement to do something, indicate how a statement
changes a variable) and also Find Errors and Tracing problems (examples
exist at the end of each chapter.) You will also have to write a small
program using LET statements and IF.
HW4, HW5, HW6 and HW7 are good assignments to have started, if not
completed, by the quiz.
[Mon 6/11/07] The stats showing how
people did on the first quiz are now available below.
[Thu 6/7/07] The answers key for the
first quiz is now available below. Your quiz will be handed back in
recitaiton on Monday. Stats on how people did will be posted below.
Remember, HW1 and HW2 is due on Monday. HW3 is due on Wednesday. HW4
and HW5 will be assigned this week so start them as soon as you can.
Note, your TA Kooshiar will hold lab hours to give you assistance every
Monday and Wednesday from 3:30-4:30 in ARC in case you need help doing
your work. All HW up to HW7 is now available if you want to start work
on them early.
[Mon 6/4/07] The podcasts
of the
lectures are now available. These are very easy to get. Follow the
directions in the "Podcasts" section below. Its a one time thing. Once
you have installed iTunes and clicked the button below to subscribe,
all future podcasts will become available on your computer as they
become available (within hours of the lecture being given.) Many
students have regretted that they put off subscribing to the podcasts
until later in the class when they could have used them all along. So
take care of it now.
[Thu 5/31/07] The first three
assignments, although officially "assigned" next week, are now
available below for anyone who wants to get a head start. Working some
on these assignments before the quiz is wise. I will begin
teaching BASIC on Monday using a powerpoint presentation. The
powerpoint slides for BASIC are rather elaborate. You will not want to
try to jot down notes about these slides during lecture. It will be
impossible. Rather, you will want to focus on what I am saying.
Notes are unnecessary for these lectures because the powerpoint slides
for the BASIC lectures are available below. You can bring them up and
refer to them at any time. (Also, the podcasts of these lectures will
be available to download after I teach the material.) Some people may
be interested in printing the powerpoint slides. You will want to
realize that the slides are not very useful in black-and-white. The
color in the slides helps you follow what is going on. So only color
printouts make sense. You can certainly print them and
bring them to lecture if you feel that is helpful and you have access
to a color printer. But be aware there are a lot of slides - hundreds -
for each lecture. (You are not allowed to print them in the computer
labs due to limitations there on color printouts.) Monday's
lecture will be Basic Chapter 2 below.
[Wed 5/30/07] A quiz
is coming up next Wednesday (6/6/07). It has
80 points - 20 questions. This includes multiple choice, fill-in,
true/false and matching on the topics of Information and Hardware.
There is also a number of questions about BASIC (chapter 2) including:
finding syntax errors in one line of BASIC; tracing a short program to
determine what it places on the screen and questions concerning
variables. This includes being able to specify which variables are
valid and which are invalid and also being able to indicate what values
can be placed into particular variables. Material will come from
lecture, recitation and all the reading as listed in the Lecture
Schedule and the syllabus. Note: Bring your ID to the quiz.
[Tues 5/29/07] To start
off, you should
make sure
you have an Eden account. (HW0 is not a real assignment but something
you need to make sure is done.) Next, focus on doing the reading as
listed in the syllabus. There will be a quiz next week - the third
day of class. If you fall behind on the reading you will not do well
on the Wednesday quiz. It will be on information and hardware. Also, it
will cover chapter 2 of
True Basic. Do as much of HW 1, 2 and 3 as you can before
the quiz and you will do very well on it. More info about the quiz
will be posted here soon. HW3 and other True BASIC assignments are
available now. HW1 and HW2 will be posted by late Thursday 5/31.
Information on how to subscribe to the podcasts will be available later
in the week.