Welcome to CIS 106 Introduction to Computer Programming

 

Hello everyone, welcome to CIS 106 Introduction to Computer Programming for Winter 2021. My name is Craig Nelson; I am assigned to be your professor for this section of the course. Our official textbook for the course will be  

Recommended Readings and Textbooks: Book:  Think Python   ISBN: 9781491939369 Author: Downey Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Incorporated Formats: PAPERBACK This Textbook is available free of charge on the internet The PDF is available free of charge from the publisher https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/think-python-how-to-think-like-a-computer-scientist (Links to an external site.)

Supplement Textbook Computer Science Tool Kit

by Charles Herbert

Portions of this textbook will be distributed free of charge for CCP students 

 

 

Many assignments and quizzes will be associated with these textbook reference materials.  However, reference material will not be limited to these resources. Once the course officially begins on 12-21-2020. you will begin to receive weekly announcements listing and describing the assigned documents to read.  Some of the documents will be recommended, others will be optional additional reads.

 

 Students wanting to understand the fundamentals of the Python Programming Language may also get significant advantages from using these resources.   I am attaching documents containing the class syllabus. Students wanting more advanced information on Python Programming can review some of my recommended readings and resources.

 

 

I will discuss other ways of storing information during the course, including how to use the free cloud storage. This will include Google Drive and Microsoft’s One Drive. However, a personal portable device is a good place to start, especially for students with limited internet access and when the Internet may not be available.

 

It is very important to work consistently on this course.  There is no silver bullet assignment.  Students that succeed in this course do so by contributing regularly to the weekly assignments.

 

 

Some of your time should be allocated to lab sessions that include practice assignments that will parallel the skills required to do the actual weekly homework assignments. Both the practice assignments and the actual homework assignments will be graded.  The actual homework assignments will have more points associated with the assignment.  Most practice assignments will have an associated video to watch.  The video will simulate an in-class demonstration on a projection screen. You can ask questions by sending emails to your professor. I will try to respond to questions within a 24-hour period.

 

The course uses the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).  All homework and practice assignments will be issued from Canvas and submitted to Canvas.   There will be weekly homework assignments.  This means that you will have to complete assignments and do some studying of material at a distance.  You will access the content of the course through the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS).  There are also weekly quizzes.  The quizzes are also accessed through the Canvas LMS.  

 

Verify your Assignment Submissions

Students from time to time accidentally upload the incorrect documents for an assignment. After uploading and submitting project documents in Canvas, I suggest that you download the project files to a different test folder after submitting it. This will provide a way for you to verify that you submitted assignment material properly. Once you download the documents to a testing folder, you verify that you uploaded and submitted that you intended to upload and submit. This will ensure that you get credit for the work that you put in for an assignment.

 

We will use the IDLE Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to develop and write code for programming projects in the course. IDLE creates Python files when you save the code that you write to a file on your computer.  One of the first assignments is an assignment for you to create a simple hello world program as a Test Assignment. This will allow you and me to verify that you understand the assignment submission process.

 

If you have any difficulty with saving Python programming assignments correctly, there are college resources available to provide assistants. Refer to the Learning Lab Resources or the Open Lab Resources in the Syllabus. To make sure you are submitting a valid project and assignment material, I suggest that you download the files to a different test folder after submitting it. This will provide a way for you to verify that you submitted everything properly.

 

I will also provide a Video Guides illustrating the processes of writing and saving code for Python Programming Assignments correctly. 

 

Review the Course Syllabus

You should begin by first going over the class Syllabus. The syllabus is the binding contract that instructors have with tier students. I placed a Video in Canvas reviewing highlighted sections of the syllabus.  There are two major reading activities this week. The first is to read Chapter 1 of our course’s textbook. This chapter will prepare you for the weekly quiz for this week and the two discussion topics for the week. Since this is an online section of the course, I will go over this material in a lecture video. The link to the lecture video can be found in Canvas.  I will also list the names of links to the lecture videos in the weekly class announcements.

 

 

 

Rules for Getting Full Credit for Discussion Assignments

To get full credit, when participating in a discussion forum, you must first post your own unique contribution and then post on at least two other student's contributions to the discussion.

 

 It will be your responsibility to read the chapters in the textbook, review the lecture slides, and review any additional supplement documents in the assigned modules. The practice activities will focus on lectures and applied activities to reinforce the concepts covered in the textbook. These activities include the practice assignments and lab time to review problems that you are having in any applied assignment. The quizzes and exams are to be done in the Canvas LMS.  

 

I am open to using conferencing tools to supplement the course. Canvas has an excellent built-in conferencing tool for Video conferencing and Chats. I also use the Zoom Video Conferencing Service. Zoom Video conferences are available upon request.

 

 

 

I will be visiting these topics in the first week of class when I introduce the course and syllabus to the class in my weekly announcement message. Additionally, I have uploaded a copy of the syllabus to the website for this course located in the new Canvas LMS. If you are unfamiliar with using our Canvas LMS, you should review how to use it in the distant learning link in My CCP. During the semester, we will use its tools and features. Additionally, I am attaching a copy of the syllabus and PDF files containing the first chapter of the textbook to this email. If you have any questions until we meet, please contact me by email at cnelson@ccp.edu

 

Weekly, I will send an announcement through Canvas and Email, containing an overview of the week and an explanation of the weekly topics and explaining the learning outcomes of the material being studied. The message will also contain a list of the assignments in Canvas for the week. All material and assignments for the course can be found in the Modules section in Canvas. The Modules Section can be reached by clicking on the Modules Tab at the right side of this section of the course’s website in Canvas.

 

All course assignments must be submitted through the Canvas LMS. I do not accept assignments by email. Repeat, all course assignments must be submitted through the Canvas LMS I do not accept assignments by email. The Weekly Announcement Message will be sent at the beginning of each week in the semester.

Currently, my grading framework does not include an option for dropping an assignment from the grading equation.  The policy that I have is to offer students a variety of extra credit assignments to substitute points loss from missing assignments or points loss for not doing well in previous assignments assessed and graded during the semester.

 

Assignment Due Dates

I encourage that you pay attention to the DUE DATES and UNTIL DATES of each assignment.  The DUE DATE is in place as the actual assignment due date.  The UNTIL DATE is an emergency grace period for the assignment. In most cases, as the semester comes to an end, I will not be able to offer the privileged of extending the UNTIL DATE of Assignment.  I also have an aggressive schedule of grading and feedback that I must provide to the entire class.

 

There are moments when I will provide an additional extension time on top of the already 24-hour grace period that an assignment had.  This typically will occur when a student requests an extension.  If I grant the extension, this means overall, there now will be an additional number of hours past the original Due Date.  The Due Date will not change.  However, the Until Date will be modified to an extended date and time.  When I do this, I will also check off a selection in Canvas to announce to the entire class that they are also granted this privilege to submit or resubmit material for this assignment. 

I have a strong policy that I do not do for one student that I do not do for all students in courses that I teach here at the college.

 

This course has a very interesting and unique framework. 

 

 I look forward to digitally interacting with you during the first week of class.

Take care, be safe, practice some social distancing.