Office Hours:
See Weekly Schedule.  Also by appointment.

Reading Assignments:
You can find the course roadmap here:  03s/roadmap.html.  The tentative plan is to go through the entire textbook in the course of the semester.  In addition, there are various weekly lab topics.  Please note that the roadmap is subject to revision as the semester proceeds.

Textbook:
Lauckner and Lintner, The Computer Continuum, Second Edition (Prentice Hall 2001).  You can find this at the B.U. bookstore or on-line at such places as http://www.amazon.com.

Statement of Purpose:
The purpose of this course is to turn you into a well informed and savvy computer user. Through laboratory sessions and classes, you will gain hands-on experience using computers. You will learn how to use different operating systems, create spreadsheets and other documents, and use local-area networks. You will learn to navigate the Internet and create a personal Web page.  In this course, we will examine computer architecture, software, information systems, databases, artificial intelligence, and other topics. We will also consider the technology marketplace, privacy, and other legal and ethical issues of the computer age.
 

Attendance and Other Course Expectations:
Classes meet from 1-2 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, beginning Monday, January 13, except for school holidays, in CAS 211 (705 Commonwealth Avenue).

You must sign up for a lab associated with this section (i.e., CS101A_). Labs meet once a week. The CS Department  Undergraduate Computer Lab is on the 3rd floor of of ENG (730 Commonwealth Avenue).

You are expected to attend classes and labs on a regular basis. Accordingly, from time to time, there will be unannounced quizzes in both venues. The quizzes are designed to test your knowledge of the reading due for that particular class or lab and the subject matter discussed in recent classes and labs.

Unannounced quizzes cannot be made up:  no exceptions. If you come in late and the quiz was given at the beginning of the class or lab, you cannot make it up.  Nor can you make up a quiz if you leave the classroom early and the quiz is given at the end of the class or lab.

The three lowest grades you receive on an unannounced quiz will be dropped.  This policy is for the benefit of students who have religious holidays, medical conditions, or jury duty, or who added the class late.

Whether or not you attend every class and lab, you are responsible for completing all course requirements and for keeping up with all that goes on in the course.

You are expected to spend at least two hours per week of your own time practicing computer concepts taught in the labs. Learning how to use a computer is an integral part of this course. You are unlikely to do well unless you practice.

After your first lab, you are required to use the pine email program on the csa computing cluster to contact your Instructor or Teaching Fellow.  This is to encourage you to become familiar with UNIX.  Also, using pine is the most effective way to prevent viruses from spreading.  The first lab will show you how to access pine from anywhere, including your personal computer or even an internet cafe.  Thus, emails from yahoo, hotmail, or other email programs will be deleted upon receipt and unread.
 

Examinations:
There will be two Midterm Exams, the first of which will be a paper exam.  The second will consist of a written section and a practical (on-the-computer) section.  The midterm practical section will take place during your normally scheduled lab. The Final Exam also consists of two sections, written and practical. The Final Exam is cumulative.

If the college is closed or class canceled on the day of an exam, the exam will be given during the next scheduled class.

Homework:
You will be shown how to submit your homeworks electronically via the gsubmit program.  Homeworks are due any time during the due date.  Late submissions incur an automatic penalty of 5% per hour late.

Dates and times are according to the csa system clock, so you should submit before the deadline in case your clock differs.  If you are submitting from home, you should do so well before the deadline in case you are unable to establish a connection or other technical problems arise.

You alone are entirely responsible for submitting your work on time.  If you anticipate that you might have trouble submitting homework on time because of tests or homework in other classes, medical conditions, work requirements, or any other reason, you are strongly encouraged to submit your assignment early.  Indeed, if you submit a preliminary version of your homework ahead of time, you can always replace it later with an updated version using gsubmit.  This gives you insurance against last-minute problems.

The gsubmit program also allows you to view what you have submitted.  This protects you in case you accidentally submit a blank file or incorrect version of your homework.  Accordingly, if you fail to check your submission and it was not what you intended, please do not complain about the unfairness of the grade (zero for a blank file) that you receive.  It is neither practical nor fair to other students to give one person the opportunity to submit work at a later date, even if that person actually completed the work on time, but for some reason neglected to submit it correctly.

Computing Resources:
You may complete all of your homework assignments in the CS Department Undergraduate Computer Lab, located at 730 Commonwealth Avenue, 3rd Floor. This is also where you should go to get your csa computer account. Hours of operation are here:  http://www.cs.bu.edu/labs/schedule.html

Terminal Assistants ("TAs") at the CS Department Undergraduate Computer Lab can help you with specific questions regarding the use of the lab's computers.  TAs are not affiliated with any particular class and are not there to help you complete your homework assignments.

You can also use computers at the Main Terminal Room, located in the basement of the MCS building (111 Cummington Ave.).  More information on campus computing facilities is here:  http://www.bu.edu/computing/acs/help/general/facilities

If you have your own personal computer, you may be able to complete the assignments on it. Staff in the PC Support Center, located in MCS Room B19, will help you with questions or problems concerning your computer.  You can get more information here:  http://www.bu.edu/pcsc
 

No Makeups:
There are no absolutely no makeup exams except for medical emergencies, in which case a letter is needed from a doctor clearly stating that you were unable to attend the exam.  Please note that a "blue slip" indicating that you visited Health Services on a particular day is not sufficient.

Please start each assignment when it is assigned in case you are sick or otherwise distracted during the last few days before it is due.  In any event, you are responsible for completing work on time.  You also are responsible for checking your grades twice a week on the web page and reporting any errors.  Once a grade is posted, you have one week to report any errors to your Teaching Fellow.
 

Course Web Page and Mailing List:
Important information will be posted to the Course Web Page (including hints and other helpful information relating to exams and homeworks).  You should check the course web page frequently.

Announcements are made and questions answered on the course mailing list.  You are required to join the course mailing list after you get a csa account from the staff in the CS Department Undergraduate Computer Lab.  Here are instructions:  How To Add Yourself to the Course Mailing List.

Zero Tolerance for Cheating:
You are not to collaborate with anybody (whether student, friend, relative, coworker, or anybody else) on homework in this class, nor may you use any outside material without attribution.  Although computers make it easy to copy homeworks or web pages, computers also can check for similarities between homeworks handed in and for other types of plagiarism (for more on the technology, look here). If two assignments are substantially alike in a way that cannot be due to mere coincidence, the persons involved will be asked to explain themselves.

All cases of cheating are reported to the Academic Conduct Committee and result in a failing grade. If you have any questions regarding what constitutes cheating, read the Academic Code of Conduct or ask your Instructor or Teaching Fellow.

Feedback:
If you have any compliments, suggestions, or complaints regarding this course, please contact any one of the following:

1. Your Instructor (stevec@cs.bu.edu) or Teaching Fellow (xqi@cs.bu.edu)
2. The Undergraduate Director Wayne Snyder (snyder@cs.bu.edu)
3. Feedback Form (anonymous if you wish)

Syllabus Subject to Change:
This Syllabus may be revised as necessary as the semester goes along.