CSC 104:
The Why and How of Computing
University of Toronto, Winter 2012
Lecturer:
Alan J Rosenthal
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BA 3218
Lectures:
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:10 to 10:00, MP 103
No lectures or tutorial (or lecturer office hours) during reading week, February 20 through 24.
Lecturer office hours (during the term):
Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30,
in my office (BA 3218),
or by appointment.
My office hours won't be held during reading week (week of February 20).
Tutorials:
Fridays, starting January 13. Some tutorials are in the lab and some are in classrooms. The classroom tutorials are 9:10-10:00. The lab tutorials are either at 9:10 or 10:10. You must sign up for the lab tutorials on the course web page (and the 10:10 slots might fill up first).
Please see further information on the course web page.
A possible textbook:
J. Glenn Brookshear, Computer Science: An Overview, any edition, Pearson / Addison-Wesley.
Topics to be discussed:
Computer components and their interconnection: software, hardware, and data;
basic concepts in problem-solving with computers;
data representation;
history of computing;
a computer application area: timekeeping and time calculations;
a gentle introduction to computer programming;
social issues in computing.
A more detailed breakdown is available on the course web page and will be updated during the term.
Grading scheme:
| Labs: | 15% | Jan 13, Jan 27, Feb 3, March 2, March 30 |
| Assignment 1: | 5% | due Thursday February 2 (midnight) |
| Test 1: | 10% | at tutorial time, different rooms (TBA), February 17 |
| Assignment 2: | 10% | due Wednesday February 29 |
| Assignment 3: | 10% | due Wednesday March 21 |
| Test 2: | 10% | at tutorial time, different rooms (TBA), March 23 |
| Final exam: | 40% | as scheduled during the April exam period |
To pass the course you must receive at least 30%
(out of a hundred that is) on the final exam.
Most assignments are submitted on the computer itself;
you don't hand in any paper.
Submission instructions are included on the assignment handouts.
Paper assignment submissions should be turned in by depositing them in the drop-box
labelled "CSC 104" in BA 2220.
They can be deposited in the drop-box any time up to the due time.
No envelopes, please.
Late assignments will only be
accepted under exceptional circumstances and with a written explanation
sent separately by e-mail.
To submit an assignment late,
submit it in the usual way and then send the lecturer an
e-mail message or bring him a note.
Any disagreements with the grade assigned to an assignment or test should normally be submitted to
the lecturer within about a week of its return.
Regrading requests submitted after that might be taken less seriously unless
we made a substantial grading error;
as well, you then probably won't get your work back until the very last class.
Work submitted for regrading during the last two weeks of classes will not
be returned until after the final exam.
(You may wish to photocopy it first if applicable.)
Bulletin board
There is a bulletin board at
https://csc.cdf.toronto.edu/bb/YaBB.pl?board=CSC104H1S
which you are encouraged to use
to communicate with other students in this course.
However, it is not an official part of the course
and we will not necessarily
be reading it; see me or TAs in office hours or send e-mail.
Do not post a test message. Wait until you have something to say, then post that.
Serious academic offence warning!
Your work in this course which is submitted for course credit must be your
own.
Representing someone else's creative work as your own is an academic offence.
There are a number of rules which you must follow to avoid prosecution.
Rules regarding acceptable levels of collaboration differ among courses and departments; in this course you must follow the CSC 104 rules.
In course work, you are expected to submit something on your own (exceptions will be clearly noted),
so submitting anything which comes from others is an academic offence unless
specifically and precisely acknowledged.
It is also an offence to assist others in committing an academic offence.
Therefore, you may not:
- type assignment code, formulas, or other text into a computer with others
- produce any part of your assignment submission while meeting with others
- look at someone else's assignment work, completed or partial, before the deadline
- show anyone (other than the instructor or a TA) your assignment work, completed or partial, before the deadline (or any extension they have for special circumstances -- best to wait until after the instructor solutions are posted)
- bring your solution, completed or partial, to any group discussion about an assignment
- take away any written or electronic material from any group discussion about an assignment
I suggest limiting your collaboration with others to non-assignment material,
and asking more-specific assignment questions of me or a TA.
Students have been prosecuted and convicted for handing in work written for
hire, written by personal tutors, copied from the web, or with just a bit too
much text borrowed from a friend.
It is not difficult for graders to detect excessive collaboration.
[main course page]