Welcome

CAVEAT — Beware!

Read entire page, top to bottom — you won't regret it!

Course goals

Develop your computational thinking abilities, digital literacy and numeracy, problem solving skills, and critical thinking skills.

Provide a great introduction to programming.

Upend your lives so that you consider a computing major.

We are UVa! We are CS 1112!

UVA is now structured around the richness of our differences and recognizes that everyone is created equal and entitled to equal rights, dignity, and respect. We must all repudiate those who violate these principles through hate and violence.

We all have a responsibility to help keep our community safe. If you or someone you know has been affected by violence, reporting options and resources available at the Office for Equal Opportunity and Rights.

Course personnel are deeply committed to our university principles and to make our class welcoming and safe to all.

It is an exciting time to be in computing. We look forward to introducing you to it, so that you can use your new skills to make the world a better place.

The course

Everyone is expected to attend every class. We realize special circumstances arise, but they should be exceptional.

Attending class gives you a chance to ask questions immediately. However, there will be plenty of office hours and also the Discord forum for doing so.

Talking in a big room can be intimidating. Don't let this stop you from participating! More on this on Day 01.

While the course is called Introduction to Programming, it is a really an introduction to problem solving using digital technologies to provide solutions.

During class we will be intermixing lecture and laboratory. You will frequently ask you to try stuff out. Doing so is very important. Passive learning is neither efficient learning nor effective learning.

To do list

Take class pledge right now.

Taking the pledge is mandatory for our class to have a community of trust.

Do Homework 01 forthwith. It is due no later than 10am Wed 1/19.

It's simple to do — write a haiku about your class expectations. Please complete this by Wednesday morning, so that I can read them, and use them during our first class discussion.

Do Homework 02. It is due at the start of our first class meeting.

While you are it — you ought to be in pictures, please upload a photo of yourself suitable for sharing with the class.

Doing your best

We want to instill within you computational thinking abilities and digital problem solving skills. So no matter what your future holds, some experience in coding should help you better accomplish your life goals, whatever they may be.

Set aside regular time to work on CS 1112. During that time, uni-task and eliminate distractions as enjoyable as they may be. Being regular in time and space may strengthen your ability to succeed.

I am almost certain that nobody donated a building or a ton of money to gain your admission into this university.

So what that tells me is that you have the demonstrated ability to succeed wonderfully. You have an incredibe academic record. There is no reason why that should not be true for CS 1112 also.

Therefore, we ask you to commit yourself to actively and regularly to make CS 1112 your cynosure. By doing so, we expect you to not just be successful but to excel. If things get tough, all course personnel are here to help the best they can.

As soon as possible, after each class meeting please examine the day's artifacts. Understanding them should make homework exercises straightforward. We will never ask you to do something that comes out of nowhere.

CS 1112 will have many small homework exercises to undertake. Computational thinking is foreign to many of us. To develop this skill, we need frequent practice, just like learning to play a musical instrument or learning to draw or other creative outlets.

🦆 © 2022 Jim Cohoon

Resources from previous semesters are available.