"To Learn, To Teach, To Observe, and To Do."  The student should be a Critical Thinker, Effective Communicator, Proactive Educator, and Moral Practitioner.

• to implement Python programs with appropriate use of selection repetition functions and data structures
• to learn how to add graphical effects to programs
• to introduce the concepts of algorithms and their analysis and design in the context of a simple yet powerful computer language, Python
• To study some of the basic ideas behind computing -- how data are represented in a computer; how a computer processor is built up from simple circuits; how the processor is controlled through low level languages; and the transition from low level languages to high level languages like Python.
• To be able to use HTML to construct a web page containing forms and write a Python CGI script to dynamically process information placed in a web form, time permitting.

• For the Python component of the course, we will be using The Hands-on Python Tutorials designed  by Professor Andrew Harrington of Loyola University, with permission.  They are available on the web, both in browsable format and in printable pdf  format.    This is the closest thing that we have to a text for this course.  Other Python resources are at the home site for Python: http://python.org.

• Videos, where most all of the course content are discussed.  These were also prepared by Professor Harrington.  

• Class notes for other course components are linked to from the Course Schedule.

• An interactive web version of How to Think Like a Computer Scientist starts with pretty much the same basics as the Hands-on Python Tutorial, but in a somewhat different order with a different graphics library, and goes much further, and allows you to program totally inside the browser, and has embedded videos. There is also an older, somewhat different, non-interactive pdf version.
• Http://python.org Home site for the Python language, where you can find out more and download the latest production version starting with a 3 (3.6.1 in March 2017). Caution: an incompatible 2.7 version may be listed first in the downloads.
  http://www.pythontutor.com/ A wonderful site where you run code in your browser step by step and save and email a URL reference to any step.
• Extra Material on IDLE errors messages
• An online interactive presentation with online exercises, covering pretty much what I do, though they do functions much later: http://cscircles.cemc.uwaterloo.ca/ They incorporate the pythontutor.com functionality referenced above. The page has a link to a large collection of videos, Python from Scratch.
• https://groklearning.com/course/intro-python-1/ : Gentle Python intro, also totally in the browser.
• http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-Programmer's_Tutorial_for_Python_3 Another introduction to Python basics in different words. No graphics, few major examples, lots of basic syntax.
• Official Python 3 Tutorial moves very fast for someone with no programming background. It covers a lot, going well past our course!
• http://codecademy.com step by step, but with Python 2, not 3. Python 2 has slightly different syntax for reading from the keyboard (raw_input), printing (a statement, not a function - no parentheses), and they use an old form of division where / can mean either the // or / of Python 3, depending on the types involved.
• Software Carpentry - Python is an intro for data scientists using the numpy library and the nice development/display environment ipython.
• A long further list at http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/Programmer

Blackboard

Course Format:

There is recent evidence that with all the online resources available, a hybrid approach is useful for on-campus courses.  The approach I plan to mostly be doing with you is called flipping:  flip when you get most of your presentations and do much of your homework, so the presentations are mostly at your convenience, at your speed, as videos/text on your computer or in a lab, and then in class discuss questions you had on the presentations and do much of the harder creative work of synthesizing and using this information, when you have the most direct support from me,  and interaction with classmates.  Please give me feedback on how this is going and what you think would improve your experience!

There will be an in-class mini-lecture to introduce  new topics.  The exact mix of lecture and work time will depend on student preparation and need.

For the non-Python topics, there will be short demonstrations/labs in class, in which you are expected to participate. You are responsible for what goes on in class, even if some of the activity may not be covered in the class notes.

I am expecting you to look at assigned presentations before class, but if you want to check on something in a video during class, remember to bring headphones!   (Use headphones if you listen on  your own notebook computer in class, too.)

Class time is valuable and in short supply, so there are some tradeoffs in this approach.  You cannot immediately get a question answered by me in the middle of a video presentation.  That is offset by the fact that there are several days at least to take in the videos, so if you attend to them early, you have time to get emailed feedback before you finish viewing.  It would be helpful if you kept a list of questions as you watch the videos.  You may find that some of your questions will be answered as you continue to wathc the videos, and some you will want to bring to class.

Cell Phones: Only you know the relative importance of any particular cell phone call, and whether it is important for you to answer a call imediately rather than later. I do want you to be respectful of my class and disrupt it as little as is practical. If you get cell phone calls with fair frequency, be sure to have the ring muted before coming to class. If you rarely get calls, you might not mute it ahead, and your cell phone may happen to ring. Get rid of the noise as soon as possible, and do not get flustered. I assume you will move outside the classroom for a conversation. If you get fairly frequent calls that you are likely to consider important answering, sit in a place where your exit and re-entrance are as unobtrusive as possible.

Programming Assignments:  For each tutorial, you must submit to Blackboard a zip file of the required exercises for that chapter.  The exercises are mentioned as you encounter them in the tutorials.  In addition, a list of the exercises and the due dates for each assignment are linked to on the Course Schedule.

Homework Assignments:  There are also several non-programming homework assignments.  The links to these homeworks and their due dates are on the Course Schedule(below).  Pip Program (assembly-language programming) and Logic Gates are listed.  We may also have an additional assignment on database queries.

Pair Programming:  It has been demonstrated recently that Pair Programming, two people collaborating on one problem with one person coding while the other looks on, whether beginner students or seasoned professionals, allows projects been done better and faster with more confidence, and also that students learn at least as well and have more enjoyment in the process.  We will have the option to do pair programming in this course for in-class work and programing assignments.  (Your exams will NOT be in pairs however!)  Read the page on how to make pair programming work and also the page of administrative guidelines for pair programming (mostly for when it does not work out as planned!). 

Students with Disabilities:  If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact Dr. Richard Aronoff, our Disability Officer.  The full policy on disability accommodations is listed under the College Policies on Blackboard/Canvas.  Please be aware that I am not allowed to accommodate you without a letter from the Disabilities Office.

• Note that there are 1000 total possible points. 
  
• There are a few extra credit homework problems in some of the assignments.  No further extra credit opportunities will be provided.  It is neither practical nor fair to the other students.
• Late assignments are worth only half credit.  This is true even if you have a valid reason for submitting the homework late.
  
• You may only submit an assignment late with permission, and any late assginment must be submitted within one week of the due date for half credit.  After one week, you will receive zero points for any unsubmitted assignments.
• You may only have two late submissions during the semester.  After you use up your two late submissions, anything that you submit after the due date is worth a zero (not half credit).
  

The dates below give the sequence and a general idea of the time spent, though we may get ahead or behind this time schedule at different points, depending on the needs of the class.  Links for assignments and exam reviews may be inaccurate (not updated) or missing until their introduction in class. You are expected to come to class having prepared the tutorial sections listed for that day. Written assignments should be turned in to Blackboard by the end of the day listed (11:55PM), unless otherwise noted.  The section on Course Materials discusses how to obtain the videos for the listed sections.