How to Use the Course Web

For a number of reasons, I have chosen to make many of the handouts for this course available only in electronic format on the World Wide Web. I will not go over basic use of the Web, since you should know about it from other courses. You should make sure to ask me if you have any questions about using the World Wide Web.

The course web can be found at http://www.cs.grinnell.edu/~rebelsky/Courses/CS362/2001S/ You may want to bookmark that page.

A number of important pieces of information are in the course web, including assignments, readings, requirements, syllabus, and office hours. I assume that if I put information on the Web, you will (eventually) read it.

• At the bare minimum, you should read all the pieces of basic information about the course. Of particular interest is the course at a glance page, which lists all the daily topics.
• I prepare a rough outline for each class. Most students find these useful, and you should feel free to refer to them before, during, and after class.
• Each outline begins with some notes. You can find just the notes in a separate news page.
• It's also worth regularly checking the course syllabus and course at a glance.

At the top and bottom of every page are a series of links to important components of the course web. They are broken into four sections: (1) common internal links, (2) sets of documents, (3) blackboard links, and (4) useful external links.

Common Internal Links

• Current. The outline of the current or next class. You may need to reload the page to get the appropriate version.
• Glance. An abbreviated version of the syllabus.
• Honesty. A short discourse on academic honesty, added to the common links so that you'll make sure to check it.
• Instructions. This set of instructions.
• Links. A collection of links that you might find useful. Some of these are replicated at the top and bottom of each page.
• News. The course news, taken from the outlines.
• Search. A simple search facility for the course web.
• Syllabus. The course syllabus.

Sets

• Exams. The exams for the course (and notes on the exams, if available).
• Examples. A list of examples generated for this class. At times, I forget to add links to examples, so let me know if there's one you can't find.
• Handouts. The primary handouts for the class (syllabus, these instructions, etc.).
• Homework. A list of the assignments for the class, accompanied by their due dates
• Labs. Laboratory assignments.
• Outlines. The outlines of classes that have been held. You can sometimes access other outlines through the syllabus or course at a glance.
• Quizzes. The quizzes and surveys for this course. I don't always grade these.
• Readings. Readings generated for this course.
• Reference. Various reference materials for the course.

Blackboard

• Blackboard. The course front door on Grinnell's Blackboard system.
• Drop Box. Where to put your assignments.
• Discussions. Threaded asynchronous discussions .
• Grades. Some information on your grades for the course (as I have them recorded).