EBoard 01: Getting Started

This class will be recorded! Its use will be limited to members of the class. Please do not share with others.

Approximate overview

• Administrative stuff, including attendance
• What is “computer science”?
• An activity, more or less
• Debrief on activity

Administrative stuff

• Hi, I’m Sam (or SamR). Our class mentors are John and Nameera.
• The class Web site is at https://rebelsky.cs.grinnell.edu/Courses/CSC151/2020Fa2/.
  • Sam: Don’t forget to put that in the chat.
  • The class Web site is a work in progress.
• We are using Teams for this class. You can (should?) use Teams for other communication, too.
  • I’d like to see your face during class (as much as Teams allows), but do not require it.
  • The ellipses button (three dots) at the bottom lets you set a background.
• Attendance!
  • Sam will (attempt to) call you by first name.
  • You will respond with “Hi, my name is FIRST NAME. (Optional pronouns.) If you must call me by last name, please call me Mr./Ms./Mx. LAST NAME. What’s your best experience (quickly) in learning online? This term, I am excited about ….
• First homework assignments:
  • Read the Web site and answer questions. (Posted at noonish today.)
  • Tell me about yourself. (Posted at noonish today.)
  • Read things in preparation for the second day of class.

Great experiences

• Whiteboad use.
• Discussions. [+1]
• Tutorial [+2]
• Presentations in Tutorial.
• Recorded sessions; flexible sessions. [+4]
  • So we can go back.
• Small group work. [+3]
• Overthrow of Peruvian government.
• Really long reading assignments.
• Using technology that the College will not permit faculty to use.
• Interviewing other people and writing paragraphs as a starting point.
• Losing sleep because of time differences. [+3]
• Pretending that your mic doesn’t work.
• Jokes in chat / confusing your faculty members. “It’s only funny if you have to explain it.”
• Navigating blackboard
• Time differential
• The awesome smart classroom
• Netflix
• The joy of email; it’s weirdly fun to compose an email.
• Meeting new people.
• Time with friends.
• Cats and other pets online.
• Seeing people, not dots.
• Self-paced.
• Fractals and Jackson Pollock.
• Really fast classes; you get through it.
• Faculty members forgetting to call on you when taking attendance.
• Being in Tutorial with …

What is computer science?

• Hypothesis one: Applying mathematical thinking to an electronic format.
• Hypothesis two: Something to do with programming.
• Hypothesis three: Something to do with languages. Maybe with 0’s and 1’s.
• Going on with the languages hypothesis
  • Using commands to do something.
• Why are you asking us? Aren’t you supposed to teach us?
• Study of how software works.
• What is a computer?
• What is science?
  • The study of the physical world and how it exists.
  • Something with multiple definitions
  • A form of systematic study through observation and experiment
  • Scientific method: Develop a hypothesis, develop an experiment, carry it out, draw conclusions (gather information), cycle back
• It may be odd to apply the scientific method to computers since they are machines (or humans) built by humans.
• Most computer scientists will agree on two or three aspects of CS
  • Computer science is the study of algorithms and data structures
    • “Algorithms” -> Instructions for processing information
    • “Data structure” -> Ways of organzing information (to support processing)
• We use an artificial language to describe how to solve tasks
  • Executable by machines
  • Also by humans
• We will study many aspects

Exercise/Outcomes

• Things will go wrong. It’s funny when they go wrong.
  (As long as Sam doesn’t end up with a bloody hand.)
• Ambiguity can be dangerous.
• We work better as teams.
• We need to worry about “special cases”.late.
• Wow, our class is large.
• Sam will do anything for a laugh, including making class run 20 minutes late.