EBoard 01: Getting Started (Section 2)
Approximate overview
- Lots of administrative stuff, including attendance
- What is “computer science”?
- A group activity, more or less
- Debrief on activity (continued on Monday)
Administrative stuff
- Please take a playing card, if you haven’t already.
- Sit where you wish (with reason).
Introductory Notes
- Hi, I’m Sam (or SamR).
- Our class mentor is Kate
- They will introduce themselves
- Question: How many people are from Smallpop?
- The class Web site is at
https://rebelsky.cs.grinnell.edu/Courses/CSC151/2026Fa/.
- I will email you the link.
- The class Web site is (always) a work in progress.
- I don’t use Canvas.
- CSC-151 is an introductory course in computer science.
- You can succeed (and even excel) with no prior experience.
- We approach material differently than many other intro CS courses;
prior experience may help, but it may also hinder. For example,
we will not let you re-assign variables. (Don’t worry if you
don’t know what that means.)
- CSC-151 is a community. We come from multiple cultures and backgrounds.
Treat each other with respect and appreciate what each person can contribute.
- We will return to this issue and the associated learning outcomes
throughout the semester.
- I type our online class notes in a format called “markdown”. You should
find it relatively readable. It permits me to make “nice” Web pages.
- Isn’t this beautiful? (No, not really.)
- Sam: Don’t forget to show off today’s eboard.
- Don’t just rely on my notes; There is good evidence that taking
your own notes helps you learn.
- I will try to record our class sessions (audio, mediocre transcript, and
pointless video) using Teams. You will be able to find the recordings
on Teams. Due to technological difficulties, today’s class will not
be recorded.
Other introductory stuff
- We provide supplies in this classroom to support you in working
and learning.
- Small cards to serve as flashcards, which are a good learning technique.
- Also large post-it pads that are gridded.
- And pens.
- And masks.
- Also whiteboards with whiteboard markers and erasers.
- I prefer to have you book office hours. First priority in any time
slot goes to those who book. https:/bit.ly/book-samr
- Office hours are not yet posted, but they will be next week.
- You can also DM me on Teams to arrange office hours (or email me, or
talk to me after class).
- You’ll learn more introductory stuff when you read the syllabus
over the weekend.
Apologies
- The syllabus is long.
- I am old. My hearing is not great, even with hearing aids. Please
try to speak loudly. I may ask you to repeat yourselves. I may ask
the people near the front of the room to repeat what you said.
- Our Web site is not as up to date as I’d like. But it will be.
- I am behind on class prep. I expect to catch up over the weekend.
- I am traditionally bad at names+faces. It will take me some time
to learn your names. It will be worse because I have about seventy
students across the three sections of 151.
- My wife passed away nearly two years ago. As I near the anniversary,
I am likely to be especially maudlin.
- I’m a dad. I make dad jokes. Deal.
- I am snarky/sarcastic.
- More to come ….
Upcoming activities
Guidelines
- You can earn “tokens” (more info in syllabus) for attending designated
academic events or supporting your classmates in their pursuits.
- Attend (or watch recording within a day or so) and record a one-paragraph
reflection within three days afterwards.
- Only those activities that I list count.
- Unless otherwise specified, each activity earns one token.
Scholarly
- Thursday, 3 September 2026, 11:00 a.m.–noon, JRC 101.
Scholars’ Convocation: Anne Harris
Artistic/Cultural
Multicultural
- Friday, 28 August 2026, 4:10–5:00 p.m., HSSC N1170.
Middle of Everywhere
- Friday, 4 September 2026, 4:10–5:00 p.m., HSSC N1170.
Middle of Everywhere
Peer
Musical, theatric, sporting, academic, and similar events involving this
section’s students are welcome.
- Saturday, 29 August 2026, 1:00–4:00 p.m., Rosenbloom Field.
Football Scrimmage vs. Buena Vista
Wellness
- Monday, 31 August 2026, 8:00–9:00 p.m., Prayer Garage.
Meditation Group
- Tuesday, 1 September 2026, 4:30–6:00 p.m., Bear Center Multipurpose Dance Studio (P103).
Wellness Yoga
- Wednesday, 2 September 2026, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. JRC Lobby, Table 3.
Free Mom Hugs
- Wednesday, 2 September 2026, 4:00–5:00 p.m., Burling 1st.
Speed Friending
Misc
- Saturday, 29 August 2026, 3:00–?? p.m., Roberts Theatre.
PerforMIXER
Other good things
These do not earn tokens, but are worth your consideration.
- Saturday, 29 August 2026, 9:00 a.m.–noon, Tennis Courts.
Women’s Tennis vs. Coe College
- Tuesday, 1 September 2026, 4:30–6:30 p.m., Springer Field.
Women’s Soccer vs. U. Dubuque
- Friday, 4 September 2026, 5:00–7:00 p.m., Darby.
Volleyball vs St. Benedict vs. Simpson
Upcoming work
Attendance
- Sam will (attempt to) call you by first name.
- You will respond with
- “Hi, my name is FIRST LAST. (PROPER SURNAME)
- I prefer to be called NAME.
- (Optional pronouns.)
- Note: For the first few weeks of class, please say your name each time
you ask or answer a question.
Friday Public Service Announcement (PSA)
You will receive a Friday PSA each week.
- PSA
- Whatever choices you make, you are still a Grinnellian.
- Make the choices that are right for you.
- And think in advance about those choices.
- Consent is essential
- Consent is difficult/impossible if you are impaired
- Please take care of yourselves!
What is computer science?
- Computer science is the study of algorithms and data structures
- Algorithms: Sets of (unambiguous) instructions.
- Data Structures: Ways to organize information.
- We study algorithms by …
- writing algorithms to accomplish certain tasks.
(E.g., Organizing or searching information.)
- identify problems
- generalize / simplify
- write instructions that allow “you” to solve them
- analyzing their efficacy.
- writing systems that implement those instructions (e.g., hardware
or languages).
- considering their effects on individuals or society.
- We study data structures in similar ways.
- Most of this class will be writing and thinking about sets of
instructions in an artificial language (aka a programming language).
- We use an artificial language because artificial languages
can be designed to be less ambiguous. (Also easier for the
computer to follow.)
Questions
Is Scheme a low-level or high-level language?
High level.
Exercise
Practice writing algorithms!
Setup
- Sit with everyone with the same card number.
- Get a few whiteboards (markers, erasers).
- Write instructions for me to make a sandwich. (You only need to write
them once; you’ve grabbed multiple boards in case the instructions
get too long.)
- You may not look at the materials.
Materials
- One jar of peanut butter.
- One jar of strawberry spread.
- One load of bread.
- One pack of plates.
- Two knives.
- Two spoons.
- Two forks.
- Some napkins.
- Ziplock bags for leftovers.
- Fizzy water, because PB&J sandwiches can be dry.
Observations
- “Tear open the bag” is surprisingly easy to interpret. Messy,
but easy to interpret.
- Unless you tell Sam to put things down, he won’t.
Questions
Can we look at the materials?
No.
What is your dominant hand?
I’m left-handed. You can also use the terms “dominant hand” and
“non-dominant hand” if you want to be more inclusive. I’m also not
sure it matters for most of what we are doing.
What did you learn from this activity / what might you have learned?
- Things will go wrong when you try to write instructions. It’s okay;
it’s part of the learning process. No one is harmed (other than Sam).
- For this particular activity, we did need to consider dangers.
- When things go wrong, envision what might have happened if you had
said “grab the peanut butter” or “open the jar of peanut butter”.
- It can be important to focus on small (seemingly obvious) details.
- Precision is often very important.
- Understand what the person following your instructions knows. [+1]
- It’s hard to transition between sets of instructions.
- If you need to be overly precise, you’ll spend a lot of time writing
instructions and won’t get as far as you want in the time allotted.
- Ambiguity leads to failure.
- We solve problems better together.
- We solve problems better when we test as we go.
Debrief
What did you learn? Or what might you have learned?