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CSC 322.01, Class 01: Getting started

Overview

  • Preliminaries
    • Notes and news
    • Upcoming work
    • Questions
  • Quick course overview
  • Introductions
  • Short project descriptions
  • Course outcomes
  • More course issues
  • Questions

Preliminaries

Notes and news

  • Welcome back! I think I know most of you (at least from CSC 321), and I’m happy to be able to work with you again.
  • I will take attendance. (Who is in this class but not in 321?)
  • For the first time in a few years, I think I’ve gotten the Web site for the course ready for prime time. Please let me know if you notice problems.
    • A system misconfiguration made some pages unavailable. I particularly appreciate hearing about those.
  • Please fill out the Data Buddies survey that you received over break. https://cerp.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3UH7q6TmdZ8YRPD. Surveys are more meaningful if we get higher participation.
  • Starting on Wednesday, I plan to have a cart of laptops in this room for you to work on. (You’ll probably prefer your own laptops, but …)
    • Or would you prefer to be in 3818?

Upcoming work

Good things to do: Academic

  • CS table tomorrow
  • MLK day (+ 1 week + 1 day) event, Tuesday, 7:00 pm, JRC 101
  • CS extras Thursday: Summer research opportunities in CS.

Questions

Quick course overview

  • Practicum part of our software design course - Where you build real software.
  • Contribute to the construction of a medium-sized software project
    • You may not start a project
    • You may not finish
    • But you will advance the project
  • Working in a team of four or so
  • With an alumni mentor
  • And a local client (non-profit)

Introductions

We will be working together for the semester. We should know a little bit about each other.

  • What do you like to be called?
  • Pronouns (optional)
  • Where are you from?
  • When you have spare time, how do you like to spend that spare time?
  • What will you bring to the course?
  • What will you bring to your project team?

Technical

  • Knowledge of Ruby and Rails
  • Historical knowledge of projects
  • Ability to track down bugs
  • Creative problem solving
  • Mathematical and analytical logical thinking [xn]
  • Experience with OOD
  • Experience with Web development
  • Working with a large codebase
  • More Ruby/Rails knowledge than most of you. [x2]
  • HCI knowledge (yay(
  • Some experience with Ruby and WebDev
  • AppDev
  • Data analysis
  • More WebDev.

Non-technical

  • A good attitude [xn]
  • Experience in working on a mixed-skills team combining programmers and designers.
  • Understanding of skills and limitations.
  • Listens well
  • Thirst for knowledge
  • Working with clients and teams
  • A different perspective
  • Collaborative skills
  • Honesty
  • Humility
  • Generalist
  • Broader perspective
  • Can deal with troublesome personalities, like Sam’s.
  • Communication skills
  • Organization
  • Life experience
  • Teamwork (in non-technical situations)
  • Memory
  • Creativity
  • Willingness to ask questions
  • Able to delegate and assign
  • What Sam expects in this class.
  • Takes notes well

Unspecified

  • Four years of experience doing CS

Short project descriptions

  • Mayflower community
  • GPCF grant management
  • Local Foods Bank
  • PALS
  • Heartland Global Health Consortium
  • Project Callisto

Course outcomes

  • Technical development - Better at working on projects, OOP, dealing with unplanned things, etc.
  • Soft skills - working with other people
    • Teammates
    • Non-technical client
    • Remote mentors
    • Pointy haired boss

More course issues

  • Schedule (and its structure).
  • Expected workload.
  • Grading.

Questions