Computer Science 101 / 001

Preview of Computer Science

Meets

Tuesday and Thursday, 1:30 to 2:45 PM, in Nguyen Engineering Building 1101.

Professor

Teaching Assistants

Michael Bowen, Sam Gelman, and David Fleming

Requirements

1.You must be a CS or Applied CS major. Likely majors may take the class with permission of the instructor. 2.All new CS or Applied CS majors must take this class at the same time as their first CS class (typically CS112, CS211, CS310, or CS367). 3.If your first CS class is not CS112, you may need to learn some basic Python. The professor will be glad to assist you in this. 4.There is no textbook.

About the Class

Computer science is not programming: programming is just one of several of the computer scientist's tools. The class will introduce you to a variety of computer science topics, taught both by the professor and by various faculty in the department and other guest lecturers. There will be at least one course project in small groups.

Course Web Page

CS 101: Preview of Computer Science

Grading

Grading will be based on a combination of the following factors, each weighted approximately the same: 1.Class attendance and participation. 2.Participation in various sanctioned external activities and lectures related to computer science. 3.A group project, with some possible warm-up exercises.

The class will not have a final exam.

Honor Code

The class enforces the GMU Honor Code, and to the more specific honor code policy special to the Department of Computer Science. You will be expected to adhere to this code and policy.

Disabilities

If you heve a documented learning disability or other condition which may affect academic performance, make sure this documentation is on file with the Office of Disability Services and come talk to me about accommodations.

Course Outcomes

1.An appreciation of the nature of computer science as a discipline, and its distinction from computer programming as an art. 2.A working knowledge of the breadth of subfields of computer science. 3.An ability to synthesize current working knowledge of programming (as taught in CS112) on the proposal of and development of independent project. 4.An ability to understand the relationship the computer scientist has with society, culture, and current issues. 5.An ability to work in teams.