Welcome to CSC108!

Today

• All the administrative stuff

• … and a brief intro to Python (if there‘s time)

2

Coming Up

• Friday: Arithmetic Expressions, Intro to Variables

• This Friday @ 10: Week 1 Exercises Due

• This Sunday @ 10: Week 2 Prep Due

• Monday: Intro to Functions and Design Recipes

3

This Course• Teaches the basics of programming in Python

• Is intended for students with no programming experience

• 3 lecture hours per week

• Optional, 2-hour practical each week (labs)

4

Course Outcomes

By the end of the course, you will be able to ...• Apply problem solving techniques to translate “human readable” problems

into solution plans

• Write Python programs to solve problems

• Think like a programmer!

5

If you only remember one thing today...

Remember the website!

https://mcs.utm.utoronto.ca/~108/

6

Getting Help

• Office hours – do not be intimidated, come by that’s why we’re here

• Practical sessions – Open lab hours in DH2010

• Online discussion board

• Email is primarily for administrative issues

• Please read and post on the discussion board first

• Don’t spin your wheels – ask for help!

• or... Google it

7

Participation

I strongly encourage it, I do not require it

• In this class, you will have many opportunities to discuss the material, instead of listening to me

• Learning is enhanced when we actively engage in and question the material

• Attendance is also not required

8

How Lectures Work

• We are using a technique called Peer Instruction

• I will present a short summary of the topic and then ask a question.• Think about it on your own, no talking yet

• Then, use your clicker to respond

• Finally, discuss the question with your neighbors and update your responses

• I’ll summarize the responses, and we’ll have a discussion

Why?

• Committing to an answer is important for learning

• It’s formative feedback for both of us

• The discussion that follows will highlight mistakes and correct your understanding• Hearing the explanations of others will deepen your understanding of the

topic

• On my part, I will hear when difficulties are arising

What’s the Evidence?

• This is from two years ago

• On each vote, on average, 30% of students go from incorrect to correct after the group discussion

What to Buy• A clicker, for answering questions in class• You must register your clicker (if you want

credit)

• ... nothing else. The software is all available for free

• It is installed on the machine on campus, and links to the software are posted on the webpage, if you wish to try to install it on a personal machine

12

iClicker Registration: Step 1

Locate the unique ID located on the back of your iClicker

iClicker Registration: Step 2

Go to Blackboard for CSC108 and click on “i>clicker registration”

iClicker Registration: Step 3

Enter the unique ID in the box beside iClicker Remote ID, then click “Submit”

Any questions so far?

Grading Overview

Work Comment

Prep and Review 10%Online “Prepare” and “Perform” exercises

Weekly Practice 5%Clickers (in-class), in-lab exercises, or online “Practice” exercises

Assignments 25% 5%, 10%, 10%: all individual work

Midterm 20% Friday, October 20 @ 5:00

Final exam 40% You must get ≥ 40% to pass 108

17

So, what do you need to do to get those grade?

Prep and Review: 10%

• The class prep and weekly quizzes are due in PCRS• PCRS was built at U of T, by second and third year students, it

hosts video and exercises

• Prep work is due before class and is designed to check if you have absorbed the materials in the videos • Due Sunday night at 10 p.m.

• The weekly quizzes check that you can apply concepts from class• Due Friday night at 10 p.m.

19

Prep and Review (cont): 10%

• The prepares are just checked for completion

• The performs are checked for correctness

• You get instant feedback on your response• You can retry if you got an answer wrong without penalty, but

we detect brute force attempts (which result in a 0)

20

Assignments: 25%

• Assignments are summative feedback

• They ask you to integrate concepts from multiple weeks

• Three total

• Assignments handouts will be posted on the website

• They are due at 10:00 pm (sharp) on the due date, but…

21

Assignments (cont): 25%• We will send you test results immediately after the

submission deadline

• You may resubmit (or submit late), correcting errors identified by our tests, within 48 hours of the initial deadline

• Resubmissions and late submissions are marked with a 20% deduction• Of course, illness and other disasters are another matter;

contact me asap

22

Remarking• If you believe something was mis-marked, bring the

assignment or test to me during office hours

• Be prepared for the entire assignment to be reviewed and potentially remarked

23

Practicals: 0%

• We don’t have practicals this year

• Instead, the TAs will be available in lab throughout the entire week: 10-6 Monday-Friday• They’ll be in DH2010 except on Wednesday. See the webpage for details

• Please take advantage of this. Having a TA nearby as you work on your assignment, so you can ask questions as you have them, is incredibly valuable

• Most weeks, there will be a lab handout with exercises for potential credit

Weekly Practice: 5%

• Do at least one of three things each week• Participate via iClicker for the majority of the questions

• Score (close to) perfect on the prep that week

• Do the in-lab exercise

The Midterm: 20%

• Written outside of class

• Everyone writes at the same time• October 20th 5:00pm-6:00pm

• Past tests are made available for you to study from

26

The Final Exam

• Scheduled by the Office of the Registrar• We can’t change it!

• Don’t plan your flights yet

• All exceptions are handled through the Office of the Registrar

• To pass the course, you must earn a 40% on the exam

27

Why so much work!?

• This course requires frequent, small amounts of practice and provides frequent formative feedback

• The prep work and quizzes serve two purposes:• Being prepared means you will get the most out of lecture

• Frequent feedback will help you realize when you need to get help from a TA or me

• You diversify your grade

28

Academic Offenses

• All of the work you submit must be your own and your work must not be submitted by someone else (except your assignment partner)

• The department uses software that compares programs for evidence of similar code

How to Be Good• To avoid plagiarism:

• Never look at any other person’s work

• Never show any one else your work

• This applies even to drafts and to incomplete solutions

• Discuss how to solve an assignment only with the course TAs and instructors

Laptop Etiquette• Some people have trouble focusing with the

sound of typing nearby or with a screen in view

• There’s also the issue of cords, if you need to plug your device in

• To be courteous, if you choose to use a laptop, please sit on the sides or at the rear of the room