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.Instructor
information.
Mr. Christian
Day
Home: x272-6115 Work: x1396
Email: cday@emma.troy.ny.us
IM: cday87
.Required
course materials.
- Daily
access to a computer for your homework assignments is essential. For
now, we do not have a text book. Web-based resources will be used.
- You may
wish to keep a notebook or journal of the topics that come up during
a class day, although often you have class notes to work from. I have
three-ring binders for everyone in the class.
- Having
a computer in your room is helpful, but by no means required.
.Supplementary
course materials.
.Expectations.
All students
in Computer Science courses are expected to fulfill all requirements of
the course they are taking to the highest level they possibly can. The
highlighted areas below are guidelines that will be followed when your
grade is being determined at the end of the term. Students are encouraged
to inquire about their grade as often as they would like.
You will
be graded in each of the following areas:
| Participation: |
10%
of class grade |
Each student
begins the term with an A in class participation in the course. Daily
comments on student participation in class will be recorded, and the class
participation grade will be updated accordingly. Class participation includes,
but is not limited to:
- Involvement
in class.
- It
is expected that every student will attain a maximum amount of participation
by their involvement in class discussion, including asking questions
and offering solutions. Students should expect to receive encouragement
or restraint from the instructor based on their participation.
- Maintaining
the lines of communication
- A
great deal of our one-to-one communication is done by email, so
you should plan to check your email often.
- Appropriate
conduct in class.
- It
is assumed that every student knows how to behave herself in a social
situation such as a classroom. Explicitly, this means:
- Using
appropriate language
Never distracting a classmate
Following all class guidelines
Assisting other students in maintaining maximum participation.
- Attendance.
- Unexcused
absences and latenesses count here. The Emma Willard school has
strict rules about class attendance, including this one: "The student
with a fourth unexcused absence in the same course will lose credit
for that course." In addition to that, in this class, an unexcused
lateness or absence will effect your grade as follows:
- First
unexcused absence: A non-recoverable 10% deduction of the class
participation grade.
Second unexcused absence: A non-recoverable 25% deduction of
the class participation grade.
Third unexcused absence: A non-recoverable 50% deduction of
the class participation grade.
First unexcused lateness: A non-recoverable 2% deduction of
the class participation grade.
Second unexcused lateness: A non-recoverable 5% deduction of
the class participation grade.
Third unexcused lateness: Counts as an absence, see above.
The effects of these non-recoverable points are cumulative,
so that by the time you have acquired your third unexcused absence,
you will have lost a cumulative 85% of your class participation
grade. Please see me if you have any questions on this policy.
- Willingness
and ability to help others according to the assistance
guidelines listed below.
- One
of the most important skills you will gain from this course is the
ability to help others. Your efforts in assisting classmates will
be noted daily and will count most significantly towards your class
participation grade. Your efforts outside of class will also be
noted here.
| Out
of class work on assignments: |
70%
of class grade |
All
homework will be accepted electronically via a method that will be described
in class. Failure to correctly submit assignments according to the given
guidelines results in a 20% penalty on that assignment. A penalty of 10%
per day will be assessed to any late homework assignment or project.
Out of class
homework is broken into two types of work:
.Assignments.
Assignments
are generally given daily, but will often take more than one night. These
are often reading assignments (with a short writing component) or short
computer programs. Homework assignments will generally take less than
one hour of your time.
.Projects.
Projects
are larger homework assignments that are intended to take a week or more
of your time. When there is a project, I will give you time in class to
work on it. Your attendance is required even if you are finished. In the
fall semester, there will only be one project (the final), which will
count 20% of your total class grade.
.Extra
credit.
An optional
portion to each assignment or project will be given. These optional portions
will tend to be difficult and time-consuming, but can increase your grade
by 5%. It is possible for a highly motivated student to end up with a
105% average on her out of class work on an assignment.
| Tests: |
10%
of class grade |
Every effort
will be made to have a short (30 minute) test every two weeks of the class.
Tests will be narrowly focused on one or more clearly defined topic(s).
You may rewrite
any test that you wish and receive 50% credit for the effort. Test rewrites
are always due at the beginning of the next class following the return
of the graded test. Test rewrites will have to be completed in addition
to your regular homework for that evening. Only one rewritten test will
actually count towards your grade. This may be best illustrated by an
example.
| Independent
student project: |
10%
of class grade |
Each student
has the opportunity to complete an independent student project of some
kind during the course of the semester. This project is optional, but
please note that any student wishing a grade higher than a B+ must complete
one of these projects. These projects may take any of a number of forms.
The instructor must approve whatever you choose for your ISP first. Some
examples of possible projects are:
- Maintainance
of a daily journal.
- A community
service project.
- Materials
that could be used by other students to learn or reinforce a concept
taught in the class.
- Artwork
that is relevant to the class.
- A set
of web pages.
- A timeline
of computer history.
- Exploration
and demonstration of some software (e.g. Flash, an Imovie, etc.).
- Completion
of a challenging problem. This could be an extension of a class assignment
or a new assignment, but it must be created by the student.
Communication
with a classmate will be vital to your success during this class. Students
are allowed, and encouraged to interact with each other while working
on take-home assignments or projects. Unless otherwise specified, these
guidelines will not apply to tests.
- No person
may touch your mouse or keyboard while giving you assistance.
- You may
not look at another person's work in any format while typing or using
your mouse.
- You may
not accept completed or partially completed work from any other person
in any form.
- You must
give written credit to any person who assists you in any way on your
homework assignments. Failure to credit any person who assists you will
result in a failed assignment.
- Every
program that you write must contain the following "disclaimer of
possession."
/*
Disclaimer of Possession
Name: __________________
Date: __________________
This program is the sole creation of the person named above except
where otherwise explicitly noted. I fully understand that any undocumented
assistance while writing this program constitutes plagiarism and is
a major offense of the Emma Willard School's code of conduct. Furthermore,
I understand that within the spirit of the Assistance Guidelines provided
by my instructor, this program is a fair reflection of my own ability
to write a computer program. Any documented assistance indicates that
assistance was received, which is different from having the person
indicated do the work for you or having that person simply tell you
how to do the task at hand. */ |
.Grading
scale.
Assignment,
projects and grades will be returned with a numerical grade indicating
the assessed value of your work. The following grade scale can help you
determine what this numerical grade means:
95-100 A Exceptional work
92-95 A- Excellent work
89-92 B+ Very good work
86-89 B Good work
83-86 B- Fair work
80-83 C+ Needs improvement
76-80 C Incomplete or incorrect
72-76 C- Substantially incomplete or incorrect
69-72 D+ Indicative of poor effort or a lack of comprehension
65-69 D Warning!
60-65 D- WARNING!
60 or below F Failure
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