Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if I miss the first class?
You can find the lecture notes posted on the class Schedule. You can work on the first lab on your own; procedures for receiving credit will be announced in class. You can also get help with your python installation and/or the lab work during Consulting Hours.

I need help, and am not sure I even know what to ask.
If experience is any guide, feeling lost doesn't mean you've done anything wrong.
Some ideas: Make sure you are attending your lab section and utilizing the course staff during this time. If you are having trouble with an assignment, go to consulting hours or post your question on Piazza. If you are having trouble with a concept, go to the TA or instructor office hours. If you need a longer help session, sign up for a 1-on-1 session with a consultant (details about how to do this coming soon). If it's early in the semester, sign up for an AEW. You might be interested in tutoring; see a related question on this page. There will be a review session before each of the exams. Make sure you attend them! Finally, if you are working on the assignments with a partner, make sure your partner is at about the same level as you. If your partner does all the work, you learn nothing. If you know more than your partner, you can't learn from them. If you're at the same level, you learn from each other and share the work equally.

How can I switch sections?
(Only you can change your section; the course staff cannot do this for you.) If the section you want has space in Student Center, use the "swap" mechanism in Student Center. (DON'T drop the course and then try to re-enroll!). Instructions here (a section is a "secondary component" in Student Center-speak.) Otherwise, if the section you want to switch into is full, use the Section Swapping Station on Piazza.

How do I start an assignment?
Read the assignment a few times. Don't expect to absorb it all at once. While reading the assignment, look for clues on what you need to do. When you've figured out the larger tasks, break those large problems into smaller and smaller tasks. Eventually, you can program those smaller tasks.

How do I print in a public lab / use Net-Print?
Review the page about Net-Print from CIT.

How can I get a form signed?
Bring your form to the course administrative assistant (see Staff page). They will retain your form and send you an email when the form has been signed and is ready for you to pick up. This may take a day or two.

How do I become a consultant?
See the Computer Science Undergraduate Course Staff Positions webpage.

Where are the computer labs, and when are they available?
Carpenter map; Schedules for the Blue, Red, Orange, and Green (104, 235, 236, 237); Phillips 318 map and schedule. These are the only labs guaranteed to use the right Python installation for CS 1110.

Where can I find a tutor?

• Engineering and BEE undergraduates are eligible for two hours of free CS 1110 tutoring per week through the Engineering/BEE tutors on call program.
• The Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (OADI) has offered CS 1110 tutoring for active OADI students in the past.
• First-generation-college and under-represented minority students in Engineering might be able to request CUES tutoring for CS1110, although it is not among the listed courses.
• Women in Computing at Cornell (WICC) is open to trying to make connections to possible tutors, upon request.
• While they do not offer CS1110 tutoring, the Learning Strategies Center (LSC) has many excellent resources and seminars on succeeding at Cornell. Time management, the Cornell note-taking system, how best to use office hours, overcoming procrastination, making effective study groups, overcoming academic anxiety — learn about all these topics and more!

MAY I...

May I take this class S/U?
Yes, for the 2020 spring semester. You may also want to look at alternative courses.
Be aware that S/U is not "pass/fail":

• An S corresponds to C- or higher, so D-level performance receives a U.
• A D still earns credit for a course; a U does not.

May I change my partner?
You may have different partners for different assignments, but you may not have more than one partner for any assignment.

May I use PyDef or an actual Python IDE? May I program in a different language?
You may not use another language. If you want, you may use a full-blown Python IDE such as PyDef, Wing IDE, or even the commercial Komodo IDE. However, if you do this, you are on your own; we provide support only for using a command shell.

May I complete an extra credit assignment to boost my semester grade in the class?
Unfortunately, we will not be able to offer such opportunities. The long answer is that the many components of your semester grade (6 assignments, 12 labs, and 3 exams) have both taken a lot of time to create and provided you ample opportunities to show the degree to which you have mastered the material. Providing another assignment to everyone would be stretching the limits of what we can expect students to accomplish in a single semester; providing it to only a few would be unfair. Furthermore, the university frowns upon assignments being due past the last day of class because it is seen as a sudden and undue burden to students while they are studying for finals. Spring 2020 has been significantly disrupted, affecting both students and staff. The arrangement we were able to come up that would be feasible for us and satisfy the spirit of extra credit is to allow resubmission of one of A4 and A5 after grading feedback is given to students. (We regret not have the staff resources to be able to handle resubmission of both A4 and A5, and because we had to release A3's solutions before the prelim, we cannot offer resubmission of it.)