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Information on taking CS1130 --self-paced version

Please read the information on this page carefully.

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The nature of this course

Self-paced. This is a self-paced, S/U course. You may move at your own pace. Four weeks is the expected time, but you may do it faster if you want, and if you need extra time, take it.

BUT:There are strict deadlines for completing the material. If you miss a deadline for the first assignment, first test, or second assignment, you will be dropped from this section of the course and you will have to enroll in section

CS 1130-003 LEC 16555
MoWeFr 2:30PM - 3:20PM
Hollister Hall B14, 5 Mar - 13 Apr

Strict deadlines for this self-paced version of CS 1130

COMPLETION OF Assignment 1: 15 February
   The assignment must be completed before you take test 1
Take Test 1 at least once by: 17 February
COMPLETION OF Assignment 2. 4 March
   The assignment must be completed before you take test 2
Take Test 2 at least once by: 15 March

 

Relation to CS1110

The first four weeks of CS1110 teach the object-oriented aspects of Java, orienting it to people who have not programmed before, so that it may be a bit slower than necessary for those who have studied programming using another programming language. Nevertheless, this may provide the structure and discipline that some students want.

VideoNote was used to record all CS1110 lectures in fall 2010. You can see all lectures on www.cs.cornell.edu/videonote/Cornell ---you will be asked for your Cornell netid and password.

Mastery of the material. There are two assignments, one lab, a few quizzes, and two tests. You may take a test only after you have finished the corresponding assignment, lab, and quizzes. Assignments, quizzes, and tests will require mastery of the material. Thus, you will work on an assignment until it is correct. See the page on grades/tests/assignments for more details. Similarly, you will continue to take a test (or a version of it) until you get 85/100. The tests will not be overly difficult. The second one will involve writing a Java program on the computer. See the page on tests for more details.

Quizzes. Each of the quizzes is designed to make sure that you have learned some important concept. Here's how the quiz will work. You tell a consultant that you are ready to take a quiz, and you take it (5 minutes). The consultant will look at what you did and will have one of three responses.

  1. You passed the quiz and can move on.
  2. Your answers show some slight misunderstandings. The consultant will go over your answers and explain your misunderstandings and may ask you to answer another question in order to be sure that you understand. Then, you can move on.
  3. Your answer shows great misunderstanding. The consultant will show you what you did wrong and ask you to come back at another time, the next day, and take the quiz again.

There is a special quiz 0, which we ask you to do on the CMS now.

To find out when other quizzes are given, click here.

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Course materials

The course uses the text book

Multimedia Introduction to Programming Using Java
David Gries and Paul Gries. Springer Verlag, 2005. (it may be called 2004 on Amazon)

A sleeve on the inside back cover should contain a CD, called ProgramLive. Further, there should be a white slip of paper on the sleeve that contains a serial number. We have learned that some of the books do not have a CD or a serial number. We have placed instructions for getting the CD or serial number here (opens a page on the website for the CS 1130 Lecture sections).

You may buy a later edition of the text. The content will be the same. But the later edition may not come with a CD and may ask you to download it from the Springer Verlag website. In that case, follow instructions given here (opens a page on the website for the CS 1130 Lecture sections). This page also tells you how to use the PLive CD on a Macintosh running Lion.

The course also uses DrJava, a free software system for working with Java. We have extensive information on how to download DrJava onto you computer.

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About the blectures

The blectures (web-based lectures) are a new addition to our collection of instructional materials. A blecture captures of part of a computer screen —usually a powerpoint window, a DrJava window, or both— and audio. Each blecture is 5-9 minutes long and focuses on one topic. Here are some points about the blectures:

  1. When you click on a blecture link, you may be asked for your Cornell netid and password. Non-Cornell people who are looking at blectures will also be asked for an email address; this is just so that we can record who is using the site and any comments you might give us on the blecture.

    After you log in, a window will appear with the blecture on it. Be patient. It may take some seconds for the blecture to start, depending on your connection to the internet. If you are using a Cornell computer or your own computer in the dorm, it should not take long.
  2. You don't have to watch all the blectures. Your goal is to learn the material; do it whichever way you want.
  3. After watching a blecture, please complete the short survey that appears on the right of the window and then click button submit. We need input from you on the value of the blectures and your comments on how they can be improved.

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Approaches to learning the material

We present the material in this course to you in various ways, and you can choose which to use at any time. Here they are.

  1. The text book and its accompanying ProgramLive CD are the ultimate source. Refer to them often, as a reference for certain topics as well as material to study. Use the index and table of contents in the text to find what you need. The ProgramLive CD contains a hypertext index and glossary, making it easy to browse. The other material, for example, the blectures (web lectures), may be extremely useful, but they cannot cover everything. The text book does.
  2. The course is presented to you in two modules, each of which has a webpage that gives you a list of topics covered in the module: module 1 and module 2. Various ways are used to present the material to you:
    1. Sections of the text book.
    2. Blectures: online web lectures, each lasting less than 10 minutes. These are the quickest way to begin grasping new material. You may watch them as often as you like, and you can use a scroll bar to skip or repeat material.
    3. Word documents and powerpoint slides used in the online lectures. The material is covered in more detail in the text book, so you don't have to look at these. But they are there for your use if you want them.
    4. Lectures (activities) on the ProgramLive CD. The CD has over 250 recorded lectures with synched animation, each 2-5 minutes long. You can obtain the text of each lecture (use menu item Exposition -> View exposition text).
    5. html pages.
    6. Online list of concepts and definitions, with references to the text.

We have attempted to provide the course material in different ways so that each can learn in a way that suits them best.

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