Basic Info

You are not required to purchase books for this class.

All required readings will be provided online. Some of the readings are provided under academic fair use, and are only for students in the class. For this reason, they will be provided via the course Canvas page.

In the past, we used readings more extensively.

The course staff is available to provide help!

In this class you are expected to uphold standards of professional conduct and academic integrity. The University policies on academic misconduct apply to this class.

Proper academic conduct means being honest about your work and being respectful in your communications with staff and other students. It means not presenting the work of others as your own. It means not collaborating on parts of class we ask you not to collaborate on.

1. Grading is based on the 10 workbooks (64%), the final “project” (12%), and the exams (24%).
2. We will consider quizzes/surveys and various forms of participation to adjust your grade.
3. Do not expect Canvas to compute your grade.

Programming assignments in CS559 will use the Javascript programming language. We will help you learn Javascript, if you aren’t already familiar with it.

Here is a brief overview of what the class is and how it works. You may also want to see the Getting Started page.

Because this class is online, you will need to provide your own equipment for class. The requirements aren’t much different than any other class. You’ll need a capable computer, a decent internet connection, a camera, and the ability to do audio and video for communications.

We recommend using Visual Studio Code (VSCode) for doing the programming assignments in CS559.

You will need to use some text editor for editing JavaScript programs and web pages (e.g., html and css files).

It is worth investing your time in learning to use good tools (like VSCode).

Workbooks are the main assignments for class and the required reading. Understanding them is realy important.

In an online class, communication is important. For this class, there are multuiple mechanisms (Canvas, Piazza, Web, Zoom, Email). Student should understand how the class uses all of these mechanisms.

• The course web has course information and content. New material will be announced on Canvas.
• Announcements will be made via Canvas. Make sure you receive Canvas announcements.
• Emergency announcements will be made via email, but we will try to keep this to a minimum.
• General (Open) Discussions via Piazza.
• Communication with Course Staff via Piazza.
• Course restricted information via Canvas pages and Files.
• Grading via Canvas.
• Synchronous class meetings via Zoom. (see Zoom for CS559)
• Consulting hours and office hours will be held in person or via Zoom.
• Workbooks are obtained and handed in via GitHub classroom and a Canvas survey.
• Exams and Surveys will use Canvas Quizzes.
• Please be respectful of others in online communications.

1. There will be 3 exams, given online. Two will be given on Wednesday evenings during the semester, one will be given in the official University Final Examination time slot.
2. Each exam will be administered using Canvas Quizzing.
3. Each exam will consist of 3 short segments. You must complete all 3 segments within the exam time window.

The course web has a lot to read. Here is a suggestion as to where to start (and a recommended order you could look at them). If you’d like to see this list as a checklist, I’ve made it into a Canvas Survey for Getting Started - so you can check things off as you complete them. (but if you submit the quiz, you have to start over)

This list is long - but it is worth taking the time to understand class before it starts.

1. Read through this page before following links from it.
2. Check the Course Overview page to get a basic sense of what the course is going to be.
3. Check the Course Pre-Requisites (should you be here?) page to get an idea of what you need to know to take this class. The Technical Requirements page describes what you need to participate in the class online.
4. The Policies page will give you a sense of the rules for how the class will operate. There are lots of details, but make sure you understand the basic ideas.
5. Read the Communications Policy page to understand how you will communicate with us in class.
6. Understand how we will use Zoom for CS559 because you will need it for class.
7. Read Getting Help in case you need it.
8. Look at the Tools for 559 page to see what tools you will want to gather together to do the assignments in the class. We recommend that you use Visual Studio Code (see Visual Studio Code (VSCode) for CS559). The software page Software gives some instructions on how to set up Windows. It is important that you set up Git Setup and SSH configuration.
9. The Javascript in CS559 page discusses the use of JavaScript in CS559, and gives some suggestions on how to learn it if you haven’t already.
10. The Learning Goals will help you understand what you are going to learn in class. Check the Calendar to see the planned schedule.
11. Read about the Workbooks that we will use in class. Students also often ask about Grading.
12. The Readings (Course Materials) page describes the readings and other materials we will use in class. The Books page to see what books we will use in class, and why you don’t need to buy any (but can if you want to).

Before class starts, we recommend that you:

1. Have a look at the web pages above.
2. Register for an account on GitHub if you don’t already have one.
3. Set up the tools you will want to use for the class and try them out. This includes configuring canvas and Zoom for CS559. Set up Git Setup and SSH configuration. Set up Visual Studio Code.
4. If you haven’t done any JavaScript programming before, have a look at some of the resources on the Javascript in CS559 page and try to do a little JavaScript programming. Read some of one of the books, maybe watch some of the videos, but also try things out!
5. If you’ve never used GIT before, you might want to read about it and try it out a little. See the Git and GitHub in CS559 page where I have a brief tutorial, and pointers to resources. There is a link to a GIT tutorial I made showing how to use it for class.

If you need to find something on this course web, try using the search box in the upper right corner.