Pre-Class Announcement
Hello! And Welcome to CS559 for the Spring of 2026!
Once class begins, I will make announcements via Canvas. Do not expect much class email. However, since Canvas isn’t ready, I’ll use email today.
As you are hopefully aware, CS559 will be taught in an online format for the Spring of 2026. I am working to re-design the class as a true online experience.
The course web is: https://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/559-sp26/
A good place to start is, the Getting Started Page: https://pages.graphics.cs.wisc.edu/559-sp26/posts/getting-started/
The getting started page has some things you can do before class starts. Make sure you have a GitHub account, set it up correctly, get Visual Studio Code (or other appropriate tools), etc.
For this semester, we will not have traditional lectures (even online). Rather than having long Zoom sessions with Professor monologues, we will have asynchronous assignments (with linked videos to give you information when you need it) and “events” (such as quizzes and optional discussions) during class time.
On Day 1, we won’t begin by having a Zoom lecture. We’ll have an optional Zoom meeting to help students get setup and to talk about class. Come by and say hi. It will be informal - I am not sure how well that works out. In Zoom.
To find the Zoom link, look on Canvas. We will also make an announcement.
The main thing on Day 1 will be the first class “Video Survey”. Each part of class will be introduced with a Video Survey: a Canvas Survey with a short video embedded. The first day of class will have two of these: one as a welcome to the class, and one as a welcome to the first module. They won’t be ready before the first day of class. We’ll make an announcement to help you find them.
A few other announcements before class starts:
Communications: We will use Canvas and Piazza in class. We’ll send a note when it’s ready for students. Once it is set up, prefer Piazza to communicate with course staff. Before it is set up, we might be too busy getting ready to be responsive.
Honors Opportunities: I am willing to support students who want to take CS559 for honors credit (via the “Green Sheet” Mechanism). Please contact me after the first day of class (January 21st).
Office Hours: Even though the class is online, we will hold in-person office hours (and online). We prefer to meet people in person. Come by my office (6588 Morgridge) on Wednesday afternoon between 2-3 and say hi. I really like meeting students. Alex and Bhuyashi (the TAs) will have office hours on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday afternoons. I might stop by those as well.
Class Time: Officially, the class is scheduled from 8:50-9:40 Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We will have required quizzes in those time slots. The University rule is that you cannot take two classes in the same time slot.
Learning JavaScript and Web Programming: This class teaches Computer Graphics using Web Programming (in JavaScript) to implement the assignments. We expect students to learn enough JavaScript and Web Programming in the beginning of the class. We will support students trying to learn these tools. See https://cs559.github.io/559Tutorials/javascript/javascript559/