CS 40 - Lecture 1
David S. Taylor
CS 40
What's In It For You?
- Get a passing grade (provided you participate)
- Learn enough programming to be dangerous
- Maybe even have some fun
- Find out if CS is for you
What's In It For Us (the CS Dept)?
- Serve non-majors
- Seduce some students into becoming CS majors
- For me: Learn how to effectively teach this course and use new
teaching tools
The Graph
2008 Graph - CS/CE
Source: 2007-2008 Taulbee Survey
CS Has an Image Problem
- Live in cubicle land
- Work long hours
- Lose job to outsourcing
Reality
What Do Computer Scientists Do?
What Will We Do In This Course?
- Animations with Alice
- Societal Impact of Computing
- Image and Sound Editing in Java
- Simulations and Games with GreenFoot (Maybe)
Changing Your Brain
From: J. Zull, The Art of Changing the Brain, Stylus Publishing, 2002
Active Learning
- No couch potatos!
- Short Lecture
- Lab or Activity
- Debriefing
- Use web-based software for active learning
ActiveLecture.org
- You can participate--write with pen, mouse, or keyboard
- ActiveLecture.org: participation software that doesn't require
Windows, PowerPoint, or pens
- Your participation will help in developing these projects
Things To Do Today
- Go to the class Google group:
- Request group membership
- After getting membership, upload a photo and a short description of yourself
- Really do this...it is very helpful for me and for potential project
team members to have your photo
Alice
- Programming language
- Animate characters, tell stories
- Drag and drop; no frustrating syntax errors
- Teach programming concepts, then move on to a “real”
language
- Developed for several audiences, (one version with middle school
girls in mind)
- Will it work in a college setting?
- Past semesters it has worked well, but...what about new improved
version?
