Course Syllabus

IMPORTANT NOTE:  All dates and policies contained in the CS 1410 syllabus and Canvas course are subject to change.  Students can expect to be informed immediately and clearly of any changes.

Critical Information

Instructor

Prof. Parker, 3144 MEB, parker@cs.utah.edu 

Class meetings

Mondays and Wednesdays 3-4:20p in SW 134, led by Prof. Parker

Lab sessions

Thursdays at various times and locations (see your class schedule), led by Teaching Assistants (TAs)

Attendance and recordings

Due to the interactive nature of class meetings, attendance is expected.  When not prevented by technical difficulties, class meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays are recorded.  These recordings include only video of the instructor's screen, audio of the instructor, and occasionally, audio of students who ask questions.  These recordings are not intended as a substitution for attending class.  Furthermore, they are not of optimal quality and may not be available for every class meeting.  Lab sessions on Thursdays are not recorded and attendance is expected.

Textbook

Introduction to Programming Using Java

Important dates

All exams are paper-based, administered in person, and may not be missed.

• Midterm 1 is Wednesday, September 21 during the class meeting.
• Midterm 2 is Wednesday, November 2 during the class meeting.
• Final Exam (cumulative) is Tuesday, December 13 3:30-5:30p.

Final course grade

If a student's average score on exams is 65% or better, their final CS 1410 grade is comprised of programming assignments 40%, exams 40%, labs 10%, Canvas quizzes 10%.  Otherwise, their final course grade is the same as their exam average. 

Communication

Course Information

CS 1410: Introduction to Object-Oriented Programing is the second course in a two course introductory sequence.  It is expected that students in CS 1410 have taken CS 1400 at the University of Utah, which covers procedural programming concepts using Python.  CS 1410 introduces the concepts central to object-oriented programming (OOP) using the Java programming language.  Students complete extensive programming exercises that involve the application of elementary software engineering techniques.  Students who did not complete CS 1400 at the University of Utah should consider taking CS 1420 instead of CS 1410.

Fair warning

The pacing in this class is brisk.  Students should be aware that not all of the topics they need to know are covered during class meetings and lab sessions.  Students should spend a considerable amount of time studying and practicing course concepts outside of class.

Prerequisite and corequisite

The course prerequisite is a grade of C- or better in CS 1400, and the corequisite is Calculus I.  Students who do not meet the prerequisite and/or corequisite are to be removed from CS 1410 in the first week of class.

Learning objectives 

Upon completion of CS 1410, students are able to:

1. exploit data abstraction (classes and objects) to decompose a program into manageable pieces
2. leverage inheritance and polymorphism as cornerstones of the object-oriented programming design process
3. use type-independent collections from a language library to effectively solve problems
4. understand the organization of common application types such as command-line programs, graphical user interfaces, and internet-based applications
5. evaluate the correctness of programs via unit testing
6. emphasize models, code contracts, code clarity, and documentation as integral parts of the development process
7. recognize what it means to be a computing professional and apply ethical codes of conduct to various scenarios

Students can expect to achieve these outcomes only if they attend class meetings and lab sessions, as well as complete Canvas quizzes, assignments, and exams in good faith and on time.  Furthermore, students may vary in their competency level on these outcomes.

Course Materials

Website

The CS 1410 Canvas course is always under development, with updates to the class schedule, course notes, provided code samples, assignment specifications, and more, occurring regularly.  It is critical that students become familiar with the Canvas course right away and plan to visit it three times a week, at a minimum.

Textbook

Regular reading is assigned from the course textbook, as well as other online notes, books, and articles linked from Canvas.

Course notes

The instructor often makes use of slides, sample source code, and other materials during class.  These items are posted to Canvas following the class meeting.

Laboratory practice

Lab sessions meet on Thursdays to give students guided practice applying the concepts of CS 1410.  To avoid more participants than can be managed by the TA(s), students should regularly attend the lab section for which they are registered.  Infrequently attending a different lab section is allowed and need not be approved by the instructor.  Students should bring their own laptops or plan to borrow a laptop from the Marriott Library for the semester.

Personal computers

Students may use their own computers or ones borrowed from the library for completing assignments and taking Canvas quizzes; however, broken tools or computers, or network connectivity issues are not sufficient basis for a deadline extension.  Plan ahead and use a campus lab computer if problems arise.

Java and Eclipse

All programming in CS 1410 is in Java, using the Eclipse programming environment.  Both Java and Eclipse are platform-independent, and instructions for installing both on your personal computer are available on the class website.

Student Evaluation

Programming assignments

The instructions for each assignment and its due date are posted on Canvas at least one week before it must be submitted. It is the student's responsibility to ensure the successful and timely submission of each programming assignment — start early and follow the instructions carefully.  Corrupted or missing files are not grounds for extensions — double-check your submissions and save a digital copy of all of your work in your College of Engineering account.  The timestamps of files outside of your College of Engineering account are not trusted.

Each assignment's deadline is followed by a one-day late period.  Late submissions are penalized 10 points.  Note that 12a marks the start of a new day and -10 points.

Exams

Midterm exams are to be given during class meetings on September 21 and November 2.  The final exam is cumulative and to be given 3:30-5:30p December 13.  No exam may be taken at a different time for any reason other than a medical emergency or conflict with another exam, and documentation may be required.

Each student must bring their UCard to every exam, and they may be asked to show their UCard when turning in the exam.  No other type of identification may be used for this purpose.

Labs sessions

Each lab is comprised of a TA-led activity and a Canvas quiz, to be completed by students each Thursday.

Canvas quizzes

Students take Canvas quizzes regularly, reviewing the material covered recently in class meetings and lab, as well as preparing for an upcoming assignment.  Note that these Canvas quizzes are distinguished from those used in labs. 

Each quiz's deadline is followed by a one-day late period.  A late submission is penalized 10%.

Final course grade

If a student's average score on exams is 65% or better, their final CS 1410 grade is comprised of programming assignments 40%, exams 40%, labs 10%, Canvas quizzes 10%.  If a student's average score on exams is less than 65%, their final course grade is the same as their exam average. 

Regrades

Students desiring to appeal a score on an assignment or exam must do so via Gradescope.  For any Canvas quiz, the appeal must be made via a private post to Instructors in Piazza.  All such appeals are due no later than one week after the score is published.

Letter grades

The following table is used to associate numerical scores with the corresponding letter grade.  Note the lack of rounding.

93 ≤ X ≤ 100 A 90 ≤ X < 93 A-

87 ≤ X < 90 B+ 83 ≤ X < 87 B 80 ≤ X < 83 B-

77 ≤ X < 80 C+ 73 ≤ X < 77 C 70 ≤ X < 73 C-

67 ≤ X < 70 D+ 63 ≤ X < 67 D 60 ≤ X < 63 D-

X < 60 E

Getting Help

To get help understanding course material, students may see the Teaching Assistant(s) during TA Help Hours, see the instructor during Office Hours, or post a question to Piazza.  To contact the course staff directly, use Piazza — use of the Canvas Inbox or email is discouraged for CS 1410 communications.  See the Instructions on how to get help page for details.

Policies and Guidelines

Laptop and mobile device policy

Students are expected to engage with the instructor and classmates during class meetings.  Laptops and mobile devices are permitted for note taking; however, research has shown that handwritten note taking is more beneficial to students than typed note taking¹.  All CS 1410 exams require students to handwrite solutions on paper, making handwritten note taking good practice.  Furthermore, laptops and mobile devices tempt students to multitask during class meetings, the success of which is wishful thinking for students who must focus in order to learn new and complex material.  For these reasons, students are discouraged from using laptops and mobile devices during class except when contributing to polling questions.

ADA statement

The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities.  If you need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability & Access, 162 Olpin Union Building, 801-581-5020.  CDA will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. 

All written information in this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability & Access.

Other polices and guidelines 

Students are bound by the following policies and guidelines:

• CS 1410 academic misconduct policy
• School of Computing academic misconduct policy
• School of Computing policies and guidelines
• College of Engineering guidelines
• University of Utah Student Code

Students should read and understand each of these documents, asking questions as needed.

Student mental health resources

Rates of burnout, anxiety, depression, isolation, and loneliness have noticeably increased during the pandemic.  If you need help, reach out for campus mental health resources, including counseling, trainings and other support.

Consider participating in a Mental Health First Aid or other wellness-themed training provided by our Center for Student Wellness and sharing these opportunities with your peers.

¹Mueller, P. A. & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking.  Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159-1168. doi:10.1177/0956797614524581.