Syllabus
Class is taught Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30pm to 7:45pm, Spring semester 2018.
This class is pass/no pass.
The classroom location is currently Miner Hall Room 225, but we’re trying to negotiate a room in Halligan. Keep checking this page for updates.
Grading
- 30% Attendance/participation
- 40% Final project
- Technical specification
- Presentation of project
- Project itself
- 30% Weekly assignments (content varies wildly week-to-week)
Assignments
| # | Due | Assignment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Jan 26, 11:59pm | Introduce yourself on Piazza |
| 1 | Feb 7, 11:59pm | Post a PDF of your resume on Piazza for critique before the career fair |
| 2a | Feb 21, 6:29pm | Bring a paper copy of your project proposal to class for critique |
| 2b | Feb 21, 11:59pm | Post a revised version of your proposal on Piazza (PDF) |
| 3a | Feb 28, 11:59pm | Post your first draft specification on Piazza (PDF) |
| 3b | Mar 5, 11:59pm | Post your final specification on Piazza (PDF) |
| 4 | Apr 2, 6:29pm | Read this ethics paper (PDF) to prepare for class discussion |
Calendar
Please note that this is subject to change. It will also be continually edited to add materials from past lectures.
| Week | Date | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 22 | Overview of the class and expectations
slides |
| 1 | Jan 24 | Overview of "tech" and the computing landscape
Homework 0 out slides |
| Jan 26 | Homework 0 due at 11:59pm | |
| 2 | Jan 29 | Hot topics in computer science (part 1):
|
| 2 | Jan 31 |
Hot topics in computer science (part 2):
|
| 3 | Feb 5 | Hot topics in computer science (part 3):
Guest speakers Ming Y. Chow and Winnona DeSombre talking about security — get hyped! slides |
| 3 | Feb 7 | Overview of the application process, resumes
How to get your resume and conversation game up to speed before the career fair Cool event at 12PM: Saqi Mehta on how to get an internship/job Homework 1 out today, due at 11:59pm slides |
| Feb 9 | Career fair!! Go!! IDHack!! Go!! |
|
| 4 | Feb 12 | Introduce the "personal project" you will be working on
for class, version control systems
Other hot topics if we need to Homework 2a out Homework 2b out slides |
| 4 | Feb 14 | Overview of the application process, pre-interview
How to network like a baller slides on Piazza because they contain PII |
| Feb 18-24 | E-week is great for networking. | |
| Feb 19 | Presidents' Day! No class. Have a nice time. | |
| 5 | Feb 21 | Homework 2a due at 6:29pm —
bring a paper copy to class!
Peer proposal critique Guest speakers Saqi Mehta and Jonathan Sanford talking about how companies evaluate candidates from a recruiter perspective! Homework 2b due at 11:59pm — post it on Piazza! |
| 5 | Feb 22 | Overview of the interview
Monday Schedule on Thursday slides |
| 6 | Feb 26 | The technical interview
slides |
| 6 | Feb 28 | The technical interview (cont'd) and post-interview
Homework 3a due at 11:50pm — post it on Piazza (PDF)! slides (same as above) |
| 7 | Mar 5 |
Article discussion, lifecycle of a project, & how Git works
Bring a laptop! Homework 3b due at 11:59pm — post it on Piazza (PDF)! slides (workflow) slides (git) |
| 7 | Mar 7 | Project work day! Bring your laptops and ideas. |
| 8 | Mar 12 |
Ethics in computing & case
study
Digital Security 101 talk in Tisch 316 at 6:30pm! Be there on time! See the invite. |
| 8 | Mar 14 | There will be a panel of well-loved alumni in industry
talking about what being a working programmer is like!
Please bring questions prepared so you can get the most out of their experience! |
| Mar 17-25 | SPRING BREAK! Take some time off from your computer. | |
| 9 | Mar 26 | CLI basics and project work day |
| 9 | Mar 28 | Open source software
slides |
| 10 | Apr 2 | Ethics in computing
Homework 4 due handout |
| 10 | Apr 4 | UI/UX guest speaker Bruno Olmedo! |
| 11 | Apr 9 | Presentation workshop — Bring your computer!
slides |
| 11 | Apr 11 | Workplace interactions |
| 11 | Apr 13 | Field trips to Microsoft and TripAdvisor! Check Piazza for details. |
| 12 | Apr 16 | Patriots' Day! No class. Have a nice time. |
| 12 | Apr 18 | Final project presentations, Q&A |
| 13 | Apr 23 | Final project presentations, Q&A |
| 13 | Apr 25 | Guest speaker Yotam Bentov talking about entrepreneurship and freelancing! |
| 14 | Apr 30 | Wrap-up and your next steps |
Contact information
If you want to ask questions, consider posting in the course Piazza page. That way, your classmates can benefit from the answer.
You are also welcome to make an instructor-only post on Piazza.