CSC 242-601	Introduction to Computer Science II
Winter 2023-2024 Class sessions: Monday and Wednesday, 11:50 am – 1:20 pm 14 E. Jackson Room 512 Labs: Tuesdays, 11:50 am – 1:20 pm 14 E. Jackson Room 512	Professor: Adam J. Hecktman Lab instructor: TBD

Contact information

Office: Daley 200 B

Chicago, Illinois 60604

Phone: (312) 493-1612

ahecktma@depaul.edu

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhecktman/

Office hours

Office Daley 200B

or Zoom

12:00-1:30 pm

Office hours are held in Daley 200B. Please knock hard on the door so I can hear you. I am available during office hours in person, by phone, using Zoom, or by e-mail.  If you wish to meet with me using Zoom, please request an appointment in advance so that I can set up the meeting.

If you need office hours outside of the designated time, please arrange an appointment well in advance, and I will share a Zoom link with you to be used for our meeting.

Please make use of my office hours.  Asking questions about the assessments, course notes and examples, or the readings can improve your understanding enormously.  It will also let me get to know you and help me know if I need to review a topic with the class. 

Course technologies

This course uses D2L to enable our interactions:

· Please check this site, especially the News and the Discussion forum regularly.

• Course notes, programming assignments, lab assignments, extra study resources, the midterm and final exam, and other course materials will be available through the D2L site. I will also include some of Professor Settle’s videos reviewing major concepts from CSC 241 as refreshers.
• There will also be links to course recordings, which are helpful for review.
• Pay particular attention to the Resources section. There I will post code from the classes, as well as other interesting resources that might help you in your learning journey and career path.

• If you are ill, please do NOT come to class. The recording will be made available, and I can also be available to review your questions.

Prerequisites

You must have taken CSC 241: Introduction to Computer Science or an equivalent course that introduces problem-solving techniques and programming in Python and earned a passing grade (C- or better). This course is an order of magnitude more complex than CSC 241. It gets more challenging as the course continues, especially post-midterm. This course will assume that:

• You know how to create, debug, compile, and run Python, and you use a reasonable coding style (i.e., your code is easy to read and relatively concise)
• You know Python's basic control structures and types.
• You are familiar with the various forms of string formatting in Python.
• You can solve basic computing problems.
• You are comfortable with at least one Integrated Development Environment (such as Visual Studio Code, IDLE, Jupyter Notebooks, etc.)
• On D2L, under resources, I posted some of Professor Settle’s videos reviewing major concepts from CSC 241 as refreshers.

Course topics and learning goals

This course is the second of a two-course sequence introducing Computer Science skills of problem-solving, object-oriented development, and programming using Python.

After you have taken this class:

• You will strengthen your Python programming skills.
• You will know how to design classes and understand the fundamental principles of object-oriented programming.
• You will be able to design basic graphical user interfaces.
• You will be able to apply recursion as a problem-solving and programming technique.
• You will be able to write simple Internet client programs.
• You will have been introduced to the SQL database programming language, and know how to use it within a Python program to access external data.

This also can be a fun class. Students are encouraged to participate in both the teaching and the learning. Students will present their solutions to the homework assignments. Even if they do not work, students should volunteer their solutions so that we can debug them as a class.

Multiple methods of assessment are meant to support students with different preferences in how they demonstrate understanding: homework, in-class coding, facilitated labs, and exams. Participation in class is encouraged and appreciated.

Course Calendar

The following gives all the important dates for this course.  The topics covered are subject to change.

Week	Date	Topic/Deadline
1	Monday, April 1, 2024	Introduction to Class and OOP
	Tuesday, April 2, 2024	Lab 1
	Wednesday, April 3, 2024	Object-oriented programming
2	Monday, April 8, 2024	Object-oriented programming
	Tuesday, April 9, 2024
	Wednesday, April 10, 2024	Object-oriented programming
3	Monday, April 15, 2024	Object-oriented programming
	Tuesday, April 16, 2024	Lab 2
	Wednesday, April 17, 2024	Object-oriented programming
	Note: Sunday, April 14, 2024	Last day to drop the class with no penalty
4	Monday, April 22, 2024	Object Oriented Programming
	Tuesday, April 23, 2024	Lab 3
	Wednesday, April 24, 2024	Graphical user interface development
5	Monday, April 29, 2024	Graphical user interface development
	Tuesday, April 30, 2024	Lab 4
	Wednesday, May 1, 2024	Graphical User Interface Development
6	Monday, May 6, 2024	Midterm exam
	Tuesday, May 7, 2024	No Lab
	Wednesday, May 8, 2024	Recursion
7	Monday, May 13, 2024	Recursion
	Tuesday, May 14, 2024	Lab 5
	Wednesday, May 15, 2024	Recursion
8	Monday, May 20, 2024	Recursion
	Tuesday, May 21, 2024	Lab 6
	Wednesday, May 22, 2024	Recursion
	Note: Sunday, May 19, 2024	Last day to withdraw from classes
9	Monday, May 27, 2024	HTML/Web search fundamentals
	Tuesday, May 28, 2024	Lab 7
	Wednesday, May 29, 2024	Web search fundamentals
10	Monday, June 3, 2024	Database Fundamentals
	Tuesday, June 4, 2024	Lab 8
	Wednesday, June 5, 2024	Database fundamentals
11	Monday, June 10, 2024	Final
		11:30-1:45

Textbook

The recommended textbook for the course is Introduction to Computing using Python: An Application Development Focus, Second Edition, Ljubomir Perković, John Wiley & Sons, 2015. If you choose to use the textbook, use the electronic version since it contains case studies that we will be using. The electronic text has ISBN 978-1-118-89105-6. If you like, it is available directly from the publisher here.

Grading policy

Course assessments include lab exercises, quizzes, programming homework assignments, and a midterm and final exam. The course grade will be computed as follows:

Assessment	Percentage
Lab exercises	10 %
Homework assignments	30 %
Midterm exam	30 %
Final exam	30 %

All students will be required to sign and submit an Academic Integrity pledge at the start of the quarter. The Academic Integrity pledge will be posted on the D2L site. The pledge must be signed and submitted as a part of the first homework assignment. Students who violate this agreement are violating the Academic Integrity policy of DePaul University. See the section on Academic Integrity below for more information about that policy and the penalties for violating it.

To do well in this class, you must participate in the class sessions regularly, complete all of the labs on time, complete class activities, understand the content in the lecture and lecture notes, start work on the assignments early, submit the assignments on time, and ask questions early and often.  The answers to the programming assignments, the lab exercises, and the exam questions should be written in a way that is rigorous, clear, and concise.

Homework assignments will be issued the day following class and will be due the following week (Wednesday) before the start of class. Homework assignments submitted after the start of class on Wednesday will have a 10% deduction. If turned in a second day late, it will have a 20% deduction to the score. Beyond that, no points will be given. Since homework is reviewed in class, there will be no exception to this deduction. Please do not ask for extensions. Again, we go through the solutions together in class, making extensions problematic. Homework is an important element of the class and will make up 30% of your grade.

Lab exercises

Every Monday, you will have lab exercises. You are highly encouraged to attend the scheduled lab session, which takes place Mondays, 3:10pm-4:40pm in lab 658 in the CDM Center.

Students attending the lab in person will have priority for answers and help from the teaching assistant. If you cannot attend the lab sessions, ask the Teaching Assistant (TA) if you are able to use a Zoom help session. This will be at the discretion of the TA.

Labs will be due by 9:00 pm on Monday night. Labs submitted by the deadline will be graded for full credit. Labs submitted no later than 12 hours after the deadline will automatically lose 10% of the points. No lab submissions are accepted more than 12 hours after the deadline for any reason, including upload of the wrong file.  Lab exercises make up 10% of your grade, so missing labs will cost you on the final grade.

Programming homework assignments

Each week you will have a programming assignment. You can consult with your instructor, the teaching assistant, and the CDM tutors, but you may not under any circumstances submit code that you have not written, nor may you consult AI to create your code. 

The deadline to turn in your homework will be before class starts on Wednesdays. Note that this has been updated due to MLK Day and a school closure in the second week. Collaboration is a key foundation of this class, and we debug code from homework assignments together. We can review the solutions to the assignment at the beginning of class. Again, because we are reviewing code from your peer students, there will be strict adherence to the late submission penalty as described below.

Assignments submitted by the deadline will be graded for full credit. The submissions should include screenshots of your code running against test data. No assignments are accepted more than 48 hours after the deadline for any reason, including submission of the wrong file. 

Midterm and final exams

The midterm and final exams will not be cumulative. The midterm exam will take place on Monday, February 12^th during class time (this may change due to the academic calendar). The final exam will take place on Monday, March 20, 11:30am-1:45pm (subject to change based on the academic calendar). The exams will take place in a lab. Both exams will be held in person. Both exams will require you to write Python code. The details about how the exams will be given will be shared later in the quarter. No late exam submissions will be accepted for any reason not approved by the Center for Students with Disabilities. Make-up exams will not be given. 

Online course evaluations

Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to tailor teaching methods continuously and course content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continuing to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely separate from the student's identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation.

Academic integrity

The course adheres to DePaul University's Academic Integrity Policy.  For complete information about Academic Integrity at DePaul University, please see http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/.

Cheating is any action that violates university norms or instructor's guidelines for the preparation and submission of assignments. This includes, but is not limited to, unauthorized access to examination materials prior to the examination itself; use or possession of unauthorized materials during the examination or quiz; having someone take an examination in one's place; copying from another student; unauthorized assistance to another student; or acceptance of such assistance. 

Plagiarism involves the presentation of the work of another as one's own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to the following: the direct copying of any source, such as written and verbal material, computer files, audio disks, video programs or musical scores, whether published or unpublished, in whole or part, without proper acknowledgment that it is someone else's; copying of any source in whole or part with only minor changes in wording or syntax, even with acknowledgment; submitting as one's own work a report, examination paper, computer file, lab report or other assignments that have been prepared by someone else (including research papers purchased from any other person or agency or programs written using the assistance of an AI tool); the paraphrasing of another's work or ideas without proper acknowledgment; working so closely with another person other than those authorized so as to produce identical code.

All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. The use of others' web/publication content (text, graphics, code) is regarded as plagiarism if credit is not given (see the above description of plagiarism). Using materials that the student prepared for other purposes (e.g., for another course or for his/her work) needs the course instructor's prior permission. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.

A charge of cheating and/or plagiarism is always a serious matter.  It can result in an automatic F in the course and possible expulsion.

Covid-19 health and safety precautions

Keeping our DePaul community safe is of utmost importance in the pandemic. Students, faculty and staff are expected to (1) wear a mask if required while indoors on campus; (2) refrain from eating and drinking in classrooms; (3) keep current with their COVID-19 vaccinations or exemptions; (4) stay home if sick; (5) participate in any required COVID-19 testing; (6) complete the online Health and Safety Guidelines for Returning to Campus training; and (7) abide by the City of Chicago Emergency Travel Advisory.

The recommendations may change as local, state, and federal guidelines evolve. Students who do not abide by the mask requirement may be subject to the student conduct process and will be referred to the Dean of Students Office. Students who have a medical reason for not complying with any requirements should register with DePaul's Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD).

Mental health and academic assistance

Balancing the hard work of achieving your educational goals with the other demands of life is difficult at the best of times. For many of us, for a variety of reasons, things are more difficult now. I want to make sure you feel comfortable reaching out to me for support. The university also has great resources just a phone call or email away. These have been created and maintained for you, so use them:

· DePaul University Counseling Services: Mental health is as important as physical health, and there are professionals a phone call away: (773) 325-7779 or 911 for emergency situations. You can find more information here: https://offices.depaul.edu/student-affairs/about/departments/Pages/ucs.aspx

· The DePaul Dean of Students can help you with a wide range of topics, including figuring out if you should withdraw or apply for an incomplete: https://offices.depaul.edu/student-affairs/about/departments/Pages/dos.aspx

· There are a lot of additional, more specific resources listed with the Office of Student Affairs, including crisis hotlines and sexual assault resources: https://offices.depaul.edu/student-affairs/support-services/counseling/Pages/Crisis-Hotlines.aspx

Incomplete

An incomplete grade is given only for an exceptional reason such as a death in the family, a serious illness, etc. Any such reason must be documented. Any incomplete request must be made at least two weeks before the final and approved by the Dean of the College of Computing and Digital Media. Any consequences resulting from a poor grade for the course will not be considered as valid reasons for such a request.