Who, when, where and what
The instructor for both sections of CSCI 182 is J Dean Brock. Section CSCI 182.001 meets on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:15 PM to 4:55 PM in RRO 217. Section CSCI 182.002 meets on Tuesday and Thursday from 5:15 PM to 6:55 PM in RRO 217.
Class home page
All class handouts, including assignments, can be accessed through the following URL:
Catalog Course Description
Introduction to Programming: Media Applications
Problem solving, algorithm development, and data and procedural abstraction with an emphasis on developing applications that interface with the senses. Includes a formal laboratory section using program development tools. Students may receive credit for only one course from CSCI 182, 183 and 185.
Degree requirements fulfilled
- CSCI 182 is a required course in the Computer Science major and minor.
- Students majoring in mathematics must complete either CSCI 182 or CSCI 183.
- Students majoring or minoring in new media must complete either CSCI 182, CSCI 183 or CSCI 185.
- And, of course, every student can use CSCI 182 to fulfill three credit hours of the 122 required for graduation.
Student Learning objectives
- Design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the discipline.
- Understand problems by offering clear, concise, and comprehensive descriptions.
- Communicate their work to various audiences.
- Function effectively on teams to establish goals, plan tasks, meet deadlines, manage risk, and produce deliverables.
- Make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.
- Learn and apply vocabulary of hardware, algorithms, and programming techniques.
- Learn to debug programs and remove all syntax and logic errors.
- Document and test their code to a given standard.
List of topics
- Shapes, Angles, Color Models, and Image Files.
- Variables, Arithmetic, Boolean Arithmetic, and Conditionals.
- Functions, Loops, and Arrays.
- Random Numbers and Number Bases.
- Characters, Strings, and Text.
- Programming the Arduino
Lecture notes
If you see any nicely formatted lecture notes in this course, they were produced by our own Adam Whitley. Thank him for allowing me to use his work!
Textbook
The textbook for the course is The SparkFun Guide to Processing by Derek Runberg. . You can purchase this book from Amazon for less than $25, or you can read or download a copy of the book from the UNC Asheville library.
Often, we will be using on-line references in this course. These will be referenced in the course class schedule.
Required applications
You will use Processing for this course. You must download the Processing IDE and run-time, from the Processing download page on your personal computer. We will be using the latest stable version, 3.5.3 .
There will also be an assignment using the Arduino.
Grades
Weights
The following weights are used in computing the course grade.
| Grade component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Three in-class and one final exam | 2/3 |
| Homework and in-class labs | 1/3 |
Scale
The following numerical scale will be used in assigning grades based on Score, the score computed using the weights described above.
| Score ≥ 93 | A |
| Score ≥ 90 & Score < 93 | A- |
| Score ≥ 87 & Score < 90 | B+ |
| Score ≥ 83 & Score < 87 | B |
| Score ≥ 80 & Score < 83 | B- |
| Score ≥ 77 & Score < 80 | C+ |
| Score ≥ 73 & Score < 77 | C |
| Score ≥ 70 & Score < 73 | C- |
| Score ≥ 67 & Score < 70 | D+ |
| Score ≥ 60 & Score < 67 | D |
| Score < 60 | F |
Exams
Two equally-weighted in-class exams will be given during the semester along with one final exam. All exams will have a closed-book and open-book sections.
Exam attendance
UNC Asheville’s Academic Policies and Procedures do provide excused absences for “travel on university-sanctioned business” and “up to two excused absences per semester for religious observances” when seven days notice is given. The seven day notice will allow the instructor to reschedule exams to avoid excused absenses. For this reason, attendance at all exams is mandatory. If an in-class exam is missed due to a documented reason, the final exam will be use to provide a replacement for the missed exam.
Homework and in-class labs
Homework and in-class labs must be downloaded to moodle. A penalty of 1% per hour, rounded up to the next hour, will be applied to late homework.
Classroom expectations
The classroom is a place where students and faculty behave professionally. We are polite and attentive. We avoid talk of politics and religion. We do not use offensive language. We show up on time.
Electronics in the classroom
You will need to use computers in the classroom. You are encouraged to bring your own laptops.
Electronic devices should not be used for gaming and social media during class. This distracts others in the class.
Academic misconduct
It is never proper to claim another’s work as your own in graded work.
Unless explicitly stated in the description of an assignment, a submitted assignment must be the result of your individual effort. This is similar to the expectations of the professional workplace.
Impermissible actions
There are several impermissible actions that will result in the imposition of course or university sanctions. Impermissible actions in homework assignments include the following:
- Copying any portion of another student’s work by any method.
- Allowing another student to copy or view your work by any method.
- Copying program source from the web unless the program source is provided by the course instructor.
Impermissible actions on exams include the following:
- Use of any unauthorized devices or sources of information.
- Giving and receiving information to another student by any method.
- Using cell phones during exams.
Course sanctions for impermissible actions
For assignments, the first offense will result in a grade of 0 for the assignment and the second offense will result in a grade of F for the course. For exams, any offense will result in a grade of F for the course. These are the expected sanctions for courses at UNC Asheville.
University policy on academic misconduct
The UNC Asheville Student Handbook has a section devoted to Academic Misconduct. It states the following:
A student accused of academic dishonesty should talk with his or her instructor. In all situations where a student has been disciplined for plagiarism or cheating, the instructor is to submit to the VCAA a brief statement of the case; the student is to receive a copy of this document. Depending upon the severity and/or repetition of the offense, the VCAA may choose to impose a penalty of cancellation of graduation with honors; cancellation of scholarships; dismissal from the university; or any other penalty which he or she deems logical and deserved. A student has 10 class days to respond to this document, in writing; this response is to be sent to the VCAA for attachment to the document submitted by the instructor.
In practice, students who have been involved in academic misconduct in three courses will be suspended for a semester. However a single significant offense, such as the submission of a plagiarized paper in entirety, can result in immediate dismissal.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Statement from the Office of Academic Accessibility
University of North Carolina at Asheville is committed to making courses, programs and activities accessible to persons with documented disabilities. Students requesting accommodations and/or academic adjustments must do so through the Office of Academic Accessibility and may be required to provide supporting documentation. All information provided will remain confidential. For more information please contact the Office of Academic Accessibility at (828)232-5050 or academicaccess@unca.edu, visit them in the OneStop Student Services Center or at their website https://oaa.unca.edu/ .
Specific clarifications for CSCI 182
Students who have been approved for extended time for exams by the Office of Academic Accessibility must have their exams administered by the Office of Academic Accessibility and must take their exams at a time overlapping the scheduled in-class exam.
Email communications
Information protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act should only be sent to official university email addresses. Information related to recorded grades is clearly protected, as is any discussion that would allow a reader to draw conclusions about your performance or attendance in class.
Email sent to me, even if it does not involve the use of state-maintained computers, may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and, as such, may be disclosed to third parties.
For more information and help
The best way to get in touch with me quickly is to send email to brock@unca.edu. I get lots of email, so please include CSCI 182 in the subject line.
I am on phased retirement and am on-campus only on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. My office is RRO 221A.