Objectives: To learn how to write computer programs using the visual programming tools Alice and LabVIEW. Students will learn to design and implement virtual worlds in Alice and how to design and implement programs in LabVIEW.

Prerequisites: No prior programming experience is necessary. Students should be comfortable with algebra level mathematics.

Lecture and Class time lab: 54125: Mon/Wed/Fri, 11-12, Painter Hall 5.38, Elements Computer Lab Teaching Section

Instructor: Mike Scott, <scottmATcsDOTutexasDOTedu> Painter Hall 5.68,
Office Hours: Mon , Wed 3 - 4:30 pm, Fri 9:30 - 10:45am Painter Microlab (5th floor lab)

Teaching Assistant: Sumit Chougule, Email: sumit AT cs DOT utexas DOT edu

Textbook (Required): Learning to Program with Alice, Second Edition. ISBN 10: 013208516X, ISBN 13: 978-0132085168, Publisher: Prentice Hall

Website: http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~scottm/cs320n. Course materials and announcements are available there.

Computing Facilities

• Painter Hall Microcomputer Lab. PCs are available for assignments in the CS Department elements computer lab located  in Painter Hall 5.38.
• Students must obtain an account for the CS department elements lab. Visit this website to request account.

  http://facilities.cs.utexas.edu/htdoc/computing/accounts.html
   

• Accounts take at least a day for account to become active. Please request your account as soon as possible. Even if you do not work in the lab, you will use this account to turn in your homework and complete exercises in class.
• These accounts are only for the CS elements lab, and not any other labs or networks at UT.

Software:Required software for homework is available on the computers in the CS department microlab. If you wish to work on your own computer the software is free.

• Alice for PCs comes with the Alice textbook. Alice for PCs and Macs may be obtained for free from http://www.alice.org
• You may obtain a copy of LabVIEW for Windows via the web from an on campus computer or by obtaining a disk from the engineering department. See this page for more details.

Schedule: A schedule of lecture topics, reading assignments, and assignment distribution and due dates is available online, via the class web page, www.cs.utexas.edu/~scottm/cs320n/schedule.htm.  The schedule page contains links to slides for the lectures, assignments, and online readings. Readings are to be completed before class. The schedule is subject to change.

There will be two in class exams on the following dates:

• Wednesday, March 4
• Wednesday, May 6

• Final averages will be determined by dividing points earned by 700. (730 points available)
• The final grade will be based on a 60-70-80-90 scale. Final averages are not curved.
• Depending on the results of an exam, exam scores may be curved. If so, exam scores may stay the same or improve. Exam score will never get worse due to a curve. (In the past in has not been necessary to curve exams scores.)
• Assignments are not curved.
• Assignments will be available on the class web site in accordance with the class schedule.
• If you are dissatisfied with a grade you receive on an assignment or test, you must submit your complaint via email, along with supporting evidence or arguments, to the TA within one week of the date the teaching staff first attempted to return the assignment or test to you.

Changes in Academic Status: Refer to the Registrar's academic calendar for the deadlines for changes in academic status. Highlights are:

• Friday, January 23: Last day of the official add/drop period; after this date, changes in registration require the approval of the department chair and usually the student’s dean.
• Wednesday, February 4: (12th class day) Last day to drop for a possible refund. Last day to add a course.
• Monday, February 16: (20th class day) Last day to drop a course without a possible academic penalty.
• Monday, March 30: Last day an undergraduate student may, with the dean's approval, withdraw from the University or drop a course except for urgent and substantiated, nonacademic reasons. ("Q drop" a course.) Last day a student may change registration in a course to or from the pass/fail or credit/no credit basis. In practice I always grant approval for "Q drops" up to this date as long as their are no issues with academic integrity.
• After Monday, March 30, students must go to the Dean of Students to appeal for nonacademic reasons. To be eligible for an incomplete (UT uses the symbol X to indicate incompletes) you must have a letter grade of C or better and a written, verifiable excuse for missing the last test. This is a necessary but insufficient condition for receiving an incomplete.

Academic Dishonesty: Taken from the CS department Code of Conduct.

"The University and the Department are committed to preserving the reputation of your degree. It means a lot to you. In order to guarantee that every degree means what it says it means, we must enforce a strict policy that guarantees that the work that you turn in is your own and that the grades you receive measure your personal achievements in your classes:

Every piece of work that you turn in with your name on it must be yours and yours alone unless explicitly allowed by an instructor in a particular class. Specifically, unless otherwise authorized by an instructor:

• Students may not discuss their work with anyone except the instructor and other members of the instructional staff (TA, section leader, or lab proctor).
• Students may not acquire from any source (e.g., another student or an internet site) a partial or complete solution to a problem or project that has been assigned.

You are responsible for complying with this policy in two ways:

1. You must not turn in work that is not yours, except as expressly permitted by the instructor of each course.
2. You must not enable someone else to turn in work that is not theirs. Do not share your work with anyone else. Make sure that you adequately protect all your files. Even after you have finished a class, do not share your work or published answers with the students who come after you. They need to do their work on their own.

The penalty for academic dishonesty will be a course grade of F and a referral of the case to the Dean of Students. Further penalties, including suspension or expulsion from the university may be imposed by that office.

One final word: This policy is not intended to discourage students from learning from each other, nor is it unmindful of the fact that most significant work in computer science and in the computing industry is done by teams of people working together. But, because of our need to assign individual grades, we are forced to impose an otherwise artificial requirement for individual work. In some classes, it is possible to allow and even encourage collaboration in ways that do not interfere with the instructor's ability to assign grades. In these cases, your instructor will make clear to you exactly what kinds of collaboration are allowed for that class."

For CS320N the policy on collaboration is modified as follows: You are encouraged to study for tests together, to discuss methods for solving the assignments, to help each other in using the software, and to discuss methods for debugging code. Essentially if you talk about an assignment with any one else you are okay, but the moment you start looking at someone else's source code or showing someone else your source code you have crossed the line into inappropriate collaboration. You should not ask anyone to give you a copy of their code or, conversely, give your code to another student who asks you for it. Similarly, you should not discuss your algorithmic strategies to such an extent that you and your collaborators end up turning in exactly the same code. Discuss high level approaches together, but do the coding on your own. The exceptions to this are:

1. You may use any code you develop with the instructor, TAs, or proctors.
2. On assignments that are designated pair programming assignments you may work with another individual in the class. If you decide not to finish the assignment with the individual you started working with, you must both complete the assignment individually.

For more information on Scholastic Dishonesty see the University Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty

University Electronic Mail Notification Policy
All students should become familiar with the University's official e-mail student notification policy. It is the student's responsibility to keep the University informed as to changes in his or her e-mail address. Students are expected to check e-mail on a frequent and regular basis in order to stay current with University-related communications, recognizing that certain communications may be time-critical. It is recommended that e-mail be checked daily, but at a minimum, twice per week. The complete text of this policy and instructions for updating your e-mail address are available at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.html.

In this course e-mail will be used as a means of communication with students. You will be responsible for checking your e-mail regularly for class work and announcements. Note: if you are an employee of the University, your e-mail address in

Religious Holy Days
 A student who is absent from an examination or cannot meet an assignment deadline due to the observance of a religious holy day may take the examination on an alternate day, submit the assignment up to 24 hours late without penalty, or be excused from the examination or assignment, if proper notice of the planned absence has been given. Notice must be given at least fourteen days prior to the classes scheduled on dates the student will be absent. For religious holy days that fall within the first two weeks of the semester, notice should be given on the first day of the semester. It must be personally delivered to the instructor and signed and dated by the instructor, or sent certified mail, return receipt requested. Email notification will be accepted if received, but a student submitting such notification must receive email confirmation from the instructor. A student who fails to complete missed work within the time allowed will be subject to the normal academic penalties.

Disability Related Needs
Please notify me of any modification/adaptation you may require to accommodate a disability-related need. You will be requested to provide documentation to the Office of the Dean of Students in order that the most appropriate accommodations can be determined. Specialized services are available on campus through Services for Students with Disabilities, SSB 4th floor, A5800, 471-6259,  TTY 471-4641