Section 4 How will we communicate?

We will be heavily relying on Canvas, UT’s Learning Management System. Details of lectures (topics, slides, book sections, problem sets), discussion sections (topics, slides, worksheets), programming assignments, and assessments (quizzes and exams) will be posted on the Canvas page for the course on a regular and ongoing basis. It is your responsibility to check Canvas regularly. The course Canvas page is at https://utexas.instructure.com/courses/1451864.

We will be exclusively using Ed Discussion for class discussion. The system is highly catered to getting you help fast and efficiently from your classmates and the instructional team. Rather than emailing questions to the instructional team, we encourage you to post your questions on Ed Discussion.

You must read the discussion board at least once per day, and you should post course-related technical or administrative questions or problems there. You are encouraged to respond to your classmates’ posts. We expect you to make good use of the discussion board when you have technical or administrative questions or problems. The instructional staff will be closely monitoring the discussion board and responding to questions raised there.

Course-related announcements will be cross-posted on the discussion board. Every time we check throughout the semester, you must have read at least 85% of the discussion board posts (as recorded by the discussion board, so you must read them through the website, not through emails). You are responsible for reading announcements within twelve hours of being posted.

We will be using Gradescope for handing in and autograding programming assignments. You will find this tab in the Canvas navigation panel on the left-hand side of the Canvas course page. You may submit assignments using Gradescope as many times as you wish during the period that it is open. There is no penalty for multiple submissions, and the autograder runs immediately upon submission, providing real-time feedback.

This class uses the Lectures Online recording system. This system records the audio and video material presented in class for you to review after class. This facility is intended as a supplement to, and not as a replacement for, in-class presence and participation.

Links for the recordings will appear in the Lectures Online tab on the Canvas page for this class. Per the Canvas page, Dr. Joshi’s section and Dr. Chatterjee’s 14:00 section will be recorded [FILL: the Fa26 Canvas page’s recording note names "Dr. Chatterjee’s 14:00 section," but per the published lecture schedule Dr. Chatterjee’s lecture actually meets 13:00–14:00 while Dr. Joshi’s meets 14:00–15:00 — which section(s) will be recorded is unresolved on the source page]. However, the other sessions tend to remain closely synchronized with them.

These recordings are provided as an additional and secondary resource, not as a substitute for attending class. As of the beginning of the semester, we will release recordings on the day of the lecture. However, if we see class attendance falling significantly, we will delay the release of the recordings to encourage attendance.

In this course, email will be used as a means of communication with students. You are responsible for regularly checking (at least every 24 hours) both your CS email and your email officially registered with UT for class work and announcements.

Emails to the instructional team should begin with "CS429 <section number>" in the subject line, followed by a brief description of the purpose of your email. Please include your UT EID in the email. By following this format, you will help us better address your questions in a timely manner. If you miss this detail, a response to your email may be delayed indefinitely, since it may require unnecessary back-and-forth to figure out who you are.

Do not use the Canvas Inbox to communicate with the instructional team, as you will not receive a reply to such messages.

Last-minute assistance requests by email will not be supported. More generally, you cannot expect to get detailed answers to technical questions by email. If you must send an email, spend extra time to ensure that you are both brief and clear. Email is a valuable tool for communicating with the instructional team. But be sure to use it properly and follow the rules of good email etiquette (e.g., no flaming, spamming, etc.).

In general, try to avoid emailing the instructional team regarding a question whose answer you can find in the syllabus, Canvas, Ed Discussion, or the textbooks.