CMSC 131-010x,030x: Object-Oriented Programming I


Instructor: Ilchul Yoon (iyoon@cs.umd.edu)


Announcements

Course announcements will be posted in ELMS and Piazza after the course drop/add deadline. If you cannot access both ELMS and Piazza but are interested in taking this course, you can send an email to piazza.questions@gmail.com ; you will be added to the course Piazza page.

The Canvas roster is frequently synced with the GradeScope page; so the course GradeScope page should be listed when you login to GradeScope. If you have questions on accessing GradeScope, you can send an email to gradescope.questions@gmail.com.

Course Syllabus


Course Overview

This is a first programming course for Computer Science majors with a focus on object-oriented programming. The goal of the course is to develop skills such as program design and testing as well as the implementation of programs using a graphical IDE. All programming will be done in Java and Processing. Processing will be used as a visual tool to teach basic language features and we will switch to Java later this semester.

The course Piazza page and ELMS are the sources for course information. TA office hours, additional resources and essential course information will appear on Piazza, and all course-related questions will also be answered on Piazza to ensure all students have equal access to the information. Important class announcements will be posted in ELMS.


Course Topics

Following topics will be covered in this course (subject to change).

Textbook (Not Required)

Introduction to Programming in Java -- an interdisciplinary approach (2nd ed)
Author: Robert Sedgewick and Kevin Wayne
ISBN-13: 978-0672337840

Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers, Second Edition
Author: Casey Reas and Ben Fry
ISBN-13: 978-0262028288


Assignments

This is a very demanding course. You will need to complete up to 7 projects and up to 8 graded labs. The dues for the projects and the graded labs are 11:00 PM on the day they are due. They are to be submitted electronically according to instructions given with the assignments. Late submissions will be strictly penalized. Exceptional circumstances will be considered only if discussed with the instructor before the assignment is due. Late submissions will have points deducted as follows:

In case that your work is to be submitted to the submit server, you can submit multiple times. For the projects in Processing, your last submission will be graded, and for the projects in Eclipse, the best scoring submission will be used for grading. Do not wait until the last moment. We strongly encourage you to submit multiple times before the due date/time.

For the first few projects, the description will be posted in ELMS. Later, we will distribute the starter files for the projects in the Grace cluster using a source code repository.  We will announce once we complete setting up your accounts. (You will learn in a discussion how to check out the starter files and how to submit projects.


Good Faith Attempt Policy for Projects

Your work for every project must satisfy a minimum set of requirements called Good Faith Attempt (GFA) requirements. If your submissions for a project do not meet the GFA requirements for the project, you will be requested to make another submission (called GFA version) that satisfies the requirements). If you fail to submit a GFA version by the GFA deadline, you will not pass the course (automatic grade of F).



Online-Posting of Your Project Implementations is Not Allowed


Exams

There will be 3 midterm exams and one final exam. The exam dates are:

Once we have graded any class material (e.g., exams, projects, etc.) we will post an announcement and a deadline by which you must submit any regrade request (if necessary). It is your responsibility to submit regrade requests by the specified deadline; no regrade requests will be processed afterwards. If the regrade request deadline is not announced, it is by default one week after the your grades are posted.

Extra Credits

There will be opportunities to earn extra credits. For example, 1% of extra credits will be awarded to a few students who contributed a lot to give helpful, high-quality answers on Piazza. At the end of the semester, TAs will recommend about 5 students. Extra credits will be applied after curve and will not affect the letter grades of other students.


Grading

Final grades will be computed according to the following weights. (These weights are tentative and subject to future adjustment.)  

Written tests will be graded using GradeScope. The course roster will be sync'ed with the service. You will have to use the email address when you create a GradeScope account.

In the end, all your grades will be entered into the grade server. It will be your dashboard to check your progress. Before your grades are entered to the grade server, you will be able to check your grades for written tests in GradeScope. The grades for your projects and graded lab submissions will be available in the submit server.

The cutoffs for letter grades will be decided after the final. We will review the total score distributions and decide the cutoffs between two scores with significant gaps compared to the ones above and below. Note that the cutoff for A and B could be higher than 90 and 80, respectively.


TA Room/Office Hours

Office hours get extremely busy the day before a project deadline. Therefore start working on your projects early. Regarding office hours and the TA Room:

Academic Integrity

Note that academic dishonesty includes not only cheating, fabrication, and plagiarism, but also includes helping other students commit acts of academic dishonesty by allowing them to obtain copies of your work. In short, all submitted work must be your own.

Cases of academic dishonesty will be pursued to the fullest extent possible as stipulated by the Office of Student Conduct.

It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. If the student is found to be responsible of academic dishonesty, the typical sanction results in a special grade "XF", indicating that the course was failed due to academic dishonesty. If you have any doubt as to whether an act of yours might constitute academic dishonesty, please contact your TA or the course coordinator.

For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit http://www.shc.umd.edu.


Examples of Academic Integrity Violations

The following are examples of academic integrity violations:

Additional information can be found in the sections titled "Academic Integrity" and "Code of Student Conduct" available at Course Related Policies.


Disabilities Support Accommodations

In case academic accommodations are needed, you must provide a letter of accommodation from the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services (ADS) within the first TWO weeks of the semester. For details, see the section titled "Accessibility" available at Course Related Policies.


Excused Absence and Academic Accommodations

The university allows for self-documentation for some absences. If you need to be excused for an absence from a single lecture, recitation, or lab due to your illness (or other reasons), you shall make a reasonable attempt to report prior to the class. (e.g., report your absence in the grade server).

Upon returning to the class, present with a self-signed note attesting to the date of your illness (or other reasons). Each note must contain an acknowledgment by the student that the information provided is true and correct. Providing false information to University officials is prohibited under Part 9(i) of the Code of Student Conduct (V-1.00(B) University of Maryland Code of Student Conduct) and may result in disciplinary action.

Self-documentation may NOT be used for the midterm exams and the final exam, and it may only be used for only 1 class meeting (or more, if you choose) during the semester. Any student who needs to be excused for a prolonged absence (2 or more consecutive class meetings), or for the exams, must provide written documentation of the illness from health care provider. This documentation must clearly recommend the student to be off from all school work and indicate the time frame (from/to dates) that the student is unable to meet academic responsibilities. In addition, it must contain the name and phone number of the medical service provider to be used if verification is needed. No diagnostic information will ever be requested. Note that the "Medical Discharge Summary" from the Health Center will NOT be accepted as evidence of doctor's recommendation for your absence.

For additional details, see the section titled "Attendance, Absences, or Missed Assignments" available at Course Related Policies


Course Evaluations

The department and faculty take student feedback seriously. At the end of the course visit https://www.courseevalum.umd.edu/


Miscellaneous

Although every effort has been made to be complete and accurate, unforeseen circumstances arising during the semester could require the adjustment of any material given here. Consequently, given due notice to students, the instructor reserves the right to change any information on this syllabus or in other course materials.


Copyright

All course materials are copyright UMCP, Department of Computer Science © 2019. All rights reserved. Students are permitted to use course materials for their own personal use only. Course materials may not be distributed publicly or provided to others (excepting other students in the course), in any way or format. Although every effort has been made to be complete and accurate, unforeseen circumstances arising during the semester could require the adjustment of any material given here. Consequently, given due notice to students, the instructor reserves the right to change any information on this syllabus or in other course materials.


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