CSC 143 Spring 2020 | Employee Directory

Submitted by George.Hu@seat… on Wed, 03/25/2020 - 15:23

What a bold new world we have entered! I've been teaching CSC 142 / 143 exclusively online for 3 years and now the rest of the world is joining me. I pioneered using Zoom videoconferences and Slack messaging to add a lot of interaction to my classes. My students find my class to be more interactive than their in person classes.

Videoconferences

This quarter there are two sections listed in the course catalog, but since both will be taught online, they will be combined for most purposes. The class is taught mostly without a fixed time, but there is a choice of specific videoconference times that you must be able to fit into your schedule - 8 or 9 PM on Weds or Sun. You are only required to attend every other week. You will receive individualized attention in our Zoom videoconferences. You will be able to choose your time first-come first-served.

Book

We use the book Building Java Programs 3rd, 4th, or 5th edition. You must obtain this book before the start of the quarter as we will be sticking to it extremely closely and using problems from it. You may find cheaper options but here's the official online rental for $35: https://www.vitalsource.com/products/building-java-programs-stuart-reges-marty-stepp-v9780135472361 Check EBay for deals as low as $10, but most are around $18. I have a limited selection of books I can loan to students for $15 including my shipping to you - you will have to mail / drop them off at the college at the end of the quarter. Email me at george.hu@seattlecolleges.edu to obtain one from me.

Exams

Quizzes have always been online, but the final has always been in person. This quarter due to the coronavirus, I will have options for those who cannot attend an in-person final exam, but I cannot yet say if that will mean no final exam or an online proctored final exam or other options. You do need to be prepared for the possibility of a synchronous remote exam during June 15-18.

Are you ready?

I teach CSC 142/143 as closely as possible to the UW CSE 142/143 curriculum. You should have learned to create programs from scratch in CSC 142 which demonstrate nested loops, input from files and scanner, fencepost / sentinel loops, arrays, and Java classes. You will leave CSC 143 being able to create more complex programs that can handle vast amounts of data and be able to choose the right data structure and algorithm to manipulate it.

We use https://practiceit.cs.washington.edu/ to do book problems and you should be able to do any problem from the first 8 chapters after CSC 142. Please signup for a free account selecting "South Seattle College" and join my class "CSC 143 online Spr 2020 Hu". Below is a representative list of optional problems. I will not be grading these but they will help you prepare for a Quiz on 142 material at the start of the quarter. This will tell you whether you are prepared for CSC 143. If you can't do these problems I will work with you but you must plan to spend a lot more time in the initial weeks to learn this material.