University of South Carolina at Columbia   

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

CSCE E101 - Introduction to Computer Concepts

October 21st – December 5th

Tuesday and Thursday 5:30pm-8:30pm

Hampton Street Annex 108

Instructor:  Orren Mckay

Office:  Sumwalt 340, Byrnes Building 607C

Office Hours:  Thursday 12:30pm – 3:30pm (Byrnes Building Room 607C), Saturday 8:30am – 9:00am
Other times by appointment

Office Phone: Byrnes Building 7-9459 (777-9459 off campus), Sumwalt 7-5609 (777-5609 off campus)

Email:  mckayj@engr.sc.edu

Class website:  http://www.cse.sc.edu/~mckayj

Course Description [from computer science home page http://www.cse.sc.edu/]: History, application, and social impact of computers; problem-solving, algorithm development, applications software, and programming in a procedural language. Open to all majors.

Prerequisite - two years of college preparatory mathematics or equivalent

Required Textbook – Dale & Lewis, Computer Science Illuminated.  Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2007. Third Edition

Useful Additional Materials - USB pen/thumb drive

Upon completion of this class, students will: 

  • Know how to use software common to both commercial and academic environments such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
  • Be able to create a simple web site using XHTML and Cascading style sheets
  • Be familiar with the internal workings of computers, both hardware and software.
  • Understand the basic methods of problem solving using computers.
  • Be able to create a simple program using the object-oriented teaching language Alice.

Important Dates:

October 21st – Last Day to drop/add.

November 6th – Last Day to drop course with a “W”.

December 11th at 5:30pmth – Final Exam.

Grading 

A

100-90

B

89-80

C

79-70

D

69-60

F

Less than 60

 

Final Grades will be determined as follows:

Tests

40%

Quizzes/Homework

10%

Final Exam

20%

Project

10%

Lab Assignments

20%*

*Important Note: You must have a passing grade on your labs to pass the class. Even though these only count toward 20% of the final grade, if your lab grade is not passing, you cannot pass the class.

Tests: There will be two tests during the semester.  These will be roughly during week three and six.

Attendance: This is required. Since this class lasts only eight weeks, attendance is very important. USC's official attendance policy: http://www.sa.sc.edu/carolinacommunity/guide.htm#Attendance

Lab Assignments: Lab assignments will be submitted to the CSE drop box at https://www.cse.sc.edu/ DO NOT USE BLACKBOARD.  The drop box is an automated process and will not accept any late submissions after this time.  Please do not wait until the last minute.  You also need to submit a printed copy of your homework at the beginning of the lab after the lab is due.

Late Labs:  Any unexcused late labs assignments will be penalized 25 points.  If you are sick or have some other extenuating circumstances, please let me know as soon as possible.   After one week, late labs will not be accepted without prior arrangements.

If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to drop by during my office hours, or email. If you can't make it to my office hours, talk to me or email and I will be happy to set up a time to meet with you. Also, I tend to be around more than just my office hours; those are just the times I am definitely around. 

If you have any comments or questions about 101 labs or lectures in general, or if it's a matter you don't feel comfortable bringing to me, you may contact Catherine Matthews at cmatthew at engr.sc.edu or call 777-2427.

You are expected to know and abide by the Rule of Academic Responsibility found in the Carolina Community guide. You may to work together to understand course concepts, but assignments are to be individual work. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. Anyone found guilty of cheating will receive a grade of F for the class and will have their case passed on to a disciplinary committee for possible suspension or expulsion from USC at the instructors discretion.

Reminder: Make sure you don't put spaces in your file names. I know it may seem dumb to have this in a syllabus, but trust me; you'll thank me later.  :)