New semesters, and particularly new academic years, are very
exciting. For those of us who are "old hats" in academia, preparation
for a new semester is always hectic, but is predictable: planning for
classes, creating syllabi and initial assignments and lectures, doing
last-minute student advising (what in the world are continuing students
doing coming in for advising now??), meeting with new students
and prospective graduate students. As I ran around campus this past
week, students have been everywhere, moving in to the dorms and
exploring campus. Seeing first-time freshmen with their parents brings
back the excitement and uncertainty of when I was a freshman ... well,
let's just say it was a few years ago. From the student's perspective,
it's a big new world, and you'll be responsible for yourself in a way
that you've never had to be before. From the parent's perspective, it's
all about letting go and trusting that your children will make
responsible decisions (a parenting experience that I'll have in just a
few years!).
Most of the students in this CSC 100 class
are first-time freshmen, so you may very well be experiencing this
yourself. I'm looking forward to this class, but I have a confession to
make to you: this is the first time I have taught freshmen in around
20 years. I will be making my best effort to look at things from your
perspective, and to remember that many of you have no previous
experience in computer science. If I stray from that, feel free to
remind me - I'm here because I am passionate about computer science, and
want to share that passion with you and start you on the fascinating
road to understanding the wonders of computing. If I'm doing things
that are not allowing you to succeed (and here "succeed" means learning,
not just getting a grade in a class), then I want to change things so that you can succeed.
Finally,
this is a brand new class - I've never taught it before, but no one
else has ever taught exactly this class before either. This class is
based on the Beauty and Joy of Computing class at the University of California at Berkeley,
but a lot of the class reflects my own changes and ideas. I want to
know what you think about the class, and ideas you have on ways to
improve it. You can always talk to me or email me about this, but I
also want to encourage you to keep your own class blog. In addition to
letting me know what you are thinking about the class (I'll read your
blog!), it will help you put things into perspective if you occasionally
stop and reflect on what you're learning and what you're experiencing
in the class. You won't be graded or judged based on what you write,
even if it is critical, as long as you are professional - don't make it
personal with either me or other students, and don't use language or
write anything you would be embarrassed about your mother or grandmother
reading. Instructions on how to set up your own class blog are on the
class web site, and if you email me a link to your blog I will add a
link to it on my blog's page so others can easily follow your blog.
I'm looking forward to a great semester!
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