Class Information

Lectures are M, W 11:00 – 12:00 in GDC 2.216.

There are 12 discussion sections:

Unique	Time	Room	TA
62490	F 9:00 - 9:50	GDC 2.402	Julian
62495	F 9:00 - 9:50	GDC 6.202	Zoe
62500	F 10:00 - 10:50	GDC 1.406	Zoe
62505	F 10:00 - 10:50	GDC 2.402	Julian
62510	F 11:00 - 11:50	GDC 1.406	Zoe
62515	F 11:00 - 11:50	GDC 2.402	Julian
62520	F 12:00 - 12:50	GDC 5.304	Matt
62525	F 1:00 - 1:50	GDC 5.304	Matt
62530	F 2:00 - 2:50	GDC 2.402	Dillon
62535	F 2:00 - 2:50	GDC 5.304	Matt
62540	F 3:00 - 3:50	GDC 5.304	Dillon
62545	F 4:00 - 4:50	GDC 5.304	Dillon

Exams

Evening midterm exams:

Wednesday, Sept. 21

7:00 – 9:00

WEL 1.308

Monday, Oct. 24

7:00 – 9:00

UTC 2.112A

Final exam:

Friday, Dec. 9

2:00 – 5:00

WEL 2.224

Staff

Alan Cline	cline at cs dot utexas dot edu	GDC 5.808	W 2:00 – 3:00 TH 1:00 – 2:00
Elaine Rich	ear at cs dot utexas dot edu	GDC 5.810	T 1:00 – 2:00 W noon – 1:00
Matt Denend	mad4672 at cs dot utexas dot edu	The GDC area outside 5.810	TH 4:00 – 5:00
Dillon Caryl	dcaryl at hotmail dot com	The GDC area outside 5.810	F 1:00 – 2:00
Julian Sia	siajat at utexas dot edu	The GDC area outside 5.810	F 8:00 – 9:00
Zoe Wheeler	Zoe dot donnellon dot wheeler at gmail dot com	The GDC area outside 5.810	M 12:00 – 1:00

Our Online Interactive Text Book

There will be no traditional textbook for this class. Instead, we’ll use FREGE, an online, interactive textbook that we’ve created for this class. You’ll be able to read short sections, watch some videos, and then work problems. You’ll get immediate feedback on your answers so that you can be sure you’ve got each concept before moving on to the next one.

You will also be able to download a book-like version of FREGE. So if you would like something printed that you can make notes on, flip through, and refer to, you’ll have it. We will post it, one chapter at a time, in the Resources section of our class’s Piazza site.

And, in case you also want a “real” book, we recommend Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, Kenneth Rosen, McGraw-Hill. It’s expensive. But it’s fine not to get the most recent edition.

Quest

FREGE sits on top of the Quest learning platform. You can go to the Quest site now to start becoming familiar with it. Your courses for the semester will be automatically loaded into Quest. You’ll just have to pay your Quest bill within the first month or so of the semester. It’s $30/course, but a maximum of $60/semester (in case you take multiple classes that use it). Students often grump about this. But, at least for this class, it’s a bargain. It’s way cheaper than any textbook we could use.

There will be Quest assignments due before most classes. The Class Schedule page will tell you what they are. You’ll be badly behind in class if you don’t come prepared. In addition, your Quest scores will be part of your class grade.

All Quest assignments are due at 1:00 am on the date indicated.

Piazza, an Online Discussion Forum

For discussions outside of class, we’ll use Piazza. You’ll be able to post questions and get responses, both from us and from other students. You’ll get a message from Piazza in the first week or so of the semester, asking you to confirm your enrollment. Do it. Then you’ll be able to set preferences for things like how often you want to be notified as new posts appear. It is possible to post anonymously. Students sometimes prefer to post questions that way. That’s fine. But remember that anonymity should not be used as a shield for posting anything that is offensive to anyone in our community.

Attendance and In-Class Discussions using i>Clickers

You need to come to class and participate. We’ll augment our in-class discussions with iclickers. You need to buy one. You can do that on the i>clicker site or at the campus book store. Either the i>clicker+ or the i>clicker 2 (a bit more expensive) will work for this class. You might want to buy the i>clicker 2 since some other classes may require it. We will not be using phones as clickers (too distracting).

Other Electronic Devices

It’s important that everyone participate in class. To that end: other than the i>clickers, there should be no electronic devices out during class. There are two exceptions to this policy: 1) If you need a laptop to take notes, please speak to us about it. 2) If we’re discussing an issue and we need more information, it’s fine to search the web and share what you find with all of us.

Submitting Your Work

There will be three kinds of assignments:

· Quest Learning Modules to be completed by 1:00 am on the day they are due.

· Homework problem sets to be done before discussion sections meet. See below for details.

· Two projects. These will be submitted electronically.

The due dates for all of these things can be found on the Class Schedule page.

Homeworks Due in Discussion Section

The major focus of the Friday discussion sections will be problem solving. We expect you to come to class prepared to discuss problems you have worked on and to try your hand at new problems based on the ones you have already seen.

So, there will be traditional homework sets, due in discussion section. These homeworks are due at the start of class and will not be accepted more than five minutes after class has begun. This is important since we will begin, at the start of class, discussing the homework problems. Two exceptions: (1) In the case of excused absences, we will make reasonable accommodations. (2) Each student will be allowed one late submission.

You may not have someone else bring in your homework for you. You should be prepared to be asked to write your solution to a problem on the board and to present it to the class.

You may work on the homeworks in small (no more than three people) study groups. But you may not copy anyone else’s work. After everyone understands a solution, each person must independently write up that solution.

Grading

There will be two midterm exams, a final exam, and several assignments and activities. You will have a choice about how to accumulate points. Click here for more details about grading.

Canvas

We will use Canvas as a way to record grades. You can access it at: http://canvas.utexas.edu/.

Students with Disabilities

Any student with a documented disability (physical or cognitive) who requires academic accommodations should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259 (voice) or 471-4641 (TTY for users who are deaf or hard of hearing) as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations.

Religious Holidays

By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, or an assignment in order to observe a religious holy day, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.

Academic Integrity and the UT Student Honor Code

UT’s Student Honor Code states: "As a student of The University of Texas at Austin, I shall abide by the core values of the University and uphold academic integrity." You can watch an excellent video about the honor code here.

You should read carefully the class policy on academic integrity. Cheating of any form will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade in the class. If you are unsure about when or how you need to cite your sources, ask us.

Additional Class Policies

You should read CS Department Code of Conduct. The policies described there will be followed in this class.