Welcome!
I'm hoping this will be a fun, challenging, and collaborative semester together!
The page below tells you a bit more about me and my background.
Structure of the Course
Many of you have taken CS 70, which provides some inspiration for the structure of this class. Since 2020, CS 70 has used a “flipped class” format. You might have taken flipped classes before, and perhaps have some opinions on this format, but every class is different. In CS 70, only a modest amount of content was in video form, most of the flipped class was reading and exercises. CS 70 also replaced midterms and final exams with “proficiency checks”, which are short quizzes on the course material. (In fall 2023, CS 70 switched over from presenting the course content on Sakai, to the Inquizitivty system, which Prof. Melissa developed to address some of the shortcomings of Sakai and other course management systems for flipped class content.)
In this class, we'll also use a flipped format for much of the content, but reserve the option to use some in-person lecture-format classes as well. We won't CS 70-style proficiency checks.
Meh. In person lectures are better.
There are certainly good things about lectures, but lectures aren't perfect either.
Sometimes I need to take a moment to think something through and I don't want to tell everyone to pause the whole class.
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Exactly.
But in class I ask questions! Lots of them, actually. I love asking questions!!
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That's true. But the on-line materials are just the first contact you have with the materials. The lab times, grutoring hours, office hours, and Piazza all provide opportunities for you to engage with the materials further and resolve questions you have.
Another aspect of the instructional content of the course is that it contains questions that help you check your understanding. These questions are not graded, but Prof. Melissa will be able to see everyone's answers, which helps her know what topics need more explanation or coverage when we're together in lab.
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Meh, so you're saying even though they're not graded, I can't phone it in with low-effort answers because Prof. Melissa will know?
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Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but, yes, that's the idea. The goal is for you to get the most out of these materials, and that means engaging with them.
Here's an example question. Notice that this page looks like it ends with the question. (But once you answer it, more content appears below.)
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Meh. More stuff appeared and that means I don't even know how long this page is.
I like that the questions are mixed in with the text. It helps me think about what I'm reading.
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And I don't like spoilers. If I could see the whole page at once, I might see something that would give away the answer to the question.
Course Policies
In any course, it's important to know all the rules and expectations, which is why we have a page dedicated to all the various course policies. You can always find this page linked in the sidebar, but we'll also link it here if you've not already read it:
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You can read the course policies later if you like, but you'll need to know about them before you can do your first proficiency check, because the first proficiency check is about the course policies!
It's also a good idea to have read them before the first lab, as we'll talk about them in then.
Getting Help
As you read, you might have questions. If so, there are lots of ways to get your questions answered!
- The sidebar has a link to our Piazza site. On Piazza, you can ask questions online and we, our grutor, and your fellow classmates, will try to help.
- Flag us down during lab to ask your question—the whole reason we're with you in lab is to help you out!
- Attend office hours, grutoring hours, or make an appointment to meet with a professor. You can find the schedule in a post pinned to the top in Piazza.
Remember, the materials you read are the starting point for learning, not the whole thing. After that comes studying, discussing, asking questions, practicing, etc. We are here you help you find what you individually need to get the most out of this course!
The CS 70 “Animal Friends” Return
What's with the talking animals?
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Oh, right. Let's explain.
This is an instructional approach that CS 70 has used since it became a flipped class in 2020. The idea is that the Animal Friends are stand-ins for students, asking questions and making comments that students might make.
As with CS 70, there are a few reasons we use them:
- A long wall of text can be tiresome to read, so adding some different ways of presenting content helps break things up.
- In an in-person lecture, we'd expect students to put up their hands and ask questions, and those questions are hugely valuable. The Animal Friends (Duck, Hedgehog, Goat, Cat, et al.) ask the same kinds of questions students would ask.
- Sometimes we just want to say something encouraging that isn't really part of the technical content you need to study.
In developing this class, Prof. Melissa had a choice, come up with an entirely new set of characters, or use the existing Animal Friends. She chose the latter, because the Animal Friends are familiar to former CS 70 students, and because they're a fun way to present content. But it didn't seem right to steal the talking cows to be the placeholder for the instructors.
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So we're the replacement for the talking cows.
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That's right.
You know, I'd have been happy to be the instructor avatar in this class, too.
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Ah, well, maybe next time.
One thing you'll notice over your time in the class is that the Animal Friends all have distinct personalities. You may find one that you kinda relate to. But if you don't, that's fine, too.
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Meh. Whatever. Can we, uh, actually learn some operating systems stuff now?
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Yes, let's do that.
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