Course Overview

Department of Computing Science

University of Alberta
CMPUT 174 - Introduction to the Foundations of
Computation I
Fall 2022
 Disclaimer
These slides are meant to provide a high level
overview of some important points in the Course
syllabus and the Lab information document that
are available on the eClass page.
Please note these slides are NOT meant to replace
the Course syllabus and the Lab information
document.
Refer to these documents for complete and detailed
information.
 What is CMPUT 174?
● A problem-based introduction to Computing
Science
● We will write computer programs in Python, a
high-level programming language
 What is CMPUT 174?
● You will master various
○ Data structures
○ Control structures
○ Programming constructs
○ Techniques
● You can use them to solve a wide range of
computational problems
 What is CMPUT 174?
● You will use abstraction at all levels of:
○ Analysis
○ Design
○ Testing
○ Coding process
● You will learn to create correct and reliable
programs
 Official Class Information
● Course syllabus:
https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/mod/url/view.php?id=63
44127

● Lab information:
https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/mod/url/view.php?id=63
44128

● No official textbook
 Recommended Books
● Peter Wentworth, Jeffrey Elkner, Allen B. Downey,
and Chris Meyers. How to Think Like a Computer
Scientist: Learning with Python 3
● Python Tutor
● Waterloo Circles
● Python Crash Course, 2nd edition (use your
@ualberta.ca account to sign in)
Links on eClass
 Lecture Schedule
● Section A1: Tuesdays & Thursdays 8:00 am - 9:20 am
in ETLC E1007
● Section A2: Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:30 am - 10:50 am
in CCIS L1160
● Section A3: Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:00 am - 12:20 pm
in CCIS L1160
● Section A4: Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:30 pm - 13:50 pm
in ETLC E1013
● Section A5: Tuesdays & Thursdays 14:00 pm - 15:20 pm
in CCIS L1160
● Section A6: Tuesdays & Thursdays 15:30 pm - 16:50 pm
in CCIS L1160
● Section 800: Tuesdays & Thursdays 8:00 am - 9:20 am
via ONLINE
 Your Instructors
● Section A1: ● Section A6:
Ildar Akhmetov Marianne Morris
Office: Athabasca Hall 3-39 Office: CSC 1-45
E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

● Sections A2, A3, A5: ● Section 800:

Sadaf Ahmed Shrimanti Ghosh
Office: Athabasca Hall 3-35 Office: Athabasca Hall 1-34
E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

● Section A4:
Jonathan Schaeffer
Office: Athabasca Hall 4-15
E-mail: [email protected]
 Course Format
● Online Activities
○ Videos
○ Documents
○ Quizzes
○ Practice questions
● Classroom Activities
○ In-person lectures (twice a week)
○ Hands-on "workshops" (instructor led)
○ Students required to work alongside their instructor
○ Content will be posted afterwards on eClass
● Lab Activities
○ 10 lab assignments
○ Get help on lab assignments during TA office hours
○ Scheduled lab sessions used to conduct lab demos
eClass Weekly Block Setup: Example
Grade
Breakdown

Grade Evaluation

Academic integrity Quiz 1%

4 Quizzes - 3% each 12%
Midterm 22%
10 Labs - 3% each 30%
Final Exam 35%
 Quizzes
● 4 quizzes — check schedule
● Quizzes become
available on Thursday at 8:00 am and
close on Saturday at 9:00 pm
● Quizzes are timed (usually, 30 min)
● Quizzes are meant to help you make sure you
are on track
 Lab Assignments
● 10 labs
● Submit via eClass
● Submission deadlines – see on eClass
● No late submissions!
● Lab Information
 Office Hours
● Talk to a TA to get help with a lab assignment
● Every weekday
● 8 am to 8 pm
● In-person and online (via Discord)
● See the schedule on eClass (soon!)
 Demos
● You will demo your solution to a TA
● You will have 7 minutes to demo each lab
● Demo schedule will be shared by your TA
● The TA will be asking you questions about your
solutions that will probe your understanding of
the code you submitted
 Midterm & Final
● One midterm (see the syllabus)
● Midterm will be conducted online, on Oct 20
● Final exam will be online, on Dec 21
● Closed-book
● Using remote proctoring
○ Smart Exam Monitor with ExamLock
 Collaboration Policy
● Write your own solutions. All labs, exams, and
quizzes are individual!
● You must NOT post your solutions online
● What does collaboration mean?
○ You can verbally talk about how to solve a
particular problem
○ You can draw pictures
○ You can share test cases on Discord
 Collaboration Policy
Tips to avoid copying
1. Do not write down something that you cannot explain to your
instructor
2. When helping others, avoid showing your work directly. Instead,
explain your solution verbally
3. If you find yourself reading another student's solution, do not
write anything down
4. If the instructor or TA writes down part of a solution to help
explain it to you or the class, you cannot copy it and hand it in
for credit
5. There is often more than one way to solve a problem. Choose
the method that makes the most sense to you
More info here: Don’t Do It Cheat Sheet (pdf)
 Collaboration Policy
● You…
○ CANNOT share code
○ CANNOT look at someone else’s code
○ CANNOT sit together (even if virtually) side by side
and code the solution step by step together
○ CANNOT post any code snippets on Discord
○ CANNOT have access to somebody else’s code to
“guide” you through the solution…
● We will check for plagiarism both manually and
through automated tools
 Plagiarism Detection
● Each week we will be analyzing all lab
submissions using a sophisticated plagiarism
detection program
● All flagged cases will be checked manually by the
TAs and the instructors
● If there is reason to believe that plagiarism has
occurred, the instructor will take the appropriate
action
 Plagiarism Reporting
1. If this is the first violation of the student in this
course, the instructor will apply a full or partial
deduction of marks for the lab assignment

2. If this is not the first violation, the instructor will

report the case to the Faculty of Science. In this
case, the Code of Student Behavior violation
procedure will be followed
 Sanctions
● All reported cases of plagiarism will be thoroughly
investigated
● Sanctions included
○ 0 on the assignment
○ Letter grade reduction
○ Suspension and prevention from graduation
○ Some were in addition to an “8” note on your transcript
● Receiving a low mark for work not completed is a far
superior alternative to this process and its possible
long-term consequences to your career
 Remote Proctoring
Quizzes, Midterm and Final Exam will be conducted online.
We will use a remote proctoring service (Smart Exam Monitor with ExamLock)
for the midterm and the final exam. Your computer and environment will be
monitored during these exams.
● You should arrange for a place to write timed exams without
interruption
● Tablets and mobile devices are incompatible with remote proctoring
services
● You should familiarize yourself with the details given when you follow
the above links to SEM and ExamLock
● It is the student's responsibility to find an appropriate device to do
the exam/midterm on, install the appropriate software, and verify
that it is working properly. Leaving this to the last minute is risky
and ill-advised
 Discord
● We will use Discord as the main
communication platform
● Desktop and mobile apps are preferred
● Join as soon as possible!
 Why Join Discord?
● Post questions about labs and lectures!
● We will respond to your questions within 24
hours during weekdays
● Answer each other’s questions (that is the best
way to learn!)
● View past discussions
● Be a part of the CMPUT 174 community
● Join online office hours
Questions?