1. Computer Science Principles
CS501: A New Course…
Computer Science Principles
Tim Andersen
Boise State University, Boise
© Tim Andersen 2004

2. Introductions … Instructor: Tim Andersen
Teaching Assistants: Audrey and Sarah
Teaching Collaborator: Dr. Amit Jain
… and you?
5/27/2019

3. CS501: Computer Science Principles
A new course, patterned after the AP CSP course.
AP CSP supported by NSF and College Board
We will have pre- and post-surveys
Supported by our CS10K grant
Uh, I’ve never taught this course before …
5/27/2019

4. Approach The objective of this course is to teach:
Computational Principles – “bits can represent all information” – that everyone should know
Computational Thinking – thinking approaches you can use to solve (your) problems with computers
If you were thinking this class will be …
Trivial, forget it: We will learn stuff and think in ways you probably haven’t before
Difficult, forget it: This is patterned after a high school class
Fun and interesting: Perfect … that’s what it will be
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5. A Brief Word About Programming
Some people panic at the mention of the word programming … worrying it would cause them to become social outcasts, nerdy, …
Programming’s a career; it takes years to learn; it pays really well; normal people do it, too
We’ll learn some programming in this class as part of teaching computational thinking
You won’t be a programmer (or nerd) at the end
You will still be normal as you are today
You will, I hope, also think differently as a result
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6. Announcements What you need to do today Linux warmup assignment
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