1. Introduction to Programming
Ismail abumuhfouz | CS 146

2. CS 146 Description brief summary: Lectures: Mon-Wed-Fri: Labs:
This course covers a study of the algorithmic approach in the analysis of problems and their computational solutions, we will use VBA (Visual Basic for Application) for that.
The course assumes that you have NO programming experience before, but you should already have basic computing skills, like being able to copy files from one place to another, renaming files, making folders. The course is not acceptable for credit in computer science major or minor..
You should expect to spend an average of 3 hours per week outside class on this course.
Lectures: Mon-Wed-Fri:
Section 01 meets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 09:10am-10:05am in SH B103
Labs:
Section 1: Lab meets every two weeks on Friday at the same time and location.
Prerequisites: Two years of high school algebra or concurrent enrollment in a college algebra course.
Credits: 3 hours

3. Instructor Contact Information
Office hours:
11:30 am - 12:30 pm on Monday and Wednesday
* 11:00 am - 12:00 pm on Tuesday 
* Or by appointment.
Location: 4135 COHH.
Other people:
TA: Ashwini Lokesh TA
Tutoring Lab: SHB105.
Class web page:
Blackboard: Click Here.

4. Required Materials Reading Technology/Tools Required Text Book:
There is no required textbook for this course. I will provide outlines and notes.
You are free to use any online resources.
Optional Text Book:
Excel VBA Programming for Dummies (4th Ed) by Walkenbach Wiley,
ISBN:
Don’t let the title fool you, the text is filled with useful information, presented in an entertaining fashion. You will be taking the examples that are introduced, and applying them in creative ways for a great result! .
Reading
Software:
Microsoft Excel and Word for Windows (2013 or 2016)
(Download it from the university (free for students)
Technology/Tools

5. Course Objectives Course Outcome
Interpret information presented in mathematical and/or statistical forms.
Illustrate and communicate mathematical and/or statistical information symbolically, visually and/or numerically.
Determine when computations are needed and execute the appropriate computations.
Apply an appropriate model to the problem to be solved.
5. Make inferences, evaluate assumptions, and assess limitations in estimation modeling and/or statistical analysis.

6. Instructional Methods
In this class we will use a mix of instructional methods
Lectures (Mainly whiteboard with some slide/outlines from time to time).
Demonstrations for programs and examples.
Class discussion.

7. Assessment Criteria Bonus: Team Work Assignments: 10%
Lab Attendance and Assignments 40%
3 Lab Tests (Open book/open notes) 50%
Bonus:
Class participation.
During lectures, labs and exams.

8. Lecture Attendance
Lecture and lab attendance are mandatory. Students are expected to come to class on time and stay for the whole period.
If you miss a lecture where attendance is taken, a test or any lab period, you are responsible for contacting me within one week of the absence.

9. Team Work Assignments: 10%
Work as a team of 2 students.
Team Work Deadline: Monday at 11:59 pm.
Submission: Through Blackboard

10. Lab Attendance and Assignments 40%
Deadline: By Monday 11:59pm. (No Extension).
Submission: Through Blackboard.

11. Lab Test 1 Lab Test 2 Lab Tests 25% 10% Wednesday Feb 27th 15%
April 14th

12. Final Exam Final Exam 25% 25%
Sec 001 Monday, May 6, 2019, from 08:00 am-10:00 am.

13. Grading Scale

14. Plagiarism / Cheating

15. Plagiarism / Cheating Using other people's code as your own.
Attempt to make code appear to work when it does not.
NO assistance from someone else on tests - Lab or Lecture-, individual Labs, individual projects, or homework
Only talk in GENERAL TERMS about program assignments, not specifics
Do NOT "work together" on the source code of a program

16. Practice … Practice.. Practice..
Resources
Web & Software Tools
Class web site
Google, YouTube, others
Practice … Practice.. Practice..
People
Instructor TA
Tutoring Lab
Labs, Study Groups
Labs
Study groups

17. Important Info Email me Withdraw Deadlines
I check my several times a day
Give me at most hours to reply
I don’t check on Saturday
Withdraw
Monday
March 18th
Deadlines
Not negotiable

18. Lecture Polices

19. Laptop Polices Lecture Lab
Studies show most students with laptops open in front of them are NOT paying attention to the lecture
IF you insist on using a laptop in lecture, you MUST sit in the very BACK row of the classroom, so that you distract only yourself and not other students
Lab
There are sufficient computers in each lab for every student but you can use your own laptop if you wish, even for lab tests

20. Excuses https://www.examtime.com/blog/study-motivation-tips/

21. Seeking Help

22. Mythbusting about Programming in general
It's a 100-level course, it's EASY! or not much work! or trivial! (It’s not)
You can cram the night before the tests and get through the course ok (you can’t)
You can wait until the day the programs are due to start work on them (you can’t)
You can just memorize code (you can’t)
watch this.

23. What Previous Students Liked About the Class
I liked that the labs were challenging and pushed me to thoroughly learn the material.
I like how many examples we saw in class, it is very useful for keeping an important idea stuck in my mind.
I enjoyed how much you encouraged us to participate in class
I like that I feel comfortable going to the instructor with any questions I may have. I liked learning how to create programs, like the video game ( program 3). That was really cool to see the product of all the hard work this semester.
I liked that the course was well planned. The schedule was knew the first day of class.
At first I didn't like this class, mainly because it was so challenging. I didn't see any reason to why I was doing some of the things at first, but I soon realized that I had to learn the basics first. This was my first programming class ever and now towards the end of the class I have learned to like it a lot.

24. What Previous Students Didn’t Liked About the Class
I didn't like the programming in general. It's not something I could see myself doing.
It demands a lot of time outside of class.
Occasionally the labs were very difficult.
I also didn't think it was fair that some of the material required to finish each week's lab was taught on the Friday it was due.
I changed the lab due date to Monday night. 
The thing I didn't like about the course was the amount of homework.
Sometimes the instructions were a bit unclear, and the textbook homework is very monotonous and repetitive.

25. Advices From Previous Students
Don't wait until the last minute on everything! Be prepared to spend a lot of time on this class.
Start working on things as soon as you get the opportunity, you are not going to be thinking clearly if you put it off.
I know a lot of teachers will say that you have to spend so much time outside of class on this course and usually you think yea sure, but for this course its very accurate what the professor says and it is worth it spending that much time if not more in some cases. Coming from someone who personally didnt spend the right amount of time on this class i can honestly say i shouldve and my grade has suffered because of it. OH and do the bonus projects and get bonus points they help alot!
Don't look at this as a 100 level course. Also, don't look at it as just a problem, there's a logic to everything you do in this class
I would recommend the perspective students could spend enough time during the semester by making a commitment. Since programming needs a certain amount of time to practice in order to master it, it is essential for them to allocate some of their personal time to prepare and review the class contents

26. Advices From Previous Students
Don't look at this as a 100 level course. Also, don't look at it as just a problem, there's a logic to everything you do in this class.
Don't take this course if you have a heavy class load
I would tell them to pay attention, don't zone out, and miss class as least as possible. They need to work hard on the labs and programs outside of class
Be PREPARED. This class is no joke. Don't ever fall behind. I thought my hardest class was going to be CALCULUS based PHYSICS that has a 50% fail rate and I spent half the time in that class as this one to get an A. As soon as a program becomes available, work on it. At least put some thought into what you need to do to make it run.
Learn how to use de-bug!
Learn how to write a plan on paper for solving programs and/or problems in the lab. It will help tremendously when you go to write the code.
GO to both sections labs (if you can).
GO to the instructor's office hours

27. Advices From Previous Students
I would tell them that they should focus more on how the code works and why rather than just focusing on each individual problem that is assigned.
I would tell them to, as we do with code, break each day into little tasks. For the labs, do a few problems a day. That makes life much easier. Also, never, ever, procrastinate. You will not finish. Focus on understanding the code, not just memorize the code. Ask why something is written in a way that it is, as opposed to just writing it out without thinking

28. Advices From Previous Students
I would recommend to set up small study groups at the first class. It is is the first programming course for beginners, it is very important for those students to have study groups to deal with their study process during the whole semester. It is easy to stop any some point during the coding process or logical process, at that point, attending study group meeting will help them to discuss the common problems and figure out the solution together in the end, this attempt could enhance the students' understanding about the class contents. Moreover, it will be better of offer a TA for this section to help students as well.

31. What to do next class?
an introduction to Excel.

32. Questions