1. Intro, print

1.1. What will I learn?

  • The short version:

    • How to write computer programs with python

    • How to write programs to solve problems

    • A little bit of how computers work

    • A little bit about what on earth computer science actually is

    • How to be a 21st-century individual so you won’t be left behind

  • The long version:
../_images/turing.jpg

1.2. What prerequisites do I need?

  • Curiosity

  • A desire to learn a powerful new skill

  • A desire to distinguish yourself from peers in your discipline

Activity :class: activity

Where have you encountered computer programs before?

Can anyone name an area of Science where they think having computer programming skill would be a bad thing? How about Social Science? Humanities? Art? Work with your neighbours.

1.3. Why are the course notes a website?

  • You’re going to learn to program with Python

  • A nice thing about Python is that it has a vast collection of libraries to do useful things

  • Most of those libraries are documented with something called Sphinx

  • The course notes are made with Sphinx

  • The idea: get used to reading material in this format. It’ll be useful to you

  • Here’s an example

  • Moodle will be used for announcements and assignment submissions

1.4. How will this class work?

  • This class is going to be run somewhat differently from other courses you may have experienced at university

  • We’re going to be using a “partially flipped” classroom, with a “microlecture” format and lots of in class hands-on time

  • There are a few reasons for this:

    • It’s been demonstrated that students from classes using the microlecture/work format outperform students from traditional lecture classes. The students also report being happier and more engaged.

    • Listening to a lecturer droning on for hours isn’t very engaging

  • A standard class works like this:

    • I lecture for one hour

    • You get bored 10 minutes in and start thinking about products you might like to buy on Amazon or what you’re going to watch on Netflix when you get home

    • I keep going

    • You keep daydreaming…

  • Our class will work like this:

    • I give a short microlecture on a topic from the readings

    • I give the class a problem to solve, based on the microlecture

    • You work with your neighbours in class to solve the problem

    • I walk around and interact with the class. Answering questions, giving pointers, etc.

    • I depend on YOU to interact with me

      • I will need your help throughout the lectures

    • We repeat this process until the time is up for the day

  • We’ve already done this once already, but let’s try it again:

Activity :class: activity

Have a chat with the people sitting around you:

  • What are their majors?

  • Why did you come to StFX?

  • Why are they taking this class?

  • What do you hope to learn?

  • How do you think you will use what you learn in the future?

1.5. What should I bring to class

  • Curiosity

  • Readiness to do stuff, rather than just listen

  • A laptop (if you want) or pen and paper

    • The weapon of choice of some of the greatest programmers in past generations

  • Just to be crystal clear: you do not need to bring a laptop to class

  • If you have one, and you’re keen to get the most out of the class, it’s worth considering

1.6. So I should be terrified?

  • No

  • It’s actually not that bad, if you put in the effort

    • But that’s why we’re all here, right?

  • Real warning, though: The class is dense and very accumulative, do not fall behind!

  • The good news is, you get to make mistakes

  • You get to see if what you did works or not

  • Most of this class will be you beating your head against your keyboard until you get it right

  • Not many classes or disciplines give you this luxury

  • I really can’t stress this enough

    • Most of the time when you’re working on the course material you will be getting things wrong

    • The majority of programming is actually debugging

    • Get used to making mistakes

      • This is a good thing

      • This is normal

1.7. Can I write a program now?

  • If you have looked at get set up for CSCI 128, then yes

  • Go to Google Colab and make your “Hello, world!” program

    • “Hello, world!” is traditionally the first program one writes in a new language.

      print("Hello, world!")

  • You’re now officially a computer programmer!

img/HelloWorldColab.png

1.8. For next week