UMB CS187 Home Page -- Fall 2013

CS187: Science Gateway Seminar, Part 1
Fall 2013

Department of Computer Science
UMass Boston

Class: Tu, Th 11:00–11:50 in S-3-143 (Notice change of classroom!)
Course webpage: http://www.cs.umb.edu/~nurith/cs187

Instructor: Nurit Haspel
email: nurith@cs.umb.edu
Office: S-3-71
Office hours: Tu Th 2:30–4:00PM

Peer mentors:
Nicholas Rosato. email: rosatonj@gmail.com
Antony Reid. email: anthonyreid99@gmail.com
Location: Unix lab
Office hours: By appointment.

Course Description: This is the first course of a two-semester sequence, two credits each semester. Successful completion of the sequence will fulfil the students First-Year Seminar requirement. Course content during the first semester will focus on understanding various facets of Computer Science (CS) and how it relates to our lives. Students will be introduced to different concepts of CS, read articles where technology is an issue, and discuss important matters in written work and orally, both individually and in small groups. Students will become increasingly familiar with and experienced in scientific discourse, the scientific method and scientific communication.

See the course syllabus for a detailed list of topics.

Announcements

Sep. 10 - Class room has changed! The class will meet at the CS/IT seminar room (S-3-143).
Sep. 10 - Topics for discussion (tentative).
Sep. 10 - Google group opened! Please join.
Oct. 1 - Don't forget boat ride tomorrow, Wed. Oct. 2 - 3:30-5:30PM.
Oct. 30 - Library tour tomorrow, Healey library 4th floor.
Oct. 30 - Tips, links and guidelines for writing and presenting. Working document. Feel free to suggest more tools and tips.

Class Notes

Week 1:
- Tue. , Sep. 3: General introduction, policies and procedures, students introducing themselves. Notes.
- Thu. , Sep. 5: Introduction to the Unix lab, our network and Q/A session with Leonard (Lenny) David - system and network administrator.
Week 2:
- Tue. , Sep. 10: What is computer science? What are algorithms? General introduction. Notes. Also - introducting topics for discussion.
- Thu. , Sep. 12: Convocation speech at the Campus Center Ballroom. Students are welcome to come at 8:30 and stay for lunch.
Week 3:
- Tue. , Sep. 17: Welcome talk by CSM Dean Andrew Grosovsky.
- Thu. , Sep. 19: A brief introduction to programming languages Notes; Introducing Suzanne Morris, English Department (helping with written essays)
Week 4:
- Tue. , Sep. 24: Intro to collaborative tools (by peer mentors).
- Thu. , Sep. 26: Prof. Eric Grinberg, Chair of the Math Department.
Week 5:
- Tue. , Oct. 1: Roundtable introduction, selection of topics.
- Thu. , Oct. 3: Build your own computer, by peer mentors (pt. 1).
Week 6:
- Tue. , Oct. 8: Install Linux using flash drive
- Thu. , Oct. 10: Install Linux, pt. 2
Week 7:
- Tue. , Oct. 15: Working with virtualbox, installing Ubuntu
- Thu. , Oct. 17: Critical reading of a paper
Week 8:
- Tue. , Oct. 22: Talk by CJ Martin (FSC) about registration procedures
- Thu. , Oct. 24: An exercise in game theory (sharing is caring?). Travellers (prisoners) dilemma paper. Chicken.
Week 9:
- Tue. , Oct. 29: Prof. Dan Simovici (CS) - why you should know and like Math to be a computer scientist.
- Thu. , Oct. 31: Library tour. Meet at the Center for Library Instruction (CLI - HL/04/015.)
Week 10:
- Tue. , Nov. 5: Tips for giving a good presentation. notes.
- Thu. , Nov. 7: Three logicians walk into a bar (or why logic is not so scary) notes.
Resources
- CS department FAQ.
- Healey library research guide .
- Unix/Linux guides:Prof. Wilson's guide from CS110. A command-line crash course (suggested by Liam Pieri). A command line guide by Glenn Hoffman (CS dept.).
- Sharing tools: Google Drive, Dropbox.

CS187: Science Gateway Seminar, Part 1 Fall 2013

CS187: Science Gateway Seminar, Part 1
Fall 2013