http://www.cs.washington.edu/100

The Teaching Assistants will hold regular consulting hours in 450 Mary Gates Hall. Consulting hours are:

Literacy vs. Fluency Computer literacy has traditionally meant proficiency with a few contemporary computer applications such as email, word processing and the like. Though such literacy instruction enables students to use computers directly, it does not have the staying power needed to accommodate the rapid changes in Information Technology. To use computers effectively over time, people must become lifelong learners, continually expanding their knowledge and upgrading their skills. The NRC report adopts the term "fluency" for this more fundamental understanding of IT. The term connotes the ability to synthesize, to express oneself creatively, and to manipulate the medium to achieve one’s goals.

Components of Fluency The NRC report identifies three types of knowledge that are essential for fluency:

• Skills – competence with contemporary computer applications and tools; this component approximates traditional computer literacy. An example is learning a word processor.
• Concepts – fundamental principles on which information technology is founded, including basic ideas related to computers, networks, etc. An example is understanding the digital representation of information.
• Capabilities -- the ability to apply information technology in complex and sustained situations, which encapsulate higher-level thinking in the context of information technology. An example is managing complexity.

The report lists the 10 top priority items of each type of knowledge. Notice the three types of knowledge are co-equal and interdependent.

Project Learning Though skills have been successfully taught in conventional literacy courses, and concepts have been taught in standard computer science and information systems classes for years, the capabilities present an instructional challenge. In order to teach the capabilities, to provide a context to learn the concepts, and to facilitate the acquisition of skills, Fluency With Information Technology is a project-based course. The main content is delivered through the formulation and implementation of sustained (multiweek) projects using information technology.

No previous experience with computers is required for this course.

Coursework entails readings, computer labs, four computer projects, four quizzes and a final exam. Attendance at lecture (MWF 10:30-11:20, 389 Mary Gates Hall) and the computer lab(030 Mary Gates Hall) is required. For each hour of class time you should expect to do between two and three hours of work outside of class; so, roughly, 10-15 hours of outside work each week. One 1-day late policy: You may turn in one project 1-day late without penalty. No other late projects will be accepted.

1A April 13

1B April 20

2A April 27

2B May 4

3A May 11

3B May 18

4A May 25

4B June 1

Quizzes (Wednesdays – in lecture)

April 4

April 18

May 2

May 16

Final (Monday)

June 4, 8:30 – 10:20 AM

4% Computer lab

20% 4 Quizzes (each worth 5%)

56% 4 Projects (each worth 14%)

20% Final exam

Each computer lab section meets two times a week in 030 Mary Gates Hall. Attendance is required. The labs are integrated with the lecture material. Hands-on computer skills needed to complete the projects will be taught in the labs. In addition, important information about the projects will be discussed. The labs will be graded; they account for 4% of your final grade.

If you miss a lab, do not expect your TA to provide you with an equivalent lab session during their consulting hours. Be prepared to go through the lab on your own and then, if you have specific questions not answered by your classmates, ask your TA.

Listserv Every student is expected to subscribe to the class listserv no later than Friday, March 30. After that date, we will assume that all students are receiving messages from the listserv (and reading their email regularly). This will be the main way outside of lecture in which we – instructors and TAs – communicate with the class, including important notices about course material and projects. Directions for subscribing to the class listserv will be provided in the first lab.

Email Every student should have an individual email account and may send messages to the instructors, TAs, other students, and so forth.

Anonymous Email We will provide a link from the class Web site that will allow you to send anonymous email should you wish to.

It’s not uncommon for people who use technology to find themselves stuck. Indeed, one of the most useful skills you may learn from this course is "how to get unstuck". In the real world, successful people who find themselves stuck do several things such as (1) systematically fooling around with the technology, (2) asking a co-worker or friend for help, or (3) asking an expert for help. We hope you’ll explore all three means to get unstuck in this course. Here are some suggestions:

Debugging

When you first "get stuck", try to understand why the code you wrote gave you the results it did. Try changing one thing in your code and see what effect it has. You may also want to check the class email archive to see if others have encountered (and solved) a similar problem. We’ll talk more about this sort of strategy – called "debugging", during the course.

Ask a classmate…

Get to know two or three students in the course; exchange email addresses; ask each other for help when you get stuck – try to share ideas about how to figure out the code rather than telling your classmate the answer. You’ll learn as much by helping others else find their mistakes as by writing your own code.

Consult with a TA

The Teaching Assistants will also hold regular consulting hours in 450 Mary Gates Hall as noted above. Think of the TA’s as "experts" who are also available to help you. You will get more out of your time with

the TA if come prepared with a specific question in mind. You may also email your TA a question.

It is valuable to work with a friend or classmate when learning a new application or working out a problem. However, the work that you perform in FIT100 for a grade must be your own work unless "working in groups" is explicitly allowed. How can you work with a friend and still create your "own" web page or program or project? In FIT100 we will use the following rule, known as the Gilligan's Island Rule: To work with a friend on creating a program or other artifact, you must work away from the lab, say at a white board or using paper and pencil at a café. (This is a good idea even if working by yourself, since few of us are good at creating the strategy and basic structure of programs or web pages at the PC.) When you are finished you cannot take away any document from the meeting -- no notes, no tattoos, no white board. Then, before going to the lab to work on your assignment, spend at least 1/2 hour in mindless activity. Watching a sitcom on TV is a good example, and Gilligan's Island, a 1960s vintage sitcom is as mindless as they come. But, any activity that diverts your attention from the artifact works. Later, work in the lab on your own. The solution you create should be based on what is inside your own head, and that is the goal of the rule.

For those of you who do have or do not know how to do the following:

• UW computer account
• Use the PINE email system and equivalent Web mail
• Understand email directory space
• Enable a student Web page

We have designed a special Pre-Lab Workshop for you! The workshop is designed to get you up and running with your UW Net ID and web publishing. If at all possible, you should attend the Pre-Lab Workshop BEFORE your first lab (we recognize that may not be possible for those of you with Monday labs). Pre-Lab Workshops will be held in 030 Mary Gates Hall on Monday, March 26 at 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM and on Tuesday, March 27 at 7:30 PM and 8:30 PM. The Pre-Lab Workshop should last roughly one hour.