Getting Help¶
Having questions or getting stuck on something is entirely expected in the learning process. If you find something challenging with your studies, that is a sign you are learning! Learning is not something that you need to do alone though! In fact, connecting with your peers or asking a member of the course staff for help can add extreme depth to your knowledge.
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Synchronous Help (Office Hours): One place to go to get help is our Office Hours hosted throughout the week. TAs staff office hours for many hours a day to provide you the help you need when you need it! This is a great place to go if you want to review a particular course concept, work on a practice problem with the help of a TA or your peers, or get help on a Creative Project or Programming Assignment if you are running into difficulties.
Tip
A common misconception is that you can only go to office hours with specific homework questions. That is not true! If you have any questions about course concepts (e.g., from class that day), you are super encouraged to go work on that concept with a member of the course staff at office hours! Getting help with a concept earlier, when you first are feeling unsure, is much better than saving it until you need it on the homework.
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Asynchronous Help (Ed Discussion): With a class of our size, directly emailing a member of the course staff is not always recommended. There are many of you and only few of us, so if you email one person directly we can’t make a guarantee how quickly we can respond! To alleviate this one-on-one communication of email, we have a course discussion board that will be a much more lively place for discussion and a way to make sure you can are helped more quickly. The message board is set up so that all of the course staff can help you, which will make it more likely for you to receive a quicker response!
Ed Tips
- If you are asking a general question about the course logistics or content, you can make a public post. This way other students can benefit from seeing your question, and you can even answer each other’s questions to share your perspectives!
- If you want, you can choose to post anonymously so that other students in the course can’t see your name. Note that anonymous posting does not hide your identity from the course staff.
- You’re encouraged to answer each other’s questions as well! Explaining a topic to someone else (even on a discussion board) is a great way to help you better understand the material. The course staff will still look over student answers and can nicely point out some misconception if there is one so that everyone benefits.
- If you have a question that’s pretty specific to your homework solution, or, is about some personal details that you would not want to share with the class (e.g., DRS accommodations), you can make a private post on Ed that is only visible to the course staff. This way, any member of the staff can respond to get you the help you need!
- For sensitive matters that you only want to discuss with Kai, you can instead email Kai if that makes you feel more comfortable. Note that the response time for the instructors’ email is longer than posting on the Ed board.
- If you are asking a general question about the course logistics or content, you can make a public post. This way other students can benefit from seeing your question, and you can even answer each other’s questions to share your perspectives!
Instructors¶
Office Hours
Kai Daniels he/they
Hi all, I’m Kai! I grew up north of Seattle and graduated from the Allen School here at UW studying CS with a focus on algorithms and theory. When I first came into UW, I had no intention of majoring in CS and actually took the intro class entirely by coincidence. But after completing the intro sequence, I became an intro TA and decided to pursue CS as my major, helping redesign the course and curriculum along the way during my time as an undergrad - which eventually led into me being the intructor for this course! I am also an incoming Software Engineer at Microsoft, so if you have any questions about breaking into industry or what career options look like for CS, I’m more than happy to provide some guidance. :)
Outside of teaching, In my spare time I am an avid K-pop stan (aespa, NewJeans, and IZ*ONE to name afew) along with a Speech and Debate coach. I also love to go to raves/concerts, and have two small cats that are really really cute. I like to think that the summer quarter gives a lot of opportunity to get to know y’all a little bit better than in a normal quarter, so please feel free to stop by my office hours and I’d love to chat!
Teaching Assistants¶
Jasmine Chi she/her/hers
Quiz Section: TBD
Hi everyone, I’m Jasmine! I’m currently a second-year here at UW, and I’m really excited to be a TA for CSE 121 this quarter. Outside of school, I love reading new books(always open to book suggestions!), hiking around Washington, and trying new baking recipes. I’m also a pretty big fan of F1! I’m always here to support you guys and advocate for your success in this class so really feel free to reach out about anything that comes up throughout the quarter :) Can’t wait to get to know everyone!
Julia Kharchenko she/her/hers
Quiz Section: TBD
Hi everyone !! I’m so excited to be here)) I’m going into my junior year in CS and Info and am really passionate about working to develop NLP in Slavic languages, especially Ukrainian! I’m always free to talk about anything, from cool CS topics to Eurovision) I can’t wait to get to know all of you throughout the quarter! :-) (P.S. I’m always down for cat photos and Eurovision rants sent to my email too..Cha Cha Cha should have won…)
Justin Ung he/him/his
Quiz Section: TBD
Hi everyone, my name is Justin. I grew up in the greater Seattle area and have been here my whole life. In my free time, I enjoy reading manga/manhwa, playing TFT, and going on long walks with friends. I look forward to a great quarter you all :D
Kailey Tou she/her/hers
Quiz Section: TBD
Hi everyone, my name is Kailey! I grew up in the Seattle area and have been here my whole life. In my free time, I like reading, playing Animal Crossing, and going out for long walks while listening to podcasts or music. Looking forward to a great sunny quarter with you all :D
Lydia Li she/her/hers
Quiz Section: TBD
Hi, I’m Lydia! I’m a rising junior studying CS and this is my fourth quarter TAing. In my free time, I enjoy watching cat videos, listening/dancing to Kpop, and exploring good restaurants with friends. Super excited to meet you all this quarter!
Anju Lam she/her/hers
Quiz Section: TBD
Hi, I’m Anju! I’m from Malaysia and I’m a rising senior majoring in Computer Science. Outside of school, I like to bake, watch anime, and hangout with friends. I also really enjoy cafe hopping so hit me up if you ever want to catch coffee together! This will be my sixth quarter TAing and I’m super excited to get to know all of you :)
James Try he/him/his
Quiz Section: TBD
Hey everyone! I’m James, and I’m a CS major. I like basketball, bboying, games, and manga. I’m also teaching a section so don’t be afraid to talk about any of these with me! Excited to meet you all this quarter!
Ken Oh
Quiz Section: TBD
Hey guys! My name is Ken. It’s my third quarter TAing, and my first time TAing 121. My hobbies are pretty generic, but include being active, gaming, music, and watching shows/movies. Can’t wait to get to know y’all!
Nicolas Matthew Suhardi he/him/his
Quiz Section: TBD
Hey y’all, my name is Nic and I’ll be TAing the intro CS series for the 9th quarter. I look forward to meet all of you and to introduce you to the awesome world of CS. Besides CS, I’m a big fan of aviation, food, and tech gadgets. Let’s make this class a great experience for you!