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.

  • 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.

  • 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 Hitesh, you can instead email Hitesh if that makes you feel more comfortable. Note that the response time for the instructors’ email is longer than posting on the Ed board.

Instructors

Photo of Hitesh Boinpally

Office Hours

Tuesdays 1:00 - 3:00pm CSE1 216

Hitesh Boinpally he/him

hiteshb@cs

Hi everyone, I’m Hitesh!

I’m currently a BS/MS computer science student here at UW. I’ve previously been a TA for 8 quarters between the old 14X intro series and the new 12X intro series. This is my first time ever instructing a course and I’m super excited for it!

I grew up about an hour south of UW in Maple Valley, WA. I got into teaching after tutoring throughout high school and consider TAing to be my favorite experience at UW. Outside of school and teaching, I like to try out new foods, explore the city, watch TV shows, hit the gym, and bike.

I’m looking forward to getting to know you all this quarter, reach out if you have questions about anything at all!

Teaching Assistants

Photo of Abosh Upadhyaya

Abosh Upadhyaya Him

mihiru@cs

Quiz Section: AC

Student, TA, Husky.

Diet Coke Gargler, Taco Bell Gorger, Cookie Monster.

Grillmaster, Underwater Basket Weaver, Future Vice President.

POV: you walk into my section this quarter: https://students.washington.edu/mihiru/party.html


Photo of Esther Liu

Esther Liu she/her

estliu@uw

Quiz Section: AB

Hi everyone! My name is Esther and I am a freshman majoring in CS. In my free time, I like to draw, play soccer, and play guitar. This is my second quarter TAing and I’m looking forward to meeting you guys!


Photo of Ido Avnon

Ido Avnon he/him

idoavnon@uw

Quiz Section: AE

Hi all, My name is Ido! I am a third year studying education and CS, and I use he/him pronouns. Outside of class, I love birding, reading (U. K. Le Guin is unbeatable), and hiking! Excited to be TAing for 123!


Photo of Joshua Chen

Joshua Chen he/him

jmzchen@uw

Quiz Section: AC

Hi everyone! My name is Joshua, and I’m from San Jose, CA, and I study CS and Math. This will be my third quarter TAing 123, and I’m very excited to get to know you all! Outside academics, I enjoy hiking, backpacking, and playing the piano. I also play trombone in the Husky Marching Band, so maybe you’ll see me around cheering on our teams at the football/basketball/softball games! (or at rehearsal if you’re in band too)


Photo of Owen Boseley

Owen Boseley he/him

nulltm@cs

Quiz Section: AA

Hey there. My name is owen and my goal is to make you love cs–and to become a better programmer. I also look like ed sheeran…


Photo of Parker Gustafson

Parker Gustafson he/him

pgusto34@uw

Hey everyone! I’m Parker, and I’m a CS student from Vancouver, WA. Out of the classroom, I enjoy running, hiking, and watching obscure movies. This is my seventh time TAing, and I look forward to working with you all. Feel free to email me if you ever want to chat about 123, CS, or literally anything else!


Photo of Simon Wu

Simon Wu he/they

simonswu@uw

Quiz Section: AF

Hi everyone! My name is Simon (he/they) and I’m an incoming senior double majoring in CS and American Ethnic Studies. A couple of my hobbies include cooking, gaming, and kpop. Excited to work with you all this quarter!


Photo of Ziao Yin

Ziao Yin he/him

ziyin@cs

Hey everyone! I’m Ziao and I am currently a sophomore majoring in CS and biochem. When I’m not busy, I enjoy spending time outdoors, traveling, making music, and skiing. Looking forward to meeting everyone and we’ll get through this quarter together!