Marc Liberatore liberato@cs.umass.edu (Email is the best way to reach me. Allow two business days for a response, though I’m usually faster than that) Office: CS 318 Phone: 413-545-3061 (though I email is almost always a better idea) Office Hours: Tuesday, 2pm
I reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus as needed to incorporate current events and to better support positive student outcomes.
In this course, each voice in the classroom has something of value to contribute. Please take care to respect the different experiences, beliefs and values expressed by students and staff involved in this course. We support UMass Amherst’s commitment to diversity, and welcome individuals of all ages, backgrounds, citizenships, disability, sex, education, ethnicities, family statuses, genders, gender identities, geographical locations, languages, military experience, political views, races, religions, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, and work experiences.
This First Year Seminar (FYS) will contain much of the same supportive content as other FYSs at UMass. Outside of that common content, this class will spend time presenting ideas, inviting responses, and engaging discussion around the some of the great ideas in computer sceince. Readings will introduce students to some of these foundational ideas in computing and class activities and discussions will further explore them. Our goal will be to examine these ideas, and to begin to understand their implications for computing and for society.
Moodle and your University email will be used for conveying important class announcements.
All readings and assignments will be submitted via Moodle and all feedback and grades will also be communicated via Moodle. Feedback will not be posted prior to the due date, but students may submit an assignment as early as they wish.
You get an A, unless you don’t. How can you preserve your A?
These penalties are cumulative.
Your success in this course is important. All First Year Seminar instructors are partnered with Student Success and your academic advisors to assist you in better understanding course material which can aid you on your path to success. Resources available to students include: Supplemental Instruction, ExSEL Group Tutoring, and 1:1 Tutoring. Visit the Learning Resource Center online at http://www.umass.edu/lrc.
Throughout the semester, your instructor will communicate with Student Success & academic advisors regarding your progress in the course. If you are contacted, please consider scheduling appointments such as tutoring or academic advising and talk with your professor. Referrals are not punitive and are meant to assist you in connecting with resources at UMass. Please email academicalert@umass.edu if you have any questions or need assistance connecting with resources.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to making reasonable, effective and appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities and help create a barrier-free campus. If you have a documented disability on file with Disability Services, you may be eligible for reasonable accommodations in this course. If your disability requires an accommodation, please notify your instructors as early as possible in the course so that we may make arrangements in a timely manner.
Many students use phones and computers to take notes, set a date in their calendars, and to look up ideas in Google. However, seeing those devices being used in class is distracting to some and can be perceived as discourteous by others. Please use phones and/or laptops responsibly in class.