Welcome to

CIS 115
Scholars Section

Instructor: Russell Feldhausen

• Office: 2214 Engineering Hall
• Email: russfeld AT ksu DOT edu
• Office Phone: (785) 532-7929
• Mobile Phone: (785) 292-3121 (Google Voice, Call/Text)
• Office Hours: MWF 10 - 11 am

Instructor: Nathan Bean

• Office: 2216 Engineering Hall
• Email: nhbean AT ksu DOT edu
• Office Phone: (785) 532-7942
• Mobile Phone: (785) 294-6649
• Office Hours: TBD

Small(er) Army of Teaching Assistants:

• Josh Reed - joshua25 AT ksu DOT edu
• Maria De La Torre - marifer2097 AT ksu DOT edu
• Lots of former TAs around the department

Icebreaker Activity

1. Get into groups of 3 - 5
2. Find at least 5 non-obvious things you all have in common
3. Come up with 2-3 questions to ask the instructors about themselves (AMAA)
4. Write it down, nominate a speaker

Syllabus: Read these topics later

• Course Objectives
• Major Course Topics
• Academic Honesty
• Students with Disabilities
• Expectations for Classroom Conduct
• Campus Safety

Quick Overview

• History of Computing Science
• Background Computing Knowledge
• Computing Science Theory
• Research Areas & Related Disciplines


• NOT a programming class
• BUT programming is an important learning tool

Course Structure

• 30-45 minutes lecture material
• 30-45 minutes activity/lab time
• 30 lectures (2 unexcused absences)
• 8 blog articles (drop 1)
• 8 individual assignments (drop 1)
• 2 team projects
• 0 exams
• 0 quizzes

Grading

• 30% Team Projects
  • 15% Topic Research Presentation
  • 15% Wiki Article
• 70% Individual Work
  • 28% Class Participation (1% each)
  • 21% Programming Projects
    (3% each)
  • 21% Blog Articles (3% each)

All group work will include a peer evaluation component which can adjust that portion of the individual’s grade up to 50%. If a student should fail to contribute to a group assignment at all, their grade for that assignment will be reduced to a zero. Failure to complete the peer evaluation will result in a 10% grade deduction for that assignment.

Letter Grades:

• 90% - 100% - A
• 80% - 89.99% - B
• 70% - 79.99% - C
• 60% - 69.99% - D
• 00% - 59.99% - F

Grading Philosophy: do your work completely, turn it in on time, and you should have no issues getting a 'B'.

Grades vs. Zeroes

Late work: 10% of the possible points will be deducted for each day it is late.
Make arrangements with the instructor if extenuating circumstances arise.

(We really are nice people and will help you out if needed!)

Attendance: 28% of your grade is based on attendance and participation (1% each lecture). You have
2 unexcused absences.
In most cases, excused absences will only be given for:
University Activities (w/ prior notice)
Major Life Events (w/ notice from Office of Student Life).

Course Textbooks:

• The Pattern on the Stone by W. Daniel Hillis
• Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future by John MacCormick
• Tubes by Andrew Blum
• Various online readings as assigned
• Recurse Center Manual

Subject to Change
CIS 115 is a very flexible class
Things may change quickly

Image Credit: Vantaj on DeviantArt