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C102 - Great Ideas in Computing

SPRING 2007

General Information

Lecture Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:15 - 12:30 PM
Classroom: Ballentine Hall 208

Lab Time: Fridays 11:15 - 12:30 PM
Classroom: Lindley Hall 115

Instructor Of Record: Dr. Eric L. Kisling | Office: Lindley 225B | Email: ekisling@cs.indiana.edu
Please Note: If you need to contact me for any purpose regarding this course, please Email me and include C102 in the subject line.

Textbooks:

• Rawlins, G. J. E. (2005). Technology’s Nest: Self-Organizing Forces Shaping Human Destiny. Found Online: http://www.roxie.org/books/shoulders/
[R]
• Dann, W. P., Cooper, S., & Pausch, R. (2006). Learning to program with Alice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. (ISBN: 0131872893).
[DCP]

Items Needed:

• You will need a USB thumb drive for submitting lab assignments.
• You will need your Alice textbook and CD beginning week five.

Website: www.cs.indiana.edu/classes/c102/

Bulletin description: (3 cr.) P: None. Survey of great ideas in computing and the role of computing in the modern world. Explores how people use computing tools to realize their ideas. Emphasis on the impact of modern technology and the use of hardware and software to create solutions to everyday problems. Lecture and laboratory.

Grading: I will be using the University's grading policy of A+ to F for this course. To view the grading policy and the breakdown of assignments, go to Grading. Attendance is very important. Your participation in this class will add to the course's benefit to you and all your classmates!

Introduction

This course is a survey of the role of computing in the modern world. It looks at past, present, and future computing trends and how people use computing tools to implement ideas and solve problems. Emphasis is placed on modern technologies’ impact and the use of hardware and software to demonstrate solutions to everyday problems.

We will cover many themes this semester. First, we will learn about computing and machines from a historical perspective. Looking at the past we will be able to see where we have come from, where we currently are, and finally where we are heading in the area of computing. Second, we will learn about basic concepts of data and information. We will focus on what data is and why data is an important component of the modern world. Through this understanding we will look at real world examples. Understanding the machine and data, we will move to our third theme of security.

Security is an issue that is in the news on a daily basis. We hear about identity theft, viruses, and the like and the information only seems to be getting worse. By studying the area of security and witnessing first-hand what is happening in the area of security, we will have a better understanding of what we can do to ensure our data and information is protected. During this time of focusing on themes one through three, we will simultaneously be pursuing the fourth theme by focusing on the conceptual, technical, and organizational contexts that surround programming. We will look at algorithms and how computer programmers set out to solve problems through the use of software and machines. Recursion, abstraction, translation, and boot-strapping will be looked at in detail. We will finish up by studying artificial intelligence and simulation and how these tools are applied to computing of today and of tomorrow. When we are through, we will have a deeper understanding for some of the great ideas in computing and an appreciation for information technology and its uses in society.

In this course, we will use real tools to apply lessons learned in lecture in a laboratory environment. You will have an opportunity during the first three weeks to study scripting languages and write scripts. We will look at php and html and how we can manipulate information and data through the use of scripts. We will look at data and databases and how we use them everyday. We will spend the remaining laboratory classes by moving to a programming language called Alice. Through working with Alice, you will have the opportunity to apply what has been learned in lecture to your project in Alice. We will have the opportunity to manipulate objects and to learn how these concepts occur in our daily lives. Through active participation, you will learn about areas of information technology and learn what the big ideas are in computing!

The purpose of this course is to explore the big ideas in computing in two ways. First, there will be an emphasis on developing a knowledge base and set of skills that will enable you to efficiently and effectively apply the concepts that are learned in lecture to the tools used in lab.

This facet of the course will include explorations of:

• Scripting languages to control and manipulate information through visualization;
• Google to determine how much information is at our fingertips on the Internet and the World Wide Web;
• Alice and Karel J. Robot and how these integrated developer environments (IDEs) enable their respective users to program easier; and finally
• Alice to create a project that reflects issues that were raised in both lecture and lab.

Second, we will explore great ideas in computing as a complex socio-technical process. This facet of the course will include explorations of:

• Machines and their history;
• Globalization and how that affects us on a daily basis;
• Big data and its uses to help us plan our day;
• Security and ethics and their respective benefits and hindrances;
• Programming to allow us to use the machine to solve problems; and
• Artificial intelligence and simulation.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

• Write small scripts to manipulate data and information;
• Identify basic principles of computing and its effect on daily life;
• Understand the tools used to accomplish work and to create entertainment;
• Understand the relationship between the practice of information architecture and the organizational, social, and technical contexts of website design, implementation, and maintenance;
• Apply what you have learned about project management to the situation of team-based development of complex websites; and
• Discuss knowledgeably what information architecture is and what information architects do.