Introduction to Programming Using Robots
Spring 2009 Syllabus

Dr. Jennifer S. Kay
Department of Computer Science
Rowan University

Class Web Page: http://www.rowan.edu/~kay/classes/introrobots/

General Information about the Class

Instructor:
Dr. Jennifer S. Kay,
Department of Computer Science

3rd floor, Robinson Building
Email: kay@rowan.edu
Phone: (856) 256-4593

Catalog Description: CS04.110     3 s.h. Introduction to Programming Using Robots
This course teaches fundamental programming skills centered in the context of robot programming. Students will program small robots to perform a variety of tasks. In addition to learning a sophisticated programming language, students will gain skills in design techniques and experience working in teams to build complex systems.

Office Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Or by appointment. 

Class Meeting Times and Locations:
TR 1345 1500 ROBSON 325

Required Book:

Deepak Kumar (Ed.), Learning Computing With Robots (Fall 08 Edition). This is a free textbook that is available on the web.  You can get a copy of the book in many different ways:
Required Robot:
This semester we will be using Scribbler Robots from Parallax supplemented with the IPRE Fluke board. I will be loaning you these robots for the semester. Please take great care with these robots, each kit costs us over $150 (which isn't very expensive for a robot, but is a very expensive thing for a school to loan you!)

Required Work:
This class won't be easy, but it won't be a "killer course" either. Having signed up for this class, I expect each of you to put your best effort into the class. I think you'll find it makes you work, but a lot of that work will be fun.

This is a 3 s.h. class, which means that you should expect to be spending 6-9 hours a week outside of class on homework assignments, readings, etc. If you find that you are genuinely spending more than 9 hours outside of class on your work, please let me know.

New Class:

Since this is only the second time this class is being taught, you should be prepared for some glitches. Hopefully the majority of them happened last semester, but I expect there will be some bumps in the road, and we'll all just have to roll with them.

A note about missing exams or class:

In my class (and all of your other classes) class time is very important. Missing class means missing out on new material, quizzes, labs, etc. In general, there is no specific penalty for missed classes. However, by missing a class you may miss a pop quiz or a deadline for a lab submission, for which you may be penalized.

If you need to miss a class for religious or other reasons and you know in advance, please talk to me as early as you can.

If you are not feeling well on a given day, you email or call me ahead of time, and you miss a quiz, I may let you make that quiz up. Generally I will still expect you to submit labs and homeworks on time (by email if necessary).

If you do not let me know in advance of an absense, I will always require some sort of documentation to make up missed quizzes etc. Get a note from student health or your doctor, or show me a receipt from the tow truck.

If you have to miss an exam (and I hope you will not) re-tests will be given only in cases of extreme hardship as defined by the rules of Rowan University, and I always require documentation of your reason for your absence.

You will still be responsible for any material taught during missed classes. You should get the names and email addresses and/or phone numbers of some other students in the class so that you can get notes, etc. if you miss a class. Missing a class will put you behind in the material and you will need to work hard to catch up. Missing an entire week of class would leave you even further behind.


Email:
I will periodically send email messages to the class rather than use the class web site. I will send this email to your Rowan University Web Email account. You are required to read this email daily (If you are unable to read your email from home, please let me know immediately and we'll work something out). The Rowan Web Email system will allow you to forward your email to another account and if you read your mail somewhere else more frequently, I encourage you to forward your Rowan email there. Early in the semester you will receive an assignment via email that WILL NOT BE ANNOUNCED IN CLASS to ensure that you are reading your email.

To read your Rowan email, go to http://cp.rowan.edu and you can log in to NetMail using your Rowan userid and password. After you log in you can also forward your email to your home account if you prefer. (To learn more about forwarding your Rowan email to another address, and other Rowan technology help topics, visit http://www.rowan.edu/toolbox/ )

Grading:
Labs / Homework / Project / Demos:    30%
Quizzes: (Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped):     40%
Final Exam:    30%

Quizzes:
A large percentage of your grade is based on your performance on quizzes in class. At the beginning of the semester we will probably have a quiz every Thursday. Generally I will not allow you to make up a quiz that you've missed unless you have made arrangements with me ahead of time. However, I will drop the lowest of your in-class quiz grades, so if you do miss one quiz, that grade (of zero) will be the one that I drop. Some quizzes will be open book, and others will be closed book.

Bring your to Class:
Please bring the following with you to every class:

Working Together
Some assignments will be specified as group assignments. Even when they're not, I encourage you to get help from your classmates in and outside of lab on the lab exercises. Often, you find you don't understand something as well as you think when you try to explain it to another person.

BUT While I encourage you to seek advice from your classmates about lab work, I expect that each person's projects and labs should be primarily his or her own work. I have been teaching programming for a long time and it is often very obvious to me when multiple individuals turn in slightly different programs that they clearly worked on together. Finally, you won't understand the material if you don't do the work. You will need to understand all of the material to do well on the tests and quizzes etc.

Policy on Plagiarism:
To submit someone else's work as your own is plagiarism, a form of academic dishonesty. It is college policy that students who commit an act of academic dishonesty may be subject to failure in the course, suspension from the College, or both. (See the Rowan College Student Handbook or the Course Schedule for more details.)

If you use materials that you've obtained on the Internet, from a book, etc., for example as part of a programming assignment, you must include an appropriate reference. To use such materials without proper attribution is a form of plagiarism. The only exception is that you may use the class textbook without providing a reference. I will make a reasonable effort to catch plagiarizers, and it will not be tolerated.


Using the Tutoring Center
The tutoring center is paid for by your tuition, and you should feel free to use their services (after all, you paid for it). There is no additional charge to Rowan students for using the tutoring center. For more information see http://www.rowan.edu/open/depts/learningcenter/tutoring_center/  Since no one at Rowan has taken this class before, the tutoring center is going to be a bit confused when you arrive. Tell them you need a tutor who is a CS major who knows Python.

Policy on Late Homeworks

Because the material in a given week virtually always depends on material from the week before, it's extremely important for you to keep on top of the material. For this reason, I generally will NOT accept anything late. Most homeworks are due at the beginning of class.

Most professors are reasonable people. If, for some reason, you believe you will not be able to turn in a homework on time, let me know ahead of time and I may give you an extension. If an emergency means that you can not turn in your homework on time, again, let me know, and I may allow you to turn it in late without penalty.

Ask Questions. 
Any question that you may want to ask during class is most likely shared by someone else, so ask it!  The only ‘dumb question’ is the one that is not asked.  Ask the question!!

Classroom Decorum:

In order to show proper respect for the instructor and for your fellow students, please observe the following:

Getting Help:
I have scheduled office hours for your convenience; please take advantage of them. In addition, I can always be reached quickly via email  or telephone (see contact information above). If you are having a problem with the course, the sooner we discuss it the more likely we'll be able to deal with it.

Special Notes: 
Be sure that you are aware and read the following policies: attendance, student behavior, academic integrity, and disabilities. All policies are located in the provost web site (www.rowan.edu/provost/policies) as well as in the Student Handbook.

Students with disabilities are encouraged to speak with me as early in the semester as possible about their needs for special accommodations.  If you have not already done so, you should also speak with the Academic Success Center/Disability resources in Savitz 339 (x4233).