Hello and welcome to the Computational Core program!
My name is Russ Feldhausen, and I’ll be the primary K-State instructor for this program. My contact information is shown here, and is also listed on the syllabus
There are many other instructors and TAs for this program that you may interact with or see in the tutorial videos. They all have been instrumental in the development of this program. Currently, we have one graduate teaching assistant, Farrukh, who will also be working with us to manage these courses.
In this course, please send any questions you have directly to your teacher. They will be working closely with you and may be able to answer many questions you have. If not, your teachers will be able to contact me quickly and get an answer from us. To simplify things, we ask that students don’t contact me directly with questions related to this course, just so your teacher is in the loop. That said, I’m happy to be a resource for you regarding programming, college, technology, or anything else that may be useful. Feel free to chat with your teacher about what you are interested in, and they can pass that along to me.
If you wish to pose a discussion topic to you classmates, you may use the discussion feature in Canvas. Please note that asking a question on a discussion forum is not the same as contacting your teacher or me directly; we will certainly monitor the discussion channels, but not with the same speed as the official process of asking for help Please read and adhere to the guidance on Netiquette in the syllabus for all electronic communications.
Previous versions of this course used a discussion app called Piazza. We found that most students used Piazza as a separate email channel, not as a discussion forum. This semester we will not be using Canvas; but many of the videos will still refer you to Piazza to receive help. This semester, please contact your teacher if you need any help.
In addition to Canvas, we’ll be using the online learning platform Codio for most of the programming tutorials and projects in this program. We’ll also discuss how to use Codio later in this module.
The Computational Core program consists of several courses, and each course contains a number of learning modules. In general, there are about 12-15 modules per course. Each module will usually consist of an interactive tutorial using Codio, followed by a quiz through Canvas, and lastly a programming project in Codio. The modules themselves are gated, which means that you much complete each item in the module in order before continuing. In addition, the modules enforce prerequisite requirements from other modules. For CC-210 you must complete them in order starting with module 0, the enroll module should be completed first, but is not a prerequisite.
You are welcome to work on this course at any time during the week as your schedule allows, provided that you complete each module before the listed due date. There will be roughly one module due each week. The modules are self-contained, and nearly all of the grading in this course is completed automatically through Canvas and Codio. So, you can complete modules at any time before the due date, and once a module is complete, you may immediately start on the next one
Looking ahead to the rest of this introductory module, you’ll see that there are a few more items to be completed before you can move on. In the next video, I’ll discuss a bit more information about navigating through this course on Canvas and using the Codio learning environment.
One thing I highly encourage each of you to do is read the syllabus for this course in its entirety, and let us know if you have any questions. My view is that the syllabus is a contract between me as your teacher and you as a student, defining how each of us should treat each other and what we should expect from each other. We have made a few changes to the standard syllabus template for this program, and those changes are clearly highlighted. Finally, the syllabus itself is subject to change as needed as we adapt this program to meet the needs of its students, and all changes will be clearly communicated to everyone before they take effect.
One very important part of the syllabus that every student should read is the late work policy. First off, each module has a due date, and you may work on that module at any time before it is due, provided you have met the prerequisites. As discussed before, you must do all the readings and assignments in a module in listed order before moving on, so you cannot jump ahead. A module is considered completed when all items have been completed.
For the purposes of grading, we will use the date and time that the confirmation quiz was submitted at the end of each module to determine when the module was completed. This is due to the way that Codio handles automated grading, as it may resubmit previously graded assignments if an error in the module is corrected, making a previously completed assignment appear to be submitted late.
If a module is completed after the due date, a penalty of 100% of the total points on that module’s project will be subtracted from the score received on that module. So, even if some of the module’s work was completed before the due date, the penalty will still be assessed if you did not fully complete that module before the due date.
Finally, even if a module is late, it still must be completed before you can move on to a later module. So, it is very important to avoid getting behind in this course, as it can be very difficult to get back on track. If you ever find that you are struggling to keep up, please don’t be afraid to contact your teacher for assistance. We’d be happy to help you get caught back up quickly.
The grading in this course is very simple. First, 60% of your final grade will depend on the grades you receive from each of the Codio projects in the course. Next, 10% of your grade will come from the interactive tutorials in Codio. There will also be a midterm exam worth 5% of your grade, and a final exam worth 10%. Finally, the last 15% of your grade will come from the quizzes for each module. In this program, the standard “90-80-70-60” grading scale will apply, though I reserve the right to curve grades up to a higher grade level at my discretion. Therefore, you will never be required to get higher than 90% for an A, but you may get an A if you score slightly below 90% if I choose to curve the grades.
This is intended to be a completely online, self-paced course. There are no mandatory scheduled course times beyond what your school requires. All of the content is available online, so you can work whenever and wherever you want. It could be a 3-hour block once a week, or a few minutes here and there between classes. It’s really up to you and your schedule. However, remember that each module may require 9 to 12 or more hours of work to complete, so make sure you have plenty of time available to devote to this course.
Also, a vast majority of the grading in this course will be handled automatically through Canvas and Codio. This means that you’ll be able to receive feedback directly from those systems as soon as you submit your work. You may also contact your teacher for additional tips and feedback regarding your work, but depending on the number of students in the program, we may not be able to review every student submission directly.
In addition, due to the flexible online format of this class, there won’t be any long lecture videos to watch. Instead, each module will consist of a guided tutorial and several short videos, each focused on a particular topic or task. Likewise, there won’t be any textbooks required, since all of the information will be presented in the interactive tutorials through Codio. Finally, since we are using Codio as our learning platform, you won’t have to deal with installing and using a clunky integrated development environment, or IDE, just to learn how to program. Codio helps make learning to program quick and painless by moving everything to the web.
What hasn’t changed, though, is the basic concept of a college course. You’ll still be expected to watch or read about 6-9 hours of content to complete each module. In addition to that, each project assignment may require another 6-9 hours of work to complete. If you plan on doing a module each week, that roughly equates to 6 hours of content and 6 hours of homework each week, which is the expected workload from a 3-4 credit hour college course.
For this course, the only supplies you’ll need as a student are access to a modern web browser and a broadband internet connection. No other special hardware or software is necessary!
Finally, as you are aware, this course is always subject to change. This is a relatively new program here at K-State, and we’re always working on new and interesting ideas to integrate into the courses. The best advice I have is to look upon this graphic with the words “Don’t Panic” written in large, friendly letters. If you find yourself falling behind, or not understanding, please talk to your teacher about ways to catch up.
So, to complete this module, there are a few other things that you’ll need to do. The next step is to watch the video on navigating Canvas and Codio, which will give you a good idea of how to most effectively work through the content in this course.
To get to that video, click the “Next” button at the bottom right of this page.