CS 109 Five Critical Questions
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This document outlines the key aspects of an introductory JavaScript course, answering the five critical questions: 1. The course will cover the JavaScript language, programming concepts, and agile software projects. 2. Instruction will be delivered in weekly lectures and focus on language learning, programming, and project development. Students will have flexibility in their learning. 3. Students must complete assigned work regularly, practice what they learn, and build a support network to succeed in the course. Participation, quizzes, essays, and projects will be graded. 4. Grades will be based on participation (33%), programming exercises and essays (33%), and projects (33%). 5. While
CS 109 Five Critical Questions
- 1. JavaScript The Five Critical Questions
- 2. The Five Critical Questions 1. What material will this course cover? 2. How will this course be presented? 3. What will be required of me? 4. How will my work be graded? 5. What will I be able to do after having taken this course? 2
- 3. “It’s in the Syllabus” • All five of these questions are simultaneously answered in the course Syllabus but in a more formalized manner and language. • You may think of the Syllabus as a contractual document, wherein I tell you what is required. This is why it is important that you read it. • Shortly I will be asking you to read it in detail and then to confirm to me that you have read it. • In the mean time, this presentation will serve as an easy to understand guide to get you started.
- 4. What material will this course cover? This course covers the following subjects… 1. Basic JavaScript Language 2. Basic Programming Concepts 3. Basic Agile Software Projects 4
- 5. How will this course be presented? This is an INTRODUCTORY course: • It is specifically designed for non-computer science majors or those just entering the computer science major • If you are new to JavaScript and programming, we will give you lots of guidance and support. • If you already have some JavaScript experience we will put you to work assisting those who do not—but in situations that will give you practice with what you already know. 5
- 6. How will this course be presented? Instruction will be divided into 3 phases: • The first phase emphasizes language Weeks 2-6 learning, i.e., Javascript coding, syntax, objects • The second phase Weeks 7-11 emphasizes programming, i.e., using the language we have learned to make useful things happen • The third phase Weeks 12-16 emphasizes project development, i.e., student collaboration in the design & construction of programming projects 6
- 7. How will this course be presented? There will be 3 “lectures” each week: • Lectures will consist of one or more VoiceThread presentations, supporting materials and resources, as well as appropriate outside links. • One lecture (with supporting materials) will be posted in the evening of each Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday of the week. • You may respond to each lecture at any point during the week—individually or en masse—but all lectures must be viewed and all work completed no later than Sunday by 11:59 PM. 7
- 8. How will this course be presented? The reasoning behind 3 “lectures” format: • Language learning—and JavaScript is a language—is most effective when taken in smaller digestible bites presented in a steady progression followed by regular and consistent practice. • It reduces the intimidation factor. Make no mistake, JavaScript is a very big, complex language. When taken in small, manageable bites it is much more approachable and less daunting. • This format will also allow you to adapt the learning process to one that best fits your own work style and learning habits. 8
- 9. How will this course be presented? Week One: Preliminaries and Set Up • How to use VoiceThread • The Five Critical Questions • The Syllabus (downloaded, read, confirmed) • Eloquent JavaScript (text and support apps) • Notepad++, TextWrangler, text editors • The Toolbox Concept and Process 9
- 10. What will be required of me? There are 3 keys to success in this course: • Do the work • Stay in practice • Build an active support network 10
- 11. What will be required of me? Bottom Line If you do the work in a regular and timely manner; if you return to and practice what you have learned; and if you reach out for assistance as the need arises… you will do well in this course. 11
- 12. How will my work be graded? • As previously stated, this course will be divided into 3 phases. • In the first phase there will be little in the way of grading other than evidence of participation. • Please note that the course materials are all set up so that I can track your level of participation. Given its importance, and the nature of the language learning process, participation will account for 33% of your final grade. 12
- 13. How will my work be graded? • In the second phase there will be a number of programming exercises. • Time and direction will be provided for you to practice these exercises before submitting them. The submissions will act as quizzes and will each be graded. • Additionally, during this phase the “Toolbox” you began populating in the first phase will be submitted several times and will act as an ongoing “essay” which will be graded. • Taken together these quizzes and essay will also account for 33% of your final grade. 13
- 14. How will my work be graded? • In the third phase there will be a number of projects. • Again, time and direction will be provided for you to practice these projects before submitting them. The submissions will act as quizzes and will each be graded. • A final project will be assigned towards the end of the semester. You will be asked to work in small teams. This final project will act as test. • Taken together these quizzes and test will also account for 33% of your final grade. 14
- 15. What will I be able to do after having taken this course? It is not the intention of this course to make you all JavaScript programmers. This is an introductory course. What you learn here will, however… o give you sufficient knowledge to appreciate the value of both the JavaScript language and programming to your career, o firmly position you to continue either JavaScript or programming studies if you have either the need or the interest. 15
Editor's Notes
- #2: From my experience over many years of teaching I believe there are 5 critical questions that need to be answered by an instructor in any course setting. Additionally, I believe these questions should be answer in a clear, concise manner so that students themselves develop a clear, concise understanding of the course and its contents.
- #3: The five critical questions that you as a student should have answered upon starting a course are…What material will this course cover?How will this course be presented?What will be required of me?How will my work be graded?What will I be able to do after having taken this course?
- #4: All five of these questions are answered in the Syllabus in detail. This presentation serves as an overview. If you have specific questions, refer the syllabus (In fact, you should have a copy readily at hand). It is absolutely vital that you read and have a clear understanding of the syllabus. I have chosen the wording of both to be both as accessible and as accurate as possible.
- #5: We will start with language learning. Like any language, you will need to learn words and their meaning, the syntax or how those words work together and under what conditions, and then how to apply both in a meaningful and useful way.We will then show how these language components can be organized to produce a more effective and efficient result.Finally, we will have the opportunity to develop projects that realize the oriented and organized language’s full potential. This will give you practice in using and understanding the language and the programming as a unified experience.
- #6: This is an INTRODUCTORY course:It is specifically designed for computer and non-computer science majors alike. It is also designed to accommodate a range of skill levels. If you are new to JS and to programming, we will give you lots of guidance and support.If you already have some Javascript experience we will put you to work assisting those who do not—but in situations that will give you practice with what you already know.
- #7: Notes
- #8: Notes
- #9: Notes
- #10: We will use the first week, the week you are now in, to introduce you to the course learning format and to give you the necessary background information to succeed. We will let you know what resources you will need and how to access them. You can see from this list there are six tasks you will need to accomplish this week.VoiceThread you have already been introduced to – it is how this lecture is being presented. The Five Critical Questions you are currently processing.You will then need to download, read and confirm your understanding of the Syllabus. We will then introduce the course text and related resources.Next comes text editors. These will be important in the writing of code and the development of programs. Finally we will introduce you to the Toolbox Concept. This will play an important role in the WAY that you will be learning.
- #11: Do the work This course is intensively progressive. What that means is that each week requires you to learn a number of concepts. Knowing what you learned this week will be critical to being able to learn the following week’s lessons. This process continues throughout the entire 16 weeks. If you do not do this week’s work you will fall behind. Falling behind puts you in a difficult position. Yes, this course will require work from you each week, but it is designed not to be unrealistic. If you put a few hours in each week you will be able to stay on track. But you have got to DO THE WORK.2. Stay in practiceOnce you have taken the time to learn the material it is a good idea to keep coming back to practice it. Because the learning is progressive, you cannot expect to learn something this week, for this week only, and then only worry about the next week’s lesson once this week is done. Think of it terms of verbal language learning. You can’t afford to forget what you learned last week if you expect to keep improving your ability to communicate. Javascript is a language that let’s you keep on improving your conversation with the working web.3. Build an active support network. Start with your instructor… that is why I am here… to be your primary support. But you will also be encourage to work together, to build your knowledge as a community of learners. This is the way the web works and JavaScript is the language web behavior. I will give you more information about this process of network building as we progress in the course.
- #12: It really is that straight forward. I know that most of you have little to no computer language or programming background. I have taken this into account in the design and development of this particular course. And, I am more than willing to assist you with your own on-going development. But having said this, the fact remains that you CANNOT learning computer languages or programming without putting in the time and effort.
- #13: As previously stated, this course will be divided into 3 phases. In the first phase there will be little in the way of grading other than evidence of participation. Please note that the course materials are all set up so that I can track your level of participation. Given its importance, and the nature of the language learning process, participation will account for 33% of your final grade
- #14: In the second phase there will be a number of programming exercises. Time and direction will be provided for you to practice these exercises before submitting them. The submissions will act as quizzes and will each be graded.Additionally, during this phase the “Toolbox” you began populating in the first phase will be submitted several times and will act as an ongoing “essay” which will be graded. Taken together these quizzes and essay will also account for 33% of your final grade
- #15: In the third phase there will be a number of projects. Again, time and direction will be provided for you to practice these projects before submitting them. The submissions will act as quizzes and will each be graded.A final project will be assigned towards the end of the semester. You will be asked to work in small teams. This final project will act as test.Taken together these quizzes and test will also account for 33% of your final grade.
- #16: It is not the intention of this course to make you all JavaScript programmers. This is an introductory course. What you learn here will, however…give you sufficient knowledge to appreciate the value of both the JavaScript language and programming to your career,firmly position you to continue either JavaScript or programming studies if you have either the need or the interest.
- #17: So that’s it for the Five Critical Questions. Go ahead and read these JavaScript in the Future quotes and then head over to the Syllabus section of Week One’s activities