Course syllabus

This page gives a basic overview of COMPSCI 130 for Semester 1 2021. All course material is in Modules.

Course Overview	Digital Course Outline	Teaching Staff
Class Representatives	Lecture Times	Course Resources
Assessments	Course Expectations	Getting Started

 

Course Overview

This is the entry course to Computer Science for students with prior programming knowledge. It focuses on the quality of processes used when developing software, and the quality of the software product produced using those processes.  The course provides an introduction to fundamental software development techniques and processes, such as reading, writing, and documenting programming code; decomposing problems; testing; debugging; using recursion; handling unexpected errors.  It also addresses efficient ways to organize and manipulate data, including sorting and searching algorithms, and writing software that uses and implements common abstract data types such as lists, stacks, queues, dictionaries and trees.  The course will be taught using the Python programming language.

Note

The course assumes basic familiarity with programming languages, optimally Python.  If a student lacks these basic programming skills (and has not already taken CompSci101), then CompSci101 would be a better option.

Digital Course Outline

A full overview of the course is provided in the Digital Course Outline

Teaching Staff

Course Coordinator / Lab Supervisor

Ann Cameron

• Email: ann@cs.auckland.ac.nz
• Room: 303.413
• Office hours: open door policy - visit any time or email for an appointment

Lecturers

Angela Chang

• Email: angela@cs.auckland.ac.nz
• Room: 303.414
• Office hours: open door policy - visit any time or email for an appointment

Burkhard Wuensche

• Email: burkhard@cs.auckland.ac.nz
• Room: 303.529
• Office hours: open door policy - visit any time or email for appointment

Tutors

• Ann Cameron, email: a.cameron@auckland.ac.nz
• James Finnie-Ansley, email: jfin305@aucklanduni.ac.nz
• Andrey Borro, email: abor198@aucklanduni.ac.nz
• Maddison Lewis, email: mlew835@aucklanduni.ac.nz

Class Representative

Class reps can act as an intermediary between students in the class and the lecturers and tutors. You can share with them any suggestions/complaints/remarks about the course. 

• Zac Wesley-Brown, email: zwes238@aucklanduni.ac.nz.

Lecture times

• Monday 3pm in PLT1 (Room 303-G20 on ground floor of Maths & Physics Building)

Check SSO to confirm room and time.

Course Resources and Getting Help

Piazza is the main forum we will be using for asking and answering questions. In a large class like this it works well so you are encouraged to participate by asking and answering questions there.

The teaching staff (Ann, Angela and Burkhard) are always happy to help you with any queries you may have.  However, please consider that your question may be relevant to others as well, so you should consider posting your question to Piazza first.

The online CompSci130 coursebook is available here: https://onlinetextbook.auckland.ac.nz/

Assessments and Pass Requirements

Pass Requirements

To pass the course, as well as obtaining at least 50% for your overall mark, you are also required to pass the combined test/exam component of the course.  The test/exam component of the course  is worth 70% of the overall mark and consists of the the test which is worth 25% and the exam which is worth 45%. To pass this component of the course you need to get at least 35 out of 70.

Test (worth 25% of final mark)

• This is a computer-based test which will be held on campus.  
• Date:  Friday 30^th April at 6pm (NZ Time).  The test will be 2.5 hours in duration. 
• All questions will be answered and validated using CodeRunner.
• Location: Will be emailed to you closer to the date.
• Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the start time.

Final Exam (worth 45% of your final mark)

• Date and Time: 5:30pm (NZ Time) Saturday 26th June.
• Please check your exam timetable for a confirmation of the date and time.
• The exam is not on Inspera.  It is on CodeRunner.
• Material covered: All lectures and labs.
• It is a 3 hour assessment with 30 additional minutes. 

Labs

• There are 20 assessed laboratory sessions.
• Labs are a compulsory part of the course.
• They are worth 20% of your final mark (16% CodeRunner, 4% Group Activities).
• Every laboratory session contributes 0.8% towards your final grade.
• Every lab group activity contributes 0.2% towards your final grade.
• Each week you will have TWO laboratory sessions (Tuesday and Friday).
• You are expected to prepare for each lab by completing any reading and practice exercises before you attend the lab.  The laboratory sessions will include group activities where you will be expected to participate in discussions and collaborative problem solving, as well as individual programming tasks that are submitted online via CodeRunner.
• All labs are held in Room 303S-191 on Level 1 of the Computer Science Building
• Your first lab is on Tuesday 2^nd March. Please locate the computer lab room before your first lab and check that your login and password work on our computers.

Group Activities / Attendance

For most labs there will be an activity that students will do collaboratively with two or three other students.  They will be worth 4% in total (0.2% for each lab).  You must attend the lab and participate in the group activity to get the mark.

Assignment

There will be one assignment for this course and it is worth 6% of the final grade.

Timed Quizzes

There will be 8 timed CodeRunner quizzes worth 0.5% each (a total of 4%).

Course Expectations

You are expected to attend the lectures each week (or watch the lecture recordings) before attending the lab. 

Learning in the School of Computer Science

Student Learning Expectations Document

Getting Started

The course material is arranged in Modules.