Course syllabus

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This page gives a basic overview of CS101 for Semester 1 2021. All course material is in Modules.

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

 

Course Overview

This course is an introduction to programming computers. It is the main introductory course in the Computer Science department and is taken by students from a variety of disciplines wishing to have an understanding of computer programming as well as students wanting to continue on to further studies in Computer Science.

We teach programming using the cross-platform language Python. The main focus is on learning to understand the detailed requirements of a programming task, and writing programs that are well structured, correct, easy to read, and to maintain. In order to do this students need to develop an understanding of how to represent information both as data and algorithms. Students also need to develop the skills of incrementally developing and testing programs.

The course covers simple variables, expressions, input and output, control structures, functions, using standard data structures such as lists and dictionaries, and using standard Python modules.

By the end of the course students who succeed should be able to design and implement a medium-size computer program as well as have some idea of the process of program execution.

Digital Course Outline

A full overview of the course is provided in the Digital Course Outline  (out of date - Canvas version is definitive)

Staff

Damir Azhar (Course Coordinator )

  • Email: damir.azhar@auckland.ac.nz
  • Phone: (09) 923-2391
  • Room: 303-411 (Level 4 of Maths & Physics Building)
  • Office hours: open door policy - visit any time

Ann Cameron (Lab Supervisor)

  • Email: ann@cs.auckland.ac.nz
  • Phone: (09) 923-4947
  • Room 303-413 (Level 4 of Maths & Physics Building)
  • Office hours: open door policy - visit any time

Angela Chang

  • Email: a.chang@auckland.ac.nz
  • Phone: (09)923-6620
  • Room: 303.414 (Level 4 Maths and Physics Building)
  • Office hours: Open door policy - visit any time or email for appointment 

Thomas Lacombe

  • Email: thomas.lacombe@auckland.ac.nz
  • Room: 303.419 (Level 4 Maths and Physics Building)
  • Office hours: Open door policy - visit any time or email for appointment 

Tutors

Mihalo Azhar (mazh003@aucklanduni.ac.nz)

Alec Henderson (ahen386@aucklanduni.ac.nz)

Emma Perry (eper472@aucklanduni.ac.nz)

Class Representatives

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 lectures. The class reps are not a part of the teaching team.

Meeting times

We have three lectures per week and one lab per week. We strongly recommend you attend these in person wherever possible.

Stream 1
Day Time Room
Monday 9am - 10am HSB1 (201N-346)
Wednesday 9am - 10am HSB1 (201N-346)
Friday 9am - 10am HSB1 (201N-346)

  

Stream 2
Day Time Room
Monday 5pm - 6pm PLT1 (303-G20)
Wednesday 4pm - 5pm OGGB3 (260-092)
Friday 4pm - 5pm OGGB3 (260-092)

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 asking and answering questions there.

Assessments and Pass Requirements

To pass the course, as well as obtaining at least 50% for your overall mark, you are required to pass the theory component of the course.

  • Invigilated computer-based test component:
    • Worth 25% in total.
    • All questions are answered and validated using CodeRunner.
  • Online final exam component:
    • Worth 40% of your final grade.
    • All questions are answered using CodeRunner.

Notes:

  • To pass the theory component, you need to achieve a pass (i.e. at least 50%) in the combined total of both the test and exam.
  • You also need an overall mark of at least 50% out of the full course total of 100%

Student Learning Expectations

This document explains our philosophy of learning and teaching in the School of Computer Science and outlines our expectations for student engagement.

Getting Started

The course material is arranged in Modules, with the basics in the Getting Started Module.

Course summary:

Date Details Due