3 semester hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. in Online
Instructor: Ray Toal, Doolan 110, rtoal@lmu.edu, +1 310.338.2773

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• explain what the field of computing is, and why it is important;
• craft well-structured, working programs in modern JavaScript;
• correctly use variables, conditionals, loops, arrays, objects, functions, and events;
• recognize and avoid common programming mistakes;
• apply best practices such as thoughtful naming, DRYness, and separation of concerns; and
• appreciate of the value of modeling, design, and testing in programming.

The course is intended for people that may wish to some day pursue a career in software development; however, in no way should this emphasis detract students who simply have a passing interest or curiosity about programming. If you are going to learn something, you should learn it as if you were aiming for mastery.

The learning objectives are achieved through a mix of lectures, code-alongs, and in-class exercises.

Students will be expected to learn as part of a community of fellow students, teaching assistants, the course instructor, and other students and faculty members. Please make use of support services outside of class meetings, including our virtual laboratories; the LMU computer science teaching and laboratory assistants are known for being friendly, welcoming an eager to help you in your development of programming skills.

Prerequisites

The only prerequisite is a growth mindset and promises to never give up, work hard, apply the feedback given to you, and have fun. Previous programming experience is not required, and in fact may even be harmful, unless accompanied by a willingness to break bad habits and start fresh if necessary. Programming, like any skill (think music, athletics, martial arts, or the trades), is best learned by making mistakes, correcting mistakes, and learning from mistakes.

Readings

Various papers and readings will be assigned throughout the course (including my own course notes, practice problems, and sample code). These readings will be posted on individual assignment pages. If you have projects or papers to work on, you’ll have to find some additional readings on your own. Make sure you take the time for effective self-study. Take advantage of classmates and friends; the computing industry is one of the most collaborative fields in which to work, and your course experience should reflect this.

Workload

In accordance with the LMU Credit Hour Policy, this 3-unit course will require 9 hours of work per week (including the time spent in lecture and lab).

Assignments and Grading

You’ll have several homework sets containing in-depth theoretical questions and non-trivial programming problems, and quizzes and a final exam with less difficult material. To help prepare you to meet industry expectations for college graduates, programming assignments will sometimes be required to be placed in version-controlled public repositories (most students tend to prefer GitHub). Exams may cover material from lectures not previously assigned for homework, so take care to learn concepts and not just memorize technical steps and recipes to answer questions.

Occasionally, you may be permitted to work in groups of students; however, while only one solution set is turned in per group, both students are responsible for understanding all of its content and may be asked at any time for an oral explanation of any solution. Collaboration with other groups is fine but must be limited: you may share ideas and approaches but not solutions. You must acknowledge any help received. Academic dishonesty may result in expulsion; be certain your work meets the standards set forth in the LMU Honor Code.

Your final grade will be weighted as follows:

Letter grades are figured according to the usual scale: 90% or more of the total points guarantees you an A, 80% a B, 70% a C, and so on. Note the word guarantee: 82 points will earn you at least a B-; you might still get an A if 82 is or is near the top score. The lower bounds ensure grades measure your achievement of the learning outcomes, and can never punish you because you did very well but on the low end of a class full of high-achievers.

To ensure a degree of fairness for those who consistently perform timely course work, and to encourage everyone to pace themselves properly in completing assignments, late work is normally penalized 15% per 24-hour period. If there is an issue that prevents you from submitting an assignment on time (e.g., excellent surf conditions, personal or family issues, sickness, conference attendance, job interviews, a family ski trip, or personal emergencies), let the instructor know ahead of time.

Where assignments involve programming, the quality of your code, not just its correctness, will play a large part in determining your grade. Please refer to these resources and notes on clean code for information on expectations of code quality. Appearance of the grading policy in this syllabus constitutes fair warning of the consequences of poorly written code.

If the course has a contribution score, it will be computed by awarding you 1 point every time you: (1) correct me during class, (2) ask a profound question during class (where profound elevates the discussion in some sense), (3) answer a question during class as the first response, (4) post a good question on the class Slack channel, (5) post a detailed answer to another student’s question on the Slack channel, (6) recommend an article or video or tutorial (on the Slack channel) directly related to the course material. There is an expectation of 10 points throughout the semester, well-spaced. (Please do not dump 10 video recommendations on Slack during the first week of class and then shut down.)

Important Dates

When	What
2020-09-15 (Tuesday)	Homework 1 Due
2020-09-29 (Tuesday)	Homework 2 Due
2020-10-10 (Saturday)	Midterm deficiency grades due
2020-10-20 (Tuesday)	Exam 1
2020-10-25 (Sunday)	Homework 3 Due
2020-11-01 (Sunday)	Last day to drop
2020-11-17 (Tuesday)	Exam 2
2020-11-21 (Saturday)	Homework 4 Due
2020-11-28 (Saturday)	Thanksgiving (no class)
2020-12-01 (Tuesday)	Homework 5 Due
2020-12-10 (Thursday)	Homework 6 Due
2020-12-15 (Tuesday)	Final Exam

Student Rights and Responsibilities

You have the right to:

• A syllabus with stated learning outcomes
• Have those learning outcomes addressed
• Chats with the instructor during office hours
• Have questions answered via email (one-day turnaround max)
• Video and text chats with the instructor
• Feedback on your work
• A challenging experience (you should be working a little outside your comfort zone)
• All lecture sessions recorded and stored online for you to access
• An experience beyond what you would get from books, websites, online tutorials, and discussion forums
• Feel like you belong (if you are experiencing impostor syndrome or stereotype threat, please see the instructor)
• Leave the course better skilled than when you came in

In return, you are expected to:

• Use the lab resources, TA time, and instructor time when you need them
• Stay on top of all course announcements, both on BrightSpace and Slack
• Watch the course recording if you miss class
• Perform work conscientiously, neatly, and in a timely manner
• Be considerate and respectful to your fellow students
• Be honest with yourself and others
• Finish the course or withdraw by the withdrawal deadline

For online courses, I recommend your camera be turned on unless you have bandwidth problems or need to step away.

Two Tips for Success

You've probably seen hundreds of these, but there are two that stand out.

First, be aware of how many students trick themselves in to thinking they’re learning. Cramming and rereading do not move information from your working memory into long-term memory. Short-term working memory is not “learned.” Recall is the most effective. Please work through Nicky Case’s interactive essay How to remember everything forever-ish. (Also, this article backs up the importance of recall.)

Second, use checklists, as these are incredibly effective. Read Atul Gawande’s The Checklist and think about how you apply these to your studies.

Topics

We’ll cover the following topics. The final two topics are not planned as part of the course, but will be covered if time allows.

• INTRODUCTION: How to write basic JavaScript programs; The relationship between HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; Graphics (coordinates, colors, shapes), interaction, and animation in p5.js.
• COMPUTATION AND COMPUTER SCIENCE: Computation defined; Computer Science defined; Why and how to learn programming; Myths about Computation and Computer Science; Careers in computing.
• JAVASCRIPT PROGRAMMING: Ways to run JavaScript programs: shells, runners, files; Configuring a text editor for programming productivity: linters, in-editor execution; Elements of programs: expressions, variables, and statements; Comments; Coding conventions; History of and facts about JavaScript.
• DATA TYPES AND EXPRESSIONS: The primitive types: undefined, null, boolean, number, string, and symbol; Objects: references, garbage, prototypes, and self-reference; Arrays; Type conversion.
• STATEMENTS: Developing algorithms; Conditional statements (if, switch); Loops (while, for, do); Disruption (break, continue, throw); Expression-based alternatives to statements.
• FUNCTIONS: Procedural abstraction; Arguments and parameters; Return values; Documenting and designing functions; Scope; Higher-order functions; Closures.
• EVENTS AND ASYNCHRONOUS PROGRAMMING: A deeper look at HTML and CSS; The DOM; Events, event handling, and event implementation; The React web framework (very brief introduction); Using external APIs; Socket.io for peer-to-peer communication; Security.
• SOFTWARE CONSTRUCTION: Object structure and behavior; JavaScript standard objects; Modules; Performance; Unit testing; Web applications with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; External libraries.
• A LOOK AT OTHER PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES: A look at some of the programs covered during the course as implemented in Python, Ruby, C++, Java, Kotlin, Swift, Go, and perhaps Clojure.

Additional Information

Tentative Nature of the Syllabus. If necessary, this syllabus and its contents are subject to revision; students are responsible for any changes or modifications announced or distributed in class or posted online.

Course Evaluation. Student feedback on this course provides valuable information for continued improvement. All students are expected to fairly and thoughtfully complete a course evaluation for this course. Course evaluations for the Seaver College of Science and Engineering are administered online through the Blue™ evaluation system. You will receive an e-mail notification at your Lion e-mail address when the evaluation form is available. You may also access the evaluation form on Brightspace during the evaluation period. A few minutes of class time will be reserved for you to complete a course evaluation near the end of the semester. Please bring a laptop, smart phone, tablet or other mobile device to class on this date so that you can access the online evaluation platform.

Academic Honesty. Loyola Marymount University is a community dedicated to academic excellence, student- centered education and the Jesuit and Marymount traditions. As such, the University expects all members of its community to act with honesty and integrity at all times, especially in their academic work. Academic honesty respects the intellectual and creative work of others, flows from dedication and pride in performing one’s own best work, and is essential if true learning is to take place. As an LMU Lion, you are pledged to join the discourse of the academy with honesty of voice and integrity of scholarship.

Academic dishonesty will be treated as an extremely serious matter with severe consequences that can range from receiving no credit for an assignment or test to failing the class, to expulsion. It is never permissible to turn in any work not been authored by you without properly acknowledging the source. It is your responsibility to make sure that your work meets the standard of academic honesty set forth in the “LMU Honor Code and Process” which appears in the LMU Bulletin.

Special Accommodations. Students with special needs who require reasonable modifications, special assistance, or accommodations in this course should promptly direct their request to the Disability Support Services (DSS) Office. Any student who currently has a documented disability (ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Learning, Physical, or Psychiatric) needing academic accommodations should contact the DSS Office in Daum Hall, as early in the semester as possible. All discussions will remain confidential. Please visit LMU DSS for additional information. Please request any needed assistance as early in the semester as possible.

Wellness. Please familiarize yourself with, and make use, of the resources at Lion Wellness as needed.

Reporting Requirements of Sexual or Interpersonal Misconduct. As responsible employees, faculty are required to report any case of suspected sexual or interpersonal misconduct and cannot protect student confidentiality. For information about confidential counseling on campus and for general information about consensual relationships, sexual harassment, and sexual assault, please visit LMU Cares.

Emergency Preparedness. To report an emergency or suspicious activity, phone the LMU Department of Public Safety (x222 or 310-338-2893) or at the nearest emergency call box. In the event of an evacuation, follow the evacuation signage throughout the building to the designated safe refuge area where you will receive further instruction from Public Safety or a Building Captain. For more safety information and preparedness tips, visit LMU DPS.