Introduction to Digital Arts & Sciences
Fall, 2012

CAP 3027
Syllabus

 

Catalog Description

Synergy between fine art and computing through a programming-oriented exploration of fundamental concepts in multimedia. Credits: 3.

Course Overview

This course focuses on the intersection of the Arts and Sciences. Programming is the cornerstone of this course. Students will gain the confidence and skills necessary to exploit the creative control that programming provides to ensure they are prepared to collaborate on truly synergistic projects in later courses. Programming topics we shall explore are:

Students will have ample opportunity to practice and improve their programming skills. Specific, task-oriented techniques will be covered — but students are expected to have previously acquired basic programming skills—this class is not meant to teach programming! We shall use Java as one of our languages of discourse, though the principles covered shall transcend any particular programming language.

Presentations shall be made by small groups on student selected, instructor approved topics. Each group will be responsible for throughly researching their topic, compiling a reading list, preparing a short presentation, and generating a set of questions meant to facilitate discussion. One week before their presentation, the reading list shall be announced and the other students are expected read it in preparation for the discussion.

Objectives

By the end of the term, the successful student will be able to:

Instructional staff

Name E-mail Office Office Hours
Dave Small dts@cise.ufl.edu CSE E422 TR 8th period (3:00-3:50pm)

Homepage

See the tab for this course on UF's e-learning site

Prerequisites

Either CIS 3020 or CIS 3023.

Computer requirement

Access to and on-going use of a computer on which you can install software. A laptop is strongly recommended (so you can bring it to class and office hours). Mac, Linux, PC... it's all good.

Meeting times and places

See here

Required textbooks

Recommended books

Note: now that a book like Filthy Rich Clients exists, the need to recommend these books for this class is significantly diminished; between them they do a great job covering most of the Java APIs and are certainly worth owning and you may find the information they contain useful in other courses.

Term project

Last day of class

Wednesday, 12/5

Philosophy and policy

Read the Course Policies page!

Final grades

I do not give grades: students earn their grades. Your final grade will be based on the number of grade points you have accumulated at the end of the semester. The grading scale will be no harsher than 100-92 = A, 91-89 = A-, 88-86 = B+, 85-82 = B, 81-79 = B-, 78-76 = C+, 76-72 = C, 71-69 = C-, 68-66 = D+, 65-62 = D, 61-59 = D-, 58-0 = E. During the semester you will accumulate points in categories weighted as follows:

5% participation/preparedness
20% presentation
20% quizzes
25% term project
30% exercises

It is your responsibility to earn the grade you desire.

Self & peer assessment required

The presentation is a major component of this course. You will be required to objectively evaluate the performance of all team members, including yourself. Peer evaluations will be factored into the grading.

Mandatory assignments

Completion of the ungraded biosketch and postmortem assignments is required to pass the course. Be sure to save all the work you do through out the semester as you'll need it for one of the postmortem deliverables.

Academic dishonesty

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, assignments are individual projects. You are expected to do your own work; individuals who misrepresent work as being their own, submit fabricated data, or otherwise engage in anti-intellectual behavior will be dealt with severely and reported to the Office for Student Judicial Affairs. You may freely use any code presented in the textbook, provided by your instructor, or authored by yourself. You are prohibited from using code from any other source without written permission from the instructor. Remember, sharing your work with another student is a violation of the honor code. For more information, consult the Dean of Students Academic Honesty - Student Guide.

Comments

My goal is simple: to help you learn — both inside and outside the classroom. If you have questions, there is no excuse for not getting help. The TAs, consultants, and I all hold office hours just for the purpose of helping you, either one-on-one or in small groups. No matter how busy we may look, during office hours, you have priority over everything else. If you have a problem or question, come by and we'll talk about it — don't put it off.

Modifications

This document is subject to revision as needed. All modifications will be noted in this section.

Things the college/university wants stated verbatim


19. This statement must be included in every grade scale on syllabi:

“A C- will not be a qualifying grade for critical tracking courses. In
order to graduate, students must have an overall GPA and an
upper-division GPA of 2.0 or better (C or better). Note: a C- average
is equivalent to a GPA of 1.67, and therefore, it does not satisfy
this graduation requirement. For more information on grades and
grading policies, please visit:
http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/regulationgrades.html”

20. Honesty Policy – All students admitted to the University of
Florida have signed a statement of academic honesty committing
themselves to be honest in all academic work and understanding that
failure to comply with this commitment will result in disciplinary
action. This statement is a reminder to uphold your obligation as a UF
student and to be honest in all work submitted and exams taken in this
course and all others.

21. Accommodation for Students with Disabilities – Students Requesting
classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students
Office. That office will provide the student with documentation that
he/she must provide to the course instructor when requesting
accommodation.

22. UF Counseling Services – Resources are available on-campus for
students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic
goals. The resources include:
- University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575, Personal
  and Career Counseling.
- SHCC mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, Personal
  and Counseling.
- Center for Sexual Assault/Abuse Recovery and Education (CARE),
  Student Health Care Center, 392-1161, sexual assault counseling.
- Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career development
  assistance and counseling.

23. Software Use – All faculty, staff and student of the University
are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements
governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages
and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such
violations are also against University policies and rules,
disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate. We, the members of
the University of Florida community, pledge to uphold ourselves and
our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.

Note:  Statements in items 19-23, should be included as is.
This website is an original work, Copyright © 2012 by Dave Small. All rights reserved.