Faculty: Paul Mulvaney

Syllabus

AP Computer Science

Paul Mulvaney pmulvaney@nsd.org (WHS Faculty: 425.408.7400)

Claudia Whitten cwhitte@microsoft.com (Teacher)

Jeff Stride: Jeff.Stride@microsoft.com (Teacher)

Artan Ismaili arismail@microsoft.com (TA)

Yen Chen: yen@chensium.com (TA)

Rich Davies: richdavies1@hotmail.com (TA)

Class Schedule: 1^st Period

Monday 7:20 – 9:10

Wednesday 7:20 – 8:00

Thursday & Friday: 7:20-8:13

Reges, Stuart, and Martin Steep: 2014, Building Java Programs: A Back to Basics Approach (3nd Edition), Addison Wesley, Boston.

We will use Eclipse in class and you should do the same when working outside of the classroom. To install the Eclipse framework, you will need two things: the Java JDK and the Eclipse IDE for Java Developers. Use these links to download and install the requisite software:

Installation is fairly automatic. If you have problems, please contact one of us and we’ll help you get things up and running. Our computers at school will already have Eclipse and Java installed.

This is a very demanding course. Since its objective is to prepare you for the AP Computer Science A examination, it is imperative that you approach the course with diligence and give us (your instructors) your utmost attention during the short time that we have with you.

Consequently, there will be no cell phone or music player use during lecture. Inappropriate use of electronic devices in class can result in confiscation of the device until the end of the school day.

Even though you will be sitting in front of a computer, browsing the web or checking your e-mail is equally frowned upon. Students are expected to follow the guidelines for computer usage as outlined by the student handbook.

You must devote your time to Computer Science while in this classroom; doing homework for other classes is prohibited. You may not sleep or otherwise ignore the proceedings of the class.

Notebooks

You need one. You need to take notes. Your notebook will be periodically checked to ensure that you are indeed taking notes. Your notebook may be leveraged by another student who has missed a class; you may want to leverage another student’s notebook.

The projects may be turned in up to one week late: You will lose 10% per day. Homework is due Friday but may be turned in the following Monday for half credit.

We will adhere to the coding guidelines spelled out in Oracle’s Java Code Conventions (see link below). As a company, we can have discussions regarding some of the conventions and if there seems to be general agreement, we may choose to adopt variations of these conventions. However, the conventions provided by Oracle will always be considered valid so if in doubt use them.

Projects: 40%

Frac Calc: 16%

Text Calc: 16%

Last Project: 8%

Quizzes & Tests: 40%

Quizzes: 8%

Tests: 32%

Homework & Notebook: 20%

Homework: 15%

Notebook: 5%

Grading Scale

The Woodinville High School grading scale is listed below. This course may use an alternate grading scale to reflect the rigor level of an AP class.

A-: 90 - 92%

B+: 87 – 89.9%

B: 83 - 86.9%

B-: 80 – 82.9%

C+: 77 – 79.9%

C: 73 – 76.9%

C-: 70 – 72.9%

D: 60 – 69%

F: 0 – 59%

There will be three projects that will require you to design, implement, and test programs. These are to be completed by you alone. You may obtain help from the instruction staff (in class, via e-mail or by appointment). However, you are expected to do the work by yourself. The first two projects each contribute 40% to the project portion of your grade; the final project contributes 20%.

During the course of each project, there will be several check point reviews to ensure that you are on the right track and are making good progress. On the day of each check point, you must show your work up to that point and demonstrate that you are meeting the check point requirements, so be prepared and keep track of the milestones.

Each project will need to be turned in both electronically and physically (printed out on paper so that the uniqueness of each project can be verified).

There will be multiple examinations (about quarterly or more). The exam dates will be provided at least one week in advance. It may include questions on any of the material presented in class *OR* covered in the book.

There is an AP CS Exam that we strongly encourage you to sign up for. It is completely optional and is intended to give you college credit at some universities. The course material and teaching techniques are geared toward completing this exam with success.

There will be weekly quizzes that are relatively short in length, given on Wednesday, taken from the textbook, and given in-class. These quizzes are there to ensure that you are keeping up with the reading and class material. The quizzes will typically test your general knowledge of the material presented and should be used by you to gauge your progress. Each quiz will be worth 10 points. And the sum total of all the quizzes will be worth 8% of your total grade. (see course grading above for clarification)

There will be weekly homework projects due on Friday that will require you to design, implement, and test programs of varying complexity. These are to be completed by you alone. You may obtain help from me (via e-mail or appointment) or from the lab attendant. However, you are expected to do the work by yourself. Collectively, these make up 15% of your grade.

You will complete a set of assignments found on the website: http://practiceit.cs.washington.edu/practiceit

You will get one point for each Self-Check and Exercise problem. These problems will be verified as completed during class time; they are not turned in.

The Programming projects will have greater point values. These projects will be turned in both electronically and physically (a printout).

Extra Credit

Extra Credit is provided for doing more assignments from the book which are found on Practice-it. You can get 1/3 points for every extra Self-Check and Exercise you complete, up to a total of 3 points per chapter. If you complete every Self-Check and Exercise, you will get a 4^th point of extra credit. These extra credit points can be claimed at any time; there is no deadline or late penalty.

Enter the following URL to get to Oracle’s Java download page:

Choose the “DOWNLOAD” link under JDK to get the right package to install.

Enter the following URL to get to the Eclipse download page:

Choose the download link for “Eclipse IDE for Java Developers” to get the right package to install.