Introduction to INST326

Object-Oriented Programming for Information Science

How do we become better [Python] programmers?

By learning and applying new skills
By improving our understanding of how Python works
By collaborating and discussing programming together
By conscientiously applying best practices
By making mistakes and learning from them
By considering the social context of programming

Learning and applying new skills: OOP; a lot of programming techniques

How the language works: it’s important to understand why we do what we do; we’re going to talk about the fundamental elements of Python, such as statements, expressions, variables, functions, and classes, and how these elements work. If you have questions about how or why a particular snippet of code works, please ask them, because deepening our understanding makes us better programmers.

Collaborating: we’re going to do a lot of pair programming. Research has shown that pair programming improves learning and results in better code. We’re also going to talk together about solutions to programming problems. Examining problems from multiple perspectives helps us recognize optimal solutions and discover and fill gaps in our knowledge.

Best practices: In the book Refactoring, Martin Fowler wrote, "Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand." Readable code is easier to debug, modify, and reuse. It doesn’t happen by accident. We’ll talk about practices that will make our code more readable, and while following them is not anyone’s favorite part of programming, becoming a disciplined programmer will increase the value of your code and therefore your value to future employers.

Making mistakes: nothing worthwhile was ever achieved without numerous failed attempts along the way. Some failures highlight holes in our understanding. Others sometimes happen because we got careless or forgot something. Errors are important learning opportunities, and how we go about dealing with them has a big impact on what we learn from them. In this class you will have access to a whole team of people you can turn to when you run into issues, but in many cases, rather than telling you how to fix a bug, they will work with you to help you find the source of the bug and fix it yourself.

Societal context: programming doesn’t occur in a vacuum; it influences and is influenced by society. In this class we’ll explore some of the social issues that intersect with programming and ways that society (and we as members of society) can promote increased justice and equity.

Course structure

Monday
- no live session; watch lectures; practice
Wednesday
- live exercise session
Friday
- live class session

Grading

Homework
- 25%; 6 assignments
Quizzes
- 15%; 4 quizzes, 1 dropped

In-class exercises
- 15%; 12 exercises, 2 dropped
Practice
- 15%; 14 practices

Final project
- 15%
Participation
- 10%; Wednesdays, some Fridays; four dropped
Critical reflection
- 5%; 3 assignments

Late work

If you need extra time on homework, please let me know before the deadline
Please read the full policy on late work in the syllabus

Academic integrity

You have an obligation to produce your own original work to satisfy the learning objectives of each assignment
- Other people’s work should complement, not replace, your own work
You should always give credit to individuals whose work you use
Learning requires effort; there are no workarounds

Technology we’re going to use

Python 3.9
- New to Python? see resources under "Prerequisite knowledge" in syllabus
Visual Studio Code
JupyterLab
Git

ELMS

Course content is structured in terms of modules
- Includes lecture videos, assignments, quizzes, additional resources
Links to Discord, Zoom (for Friday meeting) are available in the first module
Please look at the modules in ELMS, not just the due dates!

First week of class

Watch intro videos and set up software
- I’ll will be available on Discord #help channel Monday and Wednesday during regular class time
Look over syllabus; send any questions to me
No exercise session Wednesday; please watch lecture videos and complete practice
Attend live session Friday
Complete survey

I look forward to having you in class!