Course Syllabus

CS220 - Computer Organization

Ed Harcourt

edharcourt@stlawu.edu

Office: Bewkes 105-1 

Student Hours: Mon - Thu  1PM - 2PM

Calendly:  https://calendly.com/edharcourt

Kevin Angstadt

kangstadt@stlawu.edu

Office: Bewkes 104

Student Hours: MW 1PM - 2PM, TTh 3PM - 4PM (PQRC Lounge)

Calendly: https://calendly.com/kevinaangstadt/meeting 

  

Textbook

 

Dive Into Systems A Gentle Introduction to Computer Systems by Suzanne J. Matthews, Tia Newhall, and Kevin C. Webb
Dive_Into_Systems_front_cover.png

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Grading

We use a point-based system where you earn a number of points on homework and exams.  To compute your class average just add up all of the points you have earned and divide by the total number of points. The Canvas Grades tool will always have your most up-to-date-average. An average translates to a GPA grade using the scale below. Note that we do not guarantee and particular rounding policy.

Grades are heavily tilted towards the three exams. Homework is designed to prepare you for the exams. 

Grade

Minimum %
4.0

96
3.75

93
3.5

90
3.25

87
3.0

83
2.75

80
2.5

76
2.25

73
2.0

70
1.75

67
1.5

64
1.25

62
1.0

60
0

< 60

Exams

There will be two mid-term exams and a final exam and an occasional short quiz. Exams are in-person, sit-down, exams during a regularly scheduled class period.  The number of points on an exam may vary but it will usually be between 80-90.  An exam always contains two parts, a written part, and a live coding part.

Exam Dates

  • Exam 1 - Monday, February 10
  • Exam 2 - Wednesday, March 12
  • Final Exam - Thursday May 8  1:30PM - 4:30PM 

Homework Exercises and Programming Assignments

There will be a number of homework exercises and programming assignments this semester, each worth 1-10 points. Exercises are typically small tasks to help you practice with core course concepts while assignments will be slightly longer programs. These assignments are designed to help you prepare for exams. 

Unless you have received explicit permission from us, you may only use language features that have been covered in class or assigned textbook readings.

Late assignments will receive a point deduction. Assignments will not be accepted more than one week after the due date. It is always better to turn in an assignment late and correct than it is to turn in a broken assignment on time.

Participation

​We expect you to show up for every class, on time.  There will be brief, regular quizzes at the start of class.  

Absences will leave holes in your understanding of course concepts. If you must miss a class, you are expected to make up the material on your own time before the next class. You are welcome to attend student hours if you have specific questions about the material you missed, but you will not receive any help if you ask, "what did I miss?" during student hours.

If you are sick please do not attend class and please let us know in advance that you will not be able to attend.  We record each class, so if you miss a class because you are ill you should be able to reconstruct most of what happened by watching the video and referring to notes from one of your peers. Watching the video is not a substitute for attending class.   Sometimes it is helpful to rewatch portions of the video to review something we covered in class. 

Electronics Policy

Students will need a laptop computer with an internet connection to participate in this course. If you do not have access to a reliable computer, please contact us as soon as possible. There may be resources available to help.

Students are expected to remain on task during synchronous activities (no excessive web browsing, social media usage, etc.), as per the professionalism policy.  If you have any concerns about this request, please contact us outside of class, and we will work together to find an appropriate solution.

Generally speaking, we encourage taking notes by hand. At least one study found that students who took notes longhand remembered more and had a deeper understanding of the material.  Rather than using slides, we typically take notes on the board, which will help you keep up if you are taking notes by hand.

Academic Integrity and Professionalism

All work that you turn in should be your own work unless permission is specifically granted by the instructor. 

Students are also expected to act in a professional manner for the duration of the course. This includes (but is not limited to): staying on task during labs, being respectful of others, and promptness for homework and deadlines. Unprofessional behavior will result in a reduction of the student's final grade.

Integrity policy

Assignments are designed to help you learn and to reinforce material covered in class and in the reading. Learning doesn’t always come easily and struggling with writing code is normal and expected. If you aren’t struggling, you probably aren’t learning. That is one important reason to complete your assignments independently. Another reason is that academic integrity requires you to submit your own work. This rule applies to code just as it does to any other form of writing.

Signs of code plagiarism include ...

  • Code that uses syntax that was not introduced in course materials.
  • Code that is very similar to that of classmates or previous students.
  • Code that you cannot explain or reproduce.
  • Code that was obviously taken from the internet or generated by AI

Examples of code plagiarism include ...

  • Copying existing code (from a classmate, a previous student, the web, etc.)
  • Having someone (human or AI) write the code for you (or feed it to you bit by bit).
  • Working so closely with a classmate that you end up with essentially the same code.
  • Providing your code to a classmate, who then copies it (making you both culpable).

Students and faculty all have responsibilities to uphold academic integrity at St. Lawrence. If we see signs of plagiarism in your code, we will ask you to meet with us to discuss it. Any plagiarized assignment will receive a penalty commensurate with the infraction and a letter to the Academic Dean.

Please review the relevant portion of the student handbook on Academic Integrity.  

It is okay to talk (not text, not email, note write on paper, ... talk) over an assignment with another student, but under no circumstance should you be showing them your code or asking them to look at your code.

Start assignments early so you can leave time to come to student hours for help. 

Best Practices

When it comes to academic integrity and professionalism, it’s best to ask questions if you are unsure.  It has been our experience that most violations are acts of desperation or misunderstanding rather than ill will.  We would rather you ask for help or clarification than commit an act of academic dishonesty.

As a general rule of thumb, when you are talking to someone (other than the instructor) about work in this class, close all code that you are working on.  If you cannot look at your code (or others’ code!) while you are discussing content, it becomes significantly more difficult to violate these policies.

If you are tempted to copy code from online, a classmate, or a peer, STOP and email us.  You will find that our late assignment penalty is significantly less harsh than an academic dishonesty penalty.

 

On Using AI

When is AI OK to use

  • On homework, when we explicitly say it is OK or when we instruct you to directly engage with AI
  • Studying 
    • Ask AI to explain code we wrote
    • Ask about  something about language syntax. 
      prompt: give me an example of how to insert an integer into the front of an array list in java
  • Large Language models like ChatGPT or Copilot are sometimes confidently wrong, especially on class examples. You really need to understand the output to vet it.
  • You will not do well on the exams if you don’t do the problems yourself.

When is it not OK to use

  • One of the goals of intermediate computer science courses is to develop problem solving skills. AI should not be used as a substitute for developing coding skills.
  • To learn you really need to struggle with the exercises
  • Email communication with me should not be AI generated.
  • Refer back to the academic integrity policy about all class work should be your own.

How To Succeed in Class

 

  1. Develop your abilities to focus, pay attention, and listen. Start by putting away your phone at the start of class, and try to not get distracted. 
  2. Start homework early, not the day before it is due. Humans are notoriously bad at estimating time; it’s better to have too much time rather than too little.
  3. Struggle through the frustration and resist giving in to temptation to take shortcuts or use disallowed resources.
    1. This is part of the learning process (and why you should start early)
    2. Take a break. Sometimes stepping away from a problem can give you new insights
    3. If you have made several serious attempts trying to solve a problem and it is still not making sense, then it may be a good time to ask for help
  4. Challenge yourself to ask questions and offer answers in class
    1. Nothing bad happens if you make a mistake
    2. If you have a question, you can be sure that at least two other people in class have the same question—ask it and help all three of you
  5. Set aside time outside of class and keep a regular schedule of when you are going to study for this class
    1. Do not use this time for other work or commitments unless you have already finished everything (including studying) for this class
    2. As a rule of thumb, set aside two (2) hours of time for every one (1) hour of class
    3. If you have academic accommodations, adjust the time you set aside to match
    4. Find a place you can concentrate.  There may be too many distractions in your room, so consider the library, PQRC, classroom, or majors’ room
  6. After each class, review the code and notes you took
    1. Fix any typos or mistakes that you find
    2. Add additional comments to your code to explain ideas
    3. Make extra notes to clarify what you wrote down and complete any examples that were left for you to do
    4. Create a list of questions you have about the material
    5. You may need to rewatch the class video or portions of it. 
  7. Do the assigned reading
  8. Show up for student hours
    1. This is a great time to ask your questions!
    2. You don’t need questions to attend, however. You might use this time for some of your set-aside review
  9. Come to class; watching the recordings is not a substitute for attending
  10. Make sure that your development environment is in “a good state”
    1. No errors in your IDE
    2. Code from previous classes works without crashing
    3. You GitHub repository is up-to-date and synchronized with the IDE.

Course Topics

The main course topics are below. The reading is from the textbook Dive into Systems.

  1. Introduction to C (Chapters 1 - 3)
  2. Number Systems (Chapter 4)
  3. Digital Logic and Computer Architecture (Chapter 5)
  4. ARM 64 - Bit Assembly Language Programming (Chapters 6,9,10 skip 7 and 8)
  5. The Memory Hierarchy (Chapter 11)
  6. Other miscellaneous topics if time allows. 

Student Accessibility Services

The following statement is provided by the office of Student Accessibility Services

Your experience in this class is important to me.  It is the policy and practice of St. Lawrence University to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.  If you have already established accommodations with the Student Accessibility Services Office, please meet with them to activate your accommodations so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.

If you have not yet established services through the Student Accessibility Services Office but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), please contact the Student Accessibility Services Office directly to set up a meeting to discuss establishing with their office.  The Student Accessibility Services Office will work with you on the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations.

Color Vision Deficiency:

If you are color vision deficient, the Student Accessibility Services office has on loan glasses for students who are color vision deficient.  Please contact the office to make an appointment.

For more specific information about setting up an appointment with Student Accessibility Services please see the options listed below:

Telephone: 315.229.5537

Email: studentaccessibility@stlawu.edu 

For further information about Student Accessibility Services, you can check the website at  https://www.stlawu.edu/offices/student-accessibility-services

Mental Health and Wellbeing

St. Lawrence University is committed to advancing the mental health and wellbeing of its students.  If you or someone you know is feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and/or in need of support, services are available.

For help, contact the Diana B. Torrey '82 Health and Counseling Center at (315) 229-5392 Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM–4:30 PM.  After hours, call Campus Safety at (315) 229-5555 to speak with the after-hours crisis counselor.  The nation-wide 24/7 crisis counselor service can be reached by calling (315) 229-1914.

For more details, visit  https://www.stlawu.edu/health-and-counseling-services. 

Diversity and Equity Statement

As indicated by the University’s Statement on Diversity and the student handbook, we are committed to treating students fairly and with dignity regardless of age, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin or ancestry, race, religion, sex (including gender identity and gender expression), sexual orientation, and/or veteran status. 

It is our intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, that students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit.  Should you have any concerns, problems, or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We strive to make our classrooms safe spaces for learning.

Please also feel free to talk to us about events that happen outside the classroom.  If you do not feel comfortable talking to us, there are many other resources available to you on campus, including those on this list of on-campus resources:

https://www.stlawu.edu/diversity-and-inclusion/campus-resources. 

You can report a bias incident here: https://www.stlawu.edu/diversity-and-inclusion/bias-reporting. 

Title IX

MEMBERS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE COMMUNITY—students, employees, and guests— should expect to be free from retaliation, discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct, behavior that is inherently abusive of the humanity that each of us brings to the campus community. St. Lawrence University and its faculty are committed to supporting our students and seeking an environment that is free of discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct.  St. Lawrence strongly encourages students to report retaliation, discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault to St. Lawrence University’s Title IX office. Discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of assigned sex at birth, sex characteristics, pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity. 

If you speak with a faculty member about an incident that involves a Title IX matter or matter of other discrimination or harassment, that faculty member must notify SLU’s Title IX Coordinator that you shared that experience. This is true even if you ask the faculty member not to disclose the incident. Moreover, if you disclose an incident of retaliation, discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct in an academic assignment, the faculty member must also report that experience to the Title IX Coordinator.

Once a report is made, the reporting individual can expect to receive email outreach from the Title IX Coordinator, who will provide resources and possible resolution options. If the impacted person is not a threat to themselves or others, the impacted person will be free not to respond to the offer to meet. You can find more information for resources and reporting options at: https://www.stlawu.edu/offices/title-ix/reporting-options-confidential-and-nonconfidential-resources.

Title IX also protects students who are pregnant or need assistance for pregnancy related conditions. If you are pregnant, the Title IX Coordinator can assist you in understanding your rights and options as well as provide supportive measures. 

Lindsey Tropper (Cohen) is the Title IX Coordinator at St. Lawrence University (Student Center Room 302; lcohen@stlawu.edu; 315-229-5334).

PQRC

​The Peterson Quantitative Resource Center (PQRC) offers free, no appointment necessary peer tutoring across a range of courses with quantitative content.  The PQRC mentors are trained to assist students to develop and improve their quantitative skills and understanding.  More information about the PQRC’s current hours and modes of operation can be found at the PQRC webpage: www.stlawu.edu/pqrc. 

Research

​Your class work might be used for research purposes. For example, we may use anonymized student assignments to design algorithms or build tools to help programmers or teachers. Any student who wishes to opt out can contact an instructor to do so up to seven days after final grades have been issued. This has no impact on your grade in any manner.

Right to Revise

This is a "living syllabus". Therefore, its contents may be changed throughout the course of the semester to address changing needs. We will notify students of changes; however, it is up to the student to monitor this page for any changes. Final authority on any decision in this course rests with the instructors, not with this document.