At the end of each semester, I ask CS127 students the following questions:
Now that you've completed nearly all of CS127, what would you say to another student who was about to take this course?
What advice would you give them about how to do well and get the most out of it? What was the best part and the worst part?
A collection of responses is included here, each verbatim and unabridged. See what they have to say to better prepare yourself. Know what's coming!
See what students said about: Office Hours, Starting, Early. (Click on each to highlight related terms below.)
Definitely take the time to understand what you're doing rather than just memorizing/copying code and putting it down for homework. It will make the tests and quizzes (which can be a challenge), that much easier. Use office hours as often as you can, even if it's just to check homework- your grade will thank you.
Make sure you understand [what you're] doing. Coding by trial and error works sometimes, but it frustrating and won't get you anywhere. Utilize office hours. The professor and the TA were very helpful when I needed something. Also, start your homework before any office hours sessions offered. If you start it at midnight the night before and get stuck, there really isn't much you can do and that can be frustrating.
Dear student,
You may be a little intimidated by the course when you first begin, but don't be too overwhelmed by this. You will be covering a lot of information about Computer Science in a short amount of time, so this means you must be prepared for class! If you have any free-time throughout the weeks, a good idea would be to practice writing some code for either python or processing so that it stays fresh in your mind. Once you do get to start learning about Processing it starts to get alot more fun because you get to actually see the results of the code you are writing. When considering taking Computer Science, you must think about how much time you have available because you must be able to put as much time into the projects as you can in order to do very well in the course. I hope that you find the course to be fun as well as educational.
Love, a former cs127 student
Find a side project you want to work on. It's really valuable as far as learning the programming languages and can make the course feel even more useful and enjoyable.
Plan ahead. The assignments look short and simple in the book, but sometimes there is a tricky element that looks simple at first glance.
Get your work done early! TA hours will generally not be the night before the assignment is due.
Absolutely positively make use of office and tutor hours. They are immensely helpful.
Don't be afraid to work together on assignments.
The amount of material on tests can be deceptively large, so don't start studying the night before.
I would advise any future students to make sure they go over the material outside of class again after going over it in class and to go see the professor when needed. That is one thing I wish I would have done more. I would also suggest to start the homeworks somewhat early because sometimes they are somewhat difficult to understand and you might need the time to talk to someone about what your doing wrong. I would also suggest to look at as many examples as you can to see the material applied because it will help you on the quizzes and exams.
I would say take notes, visit during office hours, and really make sure that you can grasp the concept. It can backup quickly if you don't understand.
I would tell another student that if they're taking this course not to worry if they don't know much about computer science. I would stress to them the importance of starting the work for the class early because you never know what kind of crazy error you might run into. The best part about the course would be the course overall with the exception of the quizzes, but that is because I'm a terrible quiz/exam taker.
I would tell the student that this course is a lot of work, and sometimes your grade will not reflect how much work you put in. Regardless, it is great how the Professor is available a lot of the time to provide you with some extra help if you need it. The best part was having some freedom to experiment within the assignment requirements and do something that was interesting to you. The worst part was probably the written exams, which varied a lot in their structure from assignments or quizzes. Thanks for all the help this semester, Professor Liffiton. There is no doubt that this was a great course to get me started in Computer Science and help me gauge the requirements for the major.
I would tell them to be ready for a difficult but very do able course. You may struggle and get frustrated when your code will not work correctly, but just take your time. You will learn everything you need to complete the program in class, it is like a puzzle. You have all of the pieces and just need to figure out how they all fit together.
Go to office hours as much as you possibly can.
Best part for me was python because I felt I learned it the best and understand it the most.
Worst part was Processing because I really felt over whelmed by all of it.
It is a very good course to take. Learning about computers is always helpful in today's society, and this will definitely help with that. I would advise them to attempt to do all of the assignments on their own first, and then if they really need help, then ask for it from someone. Also, start working on the assignments early, because you will never get them done on time if you start working on them the night before they are due. The best part of the class was when you completed a difficult program, and the worst part was working on the program.
Make sure you think logically. If you have a mind that works different than a science major, you might have some trouble just because it's a different learning style. This class is for the creative students. The worst part of the class is probably getting into the CS "thinking mode" where you have to realize that computers are stupid unless you give them the right instructions. The best part is the instructor and the creativity involved. I'm soooooo glad I signed up for this course.
This course is great! Prof. Liffiton explains things really well, easy to understand. The assignments are a little challenging, but if you pay attention in class, you shouldn't have any problems completing them. Prof. Liffiton is easy-going and makes this a fun class. You learn a lot about computer science, but Prof. Liffiton makes it easy to grasp it all and will definitely help you if you don't understand something.
Advice I would give students to succeed in this course is basically the obvious, just pay attention in class, do the readings, and don't hesitate to seek out help. I'd say the best part of the class is reaching a point where you are decent with a programming language and you can actually understand how things are happening. The hardest part is more or less getting to this comfortable point with a language, and getting used to all the syntax and semantics of a language.
Do the homework and reading, and don't spend all of class on Facebook.
a. be prepared to work hard and be busy, but the knowledge you will gain from the material is completely worth it. very interesting class that you can apply to nearly every aspect of life.
b. stay up to date with all the assignments and lectures. don't fall behind! it's like math: what you learn on Monday you will need to know for the rest of the week to understand future material.
i. best part: the enthusiam of the professor! likes to teach, and good at it too. it only will get better. and....doing programming assignments that have use in the real world.
ii. Worst part: processing - never been interested in computer games. It's not going to teach you as much about logic and reasoning as other possible programs would. i like math and numbers. and I think running things on the command prompt is way cooler. looks like the matrix or something.
First, learn all of the basics of python and processing so that you have a solid foundation for the rest of the course. Then, take the assignments seriously to get the most out of them. Come to as many classes as possible and stay on top of things. Best part was working on a game and say that you actually created it. Worst were the quizzes and preparing for them.
Going to the TA's office hours helped me a lot. The best way to learn is to actually keep writing code and learn from the mistakes. The readings help, but they won't do much unless you are actually writing code. The worst part for me is not being able to put as much effort into the class as I could; however, I will be taking more classes next semester because I liked the class and hope to be more devoted next semester. This class can be very fun once you know what you are doing. My BIGGEST recommendation would be not to be afraid to ask for help!
Have fun with programming. If you just do the minimum amount of work to complete the assignments, you will not only perform worse on tests and quizzes, but you will also enjoy the course far less. If you take time to try different things and make your programs reflect your ideas and style, you *can* have fun in this class. Also, if you need help on something, don't hesitate to email the professor, or come in to office hours - he is very good at answering questions.
I think the biggest thing is to keep up with the homework. I wish I would have gone to class more. If you miss class it's harder to keep up with the course. If you don't understand something its harder to understand the next thing since everything builds off of the previous idea. Good course to take.
I would tell the other student to READ!! I certainly didn't and I felt completely lost all of the time. The best part was probably your availability outside of class. The worst part?... not reading, probably. But that's a criticism of myself as a student, not of the class. I really don't have any criticisms of the class.
Everyone says this, but it is because it really helps you to succeed in this class: Start assignments early and go to office hours! Some assignments may seem simple, but once you start them they are more complicated than you thought and if you waited til the last minute, you're kinda outa luck, sorry! Its a much better idea to just start early and if it truly is simple, then you're done, if not, lucky you, you can get help! Well, good luck with the class! Oh, and Mark is a really cool guy, go to his office hours, he's happy to help and doesn't bite! Well...at least I got out unscathed :)
Don't take this course if you want an easy A because there is nothing easy about CS127. If you're ready for a challenge that will frustrate you to the point where you want to slay innocent unicorns, then I suggest that you follow these few tips for success: go to office hours-- often, start your assignments early and don't give up. Although the assignments are incredibly challenging, they are "doable" and seeing the end result is always rewarding and the games you make will be sure to impress those of the opposite sex.
Start the assignments early. You will have questions and you won't be able to finish them the night before.
Go into office hours, because Mark is lonely.
To future CS127 students, I would recommend always doing the readings, and then taking notes in class. A lot of times information is reiterated from the book and in class but reiterated information is generally learned better. I would also recommend starting the hw before the night before it is due. Sometimes when I would get stuck on the hw it would help to leave it for awhile and then go back and look at it later. Also, plan doing assignments around office hours, either of the teacher or teaching aid, as they are extremely useful.