This page has a draft for the Fall 2021 syllabus for CS 357. Note that this is a work-in-progress page and subjected to changes. The finalized syllabus will be available to students at the start of the semester.
We are making this page available to students at an earlier time to help them decide which section to enroll.
We will have two sections of CS 357 in the Fall 2021 semester:
Section M: Online, TR 12:30pm - 1:45pm
Section N: In-person, TR 12:30pm - 1:45pm, Location pending
Students registered in either section will have to complete the SAME assessments via PrairieLearn: homework, quizzes, group activities, machine problems. All lecture content will be delivered via pre-recorded videos. There will be no difference regarding acess of material or course evaluation between these two sections.
So what makes them different? The way students will interact to complete their weekly group assessments:
Section N: students will complete the group assessment in the classroom, during lecture time on Tuesdays. Attendance is required. The maximum capacity for this section will be 60 students, to accomodate the 50% maximum classroom capacity.
Section M: students will complete the group assessment online via Zoom on Tuesdays. There will be an option to complete the activity during the 12:30pm (lecture time), or at other times during the day (for example 9am and 8pm). We are also exploring the option of making this activity completely asynchronous, where students can select a time to meet, but this will be decided at a later time, once we have more information about the software tools that we are developing for this class.
Historical data from CS 357 shows that about 20% of the students attend lectures, while the remaining students watch the recorded lectures online at their own convenience. Since all the assessments are offered online, many students feel like they don’t “need to attend lecture”. At this time of uncertainty, we decided to offer two sections of CS 357, so that we can accomodate the students that benefit from the in-person interactions, while maintaining the safety guidelines and providing the distance learning opportunity for students that cannot come back to campus.
The online section will follow mostly an asynchronous schedule, with the exception of the quizzes that will happen 6 times during the semester on Thursdays during lecture time (12:30pm-1:45pm CST).
A conflict quiz will be offered later in the same day (likely at 8pm, but the actual time will be decided later) only for students with a valid reason, to be requested at the beginning of the semester. The valid reasons will include a reasonable difference in timezone or time conflict with another class. Students will need to provide documentation supporting their request for a conflict quiz.
Students that want to request time conflict overrides during registration must send an email to Prof. Silva (mfsilva@illinois.edu). Note that we will only approve time conflict overrides to students that indicate in writing they will be taking the quizzes during lecture time, or during the conflict time set by the instructor (which will only be confirmed later once the semester starts). If none of these times work, the student will not receive another opportunity to take the quiz and will receive a zero grade for that missed assessment.
All the course assessments are delivered via PrairieLearn.
| Assessment | Contribution | Section M | Section N |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final exam | 15% | Follows non-combined schedule, ONLINE with Zoom Proctoring | Follows non-combined schedule, ONLINE with Zoom Proctoring |
| Bi-weekly quizzes | 35% | Thursdays, 12:30-1:45pm, ONLINE with Zoom Proctoring (*) | Thursdays, 12:30-1:45pm, ONLINE with Zoom Proctoring (*) |
| Homework | 25% | Submitted weekly via PrairieLearn | Submitted weekly via PrairieLearn |
| MP | 10% | Submitted 5 times during the semester via PrairieLearn | Submitted 5 times during the semester via PrairieLearn |
| Group Activity | 11% | Tuesdays, meet online, sync and async options (sync option to attend ZOOM section at the same time as the students in section N) | Tuesdays, 12:30-1:45pm, in-person, classroom attendance required |
| Lecture Activity | 4% | Pre-recorded videos available via PrairieLearn on Tuesdays and Thursdays with corresponding short question | Pre-recorded videos available via PrairieLearn on Tuesdays and Thursdays with corresponding short question |
All your grade components will be added up with the percentage weights indicated and result in a single number. This number will determine your letter grade, according to the following scales:
| Grade | Point Range |
|---|---|
| A+ | [97, 100) |
| A | [93, 97) |
| A- | [90, 93) |
| B+ | [87, 90) |
| B | [83, 87) |
| B- | [80, 83) |
| C+ | [77, 80) |
| C | [73, 77) |
| C- | [70, 73) |
| D+ | [67, 70) |
| D | [63, 67) |
| D- | [60, 63) |
| F | < 60 |
General Rules: Any questions, concerns, or misgivings regarding a specific
grade must be raised within one week of the release of the
grade. After one week has passed, the assigned
grade is considered accepted and no further complaints will be
considered.
We will be using Python with the libraries numpy, scipy and matplotlib for in-class work and assignments. No other languages are permitted. Python has a very gentle learning curve, so you should feel at home even if you’ve never done any work in Python.
For the homework assignments and quizzes, the coding can be done directly on PrairieLearn. Class demos will use Python 3 in a Jupyter notebook.
If you wish to install Python and the Numpy+Scipy+Matplotlib stack, you are free to do so in any way that works. We recommend using Anaconda, which is a (free) Python distribution that includes Numpy+Scipy+Matplotlib. In addition, you should use Python 3.
The course staff has created a short Python tutorial that is available as a PrairieLearn assessment, for students that have not worked with Python before, or need some brushing up.
You will complete two weekly lecture assignments, corresponding to the Tuesdays and Thursdays lectures, which will appear in PrairieLearn with the label L#. You can find all the topics listed on the schedule page.
Each assignment will consist of short to medium size videos, and short questions corresponding to the video content. These are short activities that should be completed on the day they are open (Tuesdays and Thursdays), but they can be completed for 100% credit by the following Tuesday at 9am. This schedule will ensure students complete watching the relevant material for the group activity on Tuesdays. You can find all the due dates directly in PrairieLearn.
These assignments combined count towards 4% of your final grade. There will be a total of 24 lecture activities, and the lowest 4 scores will be dropped.
Students will be placed in groups of 3-4, and they will work together to complete an assignment delivered via PrairieLearn with the label GA#. Groups will be only formed starting from week 3, hence for the first two weeks, the group activities will not count towards your final grade. However, these two first weeks give you a great opportunity to meet your peers and get familiar with the group logistics.
Students in the N section will complete this activity on Tuesdays during lecture time, and attendance is required. Students in the online section M will complete this activity remotely. There will be synchronous and asynchronous options. We are still figuring out some of the additional details.
These assignments combined count towards 11% of your final grade.
The homework sets will be assigned via PrairieLearn with the label HW#.
The due dates are indicated both in PrairieLearn and also in the lecture schedule
(the schedule may be subjected to changes during the semester). Each homework is due at 8pm on the due date.
If you don’t complete the homework by the recommended deadline, you can still complete it by the last day of classes for 96% credit.
In the PrairieLearn assessment page, if you click on the “?” just to the right of the line about available credit, you’ll see all the dates associated with this assessment, and how I am setting the credit:
* You can receive 100% until Main End Date
* You can receive 96% until Late End Date
The “Late End Date” corresponds to the last day of classes.
There will be a total of 20 individual HWs, combined they will count towards 25% of your final grade. The 2 lowest scores will be dropped.
There will be a total of 5 MPs assigned via PrairieLearn with the label MP#. These are longer programming assignments.
The due dates are indicated in the lecture schedule (the schedule may be subjected to changes during the semester).
Each MP is due at 8pm on the due date. If you don’t complete the MP by the recommended deadline, you can still complete it by the last day of classes for 96% credit.
If you click on the “?” just to the right of the line about available credit, you’ll see all the dates associated with this assessment, and how I am setting the credit:
* You can receive 100% until Main End Date
* You can receive 96% until Late End Date
The “Late End Date” corresponds to the last day of classes.
There will be a total of 5 individual HWs, combined they will count towards 10% of your final grade. There is no drop of MP scores.
Throughout the semester, you will take 6 quizzes (50-minute) that will have a mixture of short questions and short coding questions (similar to the questions that appear in your HW, L, GA and practice assessments).
Quizzes will be scheduled on Thursdays during lecture time 12:30pm-1:45pm. Students with valid reason (for example, the ones located at a timezone) will be able to take the conflict quiz, which will be scheduled later in the same day (exact time to be determined, likely around 8pm Central Time).
More information to come.
The final exam will be scheduled during final exam week. We will release the dates and other information towards the middle of the semester.
You must not discuss any aspect of the quizzes and final exam until all students complete the assessment. That means you must not have any conversation about the quiz content until 9:30am on Fridays after the Thursdays with scheduled quizzes.
You can discuss your approach with your peers. All parts of each homework set or machine problem must be your own work. You must have typed/written every part of your homework yourself. It is okay to copy code/pieces of work provided by the instructor and available on the course website (however, to keep good practice, you must acknowledge the source).
Here is your opportunity to learn, teach and interact with your peers! Exchange ideas, get creative, and make sure you carry your share of the work load.
Students that violate any of the course policies will face penalties as provided by campus rules regarding academic honesty.
Academic integrity infractions, harassment, and discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. See the University’s Student Code, Article 1, Part 4. Please see the Students’ Quick Reference Guide to Academic Integrity for more details.
Please see the departmental Honor Code for details on integrity and procedures.
Excuses from assessments will only be given in the following circumstances:
A. Illness
B. Personal crisis (e.g. car accident, required court appearance, death of a close relative).
C. Required attendance at an official UIUC activity (e.g. varsity athletics, band concert).
In all cases you must fill out the excused absence request form and upload the appropriate documentation.
In cases (A) or (B) an official excuse letter from the (Dean on Duty) must be uploaded with the form within 2 weeks of the due date of the missed assessment, no later than reading day. In cases of extended or unusual illness, late submission of excuse documentation will be considered.
In case (C) an official letter from the designated university official must be uploaded at least one week prior to the due date of the missed assessment.
Notwithstanding the above, at your professor’s discretion you may be required to make up any excused work or attend substitute instruction or assessment.
If you do not have proper technology equipment to continue your studies remotely, please email helpdean@illinois.edu and they will work with you to provide what is needed (you can find more information https://it.engineering.illinois.edu/services-support-students/essential-technology-students).
If you have accommodations identified by the Division of Rehabilitation-Education Services (DRES), please post a private note on CampusWire with your DRES LOA.
If you have accommodations for quizzes, please provide your Letter of Accommodation (LOA) to the CBTF proctors before making the first quiz reservation. The proctors will advise you as to whether the CBTF provides your accommodations or whether you will need to make other arrangements with your instructor.
Diminished mental health, including significant stress, mood changes, excessive worry, substance/alcohol abuse, or problems with eating and/or sleeping can interfere with optimal academic performance, social development, and emotional wellbeing. The University of Illinois offers a variety of confidential services including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, psychiatric services, and specialized screenings at no additional cost. If you or someone you know experiences any of the above mental health concerns, it is strongly encouraged to contact or visit any of the University’s resources provided below. Getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do – for yourself and for those who care about you.
Counseling Center: 217-333-3704, 610 East John Street Champaign, IL 61820
McKinley Health Center:217-333-2700, 1109 South Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801