Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics

Course Syllabus (Official)#

Below is the official UBC-mandated Course Syllabus for COSC 123. Elements of this document are fixed and unchanging. Additional details about the course are available on the course website.

COSC 123 001

Computer Creativity (3)

2021 Winter Term 2

Lectures Online via Zoom - Tuesday, Thursday from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Course Instructor#

Name: Dr. Firas Moosvi (he/his/him)

Office: SCI 393

Phone: N/A

For information on how to contact your course instructor, including office hours, see the course website.

Mode of Delivery: Lectures will be online in this course all semester. Labs will be online until at least January 24th, 2022. Final Exam details TBD.

Course Description#

COSC 123 (3) Computer Creativity

The UBCO calendar description of this course is:

COSC 123 (3) Computer Creativity

A hands-on introduction to programming and computer-based problem solving and creativity. Experience with application development including storytelling, graphics, games, and networking. [3-2-0]

Prerequisite: One of COSC 111, COSC 122..

Corequisite: N/A.

Warning

If there is a lab and/or tutorial listed on the SSC for this course, You must register for all course elements without conflicts, otherwise the department will remove you from the course!

Course Format#

Lectures will be online in this course all semester. Labs will be online until at least January 24th, 2022. Final Exam details TBD.

You will find all the important term dates in the UBCO Academic Calendar.

Teaching Team#

Team Member

Pronounce as

Contact

Student Hour

Dr. Firas Moosvi (he/his/him); Instructor

Fur-az Moose-vee

Contact via Ed Discussion

Tuesdays from 12:30 - 1:30 PM

Yohen

Contact via Ed Discussion

Tuesday 4-5 PM

Luis

Contact via Ed Discussion

Thursday 4-5 PM

Muizz

Contact via Ed Discussion

Thursday 5-6 PM

Danielle

Contact via Ed Discussion

Fridays 11-12 PM

Poddar

Contact via Ed Discussion

Fridays 3-4 PM

Required Materials#

There is no requirement to purchase textbooks or any other materials for this course. Resources and materials for this course can be found on the course website.

Course Evaluation#

Note

Note: Until at least January 24th, all labs will be offered online via Zoom. Attendance in the lab sessions is not required, but you cannot pass the course without completing the labs. You are able to attend any of the labs sessions in the course (i.e. not just the ones you are registered in), as many times as you like to get extra help.

Since our class is quite large, lectures will be online on Zoom the whole term, and will be recorded.

Item

Weight

Frequency

Learning Logs

10%

~ Weekly

Class Activities

15%

~ Weekly

Labs

30%

~ Weekly

Tests

25%

~ Bi-weekly

Final Exam (TBD)

20%

During the Exam Period

Final grades will be based on the evaluations listed above and the final grade will be assigned according to the standardized grading system outlined in the UBC Okanagan Calendar.

Note

Note: Any requests for changes to final exams must be sent to the office of the Associate Dean of Students (fos.students.ubco@ubc.ca).

Passing Criteria#

  • All students must satisfy ALL conditions to pass the course:

    1. Obtain an average grade of at least 50% on the Labs,

    2. Obtain an average grade of at least 50% on the Test and Exam components together,

    3. Obtain an average grade of at least 40% on the Final Exam,

    4. Obtain a grade of at least 50% on the whole course.

If students do not satisfy the appropriate requirements, the student will be assigned the lower of their earned course grade or, a maximum overall grade of 45% in the course.

Late Policy and Missed Assignments and Exams#

Missed Learning Logs, Tests, and Exams will be given a score of 0 unless prior arrangements are made with the course instructor. To contact the instructor for this course, use Ed Discussion and create a Private Post. Deadlines for only the Labs and Class Activity assignments this term are suggestions to ensure you stay on track. For these two assignments only, there will be no late marks taken off for late submissions and regardless of the level you earn, you have unlimited opportunities to resubmit your work. Details on other related course policies can be found on the course website.

Tentative Course Schedule#

The tentative course schedule, subject to change, can be found on the course website.

This is the tentative plan for COSC 123 this term. The exact details are subject to change, so this is roughly the plan we will try to follow.

#

Week

Topics

Lab

Activity

Logs

Tests

Concepts Tested

1

Jan 10 - 16

Introduction to COSC 123
Markdown and Technology Setup

1

1

1

-

2

Jan 17 - 23

Introduction to Terminal
Introduction to Version Control

2

2

2

Test 0

Course Policies

3

Jan 24 - 30

Introduction to Processing and PDE
Starting with Pixels in Processing

3

3

3

Test 1

Command-line,
Version Control (Weeks 1-3)

4

Jan 31 - Feb 6

Interactions

4

4

4

(Bonus Test 1)

5

Feb 7 - 13

Variables

5

5

5

Test 2

Processing,
Interactions and Variables (Weeks 3-5)

6

Feb 14 - 20

Images

6

6

6

(Bonus Test 2)

7

Feb 21 - 27

Reading Week (no new material)

-

-

-

-

8

Feb 28 - Mar 6

Conditionals

8

8

8

-

9

Mar 7 - 13

Loops

9

9

9

Test 3

Variables, Images,
and Conditionals (Weeks 5-8)

10

Mar 14 - 20

Functions

10

10

10

(Bonus Test 3)

11

Mar 21 - 27

Object Oriented Programming

11

11

11

Test 4

Conditionals, Loops,
Functions (Weeks 8-10)

12

Mar 28 - Apr 3

Catch-up week (no new material)

-

-

-

(Bonus Test 4)

13

Apr 4 - 10

Arrays (Recorded lecture) & Final Exam Prep

13

13

13

Test 5 AND Bonus Test 5

Everything + Object Oriented
Programming and Arrays (Weeks 11-13)

Note

Note that the schedule is subject to change and adjustments depending on the needs of the class, and other pedagogical or logistical restrictions.

Potential Restrictions to International Students’ Online Learning Experiences#

During this pandemic, the shift to online learning has greatly altered teaching and studying at UBC, including changes to health and safety considerations. eep in mind that some UBC courses might cover topics that are censored or considered illegal by non-Canadian governments. This may include, but is not limited to, human rights, representative government, defamation, obscenity, gender or sexuality, and historical or current geopolitical controversies. If you are a student living abroad, you will be subject to the laws of your local jurisdiction, and your local authorities might limit your access to course material or take punitive action against you. UBC is strongly committed to academic freedom, but has no control over foreign authorities (please visit: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,33,86,0 for an articulation of the values of the University conveyed in the Senate Statement on Academic Freedom). Thus, we recognize that students will have legitimate reason to exercise caution in studying certain subjects. If you have concerns regarding your personal situation, consider postponing taking a course with manifest risks, until you are back on campus or reach out to your academic advisor to find substitute courses. For further information and support, please visit this link.

Grading Practices#

Faculties, departments, and schools reserve the right to scale grades in order to maintain equity among sections and conformity to University, faculty, department, or school norms. Students should therefore note that an unofficial grade given by an instructor might be changed by the faculty, department, or school. Grades are not official until they appear on a student’s academic record. More details on the grading policies can be found in the UBCO Academic Calendar.

Final Examinations#

The examination period for 2021 Winter Term 2 is Thursday April 14th - Friday, April 29. Students will be permitted to apply for out-of-time final examinations only if they are representing the University, the province, or the country in a competition or performance; serving in the Canadian military; observing a religious rite; working to support themselves or their family; or caring for a family member. Unforeseen events include (but may not be limited to) the following: ill health or other personal challenges that arise during a term and changes in the requirements of an ongoing job. An examination hardship is defined as the occurrence of an examination candidate being faced with three (3) or more formal examinations scheduled within a 27-hour (inclusive) period.

Further information on Academic Concession can be found under Policies and Regulation in the Okanagan Academic Calendar.

Note

Note: Any requests for changes to final exam must be sent to the office of the Associate Dean of Students (fos.students.ubco@ubc.ca).

Academic Integrity#

The academic enterprise is founded on honesty, civility, and integrity. As members of this enterprise, all students are expected to know, understand, and follow the codes of conduct regarding academic integrity. At the most basic level, this means submitting only original work done by you and acknowledging all sources of information or ideas and attributing them to others as required. This also means you should not cheat, copy, or mislead others about what is your work. Violations of academic integrity (i.e., misconduct) lead to the breakdown of the academic enterprise, and therefore serious consequences arise and harsh sanctions are imposed. For example, incidences of plagiarism or cheating may result in a mark of zero on the assignment or exam and more serious consequences may apply if the matter is referred to the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Discipline. Careful records are kept in order to monitor and prevent recurrences.

A more detailed description of academic integrity, including the University’s policies and procedures, may be found in the Academic Calendar.

Cooperation vs. Cheating#

Working with others on assignments is a good way to learn the material and we encourage it. However, there are limits to the degree of cooperation that we will permit. Any level of cooperation beyond what is permitted is considered cheating. When working on programming assignments, you must work only with others whose understanding of the material is approximately equal to yours. In this situation, working together to find a good approach for solving a programming problem is cooperation; listening while someone dictates a solution is cheating. You must limit collaboration to a high-level discussion of solution strategies, and stop short of actually writing down a group answer. Anything that you hand in, whether it is a written problem or a computer program, must be written by you, from scratch, in your own words. If you base your solution on any other written solution, you are cheating. If you provide your solution for others to use, you are also cheating.

Grievances and Complaints Procedures#

A student who has a complaint related to this course should follow the procedures summarized below:

  • The student should attempt to resolve the matter with the instructor first. Students may talk first to someone other than the instructor if they do not feel, for whatever reason, that they can directly approach the instructor.

  • If the complaint is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction, the student should e-mail the Associate Head, Yves Lucet yves.lucet@ubc.ca or the Department Head, Dr. John Braun at john.braun@ubc.ca.

Disability Assistance#

The Disability Resource Centre ensures educational equity for students with disabilities, injuries or illness. If you are disabled, have an injury or illness and require academic accommodations to meet the course objectives, visit our website for more information or contact the DRC at: drc.questions@ubc.ca.

Equity, Human Rights, Discrimination and Harassment#

UBC Okanagan is a place where every student, staff and faculty member should be able to study and work in an environment that is free from human rights based discrimination and harassment. If you require assistance related to an issue of equity, discrimination or harassment, please contact the Equity Office by phone (250.807.9291) or email (equity.ubco@ubc.ca), your administrative head of unit, and/or your unit’s equity representative.

Health & Wellness - UNC 337#

At UBC Okanagan health services to students are provided by Health and Wellness. Nurses, physicians and counsellors provide health care and counselling related to physical health, emotional/mental health and sexual/reproductive health concerns. As well, health promotion, education and research activities are provided to the campus community. If you require assistance with your health, please contact Health and Wellness in person (UNC 337) or by email (healthwellness.okanagan@ubc.ca) for more information or to book an appointment.

Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO)#

A safe and confidential place for UBC students, staff and faculty who have experienced sexual violence regardless of when or where it took place. Just want to talk? We are here to listen and help you explore your options. We can help you find a safe place to stay, explain your reporting options (UBC or police), accompany you to the hospital, or support you with academic accommodations. You have the right to choose what happens next. We support your decision, whatever you decide. Visit svpro.ok.ubc.ca or call us at 250.807.9640.

Independent Investigations Office (IIO)#

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault or some other form of sexual misconduct by a UBC community member and you want the Independent Investigations Office (IIO) at UBC to investigate, please contact the IIO. Investigations are conducted in a trauma informed, confidential and respectful manner in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness. You can report your experience directly to the IIO via email: director.of.investigations@ubc.ca or by calling 604.827.2060 or online by visiting investigationsoffice.ubc.ca.

The Hub#

The Student Learning Hub (LIB 237) is your go-to resource for free math, science, writing, and language learning support. The Hub welcomes undergraduate students from all disciplines and year levels to access a range of supports that include tutoring in math, sciences, languages, and writing, as well as help with study skills and learning strategies. For more information, please visit the Hub’s website or call 250-807-9185.

SAFEWALK - Download the UBC SAFE - Okanagan app.#

Don’t want to walk alone at night? Not too sure how to get somewhere on campus?

Call Safewalk at 250.807.8076.

For more information, visit our website.