CMSI 1900 - Exploring Computer Science

Professor Andrew Forney • Andrew.Forney[at]lmu.edu • Fall 2024


Go Forth, Computer *Scientists* 12 / 3 / 24

Today is a Participation Day meaning digital devices are allowed and no notes will be collected!! Still, give your speaker your undivided attention and prepare to follow along on your device!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Remember that you are Computer *Scientists,* not just programmers! There's a reason you'll study math, CS theory, and a number of other supporting concepts -- scientists invent / discover something new! Remember that you're learning how to invent, and sometimes that means studying how our best inventors worked.

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT -- makes you wanna do some science, huh? Well... maybe after finals...

Today's Agenda

  • Last Class Today! No class finals week, good luck with your exams, projects, and papers!

  • Today: Great Names in Computer Science -- let's meet some of the scientists of the past!

    Great Names in CMSI Exercise


  • Then: Course evaluations! Make sure to make some comments on CMSI 1900 -- what worked for you and what didn't? What would you like to see more / less of?


Uniqueness sells 11 / 19 / 24

Today is a Lecture Day meaning that some of you may be expected to show your notes at the end of class as part of attendance! Be prepared, and put all other digital devices away!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Highlight your uniqueness. No, that's not a quote from a salon, but rather, good career advice: internships, jobs, graduate schools will be sifting through sometimes hundreds or thousands of applications -- make yours stand out by connecting your unique interests, skills, or projects to your future. E.g., we've had past students create dance programming languages and craft shoes that track movement while tumbling. Find your niche!

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT, which, ironically, kinda looks exactly like the past few prompts I gave it (be more unique than ChatGPT).

Today's Agenda

  • Welcome *back* Dr. Yazdansepas, here to terrify us all of ever using our phones again!

  • [NO Class 11/26] Remember that next week is Thanksgiving Break so we won't meet on next Tuesday!


Plan Ahead! 11 / 12 / 24

Today is a Participation Day meaning digital devices are allowed and no notes will be collected!! Still, give your speaker your undivided attention and prepare to follow along on your device!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Plan ahead! As we register today for just the next semester, don't stop there! Spend some time thinking about what other minors / double majors you might want to explore and how you can make your curriculum work for your future.

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT, which got *so* close at spelling everything correctly -- you can do it, ChatGPT!

Today's Agenda

  • Today is your registration advising day! Stick around to learn about the process and get your advising hold lifted.


It's Never Too Early to Get Professional! 11 / 5 / 24

Today is a Lecture Day meaning that some of you may be expected to show your notes at the end of class as part of attendance! Be prepared, and put all other digital devices away!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

No Empty Summers! Although it might feel like it's awhile away, you might soon start thinking about what you'll do this summer! Typical ways students spend their summers productively: (1) internships (usually Sophomore summer+), (2) research (usually with a faculty mentor at LMU), and (3) portfolio / skill building (which can be done independently -- start a side project or pick up a new programming language!)

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT, which really made a tantalizing juxtaposition of summer at the beach while you toil away on your side project.

Today's Agenda

  • Welcome Erika Zocher! Here to introduce LMU's Career and Professional Development (CPD) services and maybe help you keep those summers productive!

  • [Required Class 11/12] Remember that next week is our REQUIRED registration advising class -- don't miss it or risk delaying your enrollment!


A Lecture to Remember 10 / 29 / 24

Today is a Lecture Day meaning that some of you may be expected to show your notes at the end of class as part of attendance! Be prepared, and put all other digital devices away!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Make good in-class impressions! Your professors notice more than they'll say! On your phone / laptop for the lecture? Not making eye contact? Not taking notes? Talking to friends? Not answering / asking questions? All of these behaviors add up and add to your perceived engagement, and remember that you might be later asking those professors for letters of recommendation or spots in their lab!

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT, which went HARD when asked for an image of a student not paying attention in class, damn.

Today's Agenda

  • Welcome Dr. Toal! Here to give some great advice on memory and studying that you'll want to remember!


Humans + AI = ? 10 / 22 / 24

Today is a Lecture Day meaning that some of you may be expected to show your notes at the end of class as part of attendance! Be prepared, and put all other digital devices away!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Start Planning that Portfolio! Whatever you want to do in computing, it's never to late to start some public showcase of your work; internships will like to see them, jobs might *require* them. One starting idea: make your own personal website to demo apps or games that you make -- you can even extend course projects to plant the seed!

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT, check out this dude's portfolio, it's leaping off the page.

Today's Agenda

  • Welcome Dr. Shang! Another of our wonderful new faculty here to tell us about her work in human-centered AI!


The Game Begins 10 / 15 / 24

Today is a Lecture Day meaning that some of you may be expected to show your notes at the end of class as part of attendance! Be prepared, and put all other digital devices away!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

For computing and math exams: Practice, don't just Study! For many exams in the mathematical and computational sciences, they may not be like your traditional multiple choice, factual recall exams -- you might have to trace the steps of some code, algorithm, or proof! Make sure you're not just passively studying, but making your own practice problems to be expert test takers.

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT, which has strong "knowledge is power!" vibes.

Today's Agenda

  • Welcome Mr. Morgan! One of our great instructors in game design and development here to showcase a couple of the common game dev editors!


Helping the Muddy City Clean its Act 10 / 8 / 24

Today is a Participation Day meaning digital devices are allowed and no notes will be collected!! Still, give your speaker your undivided attention and prepare to follow along on your device!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Schedule backwards! This advice is a great tip for managing deadlines: (1) start by putting the deadline in your calendar, (2) set checkpoints that you hope to accomplish some days before the deadline, (3) schedule time before each checkpoint that you plan on working on those checkpoints!

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT, which clearly has a strong grip on backwards scheduling...

Today's Agenda

  • Welcome Dr. Yazdansepas! Our leader through the Muddy City and Tourist Town (some "Trojan Horse CMSI")!

  • Check out the next Thriving in STEM Workshop on Oct. 17th from 6pm-7pm in FEA 120 to hear about how to stay persistent in STEM and good strategies for managing success in the challenges of college! Flyer below:

    Thriving in STEM Flyer [pdf]

Distributed Computing 10 / 1 / 24

Today is a Lecture Day meaning that some of you may be expected to show your notes at the end of class as part of attendance! Be prepared, and put all other digital devices away!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Take Heed of Early Alerts! As a reminder, by now you should have gotten emails from the First-Year Advising Committee about Early Alerts! These are given by instructors of first-year Seaver courses if the instructor believes you might be falling short of standards. There's plenty of time to turn things around, but don't ignore these! It's time to make a change like going to office hours and upping your priority of the class with an EA!

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT, which obviously doesn't know that students don't check their phones in class... right?

Today's Agenda

  • Welcome Dr. Coleman! Here to discuss his work in distributed computing and a bit about how he's become one of our newest faculty members!


Simon Says: Think About Grad School! 9 / 24 / 24

Today is a Participation Day meaning digital devices are allowed and no notes will be collected!! Still, give your speaker your undivided attention and prepare to follow along on your device!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

When in doubt, call a doctor! Unless you know otherwise, assume that your instructors are deserving of the "Doctor" or "Professor" honorific (i.e., call them "Dr. Yenrof" not "Mr. Yenrof" if they have a doctorate). Many professors won't care, but avoid social faux-pas that can sour your reputation for those who do!

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT, who just invented a sitcom episode with an instructor named "Mr. Dr"

Today's Agenda

  • Welcome DOCTOR Johnson! Here to first show us a family gametime favorite in everyone's favorite programming language...

  • THEN: a bit about graduate school and LMU's 4+1 program!


Feeling like an Impostor? Call a meeting! 9 / 17 / 24

Today is a Lecture Day meaning that some of you may be expected to show your notes at the end of class as part of attendance! Be prepared, and put all other digital devices away!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Comparison *can* be the thief of joy. As you start your academic careers, beware the pitfalls of social comparison -- you might be inspired by others, but it's totally normal to feel intimidated by them as well! Today will have lots of tips and tricks to quell this anxiety and run your own race.

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT. A little dramatic if you ask me... though sometimes comparison *can* feel like a life and death juxtaposition!

Today's Agenda

  • Our next guest speaker! Welcome Dr. Korpusik here to tell us all about surviving social comparison, her story, and work in natural language processing!


Take Note of Today! 9 / 10 / 24

Today is a Lecture Day meaning that some of you may be expected to show your notes at the end of class as part of attendance! Be prepared, and put all other digital devices away!

Check your Brightspace / Attendance App to ensure you successfully logged attendance for last week -- I still have the scans to verify.

I hope you've come ready to write -- today's all about note taking and success in your courses!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Find what notes work for you. You don't have to write every word the professor says to generate effective notes! Summarize the main points in your own words, make drawings, and most importantly, annotate where you have questions / what you can ask about during office hours.

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT. Dang what class was this student taking notes in? Intro to LSD?

Today's Agenda

  • Our first guest speaker! Welcome Dr. Freitas here to tell us all about note taking and adjacent topics!

  • About the First-Year Advising Committee and Seaver Early Alerts!

  • Then finally... *dramatic serious music* Academic Honesty in CMSI -- what to know and what to avoid.


Meet the ACM! 9 / 3 / 24

Welcome back to week 2! Today's activity: meet your student chapter of the ACM and learn a bit about how some of your Upperclassperson peers have chosen to specialize in computing!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Email etiquette: never hope an email finds its recipient well. Professors hate getting messages that look like they've been written by ChatGPT, and it typically generates notes that begin by hoping the email finds them well -- be personable, polite, and professional until you get to know the professor and think they might be OK with otherwise!

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT. Did you know, generative models are still terrible at spelling?

Click for a bonus tip following Week 1!

Freaky Forney isn't real, Freaky Forney can't hurt you. (Do I really look like that tho?)

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT. Yikes, I hope that fog wasn't caused by ingesting lactose...

Today's Agenda

  • Take a look at the Curriculum page on the: LMU CMSI Student Guide

  • "Why to study broad in undergrad" -- with a student project highlight!

  • Meet the ACM! Firstly by hearing about our student organization, then breaking into smaller "specialization" groups.


Welcome to CMSI-1900 8 / 27 / 24

If you're reading this then you've successfully found the course page for CMSI 1900! Check this page frequently for announcements that are relevant to the course, including notes, class assignments, and inspiring advice of the day!


Today's Pearl of Wisdom

Ask questions and fear not the spectre of error. The last thing anyone wants to appear (especially as first-years) is stupid -- but questions are the best way to make sure you understand -- don't fear appearing wrong or dumb, fear being stationary!

Art generated by Dall-E courtesy of Chat-GPT. Dang, what question do you think cliff dude is asking?

Announcements

There are some great study skills workshops coming up that can offer a phenomenal way to help you transition to STEM expectations in college. Some details below:

  • Workshop 1: STEM Study Skills and Academic Support -- September 10th from 5:45 pm – 6:45 pm (location Featherston 120)

  • Workshop 2: Growth Mindset and Habit Transformation -- October 17th from 5:45 – 6:45 pm (location TBD)


Today's Agenda

  • First things first, please read through the course syllabus located here (or in the Materials tab above).

  • Next, let's get to know each other! Head on over to the classwork activity: located here (or in the Notes tab above).

  • Finally, a bit of a class poll to start us off (get ready to use your devices to answer some questions) and intro to the LMU CMSI Student Guide