Announcements (September 2nd)

Rather than sending out multiple smaller announcements, we have bundled everything into this large announcement. Please read it carefully, as it contains many important pieces of information.

E-Text Book Codes

The codes for the Python for Everyone e-text that were purchased through the UMBC Bookstore are for the version of the book without the Interactivities. This is true for codes purchased alone, or in a bundle with the physical book. The course instructors have been provided with the correct codes, and you will be able to "swap" your purchased codes for these correct codes. If you have not yet purchased your book from the bookstore, you can go ahead and do so, but do not open and redeem the e-text code.

To swap your purchased code for a correct code, you may come to any of the instructors' office hours. You should bring one of the following things with you:

We will be allowing students to swap out codes until September 30th, so if you have not yet un-shrinkwrapped your book and code, you can wait until you are sure you want to do so. We will be allowing students to swap out codes until the semester ends. If you cannot make any of the instructors' office hours, please e-mail Dr. Gibson, and you can schedule another time to meet.

Course Website and Blackboard

This semester, we will primarily be using the course website (located here). The website will host all of the course documents, assignments, labs, exam information, office hours, and more. Blackboard will be used to make e-mail announcements, to access your grades, and for a few small other things.

The course website now contains a direct link to the Syllabus. The course's FAQ page has also been updated, and has information on who to e-mail if you have questions.

You should also take a few minutes and look through the other pages of the course website. You can find information about the schedule, which includes when homeworks are released and due; the assignments page, where you can find the assignments when they are released; the sections, which contain information about the TA assignment to each discussion section, and how you can contact them; and the office hours page, which will list all of the office hours as soon as they are decided.

Discussions (Week of September 5th)

Computer lab practices will not be meeting in-person the week of September 5th, due to the Labor Day holiday. If your instructor is Prof. Neary, Dr. Rheingans, or Dr. Wilson, you do not have an in-person lab that week. If your instructor is Dr. Gibson and you meet Mon/Wed @ 1 PM, you do not have an in-person lab that week.

If your instructor is Dr. Gibson and you meet Tue/Thur @ 10 AM (Section 13), you do not have an in-person lab that week. However, your Guided Review Session (GRS) will be meeting, starting the week of September 5th. If you are in section number:

In-person discussions will all meet starting the week of September 12th.

HW 0 and Lab 1

Lab 1 will be coming out Friday evening, and will walk you through how to access the GL system, how to navigate around the Command Line Interface, and how to setup your folders. You will also create your very first (very basic!) Python program, and email your TA with some basic details about yourself.

HW 0 will be coming out Monday, and you will not be able to do it until you have completed the portion of Lab 1 that walks you through accessing the GL systems. HW 0 is not a "typical" assignment -- you will be following explicit instructions (similar to Lab 1), not solving problems. HW 0 is intended to be a document you can refer to throughout the semester to help you double-check that you have correctly submitted your assignment files.

Other Questions

If you have any other questions, please email your TA.