Computer Science 1321

Java for programmers

Section 100, Fall 2021

Class Time: 3:00 pm – 4:40pm, Mondays Location: Physical Science Ctr 359

Prerequisite: MATH 1523 or equivalent or concurrent enrollment; or placement into MATH

1743 or MATH 1823 or higher and departmental permission. Introduction to computer
programming using the Java programming language for students who are already proficient in
another programming language. Topics include variables and constants, arithmetic and Boolean
expressions, conditional statements, repetition, methods, arrays, linear and binary search, basic
sorting algorithms, object-oriented programming, documentation, and testing. Students may not
take this class after passing CS 2334. (F, Sp)

Instructor: Keerti Banweer

Email: [email protected].

Office Hours:
Wednesday: 4pm – 5pm
Thursday: 10am – 12pm
Friday: 2pm – 3pm

Masking: Masks are encouraged during lecture

Class Structure: This class is a in-person class. You are expected to attend all class sessions and
in person (with obvious exceptions for unanticipated events). Each session will have a quiz that
must be completed during class time. Examinations in the class will take place during the class
meeting time only and must be done in person unless there are extenuating circumstances.
The schedule for the class along with zoom information is listed on canvas home page.
NOTE: This is an in-person class. The zoom id is only used to share slides.

Canvas Learning Management System: https://canvas.ou.edu

Log in with your OUNetID (usually the first 4 letters of your last name followed by the last four
digits of your student number). All assignments, deadlines, grades, announcements, and course
documents will be posted to the CS 1321 Canvas page. It is your responsibility to regularly
check for updates. You can configure Canvas to email you notifications.
Required Materials:
You must purchase the following items as soon as possible (all contain graded assignments that
cannot be completed any other way):
• Zyante Introduction to Java (online textbook) with labs (zylabs):
o Click on the first reading assignment in Canvas, which has the title “Chapter 2 - 5
reading.”
o Click the link at the bottom of the assignment page to open the Zyante website in a new
window.
o Subscribe to the book.
• Working laptop computer with 2 hours of battery life, and wireless network access. For
instructions on connecting to the WIFI@OU wireless network, see the following page:
http://askit.ou.edu/customer/en/portal/articles/2943699-connecting-to-wifi-ou
• Adobe Acrobat reader or Apple Preview software is also required.

Topics: Programs, Java, input and output, identifiers, variables, assignment statements,
constants, memory diagrams, primitive data types, operations on primitive data, conditional
statements, repetition, methods, parameters, arguments, return values, nested control statements,
one dimensional arrays, objects, introduction to user defined classes, and classes from the Java
Application Programmers Interface (API) (including Arrays, ArrayList, Character, Collections,
Double, Integer, Float, Math, Scanner, String, StringBuffer, and StringBuilder).
In this class, students will increase their ability to meet the following ABET outcomes:
• Outcome B: Analyze a complex problem, and apply computing requirements appropriate to its
solution.
• Outcome C: Design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based system, process, component, or
program to meet desired needs.
• Outcome K: Apply design and development principles in the construction of software systems of
varying complexity.

Useful Links
This course is run from http://canvas.ou.edu . Login with your OU 4x4.

Course Policies
Platform: You are responsible for things posted on Canvas or sent by email with a 24 hour
delay.

Assignments: This class will have four types of assignments. All assignments are due at 11:59
PM on their posted due dates, other than quizzes that are due in class.
1. Zyante (zyBook): The online textbook will introduce you to new topics before I cover them in
class.
a. Each section contains activities to reinforce the ideas in the text. Activities come in two
types: participation and challenge. You are only required to complete participation
activities, although you are welcome to complete challenge activities for extra practice.
b. Each question can be attempted an unlimited number of times without a penalty. You
earn 1 point for each question answered correctly before the deadline.
 c. Some sections are marked as optional. You are not required to complete these sections.

2. Participation: There will be a quiz in class to keep you engaged and determine which topics need
additional clarification.
3. Homework: These assignments consist of questions that are similar to those on the exams.
a. Each homework will be posted as a PDF file with fillable fields. You can read and answer
the questions using Acrobat Reader: https://get.adobe.com/reader.
b. Homework is submitted through canvas.
4. Projects: These assignments require you to solve a problem in a less structured environment by
writing a complete program.
a. Projects are assigned each Tuesday and are due via zyLabs generally the following
Monday.

Examinations: There will be one midterm examination and a final examination. Missing an
examination without a previously approved excuse will result in a grade of zero for that
examination. Makeup examinations are only available when required by University policy.
The final is comprehensive, as required by College of Engineering policy.

Projects, Homework, Quizzes, Attendance

Late Work: I do not accept late work. Flat tires, parking problems, trips (even if academic),
alarm clock failures, personal illness, internet outages, doctor’s appointments, and dependent
care are not acceptable excuses for submitting late work.
Excused Absences: The grading policies in the course are designed to allow students to miss
one full week of class without a grade penalty. There will be no further excused absences for any
event of duration shorter than a week. If you have a properly documented absence that is longer
than one week, work can be excused.
Computer Literacy Expectations: A list of specific expectations for computer literacy is posted
on Canvas. If you do not meet these expectations, the TAs and I will help you remedy this
situation immediately or drop this class.
Backup Copies of Projects: It is your responsibility to back up your files appropriately. No
extensions to deadlines will be given as a result of lost files, unless there is a massive, network
wide problem that affects the entire class. Buy a jump drive and make backing up your work a
routine part of computer usage. Dropbox or other cloud services are also useful for this if you
have reliable internet access. It is particularly important to save a backup copy of any homework
or laboratory project that is submitted. This backup version should not be opened or edited after
submission in case something goes wrong with the submission (like submitting the .class files
instead of the .java files, a very common error).

Evaluation
Grade Summary: Canvas has a grade book that stores the raw data used to calculate your
course grade. It is your responsibility to periodically check that your grades are recorded
properly. If you find an error, email to me as soon as possible, and I will correct it. The grade
summary on Canvas is not accurate since Canvas does not allow the implementation of several
course policies in the Gradebook. Treat this number with great suspicion. Grades are generally,
but not always, higher than those in Canvas.

Submission and Formatting Failures: Submitting files on Canvas is a two-step process. First
the file is uploaded, then submitted. Each student will be forgiven for failing to hit submit once
during the course of the semester. Each student will also be forgiven for submitting assignments
in the wrong format only once (usually submitting a Word document instead of a PDF file, or
submitting .class files instead of .java files).

Grading: There are 6 components to the course grade. They are weighted as follows. The
percentage of the grade that comes from interactive tutors, homework and laboratory activities is
designed to be small to allow students to make mistakes and learn from them with only small
penalties. However, completing these exercises is how most students develop the conceptual
understanding that make it possible to do well on the homework, midterms and final.

Item Weight Forgiveness Policy

Zyante^ 15 % None
Projects 25 % 1 lowest excused
Homeworks 10% 1 lowest excused
Quiz 5% 1 lowest excused
Midterm Examinations 20 % None
Final Exam 25 % None
^ Zyante grades are based on the number of problems answered correctly before the deadline for participation exercises only.
The challenge problems are not graded. They can be used to get additional practice.

The grading scale will be no higher than the following. It may be lower at the discretion of the
instructor.
Grade Percentages
A 90+
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 40-69
F Otherwise

Borderline Grade Decisions: Although it would be preferable that all grades are cleanly
decided, it is usually the case that a few final course grades are decided by only a few points. I
have an algorithm for determining grades in these difficult cases. A grade is a borderline grade if
it is within three points of the next higher grade. Therefore, grades like 89, 69 and 79 are
borderline grades, but grades like 81 and 92 are not. The grade on the final examination will be
used to determine borderline grades. If the grade on the final is below the threshold for the higher
grade, the lower grade will be given. If the grade on the final is above the threshold for the
higher grade, the higher grade will be given.
Laptop Computers: It is the responsibility of each student in this class to have a working laptop
computer available for every class. If your computer requires repair during the semester, it is
your responsibility to make arrangements to have another computer available and get the
necessary software installed before the class time. A student without a fully usable laptop
computer will be at a severe disadvantage in this class.

Accommodation of Disabilities: The University of Oklahoma and I are both fully committed to
providing reasonable accommodations for all students with disabilities. If you require
accommodations, please speak with me as early in the semester as possible. Additionally, you
must register with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center: https://www.ou.edu/drc.

Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth Related Issues: Should you need modifications or

adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-
related issues, please contact me as possible to discuss. Generally, modifications will be made
where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary
disability. Please see http://www.ou.edu/eoo/faqs/pregnancy-faqs.html for answers to commonly
asked questions.

Religious Observances: It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that
result from religious observances and to provide without penalty for the rescheduling of
examinations and additional required class work that may fall on religious holidays. Please check
the schedule and inform me of conflicts as soon as possible.

Title IX Resources: For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual

harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a
variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24/7, counseling services, mutual no-contact
orders, scheduling adjustments, and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact
the Sexual Misconduct Office at 405-325-2215 (8 AM–5 PM) or the Sexual Assault Response
Team at 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or report an incident.

Disruptive Electronic Devices: You may use laptops, tablets, cell phones, and other electronic
devices in class in ways that enhance your learning. These devices should not be used in ways
that distract other students (e.g., playing games, watching videos, or making noise). Your cell
phone, tablet, and gaming console should generally be off during class time unless you are using
them for class related work.

Academic Integrity Violations: The University of Oklahoma defines an integrity violation to be

any act that improperly affects the evaluation of a student's academic performance or
achievement. The Student's Guide to Academic Integrity (http://integrity.ou.edu/students.html)
gives examples: “cheating on examinations with cellphones, notes, or neighbors; plagiarism,
improper collaboration on assignments intended for individual completion.”
The most common violations in this course are plagiarism, usually on laboratory assignments
and homework. Plagiarism is defined (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plagiarism?s=t) as
“an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of that author’s work
as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author.” I avoided committing plagiarism by
putting words in quotes and citing the source in the previous sentence. However, this
mechanism does not work on homework and laboratory assignments since it only changes one
form of academic misconduct (plagiarism) into another (improper collaboration on assignments
intended for individual completion).
When you pass this class with a grade of C or better, I am certifying to the world that you are a
competent Java programmer. I cannot make this certification without seeing work that you did
on your own. Interactive programming tutors, homework and examinations should be the work
of a single individual, not their friends, and not their tutor. Although I can’t really believe I have
to say this, the solutions to assigned work should not be copied from internet sources, including
cheat sites and paid professional programmers. Remember, I can do internet searches too.
1. Do not show, give, or email another student a copy of your work before the submission deadline.
Every semester I have multiple students submit another student’s work as their own with the
other student’s name still on it. Do not trust other students to not do stupid things that will get
you in trouble.
2. The penalties for permitting your work to be copied are usually the same as the penalties for
copying someone else’s work because it is not always possible for me to distinguish the person
who copied from the person who allowed his or her work to be copied. In cases where I can make
the distinction, the person who copied the work will have a more severe sanction.

It is permissible to talk to other students in the class to get help completing or improving your
work as long as this help does not interfere with my ability to properly evaluate the quality and
quantity of your understanding of computer programming. For example, in Section 10
laboratories are done in pairs, and this is not any kind of academic misconduct as long as both
people contributed substantially to the solution. To understand the distinction, review the
examples in the table below. These are typical examples and are not intended to be a
comprehensive list of all of the ways in which academic integrity can be or not be violated.

Situation Integrity
Violation?
Students A and B meet and work on their homework together. Neither student Yes
prepared anything in advance and the resulting work is identical.
Students A and B create drafts of their homework assignment independently and No
get together to compare answers and discuss their understanding of the material.
Each person decides independently whether to make changes that are discussed.
Students A and B agree to prepare drafts of their homework assignment Yes
independently, but only Student A does. Student A shares his draft to Student B
who reviews it and offers suggestions for improvement.
Students A and B agree that student A will work the even problems and Student Yes
B will work the odd problems. They share their work.
Student A has completed a project and is helping Student B complete the same No
project. Student A explains to Student B what student B’s code actually does,
which is different than what Student B thinks the code does. Student B
determines how to modify the code independently.
Student A has completed a project and is helping Student B complete the same Yes
project. Student B is having trouble getting one part of the program to work, so
Student A texts Student B three lines of their solution.
 Student A has completed a project and is helping Student B complete the same Yes
project. Student B is having difficulty getting the program to work, so student A
tells student B exactly what to type for several lines.
Student A has completed a project and is helping student B complete the same No
project. Student B is having difficulty getting the program to work, so Student A
suggests that Student B use a specific debugging strategy (e.g. “Print out the
contents of the variable”).
Student A has completed a project and is helping Student B complete the same No
project. Student A shows Student B an example program in the online textbook
that will be helpful in figuring out the solution to the problem.
Students A and B work on a project together. After they have finished it, Yes
student A takes the code and modifies it so the programs do not appear to be
identical. *
*Please be aware that I have software at my disposal that can detect these kinds of changes, so
this strategy is likely to be detected.

If you work with anyone else in completing an assignment, you must include that person’s
name on the submitted work. Failure to list a student you worked with on the assignment is a
violation of academic integrity.
I sometimes use automated software to determine when student work is overly similar. The
results of using this software are then evaluated manually by the instructor before any academic
integrity violations are filed.
Upon the first documented occurrence of academic misconduct, I will report the academic
misconduct to the Campus Judicial Coordinator. If you are found to have committed academic
misconduct by this process, the least penalty is usually failing the class and being suspended
from college for a semester. If you have committed academic misconduct previously, the
sanctions can be more severe. The procedure to be followed is documented in the University of
Oklahoma Academic Misconduct Code. In the event that I elect to admonish the student, the
appeals process is described here: http://integrity.ou.edu/students.html .

Academic Integrity Process: Upon the first documented occurrence of academic misconduct, I
will report the violation to the Office of Academic Integrity Programs. If you are found guilty by
this process, the minimum penalty often results in failing the class and being suspended from
college for a semester. If you have committed academic misconduct previously, the sanctions
can be more severe, including expulsion from OU. The grade sanction that I usually request for
academic misconduct on a single assignment is a zero on the assignment and one grade lower in
the class. The procedure to be followed is documented in the University of Oklahoma Academic
Misconduct Code. If I elect to admonish you, the appeals process is described here:
https://www.ou.edu/integrity/students.

Tutors and Academic Integrity: Before you hire a private tutor, please take advantage of the
many people who support this class. (See the list of TA and tutoring hours at the beginning of
this document.) These people are trained to tutor properly. Private tutors can be a source of
support if you are struggling in the class, but only if the tutor is aware of the distinction between
teaching you the material so that you can do your own work and completing assignments for
you. Tutors who simply complete your assignments are not only failing to help you learn, they
are committing academic misconduct. Each of the situations listed below in the table of
collaboration scenarios applies when student A is a tutor

Incompletes: The grade of I is intended for the rare circumstance when a student who has been
successful in a class has an unexpected event occur shortly before the end of the class. I
generally will not consider giving a student a grade of I unless the following three conditions
have been met.
1. It is generally within two weeks of the end of the semester.
2. The student has a grade of C or better in the class.
3. The reason that the student cannot complete the class is properly documented and compelling.

Mental Health Support Services: If you are experiencing any mental health issues that are
impacting your academic performance, counseling is available at the University Counseling
Center (UCC). The Center is located on the second floor of the Goddard Health Center, at 620
Elm Rm. 201, Norman, OK 73019. To schedule an appointment call (405) 325-2911. For more
information please visit http://www.ou.edu/ucc.

Ownership of Course Materials: The instructor retains ownership and all rights to original
content. This includes but is not limited to exams, lectures, quizzes, handouts, protocols,
electronic documents, syllabi, and all other materials. Original or transcribed course content may
not be copied, recorded, retransmitted, posted on-line, or sold without the expressed written
consent of the instructor. Violation of content ownership will be treated as academic misconduct.