Hi everyone,

I hope you are safe and well. I can't help but develop "mother hen" feelings towards students, and my heart worries about your well being with all that is happening. Here are some updates regarding plans for CS103 going forward, but regardless of any of this please just do what you need to do to make yourself safe. That is the highest priority.

LECTURE:
Lecture will not meet in person and will only be held online via Zoom meeting at the same timeslot lecture would have been on Monday. This should actually make for a better Zoom experience than what we had yesterday, since I won't be wandering away from the mic, and have attention divided between classroom and Zoom (so will be able to actually answer questions of students connected via Zoom, etc). It's likely that Monday will be the last lecture and we won't have lecture Wed or Fri at all, but things are still in flux.

OFFICE HOURS:
Office hours for me and for the TAs will operate on the same schedule (more or less, check the Google calendar for possible updates as our staff's own lives are also in flux), but will be held virtually via Queue Status and Google hangouts. From any location, go to this URL for our class: http://queuestatus.com/queues/667 In the box where it says to give a description of how to find you, paste an invitation URL to a Google hangout and wait there for me or the TA to join you. Also watch the chat/announcements area on Queue Status in case the TA tries to message you there with other instructions etc.

HOMEWORK:
Remember that Pset9 is graded on attempt, not correctness, so I hope even with disruptions everyone will be able to get something in by Friday. Remember also that there are no late days for Pset9 since we will release the solutions immediately Friday afternoon for final studying.

FINAL EXAM:
The final exam will be on Bluebook (a tool you may have used for exams in 106A or 106B) at the same date/time, but can be completed from any location on your own computer. So whether you are on campus or decide to go home early, just be sure that you have access to a computer in a quiet/private location with a solid internet connection during that timeslot (i.e., please don't schedule to be on an airplane or otherwise unavailable at that time). If you are on campus and not sure you can have such a space due to your living situation etc, email the staff mailing list and we will try to find you a conference room in Gates or something like that where you can work. cs103-win1920-staff@lists.stanford.edu

OAE ACCOMMODATIONS:
If you have an already registered OAE accommodation such as extra exam time, you will receive that as usual but using the Bluebook tool. We'll be in contact to determine whether you'd still like to work in Gates or whether you'd rather just be in your dorm room or elsewhere. If you anticipate that any of the adjustments mentioned above to lecture, office hours, or exams will not work well for you due to your disability, please email the staff list to let us know so we can find a workaround. cs103-win1920-staff@lists.stanford.edu

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS, OTHER SUGGESTIONS:
If any of you anticipate that any of the adjustments mentioned above to lecture, office hours, or exams will not work well for you for whatever reason, please email the staff list to let us know so we can try to find a workaround. cs103-win1920-staff@lists.stanford.edu It would also be appropriate to make suggestions of tools we may not be aware of, etc, on the email list or Piazza, as long as you understand we may or may not be able to take you up on every suggestion.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility during this stressful time. This probably isn't the final word on any of these (e.g., maybe we'll change to different but largely equivalent online tools from what I've said here), but I will try to keep you updated as soon as I myself know things.

Best,

Cynthia

Pset8 is posted. I also went ahead and released Pset9 now, which is a week early. We haven't covered the topics for it in lecture yet, and you should not feel any pressure to start it now. But I wanted to allow flexiblity for anyone that might need it in their final 2 weeks of the course and wants to start early (even if not ideal to do so until after more lectures).

The midterm solutions have been posted to the exams page. We won't be grading them until Sunday, but the solutions may help you self-diagnose how you did in the mean time.

Pset6 is now posted. It is not due until Saturday, to give you a little extra room to focus as much as possible on the midterm between now and Tuesday.

Pset5 is now posted. No checkpoint or coding! Please remember that the midterm is worth far more of your course grade than pset5, and that pset5 topics are not on the midterm. Therefore, I would strongly urge you NOT to take late days on this pset but get it finished quickly and then turn your attention to studying for the midterm. There is one practice exam posted (more to follow), as well as some information about procedures and topics.

Pset4 is now posted. No checkpoint or coding!

Pset3 is now posted. The checkpoint has only one problem, due at 2:30pm Monday. The solutions and class grade distributions for Pset1 are posted (and will be soon for Pset2 as well), so be sure to check back to those resources as we move through the psets this quarter.

Pset2 is now posted. The checkpoint has just two problems, and since there is no lecture on Monday the deadline is just a little later at 11:59pm (instead of 2:30pm). The rest of Pset2 is due Friday at the usual 2:30pm. You'll be getting your grades and feedback on the Pset2 checkpoint, and on the full Pset1, by lecture time on Wednesday. That can help guide your proof-writing style for Pset2.

The Pset1 Checkpoint Solutions (scroll to bottom of page) are now posted! You'll get detailed feedback on your proof style from the graders by class time Wednesday. But starting right now you can (and should!) check the solutions to see how you did on the multiple choice and short answer, and take a look at the proof solutions. Rest of Pset1 is due Friday 2:30pm.

Pset1 is now posted. The checkpoint (first 3 problems) is due MONDAY 2:30pm!! You'll get feedback on those by Wednesday (approx. class lecture time), which you can incorporate into your final submission of the remaining problems on Friday. I know that Monday is a tight turnaround, but this is to help make sure you are steering in the right direction before the full pset1 is due!

Pset0 is now posted. It is due this Friday, Jan 10 at 2:30pm.

Welcome to CS103! I am so excited to meet all of you! Don't tell anyone, but I think CS103 is my favorite of all the different courses I teach(!!). Class starts Monday January 6th at 3:00pm in Hewlett 200.

FAQ: There will not be videos of lecture, since the SCPD quarter for 103 was Autumn Qtr this year. (SCPD is responsible for video production on campus, and they generally do each different course once per year.) Sorry about that.