What questions about the course do you have that are not answered by the web site?

Should we bring laptops to class?

No, there is no need. We will be working exclusively on the MathLAN workstations in the lab.

The site says that we will be programming with Scheme but it does not say much about what we will actually be doing with Scheme, except that we will be doing something with pictures. The topics we will be learning are listed but I cannot help but wonder what we will actually be doing with Scheme and pictures.<

When we have work outside of class that needs to be done on a computer, can I use my Mac?

At least report, the software used for this course was reported to work on the Mac. See this page for more information.

Will most of the coursework we engage in this semester be more practical or theoretical?

Good question! My hope is that it will be a blend of both. Nearly all of it will involve solving some programming-related problems, and these will be very "practical" on a surface level. However, I do hope that the theoretical value shines through as well!

I would like to know more about your teaching style, friendliness, strictness, etc. and what to expect from you as a professor.

I strive to be approachable: please ask questions! I will hold you to the policies in the syllabus (they are there for both our benefit), but I am also a human being and cognizant of unpredictable situations. You can expect I will strive to make our learning environment as positive and productive as possible.

Why is the final exam optional?

This course is already comprehensive in that material builds as we progress. You'll also already have a capstone experience in the project. Therefore, the final exam does not really serve either of its traditional purposes (except perhaps as an additional opportunity to torture students). Thus, since we know sometimes you learn things better at different times or different stages and sometimes things just "go wobbly" (to use a British turn of phrase), we figured an extra shot at an examination would be helpful.

I am still slightly confused as to the difference between MediaScript and Scheme code, but I'm sure I'll learn

In short, Scheme is a standard language, and MediaScript are some libraries we've added to the language so that you can create images easily.

I have a question of how will we be paired up with our lab partner?

I (or a randomized computer program) will do it before class and post it on the course web page; you'll rotate after 3 days.

I was wondering if there will be homework every week all semester because the syllabus said 8 homework assignments.

Yes, the weeks you do not have an exam or the project, you will have a homework assignment.

Why are we learning Scheme and not some other dialect like Common Lisp?

Scheme was designed for pedagogical purposes and thus tends to be an easier, arguably more elegant, language to teach the fundamental concepts with.