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How to Succeed

Basics

The course is designed to give you the opportunity to express yourself with code. The more you know the more powerful your expression will be.

  • Attend all lectures and labs
  • Turn off all distractions and pay attention
  • Focus on understanding, not only listening
  • Ask questions and get engaged
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. [Albert Einstein]

Time Management

  • Hours per week outside lecture and labs: 4-5
  • Plan 2-3 nights a week to code
  • Do not book group meetings during lecture or lab times
  • Do not work too much in addition to your courses
  • Read assignments as soon as they come out
  • Plan a schedule (what will you do when)
  • Plan to finish 1-2 days early (time for review)
  • Get enough sleep. Do not attend tired. Take a nap.
  • Do not be late!
Better three hours too soon, than one minute too late. [William Shakespeare]

Practice

Programming is like learning a language. The more you practice the more articulate you become. The ability to be able to express EXACTLY what you want is a powerful one. The more you PRACTICE, the better you can express yourself with code.

Tips

  • PRACTICE the concepts shown in lecture
  • Do not rely soley on lectures, labs, assignments
  • Make your own exercises and check out cool sketches
  • Make it fun, be creative, and get excited!
An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching. [Mohandas Gandhi]

Review

We are always here to support your learning. Review the material and speak the language of the course. A well defined question will always receive a quick and well defined answer. Help us out by making sure that the questions you ask make sense. If you don't know what you are talking about, tell us. It will get us both on the same page.

Strategies for Review

  • Always review quickly and immediately
  • 10 minutes after each lecture and lab (30 min per week!)
  • Passive reading is NOT enough
  • Write, type, practice and think when you review material
  • DO NOT CRAM
  • Review a topic in a focused burst (30 min max)
  • Stay engaged while reviewing
Study the past, if you would divine the future. [Confucious]

Attitude

A lot of things are difficult if you approach them with the wrong attitude. We are aware that programming may not be "your thing", however it is part of the curriculum and you must learn something in order to pass. Would you rather be miserable doing something you have to, or happy?

Attitude Adjustments

Programming is hard. Keep at it even when it gets tough and you will be amazed at what you have done by the end of the course.

  • Get excited
  • Try not to think or speak negatively about the course
  • You do not "suck" at programming
  • Manage your time, stay alert and be positive
If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. [Mary Engelbreit]

Resources

There are a number of resources you can access to be successful in this class:

  1. Office Hours (by appt)
    • Matt: after lectures
    • Emily: room 3930
  2. Course Resources
  3. Webct
  4. Processing Tutorials
  5. Processing Basics
  6. Processing Topics
  7. Processing Reference