May 6: New Links

I added a section with links related to the HBO documentary (Hacking Democracy)

Apr 13: New Links

I added a "programs" link to the main menu bar. Click there to see a list of Ruby programs shown in lectures. Download these programs and experiment with them!

There are new links to Ruby reference material in the Links section.

Mar 31: Welcome!

Use links in the menu bar above to go to the main sections of this web site.

The syllabus and other course documents are available on the Documents page.

The Schedule has tentative topics for future lectures and links to notes for previous lectures.

Use the CIS 170 page on Blackboard to download lab assignments and to submit completed labs.

The Science of Computing

This course is an introduction to the field of computer science. It will be oriented to students who are considering a CIS major, but should be of interest to anyone who is curious about what computers are and how they are used in a wide variety of areas that impact our lives today.

Our plan is to choose a set of topics related to a common theme that will change from year to year.

For Spring 2008 the theme will be technical issues related to electronic voting: methods for representing, securing, and transmitting data (e.g. from a voting machine to a county elections office), software engineering (e.g. can software developers "prove" their machines are accurate and trustworthy? can election officials verify machines are working as specified?), databases (are voter registration records secure and accurate?) and other computer science topics that arise in discussions of electronic voting.

Although the topics are fairly technical, the lectures and projects in this course will be accessible to anyone with a basic background in math (the equivalent of MTH 112). The course satisfies the UO Group requirements for Group III (Science).