Practicum in Computer Science Presentations

CS 376

(C) 2010 Jason Leigh
University of Illinois at Chicago

Version: October 25, 2010

Time:

Mondays
  • Section 1: 3pm - 4:50pm
  • Section 2: 5pm - 6:50pm
Office Hours: Mondays 3:00pm - 4:50pm

Place:
2068 Engineering Research Facility Building, 842 W Taylor St

Instructor & TA Contact Info:
Jason Leigh
Phone: (312) 996-3002
Office: Room 2032, Engineering Research Facilities Building (842 W Taylor St)
Home Page: jasonleigh.me

Class Discussion Group:

Make sure to join the following google group to receive class notifications as well as notes.

Course Description (from the catalog):

1 Hours. Techniques for effective presentation of computer science topics: terminology, organization, visual aides and delivery of technical talks; presentations and presentation evaluation required. Prerequisite: Engl 161 and CS 102

Textbooks & Resources:

Administrative Stuff:
  • No exams for this class.
  • No late assignments accepted. Forget it, don't even try come up with some excuse.
  • Cheating! Bad! Don't do it. If I catch you copying someone else's work, you will face disciplinary action (you know public humiliation, canning, banishment, that sort of thing).
Course Topics:
  • Understanding your audience
  • Understanding you
  • Understanding the venue
  • Creating effective presentation materials
  • Preparing for presentations
  • Creating video presentations

Class Schedule:

Week 1 (Aug 23) - Class intros, overview of syllabus, Discussion of Assignments, Lecture 1.
Week 2 (Aug 30) - Lecture 2.
Week 3 - (Sept 13) - Lecture 3.
Week 4 - (Sept 20) - Assignment 1 presented in class.
Week 5 - (Sept 27) - Catchup on lectures.
Week 6 - (Oct 4) - Body Language
Week 7 - (Oct 11) - Assignment 2 (5 students at 20 minutes each).
Week 8 - (Oct 18) - Assignment 2.
Week 9 - (Oct 25) - Assignment 2.
Week 10 - (Nov 1) - Assignment 2.
Week 11 - (Nov 8) - Work on your videos.
Week 12 - (Nov 15) - No Class. Jason out of town.
Week 13 - (Nov 22) - Assignment 3.
Week 14 - (Nov 29) - Assignment 3 (catchup if late).

Course Assignments:

Assignment 1 - The Elevator Speech
You just stepped into an elevator with the CEO of large company. You either want to work for the company, or you want the company to fund your idea. Before the elevator reaches the designated floor you have 2 minutes to give him/her your pitch. Text draft of elevator speech must be posted on Google Group site by Sept 20. Use the following filename: As1_Lastname.html

Assignment 2 - A Technical Presentation on a Topic of Your Choosing
Choose a technical topic of interest to you and give a well prepared conference presentation that will last 15 minutes plus 5 minutes of Question and Answer. Slide set must be posted on Google Group site by the day of your presentation. Use the following filename: As2_Lastname.zip


Assignment 3 - A YouTube Video about some aspect of Computer Science
You will work in teams of 2 to produce a short 5 minute video of a computer science topic of your choice. The video  could be a straight educational video, a documentary, a music  video or even a rap video.
The final video must be uploaded to YouTube.

Grading:
10% Participation in class discussions (tallyed by Jason)
20% Assignment 1
35% Assignment 2
35% Assignment 3