Instructor: Prof. Ted Pawlicki <pawlicki@cs.rochester.edu>
Office: 2101 Wegmans Hall (see instructor website )
Office hours for this class will be online via ZOOM Monday (noon-1pm), Tuesday (1pm-2pm), Wednesday (2pm-3pm), Thursday (1pm-2pm) and Friday (noon-1pm) Eastern US time. You can drop in to get personal help.
Office hours on Tuesday and Thursday will also be live in person in my office in addition to being on line. In person will have preference. TA office hours will be drop in help sessions in the late afternoon or evenings almost every day. You can drop in, share your screen, and get personal help.Lectures:
Website: The UR's BlackBoard system
This course is a hands on hands on introduction to 3D modeling, animation, computer programming using the Blender open source modeling package. You will learn to general concepts of 3D graphics and specific techniques to construct images and video sequences. Topics covered will include:
We learn by doing. Students should expect to spend time outside of lecture to master the material.
For all your courses, be sure to familiarize yourself with the OFFICIAL University of Rochester Credit Hour policy which says that student should expect to spend two hours studying outside of class for every hour in class. UR CREDIT HOUR POLICIES
There are no prerequisite courses for CSC131.
There is no textbook for CSC131. Homework will include tutorial videos from various internet sites. Be prepared - these assignments can amount to several hours per week of video in addition to lectures.
There are weekly homework assignments. These are exercises that you can complete on your own time. The lab/lecture sessions and the online TA ZOOM office hours are there to help you.
This is a studio type course. There are no quizzes or exams. All work is practical.
Extra credit for going above and beyond any single assignment must be approved by TAs in advance. The maximum extra credit for any one assignment is typically 10%.
Late assignments without suitable prearranged excuse will not be accepted. Missed or late homework will receive a grade of zero.
Final course grades will be based on the weekly homework assignments. All assignments have equal weight.
This scheme is subject to change in response to changing circumstances. Any changes will be announced in class and posted on the class web site.
Letter grades will follow the Official University of Rochester Grading Scheme. Note that the University scheme puts average
somewhere between C and B. The following table is an estimate of how the numeric grades will map onto the letter grades (subject to change):
| A: Excellent | >=90% |
| B: Above Average | >=80% |
| C: Minimum Satisfactory Grade | >=70% |
| D: Minimum Passing Grade | >=60% |
| E: Fail | <60% |
All appeals of grades for any component of the course (homework, project, quiz, exam, etc.) must be made within one week of the grade being posted.
We hope that you will want to attend class (lecture), but attendance is NOT required.
Students with an appropriate excuse for missing a quiz, workshop, homework, or project deadline must make arrangements in advance.
Students with an accommodation for any aspect of the course must make arrangements through the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) IN ADVANCE. Then, as instructed by CETL, contact the instructor to confirm your arrangements. Do not leave this until the last minute either.
Students who are unable to attend or complete any part of the course due to illness should contact the instructor as soon as possible. Please note that the University Health Service (UHS) does not provide retroactive excuses for missed classes. Students who are seen at UHS for an illness or injury can ask for documentation that verifies the date of their visit(s) to UHS without mention of the reason for the visit. Students with extended or severe illness should contact the College Center for Advising Services (CCAS) for advice and assistance.
All assignments and activities associated with this course must be performed in accordance with the University of Rochester's Academic Honesty Policy. More information is available at: www.rochester.edu/college/honesty
You will learn the most if you do all the work in this course on your own.
Homework is individual work and you must complete it individually. Your TAs and are available in lab to help you with homework. You may verbally discuss assignments with tutors and other students. You may consult library and on line references, but you must write all the code individually.
With every assginment you should include a comment on who helped you and what resources you used.
It is ok to verbally discuss assignments with other students, but do not copy assignments or share electronic files.
Tutoring is a free service available for any undergraduate of the University of Rochester. The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) provides structured tutoring services.
CETL Tutoring : www.rochester.edu/college/cetl/undergraduate/tutoring.html
CSUG is the Computer Science Undergraduate Council. These students graciously volunteer their time to help other students, especially students in introductory and core courses.
CSUG Tutoring Schedule: www.csug.rochester.edu/ugc/tutoring/
If you visit the CSUG tutors, please be respectful of their time and come prepared. Try to solve the problem/question before going to CSUG Tutoring. Go to lab and work on the problem with the TAs before going to CSUG Tutoring. Go to workshop and discuss the problem with your colleagues before going to CSUG Tutoring. You must be able to show them what you have tried before you came to them.