Course Introduction
ITP 348
Making Smart Devices
Introduction to Electronics/Wearables
Rob Parke
- Email: parke@usc.edu
- Office Hours: online (hours on Piazza)
- Associate Professor
- Connected Devices and Making Minor
- Sound Editor / Web Developer (previous)
- USC Alum!
Learning Assistants / Graders
- LAs: Neftali, Montserrat, Selina, Judy, Swanav
- Grader: Swanav
- Office hours for will be posted on Blackboard
- For grading issues, post on Piazza and tag the TA
- For general questions, you can contact either of us
Continuous improvement!
- Your feedback is really important throughout the semester
- I want to know
- what works
- what doesn’t
- any way to improve the class
- things you want to learn
Required Materials
- No textbook,
- Required kit must be purchased from the bookstore
- Readings will be available online
Grading Scale
Item | Weight |
---|---|
Assignments | 40 |
Final Project | 35 |
Quizzes and In-Class Labs | 15 |
In-Class Polls and In-Class Participation | 10 |
Exams
None!
Assignments
- Assigned weekly and due Sunday at 11:59pm officially
- Submissions will be on Blackboard and typically include code files as well as video files
- We can not accept assignments via email
- Must be well commented and documented for full-credit
Assignment Extra Credit
- Up to 10% extra credit on each assignment for features beyond the scope of the assignment - May or may not be stated on assignment description
- Points will be earned based on
- Rigor (how difficult was the feature to implement)
- Functionality (does the feature work properly)
- Applicability (does the feature make sense given the larger assignment)
- Important: Must describe the extra features in Blackboard submission
Labs
- Some of our in-class activities will be turned in for credit
- It will be announced at the start of class when labs are to be turned in
- Graded on a 0-2 point scale
- 0 No attempted / minimal effort
- 1 Significant effort
- 2 Complete / mostly complete
Quizzes
- There will be a few quizzes during the semester
- These will be short (a few questions) and will be announced a week ahead of time
- There will NOT be any unannounced quizzes
Polls
- Some classes will begin with poll questions about the recordings for that week
Late Assignment Policy
- Assigned weekly and due Sunday at 11:59pm officially
- Assignments are unofficially accepted Monday at 11:59pm
- After that, youu have 3 “late days” which may be used for extra time without penalty
- May be used for one assignment or distributed across several assignments
- Further extensions only given in rare, exceptional situations (and after late days are used)
- Late work will not be accepted after all the grace days have been used
- Important: You must state that you are using a grace day in their Blackboard submission
Late Lab and Poll Policy
- Since labs are completed in class, they can not be accepted late or made up
Final Project
- No final exam
- Final device project and presentation
- Due during our class exam time
Adding the Course after Week 1
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You may add the course until the end of week 3
-
However, you should plan on attending from the beginning of the semester
-
If you add after week 1, email the instructor immediately to make a plan to for completing work and learning missed materials
-
All missed work is must completed and submitted according to the syllabus
Academic Integrity
- No sharing of code
- Sending another student your code violates academic integrity
- Should not be working to solve a problem
- You must be the sole author of your code / device
- You cannot take code from the internet
- Any plagiarism in your code is easily detectable
- If you have questions, we can chat after class or during office hours anytime
Use of AI Generators
- AI generators such as ChatGPT are powerfully useful tools that have great application in software and engineering
- However, the purpose of this class is to specifically to develop creative and critical thinking skills as well as practical knowledge of building devices
- Therefore, using AI-generated tools is prohibited in this course, will be identified as plagiarism, and will be reported to the Office of Academic Integrity
Piazza
- Website used for class discussions on homework
- Everyone should have been invited (link posted on Blackboard)
- Forum monitored by all instructors, graders, TAs
- No posting of code large sections of code
Useful Resources
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USC Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity
- Academic coaching, time management, study room
- https://kortschakcenter.usc.edu
- Tips / handouts on self-care, goal setting, test taking, note taking, and more
- https://kortschakcenter.usc.edu/tools-resources
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Almost half of all college students will experience severe depression or symptoms of mental illness in college
Student Counseling Center
- Free confidential counseling (213) 740-7711
- https://engemannshc.usc.edu/counseling/
Trojans Care for Trojans
- Anonymously let staff know you are concerned about a fellow student experiencing personal difficulties
- https://studentaffairs.usc.edu/trojans-care-for-trojans-tc4t/
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Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services (RSVP)
- Immediate therapy services—confidential (213) 740-4900
- https://engemannshc.usc.edu/rsvp/
Office of Equity and Diversity
- Report issues related to harassment, discrimination, sexual harassment, or Title IX (213) 740-5086
- https://equity.usc.edu/
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Trojan Alert
- Sign up to receive alerts during emergencies
- https://trojansalert.usc.edu/register.php