Contact Information
- Unofficial Course Name: Cryptography
- Instructor: Michael Levet (He/Him/His)
- Contact: lastnamefirstinitial (at) cofc (dot) edu
- Office: Harbor Walk East 312
- Location:
- HWEA 301: 9:55-11:10 (Tuesday/Thursday)
- Office Hours (Tentative):
- Monday 9:30-10:30 AM; Wednesday 10-11 AM (Zoom)
- By appointment
- Syllabus
- Strategies for Succeeding in College Courses
- Fundamentals of CS Lecture Notes
- Tutoracles
- Microsoft Forms and Google Drive: (You must be signed in to your CofC account to access these forms.)
Announcements
- 10/8:
In class today, we will begin working with variables and arithmetic operators in Java. As references see:
- Sections 2.1 and 2.2 in my Fundamentals of CS lecture notes (linked above) and the accompanying VariablesDemo.java file.
- The lessons on Variables and Operators in the Tutoracles.
- 10/3:
- On 10/6, we will work on the Vigenere Cipher worksheet.
- On 10/8, there will be a quiz on the Vigenere Cipher.
- Recall that MT2 is scheduled for 10/15. It will be cumulative, through the Vigenere Cipher.
- We will begin Java programming on 10/8. Please start bringing your computers from 10/8 onwards.
- Prior to 10/8, please install BlueJ (or, if you already have another preferred Java IDE, that is fine).
- Once you install BlueJ, please follow these instructions to run Hello, World.
- Upload a screenshot to OAKS by 10/8 at 8 PM, illustrating that you can run Hello, World. This will count towards your Unit 2 Quiz Average.
- 10/1:
I have graded your second attempts at MT1 today. Updated Progress Reports on OAKS.
- 9/25: There is Math tutoring through
the Center for Student Learning
in the Addlestone Library. Math 207 tutors should be able to assist with the material we have seen to date.
- 9/24: MT1 has been graded.
- Progress Reports have been posted to OAKS -> Assignments.
- Your Unit 1 Quiz Average is the maximum of the following two schemes:
- Scheme 1: (#Outstanding + #Proficiency + 0.5 * #Progress) / (#QuizProblems - 1 + 11).
- Scheme 2 (Your MT1 Grade): (#Outstanding + #Proficiency + 0.5 * #Progress) / 11, where the problems are only considered from MT1.
- Your Overall Grade on the Progress Report is being calculated in the following way:
(0.1 * FYSS101 + 0.1 * Presentation + 0.05 * Professional Development + .125 * Unit 1 Quiz Average) / 0.375.
- After presentations on Tuesday, the remaining time will be spent allowing you to work through MT1 and ask questions.
- On Thursday, there will be a new version of MT1. I will take the higher of the two attempts as your actual MT1 grade.
- If you are not happy with your MT1, then it would be advisable to come to office hours with questions. I am also happy to
make appointments.
- If you feel uncomfortable with certain material, the time to start studying is now. Don't wait until Tuesday.
- On the new version of MT1, I will ask the definitions of divisibility and congruence modulo n. These were the
same definitions on MT1 today. See the handwritten notes from 8/25 on the Google Drive.
- 9/16:
- If you are looking for a second Professional Development opportunity, there are some upcoming options:
- Attend the Career Expo. It will be held on 9/23 from 12-4 PM in the Charleston Gaillard Center.
- Attend the CS Department's Biz Bash. It will be held on the first floor of Harbor Walk West from 4:30-6:30 PM.
- For both the Career Expo and Biz Bash, business casual attire would be appropriate.
- Prior to attending the Career Expo or Biz Bash, it might be helpful to visit the Career Center for help preparing your resume.
- The Career Expo is targeted for everyone. Biz Bash hosts employers interested in hiring Computing students.
- While it is more common for sophomores and juniors to obtain internships, it is not impossible for freshmen to do so.
For that reason, it might be worthwhile to put your best foot forward and see what happens.
Even if you don't land an internship, this will be good experience to help you calibrate in the future.
- I have written MT1 and wanted to share some additional details.
- There are 12 possible problems. You will be graded out of 11.
- Note that if you get to a problem and are stuck, you have some buffer to skip it.
- Conversely, it is possible to earn over 100%.
- You will be asked to state the definitions of divisibility, as well as congruence modulo n. See the handwritten notes from 8/25.
- 9/9:
- I have uploaded the prompts for the Professional Development Reflection to the Google Drive, so that you can begin thinking about them.
- You will be asked to respond to both prompts, in-class.
- You will be permitted a 3 in. x 5 in. index card, with notes that are handwritten by you.
- You will have the entire 75-minute period to respond to the prompts. These will be handwritten.
- Recall that the first in-class reflection is 9/17.
- MT2 will be 10/15. The content it will cover is TBD.
- MT3 will be on 11/12. The content it will cover is TBD.
- Evidence of your second Professional Development activity is due to OAKS by 10/20 at 8 PM.
- The second Professional Development Reflection will be in-class on 10/22.
- Evidence of your third Professional Development activity is due to OAKS by 11/17 at 8 PM.
- The third Professional Development Reflection will be in-class on 11/19.
- Class will be cancelled on Tuesday 11/24 (the day before Thanksgiving break).
- 9/4:
- We will have a quiz on Modular Inverses and the Euclidean Algorithm on 9/15.
- We will have a quiz on the Extended Euclidean Algorithm on 9/22.
- Midterm 1 be on 9/24. It will cover through the Extended Euclidean Algorithm.
- I will have your quiz from 9/22 graded ahead of Midterm 1.
- 8/30:
- We will have a Quiz on Modular Arithmetic on 9/3.
- We will have a Quiz on the Affine Cipher on 9/10.
- As usual, the worksheets from class serve as the study guides for the respective quizzes.
- 8/26:
- I have uploaded the presentation dates to the Google Drive. Please check that my records match yours. Let me know if anything is incorrect.
Note that if you did not select a presentation date, then I assigned one for you.
- I have created an assignment on OAKS called Presentation Grades. This will house the grade for your Presentation. I will update it
as more parts of your Presentation become due/are completed. Right now, it includes your grade for selecting your Presentation Date.
All other parts are listed as TBD.
- 8/24:
- We will have a quiz on the Caesar Cipher, on 8/27. The worksheet from class is a good study guide.
- I have extended the Syllabus Quiz to 8/25 at 8 PM. There will be no further extensions after this.
- If you have not already selected a presentation date (see below under 8/12), you have until 8/25 at 8 PM to do so.
- After 8/25, I will record 0's for the Syllabus Quiz and Presentation Date, if these have not been completed.
- 8/19:
- Please upload evidence of your first Professional Development activity to OAKS by 9/15 at 8 PM.
- The in-class writing portion for the first Professional Development activity will take place in class on 9/17.
- You can bring in one 3 inch x 5 inch notecard, with handwritten notes (written by you).
- You will have the entire 75 minute period to write a reflection. This will be handwritten.
- Midterm 1 will be on 9/24. The exact content it will be covered will be determined later (with reasonable notice),
based on what we end up covering.
- 8/12:
- The Syllabus Quiz will go online on 8/17. It will be due on 8/24 at 8 PM to OAKS.
- You are welcome to have a four-function calculator for this course, to use on quizzes and exams.
Scientific and graphing calculators (e.g., TI-83, TI-84, TI-89), will not be permitted on quizzes and exams.
If there is any confusion, it is your responsibility to ask the instructor at least a week ahead of an assessment.
- I will not have extra calculators on-hand for quizzes and exams.
- Please fill out this Day One survey. It is optional, and is intended
to help me get to know you all and plan the course.
- Please select your 10-minute Current Events Presentation date
here, by 8/24 at 8 PM.
- After the 8/24 deadline, your presentation date will not be rescheduled, except in extenuating circumstances. In such cases, you must discuss with me as soon as possible.
-
Please upload a PDF to OAKS containing a link to your news article, together with a brief 1-2 paragraph summary (typed) of what you wish to present.
The summary should be written by you, and not generative AI. Please use proper spelling and grammar. This is due by 8/31 at 8 PM.
- 8/11: Website created.