CS 376 Spring 2012

Practicum in Computer Science Presentations

Instructor: Bing Liu
Email: liub@uic.edu

Office: SEO 931


Time:

Mondays
  • Section 1: 3pm - 4:50pm
  • Section 2: 5pm - 6:50pm
Office Hours: Mondays 11:00am - 12:30pm

Place:
137 BSB

Class Communications:

Make sure you check your uic email as all notifications on the course will be through email.

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

Reference book & Resources (no required textbook):

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 (Jan 9) - Class intros, overview of syllabus, Discussion of Assignments, Lecture 1.
Week 2 (Jan 23) - Lecture 2.
Week 3 - (Jan 30) - Elevator Speech
Week 4 - (Feb 6) - Lecture 3.
Week 5 - (Feb 13) - Presentation (5 students at 20 minutes each)
Week 6 - (Feb 20) - Presentation (5 students at 20 minutes each)
Week 7 - (Feb 27) - Presentation (5 students at 20 minutes each)
Week 8 - (Mar 5) - Presentation (5 students at 20 minutes each)
Week 9 - (Mar 12) - Lecture 4.
Week 10 - (Spring break)
Week 11 - (Mar 25) - Lecture 5 and how to prepare the research presentation
Week 12 - (Apr 2) - No class - prepare your research presentation slides
Week 13 - (Apr 9) - Research presentation (10 students at 10 minutes each)
Week 14 - (Apr 16) - Research presentation (10 students at 10 minutes each)
Week 15 - (Apr 23) - Lecture 6 and summary

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 emailed to me by . 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 emailed to me by the day of of your presentation. Use the following filename: As2_Lastname.zip

Assignment 3 - TBA
 We will discuss how to do this in class in due course.
Start Date: TBA
Grading:
10% Participation in class discussions (attendance and participation)
20% Assignment 1
35% Assignment 2
35% Assignment 3