CSCI 5090: Computer Science Colloquium

Saint Louis University

Course Description

A series of presentations, given by faculty members and invited speakers, to provide students with exposure to current research and developments in the field of computer science. Students will be required to produce essays, written summaries of the presentations, or other similar homework.

Student Learning Outcomes

After successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and critique styles and formats of scientific oral presentations

2. Gain knowledge and exposure to a variety of research topics in computer science

3. Enable a practical understanding of computer science research

4. Design an outline for a research or literature review talk

5. Judge the quality of presentations

Prerequisites

none

Class Meetings

We will meet in ‘‘Morrissey Hall 3400" Campus Map on Wed from 3:10–4:00PM. If announced, or when the speaker is remote, the class will be held still in the same room but virtually.

Instructor: Flavio Esposito

Office: Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (ISE) 234D
Email: first DOT last AT slu DOT edu
Homepage: http://www.cs.slu.edu/~esposito/

Office Hours: Wed: 2:00pm - 3:00pm or by appointment (via Zoom or in person).

Teaching Assistant: TBD

Student Expectations

• Critique of talks: Choose three talks given during the semester and write-up an assessment of the talk. You will be able to submit your assignments on Canvas. The assessment should provide a summary of the talk and discuss which aspects of the presentation were more effective, which were less effective, and what made those aspects more or less effective. Critiques are due one week from the date of the talk. Note that students are welcome to resubmit a talk critiques before the deadline, but they can only submit one critique period. Deadline extensions will not be provided.

• Other homework: when and if announced, students will be required to complete other assignments.

• Participation: Students are expected to attend all seminars and participate in discussions. To gain full credit for class participation, students are supposed to attend all talks, Students are allowed to miss up to 3 talks. Each talk missed after these 3 will result into a lower class participation score. Should students have an unexcused absence, they should contact the instructor to explain the reason of the absence. Instructors need to follow all university policies and cannot excuse absenses at their discretion. The instructor reserves the right to check attendance and to penalize late arrival. If you arrive at a seminar more than 20 minutes late you will automatically dropped from the attendance list. Attendance points will not be recorded on canvas.

How should you write the talk assessments?

The goal of this seminar is to expose you to a range of important issues in computer science, as well as to get you to think critically about presenting technical material. For this reason, each essay has these components:

• A brief summary of the work. This summary should (usually) be 1-2 paragraphs, and consist of a condensed description of the main points and contributions of the talk. Here is a link to a nice guide for this part of your essay: HOW TO WRITE A SUMMARY.

• Please address your opinion of the talk itself. This can include a range of possible things, depending on the area and how well you understood the main ideas. Some questions to think about: Were the ideas important, and did the speaker convince you of their relevance? Were the slides and context understandable? Was the level appropriate for the audience? What did you struggle with, and what could have made the presentation clearer? All told, you should be able to communicate this in less than 1000 words, which is about 2 pages. This takes practice, so expect it to be a struggle at first!

• Thank you note. Your talk summary should end with a thank you note to the speaker,

Please submit each essay using the Link provided on the assignment webpage, with a bibliography at the end if you cite any external sources beyond the talk. We (instructors and graders) do not require a specific bibliography style - just be sure we can figure out how to go find your reference, whether online or in print!

You are welcome to use any writing software, although I recommend this as an excellent chance to become familiar with Latex, the most commonly used editor for most areas in computer science. My favorite free online editor is overleaf, which you can use for free and which jumps you right into a template document where you can start writing. Here are a few links to get started, if you like a guide:

• Free Online Introduction to Latex

• Creating a document in Latex

Here below the standard rubric that we will use to grade your essays, although this may be slightly adapted for individual talks. For any essay, I encourage you to get feedback from the university writing center: LINK to the University Writing Services; if you go visit them, please make sure they send me a confirmation email after your meeting or feedback.

Grading Rubric

The instructor and the teaching assistant will grade your assessments following this rubric:

Grading Policies

• Homework (60%)

• Class participation (40%)

Letter Grades

Student percentage above 93% will result in a grade of A or better.
Student percentage above 90% will result in a grade of A- or better.
Student percentage above 87% will result in a grade of B+ or better.
Student percentage above 83% will result in a grade of B or better.
Student percentage above 80% will result in a grade of B- or better.
Student percentage above 77% will result in a grade of C+ or better.
Student percentage above 73% will result in a grade of C or better.
Student percentage above 70% will result in a grade of C- or better.
Student percentage above 67% will result in a grade of D or better.
Student percentage below 67% will result in a grade of F.

Any modification to this scale at the end of the year will be in favor of the students. That is, I may later decide to award an A to a student who is slightly below the above cutoff, but I certainly will not deny an A from someone who is above the cutoff.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend all seminars and participate in discussions. A good goal is to have at least one question to ask at every talk, particularly if it is in an area close to your prior coursework or research. In case of illness or other serious situations, students should contact the instructor at least 24 hours in advance to explain the reason for their absence. Talks will be recorded via Zoom so there is the possibility to make up absences due to illness.

Late submission policy

Assignments submitted late will have a score reduced of 20% per day for the first 2 days after the deadline. No submissions will be accepted after the second day. Upon request to the Dean of Students (http://www.slu.edu/dean-of-students-office), students shall be given up to five (5) consecutive days (not including weekends or holidays) of excused absence for bereavement.

Technology in and outside class

• Please contact cshelp@slu.edu for any technical support issues (not the instructor).

• Cell phones are allowed in vibration mode during class. If you have a personal emergency, feel free to step out quietly from the classroom and take the call. Recording audio or video (frames) during class is not recommended. Learning how to take notes effectively is useful: train for that.

• Computers will be an integral part of this course, both inside and outside of class. However, out of courtesy to both the instructor and other students, please do not use the lab computers for non-class related activity. In particular, you do not need to be using a computer unless an exercise or in class activity requiring them is in progress.

• Research suggests that laptops do not enhance classroom learning. For example, read this article Logged In and Zoned Out: How Laptop Internet Use Relates to Classroom Learning. By Susan M. Ravizza, Mitchell G. Uitvlugt, Kimberly M. Fenn.

Student Success Center

In recognition that people learn in a variety of ways and that learning is influenced by multiple factors (e.g., prior experience, study skills, learning disability), resources to support student success are available on campus. The Student Success Center assists students with academic and career related services, and is located in the Busch Student Center (Suite, 331) and the School of Nursing (Suite, 114). Students can visit www.slu.edu/success to learn more about:

• Course-level support (e.g., faculty member, departmental resources, etc.) by asking your course instructor.

• University-level support (e.g., tutoring services, university writing services, disability services, academic coaching, career services, and/or facets of curriculum planning).

University Writing Services Support

We encourage you to take advantage of university writing services in the Student Success Center; getting feedback benefits writers at all skill levels. Trained writing consultants can help with writing projects, multimedia projects, and oral presentations. University Writing Services offers one-on-one consultations that address everything from brainstorming and developing ideas to crafting strong sentences and documenting sources. For more information, call 314-977-3484 or visit http://bit.ly/1gAKC9H.

Disability Services Academic Accommodations

Students with a documented disability who wish to request academic accommodations must contact Disability Services to discuss accommodation requests and eligibility requirements. Once successfully registered, the student also must notify the course instructor that they wish to access accommodations in the course.

Please contact Disability Services, located within the Student Success Center, at Disability_services@slu.edu or 314.977.3484 to schedule an appointment. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries. Once approved, information about the student’s eligibility for academic accommodations will be shared with course instructors via email from Disability Services and viewed within Banner via the instructor’s course roster.  

Note: Students who do not have a documented disability but who think they may have one are encouraged to contact to Disability Services.

Title IX

Saint Louis University and its faculty are committed to supporting our students and seeking an environment that is free of bias, discrimination, and harassment. If you have encountered any form of sexual harassment, including sexual assault, stalking, domestic or dating violence, we encourage you to report this to the University. If you speak with a faculty member about an incident that involves a Title IX matter, that faculty member must notify SLU's Title IX Coordinator and share the basic facts of your experience. This is true even if you ask the faculty member not to disclose the incident. The Title IX Coordinator will then be available to assist you in understanding all of your options and in connecting you with all possible resources on and off campus.

Anna Kratky is the Title IX Coordinator at Saint Louis University (DuBourg Hall, room 36; (anna.kratky@slu.edu; 314-977-3886). If you wish to speak with a confidential source, you may contact the counselors at the University Counseling Center at 314-977-TALK or make an anonymous report through SLU's Integrity Hotline by calling 1-877-525-5669 or online at https://www.lighthouse-services.com/_StandardCustomURL/LHILandingPage.asp. To view SLU's policies, and for resources, please visit the following web addresses: https:www.slu.edu/here4you and https://www.slu.edu/general-counsel.

IMPORTANT UPDATE. SLU's Title IX Policy (formerly called the Sexual Misconduct Policy) has been significantly revised to adhere to a new federal law governing Title IX that was released on May 6, 2020. Please take a moment to review the new policy and information on the following web address: https:www.slu.edu/here4you. Please contact the Anna Kratky, the Title IX Coordinator, with any questions or concerns.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is honesty, truthful and responsible conduct in all academic endeavors. The mission of Saint Louis University is “the pursuit of truth for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity.” Accordingly, all acts of falsehood demean and compromise the corporate endeavors of teaching, research, health care, and community service via which SLU embodies its mission. The University strives to prepare students for lives of personal and professional integrity, and therefore regards all breaches of academic integrity as matters of serious concern.

The governing University-level Academic Integrity Policy can be accessed on the Provost's Office website. A more detailed policy statement is given by the College of Arts & Science, also applying to this course.