🆘 Getting Help

There will be times in this class where you feel like you’re stuck–that’s perfectly okay and a big part of doing computer science. If you are stuck for longer than 30 minutes on one thing, please reach out and get help. Here are some things you can do to get unstuck:

🏫 Office Hours

This semester, we will be using Calendly to schedule office hours. Feel free to grab more than one slot if you don’t think 15 minutes is enough time.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
–	11:00 - 1:00	–	11:00 - 1:00	11:00 - 12:30 walking office hours @ 1pm

If you have a question, please send me an email or a message via Slack. The above hours are times that I guarantee I will be available for a virtual/in-person meeting. I will likely be in my office during the day whenever I am not in class or in a meeting. To guarantee a time we can meet outside of my office hours, contact me via email or Slack and we will set up a time when both of us are avaible.

🧑‍🏫 CS Tutors

Drake University offers free tutoring services for introductory computer science students. If you are interested in scheduling an individual tutoring appointment, visit the Tutoring Services page.

📝 Academic Success Resources

Check out the Academic Success website. It includes a page for Skills for Success with excellent tips for management classwork. You may also find the following resources useful:

• Structuring Study Time
  • Notecards
  • Preparing for and Taking Exams
• Time Management
• Avoiding Burnout
• Online Learning Strategies

✉️ Email Tips

Here are a few tips to make our communication as efficient as possible this semester.

1. Who:

Let’s start by the who to send it to. If you are looking for help debugging your code, make sure you send it to:

• to Professor Moore

2. What:

A successful email to the professor, specifcially an email that is looking for help debugging some code should have a few components:

• Descriptive Subject: Start off with a Subject line that is descriptive. Include the Course Number (CS65), your Section Number (0 or 1), and the assignment that you are having trouble with.
• Problem: Include a concise description of the problem
• The Error: What’s gone wrong? Is there an error? If so, be sure to include the error. Make sure it’s easy to understand where you got stuck.
• Things you’ve tried: Include a description of what you’ve tried to get past this problem so far.
• Link to Your Updated Code: This one is important. Be sure to push (save) your most recent code to GitHub, and include the link to your GitHub repository in your email.

3. When:

While the Instructor and TAs will do their best to respond to your questions quickly and efficiently, the closer to the deadline that you ask the question, the less likely there will be time for us to answer your question before the deadline. Get started on your assignments early, and be sure to ask questions early and often.

Examples:

👎 What not to do:

Here is an example of an email that is not very helpful. See if you can spot what Timmy did wrong:

👍 What to do:

Here is an example of an email that includes all of the above.