CS 334: Spring 2007

Advanced Introduction to Computer Organization and Architecture

General Information 


Driving Principle:

The one who does the work is the one who learns. I prefer for students to learn as much as possible hence they must work. 


Cost Efficient:

This course is a bargain, it satisfies both the 170 and 270 requirements for the BSCS degree at Old Dominion University. 

      1. Two courses for the price of 1.33. 
      2. Available to those without access to CS 170 and 270. 


Time Commitment:

The equivalent of six credit hours of material will be covered. No effort will be made to condense or abbreviate the material covered in 170 and 270. The time commitment required for a good student to be successful in this course will be in the range of 15-20 hours per week. 

      1. If working full time this may be the only course you can handle. 
      2. Be sure to budget twice as much time for this course as for a normal course. 


Nonstandard Course Delivery:

The delivery mechanism of this course will be new for many students.  It is heavily dependent on technology.  You must be prepared to handle minor glitches without becoming overly upset. Every reasonable effort will be made to minimize the problems. A certain amount of overhead for adapting to this nonstandard delivery system is expected. Most of it will occur at the start of the course but equipment failure, software problems, power failure and human errors may cause temporary problems at any time during the semester. Be prepared to use your time wisely by reviewing old material and/or reading ahead if something prevents you from working on the preferred task.
 

      1. We will meet only five times to coordinate current material and possibly introduce new material.  You will also need to come to you TTN site three times to take exams and once for the final.

 

      1. The meetings will be available by television at the TTN (TELETECHNET) site at which you registered and by live video streaming certain sections. They will also be available on VCR tapes or video streaming archives for review of missed meetings.  You may also want to use the tapes or archives for review purposes.

 

      1. Guidance and technical material will be made available for your access via the Internet. These will range from simple reading assignments to written material designed to supplement the text. Certain important aspects of the course will be illustrated by flash video that will be available to students. Also in some cases we will add material to the text for more complete coverage.


Student Attributes:

Students with the following attributes should be successful in this course. 

      1. The ability to read. 
      2. The ability to learn by reading. 
      3. The discipline to set aside time for study. 
      4. The ability to do mathematics well at the pre calculus level.  

Those with the following attributes are advised to reconsider their options before taking this course. 

      1. Needing detailed explanations of all new technical material. 
      2. Not able to learn by reading on your own. 
      3. Lacking the discipline and motivation for setting and maintaining your own schedule.
      4. Less than a B average in mathematics. 


Hardware/Software Needs:

Distance learning has provided us with a web site that describes the hardware and software necessary for live video stream access.  

http://dl.odu.edu/tools/vstream/index.shtml .


Modules:

This course will be organized into four modules with modules further divided into components. Roughly we will cover one component per week.  The early modules contain review and basic material necessary to do the later modules. If you are not doing well at mid-term you are advised to drop at that time. After that date I will be willing to consider incomplete grades and/or late withdrawals only for exceptional circumstances and only for those who were doing well at mid-term. If your work is below a C at mid-term then you continue at your own risk. 


Study Habits:

I have the following suggestion as to how to study for this course. 

      1. Go to the schedule and follow the link to the appropriate module or component.  It will be to your advantage to do them in the order suggested. Be aware that there is work to be done prior to the first class meeting.  For best results get ahead and stay ahead.  In fact one could do all the work prior to the first class meeting and then just review from time to time to take the tests. 
      2. Read each module and follow the instructions there. Study the material in the modules themselves as well as the material from the text as you are responsible for everything. Do not be afraid to read material multiple times as we all do that in order to learn new material. 
      3. Read/study with pencil and paper in hand to work out the math problems and make notes for your later use. Somehow just writing down information helps it to stick in your head. Particularly math examples are easier to follow if you do the work on your own paper rather than just trying to read and absorb it. You will save time and effort by doing this and the results will amaze you. 
      4. Do all the homework assigned not just the ones to be turned in for grading. It is probably faster to do them all in that like many texts the problems get progressively tougher as you move forward in the list, so the training you get on the easy ones will help you on the harder ones. Also you may see some of these problems on tests and if you have not previously had enough drill work then you may have problems with time. There is some drill built into these assignments if you are really good they will not take long and if you are not then the drill will make a big difference.  I will collect and grade only a few selected problems to give you some feed back.  You are expected to do them all.  If you do them all and study them until you understand all of them then you will learn a great deal of information from this course.  If you decide not to do so then you can expect to have problems with tests and with the later material. 
      5. The problems marked with an * in the text have answers in the back. Work them out and then confirm your answer. Often the problems near these are very similar to those with the *s.   Your immediate goal is to understand all of the assigned problems and their solutions prior to the tests. 
      6. An even more important long-term goal is to develop your ability to solve new problems quickly. If you find problems that are particularly tough after devoting a reasonable amount of time to them feel free to ask in class or by email. Do not waste my time and yours by asking questions about problems that you have not made a proper effort to solve, including reviewing the text checking including example problems of a similar nature. 
      7. Stay up with schedule.  If you get behind there is not likely to be time to catch up. This will require multiple study periods per week. If you do this then when a test is scheduled all you will need to do is to review the material that you have already learned and to use your knowledge on the test in order to earn your 'A'. 
      8. Pay attention in class and use the tapes and video streamed archives as appropriate to aid in your understanding of the material. You are responsible for all material presented in class whether you attend or not. 

Print sign and send the contract below to Dr. Larry Wilson, CS Department, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529. 

 

  CS 334 Spring 2008 Student Contract 

For 

Advanced Introduction to Computer Organization and Architecture 

 

I have read the material in the general information section on the previous pages of this document. I am aware that this course contains the material normally taught in two courses. I am willing to commit the amount of time (up to twenty hours per week) required to be successful in this course. 

I am aware of the course delivery system described above and the fact that this is nonstandard. I understand that there may be delays and frustrations due to the delivery system. 

I satisfy the prerequisites for this course or I have obtained a waiver from Dr. Wilson. 

I have read and understand the statement above concerning the withdrawal and incomplete policy for this course. 

 

 _________________________________________ 

Signature & Date 

You may merely type in your name and return by email to satisfy this burden.

 

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