Department of Computer Science & Engineering

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Spring Semester, 2005

CSCE 488: Computer Engineering Professional Development

Description: 1 Credit, 2 hours/week. Prepares students for the Senior Design Project course and professional practice through familiarity and practice with current tools, resources, and technologies; professional standards, practices, and ethics; and oral and written report styles used specifically in the computer engineering field.

Class Schedule: 3:30—5:20 p.m. Monday, Avery 111.

Instructor: Hong Jiang, 268 Avery, jiang@cse.unl.edu, Phone: 472-6747.

Office Hours: 1:300-3:00p.m. Monday

TA: Yong Wang, Ferguson 17A, ywang@cse.unl.edu, Phone: 472-5027.

Office Hours: 1:30 TO 2:30 p.m. MW; 2:00 TO 3:00 p.m. T.R.

Requirements:

Prereq: AgLec 200

Coreq: ELEC 362, ELEC 476, CSCE 430

Postreq: Must be taken exactly one semester before CSCE 489.

Prerequisites by Topic:

Familiarity with: professional writing & speaking styles (in a general context), conventional word-processors, computer organization, logic design, and computer programming.

Exposure to: the concepts and principles of professional ethics and team dynamics.

Class Web Page: http://www.cse.unl.edu/~jiang/cse488 and http://cse.unl.edu/~ywang/teaching.htm Consult this for current information, announcements, and pointers to useful sources on the web.

Text Book: None required, although instructor may provide or require manuals, standards, and other documentation relevant to the particular topics, projects, and technologies being employed.

Here is a good book that may be helpful to you in this course and in CSCE 489:

1.Fred G. Martin, Robotic Explorations: A Hands-On Introduction to Engineering, 2001.

Other Useful Sources: Many reference materials on oral and written communication exist. You may already have come across some good sources in AgLec 200. Here are a few that I can recommend:

• Mary-Claire van Leunen, A Handbook for Scholars, Revised Edition, Oxford University Press, 1992.
• Jane E. Aaron, Little, Brown Essential Handbook for Writers, 4th Edition, 1999.
• Tips of Presenting Technical Material (Web page maintained by Dr. Steve Scott)
• Purdue Writing Lab
• Style in business writing by Dave Dusseau in Unviersity of Oregon
• Computers and Society, COS 490, CS Department, University of Maine

Grading: There will be no examinations in this class. Grading will be based on:

1. One Take-Home Prerequisite Test

2. Several assignments, including homework, projects, written reports, and presentations. Expect at least one written report, with possible presentation, to be due during the last week of the class.

All graded assignments (exams, projects, etc) will be equally weighed toward the final grade.

Policies Regarding Attendance and Late Submissions:

Attendance: You are expected to come to all the classes IN TIME. I will leave the entrance to the class open until about 3:50 p.m. If you come later and find the door closed, you may not come to the class. This is to avoid disrupting the orderly conduct of the class. The penalty for each class missed will be 1% of your total grade for the course.

Late Submissions: All homework must be turned in via email to me no later than two hours before the beginning of the class on the due date, i.e., at 1:30pm. Late submissions will be accepted in my office, 268 Avery, until 5 p.m. the following Wednesday with penalties as follows:

If turned in by Tuesday, 8:30 a.m.	2%	(of the homework grade)
If turned in by Wednesday, 8:30 a.m.	4%
If turned in by Wednesday, 5:00 p.m.	5%

No submissions will be accepted beyond this point. Any exceptions to this policy will be explicitly noted.

Academic dishonesty of any kind will be dealt with in a manner consistent with the CS&E Department's Policy on Academic Integrity. You are expected to know and abide by this policy, which is available via the department's web page and this course's web page.