Course Syllabus

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Note: Some links on this page may only be accessible to registered students.

Welcome to CS 261: Data Structures (online)

The purpose of this course is to develop your knowledge and understanding of data structures. The course was intentionally designed so that, at the end of the term, you will be able to do the following:

  • Describe the properties, interfaces, and behaviors of basic abstract data types, such as collection, bag, indexed collection, sorted collection, stack, and queue.
  • Read an algorithm or program code segment that contains iterative constructs and analyze the asymptotic time complexity of the algorithm or code segment.
  • State the asymptotic time complexity of the fundamental operations associated with a variety of data structures, such as vector, linked list, tree, and heap.
  • Recall the space utilization of common data structures in terms of the long-term storage needed to maintain the structure, as well as the short-term memory requirements of fundamental operations, such as sorting.
  • Design and implement general-purpose, reusable data structures that implement one or more abstractions.
  • Compare and contrast the operation of common data structures (such as linear structures, priority queues, tree structures, hash tables, maps, and graphs) in terms of time complexity, space utilization, and the abstract data types they implement.

We call this list the course Learning Objectives. We recommend that you periodically revisit this list throughout the term to check your progress on developing this knowledge and these skills.

 

Course Structure

We structured the course around the Learning Objectives, above. We will present the material and assess your learning in multiple ways, including the following:

  • Weekly readings
  • Explorations and Video lectures
  • Programming assignments (completed individually)
  • Quizzes

Note: There will be no exams in this course that need to be proctored.

 

Your Instructional Team

Instructors:

Samina Ehsan (ehsans@oregonstate.edu)                                                                    normandy_beach.JPG

Hello Everyone, My name is Samina Ehsan and I will be one of your instructors for CS-261-Data Structures. Right after completing my Ph.D. from Oregon State University, I joined OSU as an Instructor in the online CS program. For the past 8 years, I have been teaching exclusively online courses. I believe that a strong understanding of data structures is very important to drastically improve one's ability to solve problems with powerful and efficient programs because it deals with data storage, manipulation, and retrieval when we write computer programs. And I hope this course will provide you a solid understanding of various data structures, abstract data types, and their implementation in Python. I look forward to a great term with all of you!

 

Tim Alcon (alcont@oregonstate.edu) Tim Alcon pic

Hi all, and welcome to CS 261!  I have an M.S. in Computer Science from Western Washington University and an M.S. in Bioinformatics from Iowa State University. My recreational interests include hiking, biking, ultimate frisbee, racquetball, board games, and learning new stuff.

 

Undergraduate Learning Assistants(ULAs):  

Lisa Bettcher
Email: bettchem@oregonstate.edu  

Joseph Milton Caswell
Email: caswellj@oregonstate.edu  

Logan Cope
Email: copel@oregonstate.edu 

Jaspreet S. Dhillon
Email: dhillonj@oregonstate.edu 

Dresden Lee 
Email: leedre@oregonstate.edu 

Anjanette Oborn 
Email: oborna@oregonstate.edu 

 

Note: Some links on this page may only be accessible to registered students.

 

Please read the syllabus and course guidelines very carefully: CS261_40X_Syllabus&Course_Guidelines_Spring2021_Updated.pdf  

You may also want to look over the weekly schedule or download it for your records: CS261_40X_Weekly_Schedule_Spring2021.pdf  


 

Note: Some links on this page may only be accessible to registered students.

 

Ed Discussion Board

Ed Discussion is the best place to get help with course-related questions.

MS Teams Workspace

MS Teams is where to look for real-time help from peers and the instructional team.

  • The official MS Teams workspace name is: 

    CS 261 S21 (Online)

      

Course Resources

There is no required textbook for this course. Reading and learning materials are provided via Canvas.

 

Instructor Contact Information

  • Office Hours Information

The Instructors will hold fixed weekly office hours starting from the week of 04/05/2021. Office hours are held via the official MS Teams channel (office_hours). The contact and office hours information of the Instructor are provided as follows -

  • Communication Policy
    • Ed Discussion is the best way to reach instructors for any course-related query. We can refer back to our previous discussions here and also as it will be visible to the entire class. So, the other students will be able to get benefit from it. Not all posts require a reply from me and often it is better for students to hash out an answer to a question. But please email us or send a message on MS Teams if you do not receive a reply within 48 hours.
    • Sending an email to the instructor for your section is the preferred mode of communication for discussing matters of a personal nature related to the course (Please include the prefix CS261_40X_S21  in the subject). Please resend the email if we do not respond within 24 hours. 

ULA Contact and Office Hours Information

The  ULAs will hold fixed weekly office hours starting from the week of 04/05/2021. Office hours are held via the official MS Teams channel (office_hours). The contact and office hours information of the  ULAs are provided as follows -

Lisa Bettcher
Email: bettchem@oregonstate.edu Office hours: 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM Pacific Time on Mondays

Joseph Milton Caswell
Email: caswellj@oregonstate.edu  Office hours:  4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Pacific Time on Wednesdays

Logan Cope
Email: copel@oregonstate.edu Office hours: 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time on Wednesdays

Jaspreet S. Dhillon
Email: dhillonj@oregonstate.edu Office hours: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time on Thursdays

Dresden Lee 
Email: leedre@oregonstate.edu Office hours: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Pacific Time on Fridays

Anjanette Oborn 
Email: oborna@oregonstate.edu Office hours: 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM Pacific Time on Thursdays

Tutoring

The College of Engineering (COE) offers a variety of academic support resources for students. There are remote  tutoring  services available through the COE by appointment and drop-in. There are also  tutoring  services available through the College of Science. More information about these and other academic support services can be found on the COE’s  Academic Support  website. For writing assistance, the Oregon State  Online Writing Suite  is a great resource for students enrolled in Ecampus courses. If you have additional  tutoring  needs, or have questions about these services, please contact Casey Patterson at  casey.patterson@oregonstate.edu .

Note: Some links on this page may only be accessible to registered students.

 

Now that you've read the syllabus, here's what to do next:

  1. Read over the important information in this module: Start Here
  2. Take the Syllabus Quiz . 
  3. Look over the Week 1 Learning Module
  4. Begin working on the tasks in the Week 1 Overview

 

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due