In-Person / Remote Learning

Please read RPI's Latest COVID-19 Updates.

We hope that nearly all of our students will return-to-campus for an in-person academic experience in the Fall 2021 semester. We will follow CDC, NY State, and RPI policies regarding in-person classes.

We will make necessary accommodations for students who have been verified by the Deans Office as unable to be physically present on campus due to personal health concerns or travel restrictions. Similarly, we will make necessary accommodations for students with short term absenses from the in-person environment due to illness.

Required Computing Hardware

All students are required to have sole use of a personal computer with moderate computing power. This equipment should not be shared with anyone else during the term. It should not be shared with other students, friends, or family members. Students are responsible for physically securing their computer and protecting all accounts with good passwords.

Students on campus for in-person learning must have a laptop and bring it to in-person labs and office hours. Many students will have a laptop from RPI's Mobile Computing Program. You may alternatively choose to Bring Your Own Laptop, but it should meet similar minimum requirements.

All students (even those planning to attend in-person classes) must be prepared to participate in video conferencing calls when necessary. All students will need a simple webcam, speakers or headphones, and microphone. Note: The built-in camera, speaker, and microphone with most modern laptops should be sufficient.

Required Computing Software

You may use any of the major Operating Systems (GNU/Linux, MacOS, or Windows) for this course. Please follow the C++ Installation Instructions for your Operating System.

We will be using Cisco's Webex Meetings / Events for video conferencing. Please read the documentation and download the Webex Meetings application for your operating system (MacOS or Windows). Linux users are currently limited to accessing Webex Meetings through their web browser, but this should will work well enough for this course.

All students (even those planning to attend in-person classes) should practice using their WebEx video conferencing setup in preparation for video meetings with their classmates and/or teaching staff. During video meetings students will be required to enable their camera and microphone. Students will also need to screenshare their C++ development environment to demonstrate their code and ask for detailed help.

Internet Access

Students are expected to have reliable internet access on a daily or near daily basis throughout the term. All materials (lecture videos and lecture, lab, and homework handouts) will be posted on the Calendar. All official course announcements and Q & A will be on the Discussion Forum.

Lecture

At this time, since the total class registration is approximately 300 students, our twice-per-week lectures will consist of live Cisco WebEx Event video presentations with student questions by text messaging and limited voice interaction. PDF copies of the lecture notes will be posted on the Calendar on the date of the lecture.

Students are strongly encouraged to practice good time management and attend the Fall 2021 WebEx Event Live Lectures during the scheduled lecture time. See also: Lecture Participation Polls.

Lectures in Fall 2021 may be recorded, and these recordings may be made available to students. Lectures from Fall 2020 are available and the content will be similar. Students who choose to watch the videos from 2020 must be sure to keep up-to-date with all Announcements and Information posted in the Discussion Forum.

• MediaSite Fall 2021 Data Structures Lecture Videos
• MediaSite Fall 2020 Data Structures Lecture Videos

Lab

At this time, we are planning on holding our weekly lab sections in person. Each 2 hour lab will have up to 35 students and 5 graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants / programming mentors. Attendance will be taken at these mandatory weekly in-person labs and students will work through graded exercises with assistance from the teaching staff.

Students approved to be absent from campus for the term or who are unable to attend due to illness or quarantine or isolation should contact their graduate lab TA (or the graduate TA in charge of a specific office hours time block) and ask to attend the lab or office hours via WebEx meeting. Follow the instructions on the Office Hours Queue page.

Office Hours

Students can ask questions about lecture and lab material, and get one-on-one help on their homework during office hours held by the instructor, graduate TAs, and undergraduate programming mentors. See also Office Hours Schedule and Getting Help.

We hope to offer a mix of both in-person and WebEx Meeting Office Hours.

Tests and Final Exam

The testing procedure for Fall 2021 will depend on the availability of in-person testing facilities and may be adapted or modified as the term progresses.

Communication and Teaching Staff

The faculty, graduate TAs, undergraduate programming mentors, and administrative staff assigned to Data Structures this term are passionate about technology and education, and care about your overall health and happiness.

These are unusual and stressful times. This is a very large class (typically 300+ students in the fall term) and resources are not infinite.

Please use the discussion forum to ask your course-related questions so we can share our answers with all students. Please limit your email communication with the teaching staff to confidential matters. Thank you!