As you read the text, think about whether you agree with it, how the reading fits with what you've learned so far, and whether the author is leaving anything out. Think about how the reading connects with your other courses and other interests. Think about what makes particularly interesting points exciting and why especially boring points were included. Try the exercises and think about your solutions and other problems you could solve.
To spur your thoughts and keep us abreast of your learning, we require you to submit one question that YOU thought of based on the reading for the week, every week. The question doesn't have to be deep or insightful; it just has to be yours! It can even be a question you've already asked of someone and gotten an answer for! (Note that the collaboration policy for the assignment is very simple: this must be your question that you thought of and wrote yourself.)
We also ask that you include one question, comment, or concern about the class in general, although this part isn't required. (Note: you're always welcome to e-mail or otherwise send feedback about the class to the instructor; or to speak with a CS advisor if for any reason you're uncomfortable with communicating directly with the instructor.)
The questions are due on paper at the start of the last lecture each week (Friday), starting January 15th. Along with your question and optional comment/feedback, your submission must include your name, your student ID, the page in the book that spurred your question, and which edition you're using (2nd or 3rd). Handwritten submissions are fine, and even encouraged - but they must be legible. The marking scheme will be roughly: each weekly will be marked as a 1 (submitted and acceptable) or a 0 (not submitted or not acceptable). Weeklies might be unacceptable because they don't include your name or student ID, they are illegible, or they clearly show no thought or effort (e.g., "on page 9, how do you spell 'computer'?"). Don't let the last requirement cause you stress, however. Any question you're genuinely curious about is legitimate, even if it seems 'silly' or 'dumb'. We'll drop one weekly mark so you can miss a particularly stressful week, and there is one week with no assigned reading. The 10 weekly marks together count as one assignment.
Here's an example of a weekly question:
Tamara Munzner Weekly Questions 2718281 2010/01/15 Book question - Page 16, 2nd edition: If backup copies are so important, why doesn't Java help us manage our backup copies? Course comment: Can you speak louder during lecture? I sit near the back and sometimes can't hear everything.