CSE 204:
Computational Thinking in Context: Digital Images and Sound

Description

Introduction to computational thinking, focusing on problem solving and programming concepts and skills needed to manipulate digital images and sound; creativity and imagination encouraged.

Level and Credits

• U 4 (one one-hour lecture, three one-hour labs)

Prerequisites

• None

Quarters Offered

• Wi

General Information, Exclusions, etc.

• Recommended for students with little or no computer programming experience or who are not confident in their programming background.

Objectives

• Master using basic constructs provided by high-level imperative programming languages: sequencing, selection, and iteration.
• Be familiar with algorithmic thinking.
• Be familiar with simple media manipulation algorithms and how to apply them to solve interesting media manipulation problems.
• Be familiar with using basic data structures such as arrays in simple programs.
• Be familiar with procedural composition.
• Be familiar with working in a window-based computing environment.
• Be exposed to the virtual machine model of modern computer systems.

Texts

• Mark Guzdial and Barbara Ercison, Introduction to Computing and Programming in Python: A Multimedia Approach, (2nd ed.) Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009.

Topics (Approximate)

Projects

1. Make a collage of several pictures using various transformations
2. Compose an audio collage from natural and synthesized sounds
3. Generate an animation, e.g., using digital image manipulation techniques
4. Reproduce an interesting digital image effect from Photoshop/Gimp

Grading Plan