Week 7: Get Set Up, Get Connected

🎯 Objectives

You made it to the middle of the semester. Nice work! In six weeks you went from print("Hello") to functions, lists, and loops, and you finished your first programming assignment. That's a lot, and it's worth stopping for a moment to notice it.

This week is short: one class meeting, then fall break. So instead of new Python, the week has two goals. The first is a tool: Visual Studio Code, the editor you'll use for the rest of the semester, starting with pytest next week. The second is you: a chance to look back at how the semester is going, and to meet the people and places in the CS department that are there to help you.

By the end of the week you should be able to:

• Open your CS149 folder in VS Code, run a Python program, and read its output in the terminal.
• Use your virtual environment and workspace settings, so ruff and (next week) pytest work inside VS Code.
• Add type hints to a function and read the squiggles VS Code shows when a call doesn't match them.
• Name at least one person outside of class you could go to for help, whether a TA, your professor, a Student Ambassador, or the CS advisor.

📚 Study menu: the Week 7 choice board

Class this week walked through VS Code setup and type hints. The rest is a choice board: pick the activities that fit you, do them over the week (fall break included, if you like), and tell us about them in your reflection.

How the points work. This week, your reflection score comes from the choice board. Each activity you complete and write about in your reflection earns the points in the table. 15 points is full credit, and you can earn up to 30, so anything past 15 is extra credit. For example, finishing your VS Code setup (10) and reviewing Quiz 2 (5) gets you full credit.

You don't need to turn in any proof — no screenshots, sign-in sheets, or receipts. Just tell us about each activity in your reflection, with enough specific detail (names, what you asked, what you learned) that it's clear you did it. Every activity is worth something, so pick the ones that sound useful or interesting to you.

Our suggestion: start with Activity 1. Next week's lab runs pytest inside VS Code, so you'll be glad it's working before you walk in. After that, follow your curiosity.

Each activity below says what to do and what to write about afterward. You don't need to do all of them!

1. Finish your VS Code setup (10 points)

Work through the VS Code setup page on the computer you'll use most, which for most of you is your laptop. You're done when all of these are true:

• You opened your whole CS149 folder in VS Code (File > Open Folder), not just one file.
• The Python extension, Ruff, and the other extensions from Step 3 are installed.
• Your virtual environment is selected; the Python version in the bottom-right corner of the window shows .venv.
• You ran a program you already wrote, like one from PA1, and its output appeared in the terminal at the bottom of the window.
• Saving a file with a style problem makes Ruff underline it.

In your reflection, describe what you ran and what you saw, so we can tell your setup is working.

If you have time left over, work through the rest of the type hints lab and add hints to one of your PA1 functions. Seeing VS Code catch a mistake before you run the program is one of the most satisfying parts of the week.

2. Get help at TA hours (5 points)

Stuck on a step of setup? That's normal, and it's exactly what the TAs are there for. Every laptop is a little different, and a TA has probably seen your exact error message before.

Find the TA schedule on the CS Success page, and bring your laptop. Even if your setup already works, it's fine to go and ask a TA to check it, or to show you one VS Code shortcut you didn't know. Afterward, jot down what you asked and what you learned.

3. Review Quiz 2 (5 points)

Mistakes on a quiz are some of the most useful information you'll get all semester, because they show you exactly where your understanding has a gap.

Look back at your Quiz 2 and pick one question you missed or felt unsure about. Work out the correct answer, then check it by running the code in Thonny or VS Code. Then write two or three sentences on what tripped you up: the rule you were using that turned out to be wrong, or the step you skipped under time pressure. The "why" is the useful part, so take your time with it.

4. Problems I'd like to solve (5 points)

At the end of the semester, you'll build your own Python project, so this is a chance to start thinking about what it could be.

Write 250–400 words about an interest or a problem you could turn into a project. It can come from anywhere: a hobby, a sport, your major, a club, something you keep track of by hand. Say what it is, why it interests you, and what a program for it might do. No need to have it figured out; this is just a first idea.

5. Meet with your CS 149 professor (10 points)

Your professor wants to meet you, and office hours aren't only for when something is wrong. Sign up for a short meeting using the link your instructor shares on Canvas, or stop by office hours.

You don't need a prepared question. Some good conversation starters: how the course is going for you, a topic that hasn't clicked yet, what CS classes come after this one, or what your professor works on. In your reflection, note what you talked about and one thing you took away from the conversation.

6. Attend a CS talk, event, or club meeting (10 points)

The CS department is more than classes. Check the club listing and department announcements for something happening this week or next: a club meeting, a guest talk, a hackathon info session, a social event. Pick one that looks interesting, and go, even if you go alone. (Lots of people do, and it's one of the easiest ways to meet other students.)

Afterward, write three or four sentences: what it was, one thing you learned, and one question it raised for you.

7. Talk with a CS Student Ambassador (5 points)

Student Ambassadors are CS majors who were in your seat not long ago, and they're happy to talk about what it's really like. Find them through the CS Success page.

Come with three questions. If you're not sure what to ask: What do you wish you'd known in CS 149? Which class after this one surprised you? How do you balance CS with everything else? Write down your questions and what you learned.

8. Meet the CS advisor, or explore the CS Advising Canvas site (5 points)

Course registration for spring is coming up, and a little planning now makes it much less stressful. Visit the CS academic advising page, then either book a meeting with the CS advisor or work through the CS Advising Canvas site.

Come away with a rough plan for next semester (which courses, and why) and one thing about declaring or applying to the major you didn't know before.

9. Faculty research scavenger hunt (5 points)

JMU CS faculty work on everything from cybersecurity to computer graphics to how people learn to program. Browse the faculty pages on the CS department site and find two faculty members whose research catches your eye. For each one, write a sentence on what they work on, then say which one interests you most and why.

Bonus idea: if one of them really grabs you, you just found a great topic for Activity 5 or a question to ask after a talk in Activity 6.

✍️ Reflection

1. What did you do this week? (Check all that apply.)

• 1. Finished my VS Code setup
• 2. Went to TA hours for help with VS Code
• 3. Reviewed a question from Quiz 2
• 4. Wrote about a problem I'd like to solve
• 5. Met with my CS 149 professor
• 6. Attended a CS talk, event, or club meeting
• 7. Talked with a CS Student Ambassador
• 8. Met the CS advisor or explored the CS Advising Canvas site
• 9. Did the faculty research scavenger hunt
• Something else (tell us about it in question 3)

2. Roughly how much time did you spend on CS 149 outside of class this week?

• Under 1 hour
• 1–2 hours
• 3–4 hours
• 5–6 hours
• 7+ hours

For each activity you checked, start a new paragraph with its number and write a few lines. No screenshots or proof needed; specific details are what count. Here's what to include for each one:

• 1. VS Code setup: which program you ran in VS Code and what showed up in the terminal, the trickiest step, and how you got past it.
• 2. TA hours: when you went, what you asked about, and what you learned.
• 3. Quiz 2 review: the question, its correct answer, and two or three sentences on what tripped you up.
• 4. Problems I'd like to solve: your 250–400 words on the interest or problem, what a program for it might do, and why it interests you.
• 5. Meeting with your professor: what you talked about and one thing you took away.
• 6. CS talk, event, or club meeting: what you attended, one thing you learned, and one question it raised.
• 7. Student Ambassador: who you talked with, your three questions and what you learned from the answers.
• 8. Advising: whether you met the advisor or used the Canvas site, your rough plan for next semester and one thing about the major you didn't know before.
• 9. Faculty research: two faculty members, what each researches, and which interests you most and why.

3. Tell us about the activities you completed. Write a few lines on each one you checked in question 1, using the list above as a guide.

4. How is your semester going? Think about CS 149 and beyond: classes, routines, the transition to college, anything. What's one thing that's going well, that you want to keep doing? What's one thing you'd like to change for the second half? And is there anything you'd like your instructor to know, or any way we can help? Everything you write here is read with care.