CSE-6040 - Computing For Data Analytics

Week 06 | 2025-02-17 through 2025-02-23

Bootcamp: Module 0: Session 17

Here is a summary of your goals for the coming week.

• Complete Midterm 1 if you have not done so already. The exam closes on Wednesday at 11:59 UTC. Please note that UTC is a 24-hour time. This means that there is only one 11:59 (the minute before noon). Also note that your exam must be complete before the exam window closes.

• Notebook 7 (Pandas) - There is a notebook titled Topic 7 (optional) which is a primer on Pandas. Additionally there is a graded assignment titled Notebook 7 (required) which contains exercises you are expected to complete.

• Notebook 9 (SQL) - If you get ahead Notebook 9 has been released.

Office hours. We will hold regularly scheduled office hours. As usual, feel free to pre-post any questions to the weekly OH post.

Exam Results Watch Piazza for information on the presentation of exam stats and walkthrough.

Week 05 | 2025-02-10 through 2025-02-16

Bootcamp: Module 0: Session 15, 16

Your main task for this week is to prep for and take the first exam, Midterm 1.

• Exam window open and close are listed above. Please note that UTC is a 24-hour time. This means that there is only one 11:59 (the minute before noon). Also note that your exam must be complete before the exam window closes.

• Please review the exam guide and release notes before asking questions on logistical details.

Other items

• Notebooks 7. If you want to get a head start on this assignment, it is available on your LMS.

• Office hours. We will hold a regularly scheduled office hour session on Thursday. Please do not ask questions concerning exam logistics or topics, they will not be answered in the office hours session. Information on logistics is provided in great detail on this website, and any unaddressed questions are best posted publicly to Piazza.

Week 04 | 2025-02-03 through 2025-02-09

Bootcamp: Module 0: Session 12, 13, 14

Here is a summary of your goals for the coming week.

• Finish Topic 5 + Notebook 5. Since Midterm 1 includes this material and starts shortly after, we will not accept any submissions after the late-deadline.

• Study for Midterm 1. See the release notes linked above. You can find the problems and video walkthroughs on your LMS. There will be more detailed logistical information about Midterm 1 just before it is released.

Per the schedule, Topics 7 (required) and 8 (optional, ungraded) will also release this week. However, since it's not on Midterm 1 and isn't due until after the midterm closes, I will be asking the staff to prioritize questions related to the exam and related notebooks.

Office hours. We will have regularly scheduled office hours. The agenda is Notebook 5, due on Monday. If you have specific questions, you can request them in the weekly office hours post.

(edX only) Take ID Verification Quiz: Make sure you have completed the ID verification quiz that is required to take the exam next week. You do not want to leave that until the day before.

Week 03 | 2025-01-27 through 2025-02-02

Bootcamp: Module 0: Session 9, 10, 11

Here is a summary of your goals for this coming week.

• Finish Notebook 4

• Continue your review of the practice problems of "Topic 3" (math prerequisites review)

• Plan to review the sample solutions for Notebook 2 when they are released on Wednesday. Piazza is a good place to ask questions about them.

• Start Topics 5&6 If you finish the above early.

Office hours. We will hold regularly scheduled office hours. As before, you are welcome to pre-post questions on the weekly office hours post.

Week 02 | 2025-01-20 through 2025-01-26

Bootcamp: Module 0: Session 5, 6, 7, 8

Here is a summary of your goals for the coming week.

• Your primary goal for this week is to finish Topic 2.

• Note: The Topic 2 videos will ask you to stop periodically and do specific pieces of Notebook 2. It will also show you solutions but do try to do the exercises yourself before you watch them. Notebook 2 has been refactored since the videos were produced, so the solutions will not align exactly. The video solutions will still be helpful as the concepts in the notebook have not changed. Also, Topic 2 videos refer to "quizzes," which did not make it into the final cut. So, ignore references to those.

• Start working on Topics 3&4 - If you feel pressed for time in the coming weeks, I recommend starting Topic 4 before Topic 3. After all, Notebook 4 counts toward your grade, whereas there is no assignment related to Topic 3. You can pace out the Topic 3 content between now and Topic 11, when we start making heavy use of it.

Office hours. We will hold a regularly scheduled office hour session. The exact agenda is TBD. You are as always welcome to pre-post questions for the session as a "follow-up discussion" on the weekly office hours post (look later this week), and we'll try to address them.

Practice exam questions. We will release these early next week (along with solutions and video walkthroughs), so stay tuned.

Words of encouragement. For some of you, it may have been quite a bit of work getting up to speed on Python, and you might not feel confident yet. Try not to be discouraged! (See this inspiring GT story about overcoming challenges and another positive reminder for grad students.

Week 01 | 2025-01-13 through 2025-01-19

Bootcamp: Module 0: Sessions 2, 3, 4

Since the start of class, you should have ...

• become acquainted with your LMS (Canvas for OMSA, EdX for VMM);

• read the syllabus and reviewed the course schedule;

• watched "Topic 0" and attempted Notebook 0

• attended the "kick-off" office hour or watched the recording

• and met some of your peers on Piazza. Indeed, the Piazza forums have been fairly active -- so thanks for your participation!

Office hours. We will hold office hours on Thursdays from 8:30-9:30 pm ET.

On any given week, feel free to post any specific office hour questions ahead of time in the appropriate Piazza thread, especially if you have a burning question and cannot attend the session itself. (Or, even if you can attend, posting in advance will help the staff on-call that day prepare.) These threads are usually created on Tuesdays.

Reminder. Per the syllabus, questions and concerns are submitted through Piazza. Messages sent via email or through Canvas will go unanswered.

Week 0 | 2025-01-06 through 2025-01-12

Bootcamp: Module 0: Session 1

• Read the syllabus. It's available on Canvas. It has lots of relevant information about logistics, philosophy, and expectations, all of which you are responsible for knowing and abiding by while taking this class. If you have questions about anything, feel free to make a piazza post to instructors.

• Look at the schedule. It's also available on Canvas. We pre-post all due dates and times (see below) from today so you can plan your semester accordingly.

• Learn the due-time convention. Per the syllabus, unless otherwise noted, all assignments are due at 11:59 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). Learn what this means for wherever you happen to be! We will not grant any extensions because you misunderstood the deadlines. If it's helpful, please see this handy Time Zone Converter.

• Get up to speed on Python. If you are rusty on programming in any language or have never used Python, you need to get up to speed quickly. For instance, please take this week to get a head start on next week's materials. These should be available as Topic 1 and Notebook 1.

Pro-tip: Topic and Notebook referencing convention.
The assignments, which we interchangeably call "notebooks," may have one or more parts and, within each part, several numbered exercises. Each notebook part will have its own dedicated public thread. We ask you to keep any public questions about that part on the appropriate thread. This makes it easier for other students to find find related posts. It is possible that your question has already been answered.
When you want to post a question about a particular exercise, we strongly recommend using the following convention: in the subject of your post (and within it), use nb\<#>[.part#].[exercise#] to refer to a particular exercise. For example, nb4.1.2 means Notebook 4, Part 1, Exercise 2. Also, please tag your post with the associated notebook (e.g., nb4 in this example). If a notebook only has one part, you can omit the part number, e.g., nb7.2. If your question concerns the general topic (or associated readings and videos, rather than the notebook), use the appropriate tag (e.g., topic4, topic7). Adhering to these conventions help your peers find related questions and will help the instructors triage questions faster.

Special "kick-off" session: Check Piazza for the details regarding your specific section. This "kick-off" office hour is intended to answer questions you might have about getting started in the course and will be recorded in case you can't make it. (That also implies that if you choose to connect by video, you may want to brush your hair or don a disguise if that's an issue.) If you are on the fence about whether to stay, this hour is a good chance to ask questions that will help you decide.

Office hours begin next week Every Thursday from 8:30-9:30 pm US Eastern Time, the teaching staff will hold a live office hour session. These begin this Thursday.

Boot Camp: We have put together the CSE6040 Bootcamp to help students with limited Python or programming exposure. See What is the bootcamp for more details.

All official discussions are on Piazza. The teaching staff use this forum, Piazza, for general Q&A. Announcments will be posted here. Doing so helps us triage and track issues. You can post anonymously if you wish! If you need to ask a question of one of us not visible to your peers, you can do so by posting a private message. To do so, click New Post, then select Individual/instructor(s) under Post to, then type Instructors. However, we strongly recommend posting publicly; you will get a response more quickly, and it's a great way to get to know your classmates.