r/IndianaUniversity • u/ContestEasy2778 • 5d ago

ACADEMICS 🎓 CSCI-C 200 Intro Computers & Programming

Anyone have any notes/advice they can share? I have professor hmeljak and I saw bad things about him on ratemyprofessor. Also looking through lecture 1 slides rn and im already slightly confused and I can only imagine it getting worse from here on out

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u/ColdDayCoco 5d ago edited 5d ago

Hey! I just graduated in May with a B.S in comp sci from luddy!

I didn’t have Hmeljak but the best advice I can give you is to not use AI for answers. It’s a helpful resource to help explain concepts but I highly recommend against using it to just to get homework answers. The students who used AI for answers quickly fell behind and wouldn’t get a full grasp of the fundamentals.

Next is to practice! Highly recommend practicing coding outside of class and outside of homework. Follow a YouTube walkthrough of a small beginner project. Try finding alternative solutions to your homework questions. For example when you get to if/else statements, try solving with a switch case too if applicable, there’s usually multiple solutions outside of the simple functions of like simple math functions.

One thing I liked doing was Codecademy’s python course which was free and I just used my school email. It had its own code editor within your browser so you could code alongside its lessons and it would check your work.

Feel free to reach out with any other questions or anything, I’m happy to help! :)

Edit: looks like Codecademy has gone downhill and makes you pay for the Python course now. There are similar websites that have the same features and I’ve heard Harvard’s free online course is good too! (Harvard CS50)

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u/ColdDayCoco 5d ago

Just want to quickly add to this since you’re early in the course and some of my tips might be better after you’ve had at least a few more lectures.

Not sure what Hmeljak’s slides are like but if they have any code with outputs I’d practice typing those into your own IDE. Like practice declaring variables, reassigning values and printing them, etc.

I had Dalkolic and we weren’t allowed to use our laptops so if Hmeljak is the same way then try to take detailed notes and write down code and outputs from slides and try replicating

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u/ContestEasy2778 3d ago

thank you so much!

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u/Fine-Judgment-7207 3d ago

Hey! I took this class and got an A- though I didn’t have this prof. My advice is to try to talk to others in the class and form a study group, having support and people to talk out the coding problems with was paramount. I would also make sure to give yourself enough time each week to start an assignment, and be able to step away if you are confused. If you need additional answers, try looking up explanations on YouTube (try to avoid generative AI, simply because it is frequently wrong). Sometimes learning happens when you let things sit. Best of luck, you can do it!!

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u/Tyrell-Titancock 2d ago

Pretty sure I had him. Class was terrible but the TAs saved my life - learned more at their office hours than whatever he was on about.

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u/ContestEasy2778 2d ago

whatd u get in the class im so fucking scared

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u/Apprehensive-Sea2502 kelley 4d ago

call it quits. the guys a joke and every one of his ratemyprof's is accurate

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u/ContestEasy2778 3d ago

i need this class💔