Attendance

Unless otherwise announced in class attendance is not required. It has been my observation that students who do not attend generally fail the class. If you need sleep, it is probably better to sleep at home in comfort - much better for all of us if you snore.

Please try to be more or less on time. A couple minutes late is ok, but more than that is disruptive.  If you are late, try to  be minimally noisy as you come in.   Being routinely more than a minute or two late is generally not a Good Idea.

Phones

Unless there is a good reason (you're on call for an emergency response group, your wife is expecting a baby Real Soon Now) turn off your phone.  

Laptops or Lab Machines

If you must use a laptop in class, please turn off all the squeaks, squawks, bells, beeps and music. Turn off the speaker or zero out the volume. Please do not play games, randomly surf the web or whatever. I'd prefer if laptop users sit in the back, as everyone behind you tends to watch your screen (porn surfers beware). If your web usage, gaming, coding is that important, stay home and do it. It is ok to use your web browser to surf topics related to the class - indeed sometimes questions come up in class that can most quickly be resolved with a quick web search.

Discussion/Participation

Questions, discussion and participation in the class is encouraged. Try to keep it on point, reasonably polite and more or less controlled - only one person talking at any given time. If a question is very basic, I might suggest you look it up at home, find an answer, and be prepared to present the answer in class (remind me if needed). If the question is obscure or difficult, I may suggest we all look it up (me included) and come back to class with an answer (or, sometimes, that an answer is beyond us at the time).

I do make mistakes and have been wrong before - and will again. Pointing out the error of my ways politely and with reason is likely to make both of us happier than being rude and annoying. (I will try to behave politely in return, of course.)

Ultimately, I own the bandwidth in the classroom. If I make it clear that a discussion needs to be cut short, cut it short. You can find me after class to continue the discussion if you like (and if we both have time).

I tend to appreciate students who participate intelligently in class. This does not always translate to points in your grade, but sometimes does. You're likely to impress me with reasoned, informed questions, opinions and discussion.  Please do read the text before we discuss a topic in class (if possible).    

Truth

Sometimes the real answer is complicated. I will sometimes feel it best to simplify answers and explanations.   This is usually  not so much a case of "You can't handle the truth." as it is one of "This will take quite a bit of time to explain."  In such cases I will usually say that I am doing so, and that you should be aware that the answer is more complicated. Often it is worth your spending some time looking up the answer - but this is optional.    There are, even in practical matters of computing, questions with no known answer, questions with answers that are provably unfindable, and questions that would just take us a couple of weeks or months or years to answer.  

Notes

I rarely give exams.   So you do not need to take or memorize notes.   I find myself, that keeping a notebook open and taking notes on important points helps me to focus more, and understand better.   (But I also tend to have a crossword going at the same time - strangely enough this also helps me to focus more - different brains seem to be wired somewhat differently.)