My general philosophy of classes in computer science is that you will learn from several major sources. Each of these is important and contributes something slightly different to the process :

1. The Text
   
2. Lectures and Discussion
3. Problems and Programs
4. Other Students
   
5. The Web
   
6. The Literature
   

Text

I usually suggest a text that I feel is readable, informative and generally useful enough to keep. I try to avoid throw-away texts - you should be collecting books now, as part of your education, that you can use for reference or inspiration (!?!?) into the future.

The text is the ultimate authority in general - I try not to pick texts that contain errors (though even in the best texts errors are likely).

Read the whole text. Yes this takes time. Don't just read the assigned parts - the parts listed on the course timeline are listed there because that is when those topics will be discussed in class. Reading the whole text will establish context for other parts, contribute bits and pieces of information that will generally be useful, and generally contribute to your education.

I think it is useful to read the text three times over the course of the term. You don't generally need to study the text (since I generally avoid exams, there is little need to memorize). Skim the whole book once, read the suggested portions when they're listed, and skim the book again, reading parts as they catch your interest.

Lectures and Discussion

The lectures are intended to supplement the text. I try to present the parts of the topic that are most important, some interesting facets of the topic that might not be covered in the text, and provide time for discussion on other aspects. You should ask questions and talk about things that don't seem right to you. (Generally though, the text is more to be trusted than your memory or my memory in class.) Please don't ask questions of specific passages in the text without warning me - that requires me finding a copy of the book, reading the passage and then finding the answer during class time. If you want to ask questions like this, send me email or give me some kind of warning so I can check the questioned passage out of class time.

Problems and Programs

I usually give programming assignments or other work-it-out type problems. These are as much an information source as anything else. Of course, they are also a source for your grades - but you'll get more out of them if you look at them as a way to understand something. Actually writing a program to solve a problem can contribute as much insight as a whole pile of reading and lecture time.

Other Students

Other students (or professional peers) can also be a good source of information (and mis-information). When you get stuck on something, find someone you can talk to about it. This is one of the reasons I try to have team assignments whenever possible - it is often the case that one member of the team will have insights on one part of the problem, and another member of the team will have insights on an entirely different part - by combining these, both can end up with a great deal more understanding than either would have had alone.

Another interesting strategy is to try to explain something you don't understand to another person (preferably one who is at least a bit interested). Yes, even if you don't understand it. Try explaining it anyway. You'll be surprised at how much better you tend to understand it afterwards (though the process sometimes ends with the explainee terminally confused in the matter).

It is often said that the best way to learn something is to teach it. (See "explain it" above.) If you had trouble in an earlier CS class, sometimes helping someone who is now taking the class (as a friend or even as a tutor) can help you to understand the material better.

The Web

The web is the greatest information storage and retrieval mechanism ever. It may also be the greatest misinformation storage and retrieval mechanism ever. Learn how to tell the difference.

Look things up on the web, but be sure to check what you read.

Search engines are not all alike - try a search on different search engines to see if the results agree. For a while, at least, one major search engine was promoting advertising supported results - so that the first few pages of results returned were there because someone had paid to put them there.

wikipedia can be a great source, but wikipedia does have problems. It has always been possible for anyone to edit any page with or without a wikipedia login (things may be changing). Thus, wikipedia entries can be good one day and not so good the next. Wikipedia entries are sometimes written/edited by someone with an agenda, sometimes changed as pranks, sometimes they're just written badly, but no one cares enough to change them.

For computing, slashdot is a frequently updated site with articles and discussion on technology and other matters. Historically slashdot has had a very pro-linux slant, but there is much more there than just linux and oss. I would encourage you to read slashdot at least from time to time - if you have an rss reader, there is an rss feed that I check at least every day. The articles are short and really just starting point for the discussions. Discussions on slashdot can vary from interesting to informed, ignorant, insane, insightful and just plain idiotic. Learn to tell the difference. Browse at +3.

The Literature

ACM and IEEE are the preeminant professional and academic groups in the field of computing. Becoming a member (as a student or professional) and subscribing to their journals and services is a good way to keep up to date in the field.

Articles published in peer-reviewed journals (especially those of the ACM and IEEE) are the best source of research information. The Journals and magazines published by these organization are not just for pure research, they are often a good source for more general information. Some notable titles (there are many others) include :

Communications of the ACM

A generally readable, more or less general readership monthly.

IEEE Software

Aims at covering the general area of software development.

IEEE Computer

covers a wide range of computer related topics.

Computing Reviews

publishes reviews of books and articles

Computing Surveys

publishes survey articles (that is, articles that summarize a single topic relatively comprehensively)

There are other publications that are less reliable, often supported by authors or advertisers. These should be viewed with rather more skepticism. "White papers" are often available, frequently made to look like authoritative research papers, but which are usually just nicely packaged advertising. (if a company, say "foobar" wants you to buy its product, it will often publish (or get a third party to publish) a white paper that proves how good the product is - believe this just as much as you do the infomercials you can watch at 3am.)