Wintersession '01

Registration/Confirmation Form

Please fill out the following questionnaire by Monday, November 27, if you plan to take CS115/PHYS115 during Wintersession '01. You should fill out the questionnaire regardless of whether you are registered, on the waiting list, or not registered. On Wednesday, November 29, we will send you email indicating your enrollment status in the course.

Robotic Design Studio is a Wintersession course in which you will learn how to design, assemble, and program robots made out of LEGO parts, sensors, motors, and miniature computers. The course culminates in a robot talent show where you exhibit your creations to the Wellesley College community. These projects tie together aspects of a surprisingly wide range of disciplines, including computer science, physics, math, biology, psychology, engineering, and art. Please see the Robotic Design Studio home page for more information, including pictures and descriptions of projects from previous years.

There are no prequisites -- the course is open to all students and attracts participants from a broad range of departments. In order to encourage cross-disciplinary exchange, we encourage students to work in groups of students whose members represent different departments and backgrounds.

During Wintersession '00, Robotic Design Studio is offered for 0.5 units of credit. The course counts toward the Natural and Physical Sciences distribution requirement. The course is officially listed in the course catalog as Computer Science 115/ Physics 115 -- you decide whether you want it to count as a Computer Science course or a Physics course.

The course meets in room SCI 396 from 1pm to 5pm every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday throughout WinterSession (Wednesday, January 3 -- Thursday, January 25), except for Martin Luther King day (January 15). Students are expected to attend all classes. This represents a hefty time commitment, but you will learn a lot and have loads of fun (just ask students from previous years!).

Interested students should have registered for CS115/PHYS115 with the registrar as part of their Wintersession '01 registration (held at the same time as the Spring '01 registration). Because of limited resources, the size of the class is limited. The high level of interest in the course means that there is often a waiting list for the course. In fact, this year more students are on the waiting list than are registered for the course!

However, we know that some students' plans for Wintersession change after they register, and that other students were not aware of the course schedule or time commitment when they register. At the same time, students on the waiting list are very eager to know whether or not they can take the course since it influences their plans for January.

We want to be able to inform all students of their enrollment status in the course by Wednesday, November 29. In order to do this, we need to gather some information from all interested students by Monday, November 27. If you are interested in taking the Robotic Design Studio in Wintersession '00, you need to fill out the following questionnaire by Monday, November 27. Even if you are registered for the course, you must still fill out the questionnaire.

Please fill out all of the following pieces of information. When you are done, press the Submit button on the bottom of the page.

First Name:

Last Name:

Name by which you like to be addressed:

Email Address:

Year (e.g. '00, '01, etc.):

College Phone Number:

Major(s) or field(s) of interest:

Registration Status: Please indicate your registration status below:

I am registered for CS115.

I am registered for PHYS115.

I am on the waiting list for CS115.

I am on the waiting list for PHYS115.

I am not registered, but would like to take the course anyway.

Likelihood of Taking the Course: Please fill out one of the following choices that best describes your likelihood of taking the course. Rationale: We understand that many students' plans for Wintersession are still tentative. For example, some of you would like to take the course unless a job or other opportunity arises. However, since many people need to be make travel and other Wintersession plans now, they need to know whether or not they are enrolled in the course. We can only guarantee slots to students who are registered and will definitely take the course. Next, we will choose students on the waiting list who will definitely take the course. If slots still remain, we will offer them to the other students. Please be realistic in your assessment so as not to take a slot that you might later relinquish.

I will definitely take the course if given the opportunity.

It is likely that I will take the course if given the opportunity.

I am interested in taking the course, but cannot make any commitment at this time.

I am no longer interested in taking the course.

Laptop Computer: Computers are used to program the behavior of the robots you will build in class. As part of setting up the Wintersession robotics classroom, we need to gather computers from elsewhere in the Science Center. Nowadays, many students have laptop computers that they may be willing to bring to the robotics classroom. This would free up space that is otherwise taken by the desktop computers. Please check the following box if you have a laptop that you will bring to class, so that we can plan accordingly. (The robot software runs on both Macs and PCs.)

Yes, I have a laptop that I will bring daily to the Robotics Design Studio class.

Commitments: What other commitments do you have for Wintersession (e.g., work, other classes, etc.)?

Conflicts: The course meets 1pm--5pm, every Monday through Thursday, January 3--25. Are there afternoons/times you will not be able to make it?

Background: There are no prerequisites for this class and we'd like to have students with a wide range of backgrounds. However, we'd like to get a sense for what background our students have. Briefly list any experience you may have that might be relevant to the course (e.g., playing with LEGOs, programming, taking math and science courses, etc.).

Expectations: Is there anything in particular you would like to learn while taking the course?