Course: Introduction to Computer Science — CS1 / Programming Fundamentals in Python (CSCI 1101) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Okafor
Module: Week 1 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute coding-along studio sessions
Objective covered: Objective 1 — Explain computational thinking, and write, run, and trace simple Python programs.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 1 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Welcome Announcement that drips out when the module opens. Dates below assume a Tuesday/Thursday pattern with Week 1 meeting Tue Sep 1 and Thu Sep 3, a Coding Lab that same week, and end-of-week work due Sunday Sep 6, 11:59 p.m. Adjust the day-of-week and times to match your section.

(A) Module 1 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 1: Intro to Computing & Computational Thinking

This is your home base for the week. Read it first, then work the checklist below from top to bottom. Everything you need is linked inside the module.

This is the first week of your first programming course, so we start at the very beginning: what is a program, how does code actually run, and how do you write and run your own first Python program? You don't need any background — by the end of the week you'll have written real code, run it, watched it print, and (this is the part everyone underestimates) read your first error message and fixed it. The single most important habit we build this week is the one that carries the whole course: don't guess what code does — run it and read what Python actually prints.

The week's big question

"What is a program — and how does a computer know what to do when you run one?"

By Friday you'll be able to describe what an algorithm is, write and run a Python program with print, predict what a short program will output (and then check by running it), and read a basic error message to find your bug.

By the end of this week, you can…

Use this as a checklist. If you can do all four, you're ready for the quiz.

• [ ] Explain computational thinking — what a program and an algorithm are, and the edit → run → read → fix loop every programmer lives in.
• [ ] Write and run your first Python program using print() — a single line, and a few lines in sequence.
• [ ] Trace a short program — read it and predict exactly what it prints, then run it to confirm (watch out for operator precedence and "2" + "3").
• [ ] Read an error message — tell a SyntaxError from a NameError, and use the message to find and fix the bug.

What's due this week, and when

Work these in order — each one gets you ready for the next.

Heads-up on the AI tools: you'll use a chatbot as a pair-programmer to draft and explain — and then you check its work by running the code. Chatbots will confidently tell you a program prints something it doesn't. Catching that — by running the code and reading the real output — is the point, in the tutorial, the assignment, and the lab.

How to succeed this week

• Run everything. The fastest way to learn what code does is to run it. Open the online Python environment, type the example, press Run, and read the output. Every single time.
• Two tiny hooks to memorize. "The computer does exactly what you wrote, not what you meant." And "Read the error from the bottom up — the last line names the problem."
• Predict, then check. Before you run a program, say out loud what you think it will print. Then run it. When you're wrong, that gap is the lesson — and print(2 + 3 * 4) is where most people are wrong the first time.
• Don't fear the red text. An error message isn't the computer being mad at you — it's the computer telling you where the problem is. Learning to read it is half of programming.
• Treat the chatbot as a smart intern, not an oracle. It drafts; you run the code and check. That habit is the whole semester in miniature.

You don't need any setup for this week — the Python environment runs in your browser, nothing to install. Come to class ready to write your very first line of code. See you Tuesday.

(B) Welcome Announcement — Module 1

Release setting: post on the module's start day (offset = 0 days), i.e., Tue Sep 1, 2026 — not before. If your platform won't preserve the scheduled date on import, post this as a draft labeled "Release: Tue Sep 1."

Subject: Welcome to CS1 — you'll write your first program this week 👋

Hi everyone, and welcome to Programming Fundamentals!

Quick promise before we start: by the end of this week you will have written and run real code — no experience needed, nothing to install, all in your browser. We begin at the very beginning: what a program is, how a computer runs it, and how to write your own using Python's print.

This week — Intro to Computing & Computational Thinking — we tackle the big question: What is a program, and how does a computer know what to do when you run one? By Friday you'll write a program, run it, predict what a short program prints (then check by running it), and read your first error message to fix a bug.

Three things not to miss:
1. Lecture Tutorial 1 — work through the week's ideas with one approved chatbot (Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT) and submit the share link. You'll use it as a pair-programmer — and catch its mistakes by running the code. Due Sun Sep 6.
2. Coding Lab 1 ("Hello, Run, Fix"), Quiz 1, Discussion 1, and Assignment 1 also close Sun Sep 6 — the lab is where you write and run your own first programs, so start early.
3. Open the Start Here page first — it lays out everything in order with due dates.

One habit to adopt from day one: never trust an output you didn't run. A chatbot — or your own first guess — will tell you, with total confidence, that a program prints something it doesn't. In this course, the source of truth is always the same: run the code and read what Python actually prints.

Bring your curiosity (and a willingness to be wrong about print(2 + 3 * 4)) to class on Tuesday.

See you soon,
Prof. Okafor