About

For instructors, contributors, and the curious

Author

Brendan Shea, PhD

Published

May 25, 2026

What this is

A free, open-access introduction to computer science taught at Rochester Community and Technical College as COMP 1150 — Computer Science Concepts. The Second Edition (2.0) is a full rewrite for summer 2026: twelve Python notebooks paired with twelve short case studies on the history, ethics, and unresolved arguments behind the technical material.

Design principles

  1. AI-assisted development from day one. Students begin using an LLM as a coding partner in Notebook 1 and build explicit skills in prompt craft, verification, and critical evaluation of AI output across the semester.
  2. Critical thinking as a through-line. Every notebook pairs with a case study that demands systematic analysis before accepting conclusions.
  3. Everything builds toward a Flask app. Databases, APIs, security, and AI features are introduced with an eye toward their role in the final project.
  4. Philosophical, not mathematical, treatment of computability. The limits of computation are presented as conceptual boundaries, not formal proofs.

Using these materials

Everything is licensed CC BY 4.0 — adapt, remix, and redistribute with attribution. Adoption notes:

  • Notebooks are Jupyter .ipynb files. They run unmodified in Google Colab (link at the top of each notebook). No local Python install required for students.
  • Case studies are Quarto .qmd files. They re-render to HTML, PDF, or DOCX with quarto render. Edit them in any text editor.
  • No LMS lock-in. The site is static HTML served from GitHub Pages. Link directly, copy into your LMS, or fork the whole repo.
  • The 2024 edition is preserved in the archive for anyone with existing links.

Source layout

v2/
  notebooks/   — Jupyter notebooks (one per week)
  cases/       — Quarto case studies (one per notebook)
archive/       — 2024 edition (PDF case studies + original notebooks)
tools/         — Build helpers (e.g., Colab-header injection)
docs/          — Rendered site (GitHub Pages serves this)

To rebuild locally: install Quarto, then run python tools/add_colab_header.py && quarto render from the repo root.

Contact

Brendan Shea, PhD · brendan.shea@rctc.edu · github.com/brendanpshea

Issues, pull requests, and adoption questions all welcome on GitHub.