ESE 2000 – This is all, see you soon (8/25)
Dear all,
I should apologize for the spam. You should have received 4 emails from me not counting this one:
(1) An invitation to peruse the course website. We will sue the site extensively throughout the year.
(2) An invitation to read the logistics page. I will not discuss this information during class.
(3) An study guide for week 1. This is very important. There is a lot going on.
(4) Group assignments for Labs 1A and 1B.
I know that this is intense but please bear with me. This course is front loaded. We will build quickly on the first two weeks but will settle into a slower pace on Week 3. This is so that we can make it to the good stuff soon. The climb is steep, but the view is magnificent.
This is all for now. I will see you on Tuesday. On that note, please find attached the slides I will use in this lecture.
Best,
Alejandro
ESE 2000 – Week 1 Study Guide (8/25)
Dear all,
As we gear up for Week 1, I wanted to help you out with a study guide. During this week we will be working on Labs 1A and 1B. The purpose of Lab 1A is to introduce the components of an AI system and the purpose of Lab 1B is to study gradient descent and stochastic gradient descent.
This is what you should do this week:
(1) Read the Lab 1A assignment before Tuesday (https://dsd.seas.upenn.edu/labs/)
(2) Read the Lab 1B assignment before Thursday (https://dsd.seas.upenn.edu/labs/)
(3) Reports for Lab 1A and Lab 1B are due on Monday, September 3. I know that this looks like a lot, but it is not. Both of these labs contain simple tasks and the reports are minimalistic.
As you attempt to work on Labs 1A and 1B I can foresee that some of you may have difficulty with matrix algebra and Pytorch. If you do, we have materials available to help you out:
(4) If you have trouble with matrix algebra, read Appendixes A and B in the Lab 1A assignment. you just need to either learn or remember a few simple definitions of what it means to multiply vectors with matrices.
(5) If you are having trouble with Pytorch, read Lab 1X. This is a tutorial that is designed to teach you the basics of how to get started with Pytorch.
Finally, a few of you will have trouble with software installation. The instructions are very simple but there is always potential for a hitch. If that is the case:
(7) Go to office hours (they will be posted soon). Better yet, save your time and talk with one of your classmates. We are happy to help but this really is very simple. If it is not working for you it is because of a silly mistake.
Best regards,
Alejandro
ESE 2000 – Group Assignements (8/25)
Dear all,
Please refer to the attached spreadsheet for your group assignments. These groups are valid for Labs 1A and 1B. I will eventually let you pick your own teammates but while the course settles it is easier if we just do it this way. Some of you, for example, are first year students and still don’t know any classmate to form a group.
Please get together with your teammates and start working. Remember that Labs 1A and 1B are due on September 3 (Tuesday after Labor Day).
Best,
Alejandro
Welcome to ESE 2000 – Logistics (8/25)
Dear all,
The first week of classes is finally upon us. I am very much looking forward to teaching this course. I hope you are all very much looking forward to taking it. I have put together some important logistics information in the course’s webpage.
Please read this page as it contains information on how ESE 2000 will run. In particular, pay attention to grading policies because I will not discuss them during class. Furthermore, make sure you check the calendar. It will help you to keep track of assignments and due dates.
Best,
Alejandro
Welcome to ESE 2000 (8/19)
Dear all,
My name is Alejandro Ribeiro and I am in charge of teaching ESE 2000 this coming Fall. I am very much looking forward to working with you. I will follow up later this week with an informational email.
In the meantime, please visit the course’s webpage (https://dsd.seas.upenn.edu) and navigate to the labs page. Read about software requirements and install the necessary components if you have to. If this is a challenge, we will soon have office hours to help you out.
I further recommend that you read the assignments for Lab 1A and Lab 1B. We will work on Lab 1A on Tuesday and on Lab 1B on Thursday.
Best regards,
Alejandro