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Linguistics 384
Language and Computers
Winter 2006
Course goals: In the past decade, the widening use of computers
has had a profound influence on the way ordinary people communicate,
search, and store information. For the overwhelming majority of people and
situations, the natural vehicle for such information is natural language.
Text and to a lesser extent speech are crucial encoding formats for the
information revolution.
In this course, you will be given insight into the fundamentals of how
computers are used to represent, process, and organize textual and spoken
information, as well as tips on how to effectively integrate this
knowledge into working practice. We will cover the theory and practice of
human language technology. Topics include text encoding, search
technology, spam filtering, tools for writing support, machine
translation, dialogue systems, computer aided language learning and the
social context of language technology.
This course fulfills GEC requirement 2B: Mathematical & Logical Analysis.
Instructor: Adriane Boyd
-
Office: Oxley Hall 204
- Email:
adriane AT ling DOT ohio-state DOT edu
- Phone: 688-3108 (email is generally the best way to get in
touch)
- Office hours: Tuesday 11:00am-1:00pm, or by appointment
Course meeting time: Monday and Wednesday 1:30-3:18pm in
Page Hall 40
Course website:
http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/~adriane/384/
Please check the course website regularly!
Readings: There is no textbook for this course, but there will be
some online readings assigned throughout the course. These readings will be
announced in class and posted on the course website.
Handouts containing an outline of the material covered in class will be
available on the course website for each topic. The handouts are just a
skeleton of the material covered in class and cannot replace actually
being in class.
Course requirements:
The basic requirements are regular attendance and active
participation. There will be frequent in-class assignments to
allow you to practice the material in groups. There will be roughly one
online quiz per week to ensure that the material covered in class
is mastered and there will be six homework assignments throughout
the quarter, each followed by an in-class homework quiz on the
material assigned.
The midterm will cover material in the first half of the course
and the final will be cumulative, but with more weight on the
material in the second half of the quarter.
Grading: Grades will be based on
in-class assignments, online quizzes, homework quizzes, homework essays,
the midterm exam, and the final examination:
| In-Class Assignments |
8% |
|
| Online Quizzes |
7% (7 total, 1% each) |
|
| Homework Quizzes |
30% (5 total, 6% each) |
|
| Homework Essays |
15% (5 total, 3% each) |
|
| Midterm |
20% |
(Wed., Feb. 8, 2006) |
| Final |
20% |
(Mon., Mar. 13, 2006, 1:30-3:18pm) |
- Given that the homework assignments, quizzes, and exams reflect the
material covered in class, attendance is essential for doing well in
this class.
- Each homework assignment will have two sections.
A problem solving section will consist of calculations or short
problems related to specific algorithms and techniques discussed in class.
The problem solving section of the homework will not be
collected. Instead, there will be an in-class homework quiz
based on these problems on the day the homework is due. You are
responsible for understanding the problems in this section. You
are welcome to work in groups on these problems, but remember that you
need to be sure that you understand how to do them for the
in-class quiz.
An essay section will consist of longer responses related to
larger themes in the topics covered. The essay section is due at the
beginning of class, on a piece of paper (preferably typed). You may
discuss the issues with your classmates, but you are expected to write up
your final responses independently. Since I can't grade
something I can't read, make sure your responses are legible and presented
clearly. If you need to turn in an assignment early, please put it in my
mailbox (labelled BOYD) in Oxley Hall 222.
- Online quizzes are administered through Carmen
(http://carmen.osu.edu) and are due by 8 am of the day
indicated in the syllabus. They will be shut off automatically once the
deadline is reached. You will have a week to complete each quiz, so
do not put it off to the last minute! The online quizzes are open
book, so you should view them as an opportunity to review the material
covered in class.
Note: I will do my best to remind you when there is an online quiz due,
but in case I forget, remember that it is your responsibility to keep up
with the syllabus.
- There will be daily in-class assignments, in which I will ask you to
work on small problem sets independently or in groups of 2-3 people. In
the case of group work, each group member will need to write out and hand
in a solution for me to grade.
- If you feel that I have graded anything incorrectly or
improperly, please contact me outside of class. I will be happy to
discuss your concerns.
- Grading scale:
| |
|
B+ |
87-89% |
C+ |
77-79% |
D+ |
67-69% |
| A |
93-100% |
B |
83-86% |
C |
73-76% |
D |
60-66% |
| A- |
90-92% |
B- |
80-82% |
C- |
70-72% |
E |
0-59% |
Make-up Policy:
-
In-Class Assignments: As you cannot participate if you are absent
and as they typically involve group discussions, in-class assignments are
difficult to make up. There will only be make-ups in the case of a
formally documented excused absence.
- Homework Quizzes: Your lowest homework quiz grade will be
dropped, so you may be absent for one in-class quiz without penalty.
There will only be make-ups in the case of a formally documented
excused absence.
- Homework Essays: Your lowest homework essay grade will also be
dropped. You are welcome to turn them in early if you cannot make it to
class, so no late essays will be accepted.
- Online Quizzes: Since you will generally have a week to take them,
there will be no make-ups for online quizzes.
- Exams: If you will not be able to take an exam on the specified day,
please talk to me as soon as possible before the exam. You will
need to provide extensive written documentation for your excuse.
- Extended absences: In the case of an extended, formally documented
absense (illness, military duty, etc.), please get in touch with me to
discuss your options.
Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct is taken very seriously.
I am required to report any suspected violations of Section 3335-23-04 of
the Code of Student Conduct
(http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/resource_csc.asp) to the Committee on
Academic Misconduct (http://oaa.osu.edu/coam/home.html). Please
take the time to read the Code of Student Conduct carefully. All OSU
students are assumed to be familiar with it and ignorance of Code of
Student Conduct is no excuse in cases of academic misconduct.
The most common form of misconduct is plagiarism. Remember that you must
provide clear citations for any ideas or materials that are not your own.
This includes material that you have found on online. The University
provides guidelines for online research at
http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/. Academic misconduct also
includes working together without permission and copying answers from
other students on homework or exams. Do your own work!
Class etiquette: I expect you to respect your fellow classmates,
to respect me, and to respect yourself.
- Participate in class! Share experiences, ask
questions, express your opinions. Don't hesitate to ask me questions or
ask for clarification or more information. If you'd rather discuss
something outside of class, send me email or see me during office hours.
- Do not read newspapers in class. Do not use the lab computers
without permission. Do not criticize others' questions. Do not
pack up early.
- Turn your cell phone off or set it to vibrate. If, for some reason,
you must leave early or you have an important call coming in, please let
me know before class.
- If you ever have a problem with the course or with me, please come
see me during office hours or schedule an appointment. If, for some
reason, you feel you cannot discuss an issue with me, please take your
concern to the TA Coordinator.
TA Coordinator:
Hope Dawson
hdawson AT ling DOT ohio-state DOT edu
223 Oxley Hall
688-3109
Students with Disabilities:
Students who need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability
should contact me to arrange an appointment as soon as possible to
discuss the course format, to anticipate needs, and to explore
potential accommodations. I rely on the Office of Disability Services
for assistance in verifying the need for accommodations and developing
accommodation strategies. Students who have not previously contacted
the Office for Disability Services are encouraged to do so
(292-3307; http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu).
Schedule: The latest version of the schedule is always available
from the course website.
| Week |
Month |
Date |
Day |
Topic |
Assignments Due |
| 1 |
Jan |
4 |
W |
Introduction |
|
| 2 |
|
9 |
M |
Text and speech encoding |
|
| |
|
11 |
W |
Searching |
Practice Quiz |
| 3 |
|
16 |
M |
University Holiday |
|
| |
|
18 |
W |
Searching (cont.) |
Quiz1, HW1 |
| 4 |
|
23 |
M |
Spam filtering |
Quiz2 |
| |
|
25 |
W |
(cont.) |
HW2 |
| 5 |
|
30 |
M |
Spelling and grammar correction |
Quiz3 |
| |
Feb |
1 |
W |
(cont.) |
HW3 |
| 6 |
|
6 |
M |
Midterm review |
Quiz4 |
| |
|
8 |
W |
MIDTERM |
|
| 7 |
|
13 |
M |
Machine translation |
|
| |
|
15 |
W |
(cont.) |
|
| 8 |
|
20 |
M |
Dialogue systems |
Quiz5 |
| |
|
22 |
W |
(cont.) |
HW4 |
| 9 |
|
27 |
M |
CALL |
Quiz6 |
| |
Mar |
1 |
W |
(cont.) |
HW5 |
| 10 |
|
6 |
M |
Social context of language technology use |
Quiz7 |
| |
|
8 |
W |
Final review |
HW6 |
| Final |
|
13 |
M |
FINAL (1:30-3:18pm) |
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