Hello everyone (for the last time in my programming class),
I can't believe the semester is over in three days! I fell like it was just yesterday that I was learning how to make a print statement *tears*
As my final (revised) project, I'm writing a blog post talking about this class, what I learned, what I liked/didn't like, etc.
To start this final post off, I'd like to just paste some funny screenshots that that I found as I was going through all my old blog posts:
I remember starting off with a goal of introducing myself to basic programming, so I would be familiar with it if I needed it in college. I do believe that I have met that basic goal, because I feel quite comfortable with the foundation of programming in the Python language. I am definitely leaving this class knowing more about programming than I did when I started. I learned everything from basic print statements to while loops to turtles. I feel the most valuable thing I was exposed to is the nature of programming; how intricate and detailed it is, and I feel I understand how it is systematic in its workings. I feel that my success and general ease in understanding the material was that I could mostly understand why things were working. I tried to rely less on copying and pasting and more on really understanding what each character that I typed did.
Here is a list of all the python room sections I completed:
-displaying output
-variables
-inputs
-data types
-math operators
-logic operators
-libraries
-turtle
-branching
-while loops
-string manipulation
-pig latin
-string functions
-list indexes
-list iteration
-list operations
From ASCII art to turtle races, game reviews to cake decorating, and Paperclips to Zork, I do feel like we did a lot in this class.
To be totally honest, I don't feel like anything was too challenging. Sure, things were difficult and some required a lot of thinking, but I feel like I always just figured it out. I think that this was due to me wanting to figure it out and just having a mind that this stuff came easily to. If anything, playing the online games (like Zork and especially Game Dev. Tycoon) were the most challenging. (Here's the link to my review/rant about Game Dev. Tycoon: http://minimimiii.blogspot.com/2017/10/game-dev-tycoon-review.html) I think this was just because I'm not really into games like that, so I wasn't as knowledgable about how to be successful in them.
I think the least challenging thing were the little projects that were assigned with thorough tutorials, such as the soccer formation and cake maker. I think that they were a little too spoon-fed for my taste, but I think they were helpful for the people that had a harder time understanding the concepts. I did like the idea of learning a skill in pythonroom, and then utilizing it in producing something. I more or less liked Christmas cards that gave you some of the coding, but you had to trial-and-error some of it.
My favorite project I think was the "About Me ASCII Project", which was the first project we did. I was really excited and happy that I had taken what I learned in like, one section of python room, and was able to produce an interactive code! I remember printing a cute giraffe, and figuring out how to print the number of fish that the user wanted. I think that this was motivating for me to learn and understand more, so that I could make more complex codes.
My least favorite activity, by a long shot, was playing Game Dev. Tycoon. To sum up my 1800 word review, I was very unsuccessful, went bankrupt three times, and could not produce a profitable game to save my life (aka my company). If knowing that the required word count for my review was 500 words, and that I produced an 1800 word rant along with a 2200 word notes document, doesn't show how much I didn't like that game, I don't know what will. It was boring to me because I wasn't advancing in the game because I was constantly in debt.
I don't really know what I would have liked to have learned, because I don't know what else is out there. I don't know how much more complicated it can get, I can only imagine. I do feel like I wanted to learn more about other uses of programming, other than games. I feel like I just want to expose myself to more of technology coding because it is literally everywhere.
I do plan on continuing to learn more about programming going forward, because I do find it interesting, and now I know I'm not horrible at it. I think that this class gave me the opportunity to see for myself if I liked how coding works, and I have realized I do. I think I see this as something that I'll do for fun, like a side project to my life. I was excited to create a text adventure game, and I wish that there was more time allotted to it. Even though I won't be doing it in this class, I do see that as a goal for myself to complete in the near future. I feel I do have the abilities and skills to create it.
I would recommend this class to others. It does introduce the fundamentals of programming in python in a low stress, slow paced environment. I think that this is good for people that want to learn more about it, but it isn't their priority. I also think that this class is good for seniors, because (to be honest), it's a relaxed class to meet the five class requirement, where you learn a new, practical skill. I also think that developing your thought process and analytical skills in understanding how coding works, is very useful. This class also helps you with being creative and your trial-and-error skills.
I liked the format of this class, which was a blend of self paced assignments, along with bigger projects with deadlines. I think that the format of the class has to depend on the types of students that are in the class, and what their, and the teacher's, expectations are. For me, I liked the self paced nature because you could go as far as you wanted, as long as meeting a minimum expectation. As seen through my addition of extra details in my projects and my blog posts that were 3 times as long as anyone else's, I like doing more work than is necessary. That's how I learn and thrive. I do wish that there was more instruction (not really in the forms of lectures), because sometimes it felt like we were going from 0 to 100 with very basic instructions. (And I knew that if I was struggling, then other students were completely lost.) I personally think that pythonroom was a source of frustration, because of its consistent glitching, and way that it is set up. The way it gives you a very basic definition and example of a skill, and then expects you to know how do a 10x harder problem, is annoying. Or, how the problem is an exact replica of the example, and a person can bypass the problem without understanding the skill, which can be detrimental later. Also, their setup allows for very easy copying, as it doesn't at all test understanding. Even though we only did a section in Runestone, I think that their approach is more conducive to teaching the type of students that are likely to take this class. (especially with the introduction of AP Computer Science). I think that more instruction, and understanding too much, is way better than being completely lost.
Here is a section of my past review of Runestone:
I do want to thank our teacher, Mr. Gray, for putting up with us on a daily basis. He compromised and discussed a lot of things with us, and we appreciate it a lot.
This is my last post for probably a long while!
-Mimi
1/17/18
I can't believe the semester is over in three days! I fell like it was just yesterday that I was learning how to make a print statement *tears*
As my final (revised) project, I'm writing a blog post talking about this class, what I learned, what I liked/didn't like, etc.
To start this final post off, I'd like to just paste some funny screenshots that that I found as I was going through all my old blog posts:
I remember starting off with a goal of introducing myself to basic programming, so I would be familiar with it if I needed it in college. I do believe that I have met that basic goal, because I feel quite comfortable with the foundation of programming in the Python language. I am definitely leaving this class knowing more about programming than I did when I started. I learned everything from basic print statements to while loops to turtles. I feel the most valuable thing I was exposed to is the nature of programming; how intricate and detailed it is, and I feel I understand how it is systematic in its workings. I feel that my success and general ease in understanding the material was that I could mostly understand why things were working. I tried to rely less on copying and pasting and more on really understanding what each character that I typed did.
Here is a list of all the python room sections I completed:
-displaying output
-variables
-inputs
-data types
-math operators
-logic operators
-libraries
-turtle
-branching
-while loops
-string manipulation
-pig latin
-string functions
-list indexes
-list iteration
-list operations
From ASCII art to turtle races, game reviews to cake decorating, and Paperclips to Zork, I do feel like we did a lot in this class.
To be totally honest, I don't feel like anything was too challenging. Sure, things were difficult and some required a lot of thinking, but I feel like I always just figured it out. I think that this was due to me wanting to figure it out and just having a mind that this stuff came easily to. If anything, playing the online games (like Zork and especially Game Dev. Tycoon) were the most challenging. (Here's the link to my review/rant about Game Dev. Tycoon: http://minimimiii.blogspot.com/2017/10/game-dev-tycoon-review.html) I think this was just because I'm not really into games like that, so I wasn't as knowledgable about how to be successful in them.
I think the least challenging thing were the little projects that were assigned with thorough tutorials, such as the soccer formation and cake maker. I think that they were a little too spoon-fed for my taste, but I think they were helpful for the people that had a harder time understanding the concepts. I did like the idea of learning a skill in pythonroom, and then utilizing it in producing something. I more or less liked Christmas cards that gave you some of the coding, but you had to trial-and-error some of it.
My favorite project I think was the "About Me ASCII Project", which was the first project we did. I was really excited and happy that I had taken what I learned in like, one section of python room, and was able to produce an interactive code! I remember printing a cute giraffe, and figuring out how to print the number of fish that the user wanted. I think that this was motivating for me to learn and understand more, so that I could make more complex codes.
My least favorite activity, by a long shot, was playing Game Dev. Tycoon. To sum up my 1800 word review, I was very unsuccessful, went bankrupt three times, and could not produce a profitable game to save my life (aka my company). If knowing that the required word count for my review was 500 words, and that I produced an 1800 word rant along with a 2200 word notes document, doesn't show how much I didn't like that game, I don't know what will. It was boring to me because I wasn't advancing in the game because I was constantly in debt.
I don't really know what I would have liked to have learned, because I don't know what else is out there. I don't know how much more complicated it can get, I can only imagine. I do feel like I wanted to learn more about other uses of programming, other than games. I feel like I just want to expose myself to more of technology coding because it is literally everywhere.
I do plan on continuing to learn more about programming going forward, because I do find it interesting, and now I know I'm not horrible at it. I think that this class gave me the opportunity to see for myself if I liked how coding works, and I have realized I do. I think I see this as something that I'll do for fun, like a side project to my life. I was excited to create a text adventure game, and I wish that there was more time allotted to it. Even though I won't be doing it in this class, I do see that as a goal for myself to complete in the near future. I feel I do have the abilities and skills to create it.
I would recommend this class to others. It does introduce the fundamentals of programming in python in a low stress, slow paced environment. I think that this is good for people that want to learn more about it, but it isn't their priority. I also think that this class is good for seniors, because (to be honest), it's a relaxed class to meet the five class requirement, where you learn a new, practical skill. I also think that developing your thought process and analytical skills in understanding how coding works, is very useful. This class also helps you with being creative and your trial-and-error skills.
I liked the format of this class, which was a blend of self paced assignments, along with bigger projects with deadlines. I think that the format of the class has to depend on the types of students that are in the class, and what their, and the teacher's, expectations are. For me, I liked the self paced nature because you could go as far as you wanted, as long as meeting a minimum expectation. As seen through my addition of extra details in my projects and my blog posts that were 3 times as long as anyone else's, I like doing more work than is necessary. That's how I learn and thrive. I do wish that there was more instruction (not really in the forms of lectures), because sometimes it felt like we were going from 0 to 100 with very basic instructions. (And I knew that if I was struggling, then other students were completely lost.) I personally think that pythonroom was a source of frustration, because of its consistent glitching, and way that it is set up. The way it gives you a very basic definition and example of a skill, and then expects you to know how do a 10x harder problem, is annoying. Or, how the problem is an exact replica of the example, and a person can bypass the problem without understanding the skill, which can be detrimental later. Also, their setup allows for very easy copying, as it doesn't at all test understanding. Even though we only did a section in Runestone, I think that their approach is more conducive to teaching the type of students that are likely to take this class. (especially with the introduction of AP Computer Science). I think that more instruction, and understanding too much, is way better than being completely lost.
Here is a section of my past review of Runestone:
"I would much rather have too many explanations and examples than not enough. I also feel like the deeper understanding will be much more beneficial when we get to really complicated coding. I can't definitively say which one taught more about the Turtle library, since I only went about half way through Runestone. I feel that Pythoonroom has breadth and Runestone has depth."All in all, I definitely learned about python coding. I think that some improvements, like always, could be made, but it was a rather successful class looking back. I would like to note that I did like the blogs that we made weekly, or after each project, because reflecting is just as important as learning.
I do want to thank our teacher, Mr. Gray, for putting up with us on a daily basis. He compromised and discussed a lot of things with us, and we appreciate it a lot.
This is my last post for probably a long while!
-Mimi
1/17/18
Comments
Post a Comment