After the completion of the labs, WODS, and Assignment 1, my understanding of how codes works and problem solving skills have improved drastically. I am able to find “stupid” mistakes or errors in my codes more efficiently by utilizing the console to pin point the place that caused the problem. Also, as Professor says “codes do exactly as what it says it’s doing”. We don’t always have to think very hard to write out a code that does what we want. In addition, I have grown to comment more on my codes layout the codes better to structure how I want my codes look like. Having comments helped me understand my codes and I can easily come back in the future to look for it when I need it.
One aspect that I need to work on to improve my programming skills is to take time to read through the instructions and documentations throughly to fully understand what my tasks are and how certain things work. I tend to read through things quickly, resulting in the need to search things up and look for examples to fully comprehend some of the usage of the codes. Another thing is that when I search the Internet for examples or solutions, I should use key words or explicitly search for the information that I need to help me write my codes. Rather than searching broad questions that will take me a long time of find the information that I need, I should narrow the search down to the specific part that I need help with to efficiently use my time in completing the work.
The WODs were a great way to help reinforce the information I learned during the labs and from the readings, allowing me to implement it in a practical way. Doing the WODs pushed me to think critically and to solve problems with the codes on my own. I think I have watched three screencasts, SmartPhoneProducts2, one of the Invoice ones, and for the BrowserHistory6. For most times, it was because something was not working that resulted in an error in the console and I watched it to see what I might have done wrong. When I found my mistake, I would redo the WODs and have them complete under Av or Rx times.
The labs are the most useful in helping me learn the new concepts and how to utilize the codes in completing the WODs and Assignment 1. However, since there were multiple times where Professor couldn’t finish explaining a majority of exercises of certain labs and we had to figure it out ourselves, I cannot say that I am confident in completing them. The labs introduces new concepts of the class and it is best understood when someone demonstrates it to me with explicit explanation. But when we had to finish the sections where it is not “Do it yourself”, I am left with an understand gap for that section even if I have finished it because I don’t know if I understand them correctly or I missed something. The “Do it yourself” exercises were understandable, but the exercises that were supposed to be done in class with the professor were harder to grasp. Especially one of the later labs before Assignment 1 that were important in completing the assignment, I had quite a struggle when completing it. In the cases where we didn’t finish the labs in class, it would be great if there is a screencast that covers the exercises that we didn’t have time to go over in class. It would be extremely helpful in my learning of the concepts and usage of the codes.
I learned a lot from my experience in completing Assignment 1 as it pushed me to use all the concepts that I learned in class and in the readings, and acts as a test to how well I can embed it in an actual project from scratch. I felt very accomplished after I had everything working and posted in the class server, it’s as if someone really heavy had been lift off of me. When I first started working on Assignment 1, I was very lost and didn’t know where to start, but after watching the “Getting Started” screencast and going to Professor for some help, I was able to complete Assignment 1 successfully in time. At this moment, I have briefly looked over the instructions for Assignment 2 and I have a little doubt in myself to work on Assignment 2, but I believe that I can handle it with a little twist and turns.
As mentioned above in the question about the labs, I think finishing the exercises of the labs would greatly improve my learning of the concepts taught in class. If we are unable to complete the certain parts of the lab during class time, it would be great if there is a screencast as a backup to teach and reinforce the new concepts in those labs. This way, we are able to take time to understand the concepts and to go back if we have other problems in the future. Another improvement for the class would be to update the screencasts of the WODs as some instructions for the WODs may been modified with additional instructions and sometimes the screencasts doesn’t address those added parts. Having updates screencasts would be helpful for us in grasping the concepts of the class and finishing Assignment 1 with less struggle.
What helped me the most in class are the Labs, the WODs, and working with classmates. The labs and WODs are built to help us successfully complete Assignment 1, and the difficulty gradually increases, which helps us take in the concepts of the class. The labs are especially helpful as we need Professor to explain all the concepts and guide us through how we can utilize them. Also, I had the opportunity to work with a few of my classmates and it helped both sides grow. When I don’t understand something but my classmates does, I can ask them for assistance and it helped me comprehend the concepts; and vise versa, when my classmates didn’t understand something that I know, I can help explain it to them. It is a win-win situation where we can learn from each other and succeed together. I think having small groups formed is really helpful in learning new information as the students can explain things in a way that may be easily understood by student peers rather than how the professor explains it.