Week three thoughts

So its week three already and we are continuing to move right along.

What I learned this week:

Other people are a very valuable resource. After our presentations of our projects I spent some time looking at other peoples programs, especially the code they used to create what they did. I also used the scratch website forums and project gallery to look up some things I did not quite understand. It was very interesting to see the different ways that people approached their programming. For example I struggled with the use of numerous variables in order to control the program and have the sprites do different tasks. After looking at some other peoples programs I learned how to use the broadcast command to have certain functions performed. While what I was doing worked, it wasn't the most efficient way, and so by sharing with other people I was able to learn something new.

What got me excited:

I am pretty pumped that we got our first sensor assignment this week. I have never built something like that before, so I think it is going to be a good challenge for me and I'm excited to get started. Reading the first two chapters of the book much of the material is a review from physics classes I have taken, so I am glad I have a foundation I will be able to work off. I am sure the process of building a sensor will start slowly for me as I try to figure out something new, but I'm ready to give it my best shot.

What could change:

I really liked how the presentation day went and that we got to show our projects to the class. It was fun to see everyones work. I think it would be cool if we voted on prizes for our projects-things like best overall, most fun, best glitch, etc. Winners could get a candy bar or something. Other than that I think that class has been going great so far.

2nd week thoughts

So after another full week of class and our first project completed I think I'm getting a better idea of what this course will be like.

What I learned this week:

-Programming is only as difficult as you make it. Working with scratch was very easy and the program generally makes it very simple to accomplish things. However at the same time this can also make things difficult because you have to be able to figure out how to achieve what you want with only a basic set of code. As I went about creating my program I continually hit obstacles where it took me a while to figure out how exactly what approach to take in order to accomplish what I wanted. Obviously there are several different ways of coding to make the same thing happen, but I thought it was fun problem solving to figure out what would work best with my program. I also thought it was interesting that I spent much more time debugging than actually writing the program. It was fun to challenge myself to keep improving the program throughout the writing process.

What excited me about this weeks activities:

-Getting our second scratch assignment. I was very happy with how my first project ended up as I put a lot of time into to make sure it ran smoothly. I am pumped to work on the second project and see what types of more advanced things I can incorporate. I like the challenge of programming because really you have the freedom to create anything you want to as long as you put in the effort to do it.

What would I suggest to change:

-I think some people might say that they would have liked more time to complete the first scratch project, however I think the amount of time we had was good because it forced us to learn how to prioritize with programming and establish a base for the program before we start adding things. At the beginning of the project I had tons of grand ideas about things I wanted to include in the program, but with the time constraint I was forced to stick to what was more realistic and then later add things after I had the foundation of the program completed.

1st week thoughts

So starting off this week I was very pleased with the outlook of class for the year. Here's some thoughts so far:

What have I learned this week:

I've realized that for me programming is really a combination of two things: art and science. Working on my scratch program so far there have been times when I've been challenged creatively to develop some cool ideas. On the other hand, I have also hit some points so far where I know exactly what I would like the program to accomplish but have to solve problems on the programming side to make it succeed. So far working on the scratch program definitely has me using "both sides" of my brain, which definitely has me interested for what will be coming for the rest of the semester.

What excited me about this weeks activities:

I definitely got excited about class as it has become clear we will be working very independently to develop new skills and understanding. I think this class will be a very refreshing change from other lecture-based classes I have. This class is definitely one where what I get out of it depends mostly on what I put in, so I pretty pumped to challenge myself in this course. I think that this class could be very useful for me in the future so I'm excited to learn as much as I can.

What would I suggest to change:

As of right now it is difficult for me to think of any changes that this class could benefit from. Right away we were thrown right into the material to experiment with things for ourselves, but I think that so far that has worked really well and has made me very motivated to put in the effort required to learn the material. As the semester progresses I hope that I still have this enthusiasm for what we are working on.

Hello

Just as an intro to what is going on here, I've set this blog up as a reflection of my SMS 491 class (Robotics, sensors, and programming). Since the class is pretty new this type of feedback is going to be useful both for myself and the instructor as a way of developing the course and allowing me to get the most out of what we are covering. Check back for weekly updates about my progress and thoughts.