csc104blog-blog

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3rd SLOG- December 5th, 2017

Wow, time flies! I cannot believe how quick this semester went by, it seems only yesterday it was the first week of class. I have learned so much, and overcame a bunch of obstacles (namely, the 2 course projects)!

When giving to advice to a student beginning CSC104, I would give advice in 2 main areas:

1)    How to design a function: The first thing I would let the new student know is that computer programming is all about making mistakes. If one believes that every code or function is written on the first try, they are severely mistaken! I would convey to the student that there are functions at their disposal which will enable them to design the function properly (using the “check-expect” function), and to see the steps their function is performing when given a command (using the “step” function).

Next, I would properly teach the student how to use the “syntax” button in DrRacket, as that is a great way to visualize how the function that they designed actually operates. I would also advise the student to keep track of the brackets, as when the function they are designing is large, they can easily lose track! As well, I would advise the student to always keep in the front of their mind exactly what it is they are hoping to accomplish with the function! Many times when designing a function I got so caught up in the mistakes I was making that I lost track of what I was trying to do! Lastly, I would encourage the student to completely understand the first function design that the professor works through in lecture, as this is a crucial foundation for more complicated functions. If you can understand the first function design, then you are well on your way to succeeding in CSC104!

2)    How to best prepare for the course: As someone who took this course with no computer science background, I would convey to the student that there are many ways in which they can get their feet wet for this course. First off, I would have the student understand that computer science (at least from what I’ve seen in this course) is like learning a new language. The same way that someone learns a new language, such as French, is by tons and tons of practice! Simply trying the same thing a few times will help them immensely in their understanding! As well, I would have the student do a little research about Boolean terminology. I would also advise the student to check YouTube or Google and see some basic coding being done. Although the language they will see in the video will most likely not be DrRacket language, the student will at least now have some experience seeing what coding is like. If the student wants to see some DrRacket (or Intermediate Student with Lambda, which is quite similar if not identical to DrRacket) I would enlighten them that Danny Heap, one of the course professors, has videos available on the course website and YouTube! Many times throughout the semester I found myself watching some of these videos, for review and to sometimes preview a topic. The videos are clear, and there is usually some self-practice questions that Danny has provided for someone who wishes to try them. Lastly, I would have the student speak to friends in computer science or who have taken CSC104 for tips on how to study, prepare for quizzes and tests, and overall how to succeed in the course.

  I had an amazing experience in this course and I am so glad I took it. As an accounting student, this course really broadened my horizon and made me appreciate just how much coding goes on behind the scenes for the many websites and applications we use! The professors and TA’s were amazing, and always available to help!

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Quick Update (Test 2)

Test 2 was two weeks ago, and I really wanted to do well. I was happy with my test 1 mark, but wanted to step it up for test 2.

The resources of weekly output, along with previous year’s test 2 proved to be ample resources to enable a good mark for test 2. I first went over the weekly outputs for the relevant weeks, and then reviewed the quizzes. After that, I went straight to past tests to study. By looking over and attempting the past year’s tests, I was prepared for test 2. 

When I wrote term test 2, the level of difficulty and style of questions were similar to past year’s tests, and I did not face any surprises. I was happy to see that the test was reflective of the week’s output and past tests. The marks for the tests were released last night, and I was extremely happy with my results!

By putting in the work, and using the resources available to me, I was able to very well on the term test!

Overall, I am happy with the course and am getting ready for the final!

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2nd Slog- October 27th, 2017

We are now more than halfway through the course! Midterm season was extremely hectic, but thank god that is in the past. 

I was really stressed about the 1st midterm, but by reviewing the weekly output exercises I began to feel better about the midterm. As well, the professors posted a couple of the previous term 1 tests, and that was so helpful for me. I went over the tests for content, level of difficulty, and even sat down for 1 of the previous tests in a simulated test-taking environment. After taking these steps, I felt confident for test 1, which went extremely well!

When I got stuck on a particular question or concept, I tried to look over my notes, and when that did not alleviate my concerns, the first avenue for help I went to was the Wednesday TA hours in the Bahen labs. The TAs were able to clarify any misunderstandings and confusion that I had. I didn't have to go to the Professor office hours, because my questions were sorted out through the amazing TAs!

I initially found writing the code where we have to give it a condition to be passed, and if so it does one task, or if that condition is not met then it performs a different task, extremely hard! However, the TAs helped me get that concept sorted out, and on the most recent quiz where that topic was tested, I believe I aced the quiz. I was extremely nervous in the beginning, but now feel that I have truly mastered it. That was an incredible feeling :)

This week I have been working extremely hard on the 1st project. When the project was posted and I went through the file, I was extremely confused. However, after spending some time on it, I have made considerable progress and hope to complete it over the weekend. The CS Help Centre hours is where I have been going for help when I get stuck on the project, as I do not want to wait until Wednesday to go to the TAs hours. The CS Help Centre has been extremely useful and the people there are wonderful, and no matter how small the question is, they give you the time to answer the question. I would highly recommend this resource to anyone in the course!

I really enjoyed learning this week about how a computer creates an image, such as a triangle, pixel by pixel. We used the “freeze” function to break down how the image is made, and I found that extremely cool. As well, we learned how a particular colour displayed on a computer is really a combined of blue, green, red and a level of opaqueness. 

Overall, the course is progressing well for me, and the necessary steps available to get help when needed are amazing, and are allowing me to excel in this course!

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1st SLOG- October 6th, 2017

I chose CSC104 because I have always been interested in computer science. As I study accounting, I have not been able to be introduced to this field of study. This is my last year at UofT, and so I took the opportunity to learn about Computational Thinking. My wish was to begin to understand that computers have their own language, and would hope to learn a little bit about how they operate, and how we can program them to do what we desire. I have had zero computer programming experience before I began this course, and so far it has been extremely eye opening. 

I expected computer programming to be somewhat similar to what has been taught to me so far in CSC104. However, I was unaware that certain programs are used extensively in computer programming. For example, I thought that we would be learning how to code on any computer, and did not even know that DrRacket existed (and would be the focus of this course). 

So far, I have found pretty much all that we have learned in class to be interesting. Just learning the basic operating of how a code works (i.e., inside to out, left to right) has been interesting to me. It has been especially interesting to learn how to manipulate pictures, for example the crop-top and rotate-cw functions. I also found it interesting to work with math formulas (i.e., (+ 3 7)) and to work with vast amounts of data and be able to sort them (i.e., the list function).

This course started off very easy for the first lecture, and subsequently has gotten much harder with each lecture. After the first lecture I thought it was extremely easy and would not be so time consuming, but literally after the second lecture I realized this would not be the case going forward.  

For the quizzes, I review my lecture notes and then immediately get to work on the week’s exercises. Whenever I get stuck, I make sure to go to the computer lab in BA3175 on Wednesdays, where the TA’s or professors are extremely helpful. So far, I have gone to these hours every week starting from week 2. Up to and including quiz three, I am satisfied with my performance on the quizzes, but still feel that I can grasp the material a little better with more effort. So, going forward I will be attending office hours to better solidify my understanding of course material. 

This past week in class we focuses on two new functions: “map” and “apply”. At first they were confusing me, but after a couple hours of practice, I began to understand them. After spending the time working on fully grasping these functions, I am now confident in using them. It was exciting for me when I finally felt that I understood their use, and my frustration dissipated.

One area that I am extremely interested in is website development. In an ever increasingly online world, I think this would be extremely useful!