Final Blog Post of the Year!

When I first entered the class in August I really didn’t know what to expect out of it. The first six weeks was kind of easy because we didn’t really do any kind of programming. All we would do were group activities that were mostly puzzles and I really liked the fact that they were in groups. The computer-buying project was something that was really cool and I enjoyed doing because I got a 91 on it. Also the TED talks we would watch in class were really cool.

            The first time we did some kind of programming was with the HTML/CSS project. In this project we had to build our own website using the codes that go along with HTML and CSS. In the beginning I was confused on what to do and I spent a whole day just doing nothing because I didn’t know what to do. After getting some help from other teammates I finally figured out how to use HTML and CSS and my website was on a soccer team called Real Madrid.

            When scratch rolled around the corner, I was really getting the hang of it. I thought that the first few labs were easy. As time went on though they actually became harder and I was really having trouble with them. I thought that the quizzes over Scratch weren’t hard it’s just that I didn’t pay attention to the questions on the quiz.

            When it was time to do Jeroo, I was lost in the first labs and I didn’t know what to do. It took me at least 30 minutes just to figure out how to do the first lab, 1A. I got some help from some classmates and after a while I started to understand what to do. I finished all the labs that need to be finished and I retook all the quizzes up to 70’s.

            The second semester rolled around and I really didn’t know what to expect from the programming language that we were going to learn, which was Python. The first day back we had a presentation over the simple things in Python and it seemed easy at first. I would later find out that I was wrong.

            The first three labs were really easy because we really didn’t have to program anything in Python; all we had to do was copy and paste the code that Mr. Stephens gave us. As time went on, we had more and more labs and each lab would be harder than the last.

The first five labs, I believe, were preparing us for our first project with Python and I thought that this project shouldn’t have been so hard. I had finished the first TODO in the first class period that we were given to work on the project and from there I just neglected the project! Mr. Stephens gave us at least three weeks to work on this project and two out of those three weeks were just spent doing nothing and not working on the project at all. On the day that it was due, I just continued to work on it the entire class period and somehow I got it finished and received a 92.  

            After that project we started to work with a robot named the Finch and we used the same codes as in Python to program the robot to do several things, like move in a straight line, move in circles, and light up different colors. I thought that this was pretty cool and that we should have spent more time on the Finch but after about a week of pure Finch we went back to Python.

            We did a couple of more labs with Python that involved dictionaries and tuples and strings, and I got kind of confused. Something that I did not like was that now labs were worth 40% of our grade, which meant that if you didn’t finish a lab, you’re grade was going to be hurt.

            We had to do another project and I actually worked on this one the entire time that we were given. I worked very diligently and when I finished the project I received an 80. My graph would not work so that’s probably where I lost most of points.

            Our final is going to be to design an Android app using the app maker and for this we are going to use our knowledge that we acquired from Scratch and use it to program our app. I am not really nervous about this final because I was pretty good with Scratch.

            This year in computer programming I learned a lot of stuff about different programming languages and many different things about computers and I thank Mr. Stephens for sharing his knowledge with us and for teaching us about computer programming.

            

Finals are coming up!

This week was just like any other week and we had two days of class. On Tuesday I continued to work on the lab10a and got most of it done after getting help from some classmates. I got the lab to show me the average, highest, and lowest scores but the rest wasn't working. I continued to work on the lab at home. We were also told what our final was going to be, and it is going to be to design an android app with something similar to Scratch. This is cool because I was really good at Scratch. On Thursday, after switching some things up on the lab, I finally finished it and got the doc shared with me over the labs on the android apps. I was able to finish the first lab and I almost finished the second one. I will have to finish all of them before finals, but they don't seem to complicated.

Lab10a

This week was like any other week and there were three days of class this week. On Tuesday, in the beginning of class we watched a world tech update. That took up about 5 minutes and after that we had the rest of the class period to work on lab10a. I worked on the prelab most of the period and got the lab shared with me towards the end of the period. On Thursday we continued to work on lab10a and after some help from classmates I got my first TODO to work. On Friday, we had that last class period to work on the lab and I got pretty far on it but did not finish. I continued to work on it at home though. On Tuesday of next week we will start a new topic in Python.

Lab09a!

This week was like any other week and we had 3 days of class this week. On Tuesday I started looking over lab and I everything that I pretty much needed for the lab was in the prelab or slides. I worked the whole period and got a good amount of the lab done. On Thursday I continued to get some work done on the lab and after some help from a peer I was able to get my first TODO working. I also worked the entire class period and got another portion of the lab done. On Friday, Mr. Stephens was not going to be in class because he was going to UIL so he had Mr. Davis watch us and our behavior during Friday was going to influence how our next quiz was going to be. I think the class behaved well and I also worked on the lab. I also remember Mr. Stephens saying that we were going to finish the last weeks of school with something different than Python which I am looking forward to.

Matrices and Files!

This week was like any other week. We had two days of class this week and it was normal. On Tuesday when we walked into class we sat down and began to take the quiz over lists that we were supposed to take last week. I took all the time that was given to me and used it and when I finished with the quiz I got a 60 on it. After that we started a new topic and that was Matrices and files in python. That topic seemed pretty straight forward and I also learned how to open and close files in python. After the lecture, we received lab 09a and it was pretty straight forward. On Thursday I was able to retake the lists quiz and got an 80 but it only went in as a 70. After that I just continued to work on the lab and I think I got a fair amount of it done. After all the grades were put in, I finished this six weeks with a 84, which I thought was good.

Last week to turn things in!

This week was like any other week, normal. On Tuesday we were supposed to have a quiz over list in Python, but apparently Mr. Stephens did not have that ready so I was relieved because the night prior to that I actually went over the power point over lists and got it pretty well. So for the rest of the class period I just continued to work on lab08a. On Thursday when I walked into class I was expecting the quiz over lists but Mr. Stephens did not have it ready again, which was fine with me. It was the last day to turn in any work for the six weeks, and I still hand't turned in my project 02. I decided to work on that most of the class period. In the last 15 minutes of class is decided to work a little bit of the lab but I did not finish it. I ended up turning in my project and I got an 80 on it and that was an okay grade for me. Next time in class we will be taking the quiz over lists and Mr. Stephens said that we were going to hopefully start a new topic.

Another normal week

There were only two days of class this week and they were just like any other days. On Tuesday we had STAAR testing and we went to computer programming for the entire period. I continued to work on lab 07a, 07b, and 07c. I finished Lab 07a after help from some classmates and I also finished lab 07b. On Thursday it was just another work day to work on labs. I finished lab 07c and read over prelab 08a and did some of the activities in the prelab. We had lab 08a shared with us and it was the end of class. We were informed that we were going to have a quiz next time, Tuesday, on Python Strings. Thursday is the last day to turn in any work and I still have to turn in some work.

Back from spring break

Well there was three days of class this week and they were pretty boring. On Tuesday we had a lecture over Python strings which I thought was pretty boring, but it was helpful. We were introduced to three new labs. Lab 07a was the hardest one, which I did not finish, and labs 07b and 07c, which seemed pretty easy. On Thursday we continued to work on the three labs and I think I made pretty good progress. Mr. Stephens said that we were going to have a quiz over Python strings on Friday, which I was pretty nervous about. On Friday we had another lecture over lists, which was pretty helpful. Then we took the Python strings quiz, which I did well on, and got an 80 on it. We had problems with the quiz because my computer would not let me take it, but Mr. Stephens eventually fixed the problems. We also got the new prelab 08a.

Spring Break!

There were only two days of class this week and they were a pretty chill week because it was the week before spring break. On Tuesday we had to open up the Finch Program and use the program to do three a specific tasks , like give you titles of movies. I chose to do the movie reader, the news reader, and the tune reader. They were all relatively easy and after I did that I continued to work on the Target reading reflection. On Thursday, Mr.Stephens didn't really feel like planing anything out because we were so close to spring brake so we just watched TED talks the whole period, which I had no complaints about. We have to do reflection on two of the videos and that shouldn't be to hard. The only really homework I have is to do those two reflections. Other than that this week was a pretty chill week.

Finch!

There were three days of class this week and they were okay. On Tuesday we had another Project workday and continued to work on project 02. I almost finished the project, I just need to finish the third TODO. On Thursday we started the new lab, 06a. We were introduced to a new robot that we were going to use in the lab 06a and it was called Finch. This lab helped because it made us use Python to write our code to make the Finch execute and specific task. I actually like the Finch and I kinda liked the new lab. I also like the fact on how we worked in partners. On Friday we continued to work on lab 06a. We had some trouble on TODO 2.4.1, but we eventually figured it out. I still have to do the new reading reflection, but I will probably finish it this weekend. Bye.

Two days of project

There were two days of class this week and they were pretty boring. On Tuesday we had a project work day where we continued to work on project 02. That was the first day that I had actually started the project and I got pretty far on it. On Thursday it was another project work day to work on project 02. I almost figured the equation out and I also finished my main section. I am now starting the second half on the second TODO. I think it's going to be cool that in lab 06a we will write a code to make a robot do something.  I find that interesting but kind of challenging. I would still like to do an activity that I've been suggesting since the beginning of the year which was to do something with iPhone's and iPod touches. Until next week.

Last two days of the six weeks!

There were two days of class this week and they were okay. On Tuesday it was the last day to turn in any work that we wanted on this six weeks. I ended up finishing project 01 and I think I did well on and turned it in. I also finished the reflection on SOPA and PIPA and I also turned that in. On Thursday it was the last day to finish lab 05a and turn it in. I also was allowed to retake any quizzes I had failed and I retook the Python Functions quiz from a fifty up to an eighty. I didn't end up finishing lab 05a but I was given until Friday to turn it in but even then I could only get the lab to give me the multiples of three. I didn't finish so that wont be a hundred, but I would be grateful to at least get some credit for it. When I left school on Thursday my grade for Computer Programming was a 72, but with a good grade on the project, a 100 on the reflection, a retake on the quiz up to an 80, and maybe just maybe some credit for lab 05a, I should at least be up to a B, and finish this six weeks with a B.

Python Conditionals

There were two days of class this week. This week in Computer Programming we learned about Python Conditionals. On Tuesday we had a presentation on Python conditionals and it took about 45 minutes. We were also assigned a new lab, lab 05a. On Thursday, there was a substitute in class and we only had an hour of class. We were assigned a new project, project 02. We also continued to work on lab 05a, and I almost finished the lab. I hope that I can get the new project done faster to focus on other things. Either on Tuesday or Thursday of next week we will take a quiz on Python conditionals, so I will make sure to study up for that.

Project Week!

There was three days of class this week and they were okay. On Tuesday I think I was really productive because half of  the period I was working of lab04a and I finished and the other half of class I continued to work on the project that was assigned to us. Yesterday, Thursday, was a late start so we really only had an hour of class, so you couldn't really do much but I did as much as I could and we were also assigned problems from codingbat.com and I think I am going to do those to raise my average. On Friday, today, we had a regular day and I continued to work on the project and I also figured out the equation for the first part of the project. I really want to finish this project to get it over with.

Project Week!

There was three days of class this week and they were okay. On Tuesday I think I was really productive because half of  the period I was working of lab04a and I finished and the other half of class I continued to work on the project that was assigned to us. Yesterday, Thursday, was a late start so we really only had an hour of class, so you couldn't really do much but I did as much as I could and we were also assigned problems from codingbat.com and I think I am going to do those to raise my average. On Friday, today, we had a regular day and I continued to work on the project and I also figured out the equation for the first part of the project. I really want to finish this project to get it over with.

Python and Its Functions!

We had two days in class this week. On Tuesday we were suppose to have a quiz, but it wasn't written. We also went over a new thing in Python, Functions. We went over a new presentation that practically took the whole class period. I really learned a lot about how function work and how to make new things. We also got a new lab. I started reading the prelab, but I wish I would have read it more thoroughly, because some of the questions from the quiz came from the prelab. On Thursday when I tried to open the lab 04a file apparently I didn't save it correctly and I had to start over. We also took a quiz on the functions and I used all the time that was provided and I got a 50 on the quiz. I understood the errors I made, and will retake the quiz. Also, we had a project introduced which I will probably start this weekend.

Python and Its Magic!

This week was pretty cool. There were three days of class this week. We learned a lot of stuff this week like variables and functions. The things we learned were put to the test yesterday when we took a quiz over variables and functions, and I was really proud of my score, which was an 80. I finished the second lab today and and I also started the third lab and almost finished. For some reason, when I ran my program it just went haywire and it would stop running it until you hit exit. That is something I will have to fix on Tuesday when I go back to class. I also think I am understanding Python a lot better and next week should be interesting. Even though I think Python is kind of boring I still find it interesting to use. Next week we will be taking another quiz over functions and I hope I really pass that quiz to bring my grade up.  

Python!

This week was pretty interesting, there were only two days of class of this week and one day was a late start. On Thursday of last week we started to learn about Python programming language and all the basics about it. We had a hour long presentation on everything about Python and the different syntax's and about binary numbers. I didn't really understand the binary numbers when we learned about them in class. Also during class we were given a worksheet and we had to compare different things about computer science and also make a algorithm on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. On Tuesday it was a day to catch  up with things you didn't finish on Thursday like the two labs and also the worksheet. I had finished both labs but I still continued to make edits to worksheet. On Thursday we had to take a quiz about Python and binary numbers and I got a 60. I was actually surprised I thought I would have done worst. I got both of the binary questions wrong because I didn't know much about binary numbers, I knew I should have asked for help on binary numbers on Tuesday but I was just playing games during the class period.