4th Term TA Grade

I spent this entire term practicing for competition. Since I asked you about it though, I'm pretty sure that I can still give myself a good grade as the work I am completing still false under the cs categorization (i.e. not calculus homework). For example, the ACSL worksheets were released to us and I worked on solving and learning all of the problems and materials associated with the test. Furthermore, Evan and I have been completing our own side projects as well. During this term I solved 4 ACSL example problems, 2 USACO problems, 2 old UIL problems, and advanced a personal project concerning machine learning in literature (not really working as of now, but in time...). My focus made one lapse during this term when I forgot to complete my physics homework and made up the work during this period. 99%.

Sunday May 19, 2013

Overall, this year has been pretty great. Despite the ups and downs, I thoroughly enjoyed the class and it was often my favorite ( I think this might have been obvious considering the amount of time I spent in that room, skipping other classes to make time for coding). Despite this, there are a few comments and concerns that I had about the class.

First off, I think it would be extremely helpful to make the entire curriculum available at the beginning of the year. I say this because there were many occasions when I had free time, but nothing to do. Additionally, I had no idea where the next lesson was going and what I should learn in order to get ahead. This also help a lot considering the fact that there were many times when I felted extremely cramped for time and pressured by deadlines. By offering the entire curriculum at the beginning of the year, I believe that it would be easier to spread the work out and complete it at our own pace, getting ahead if that is what we want or sticking with Mr. Stephen’s pace if that is what we want. I’m not saying that we should stop the lectures and change the due dates, all I am saying is that it would be nice to give us the opportunity to jump ahead if we have the time and drive.

Looking into the future, I really wish there was another structured computer programming class because I find it so enjoyable and wish to continue my education in the field. I have looked at the ‘Advanced Computer Programming’ class, but when talking to kids in the class currently, it seems like it just isn't for me. Current students in that course say that it is pretty much a free period, with no guidance, no lectures, and independent work. I have heard the idea tossed around that there would be another class added on in the future in which the lessons were continued and the labs were in C++, Python, and Java. What this class would allow me to is keep the structure of our AP class while continuing to push me academically, teaching me new topics and techniques.

A petty comment about the classroom: I wish there were enough chairs. In our APCS class, when every student is in attendance, there are almost always two people left without the comfy rolling chairs who are forced to sit in short, hard, and uncomfortable regular chairs. I don’t know where the other chairs went. I feel like there used to be enough at the beginning of the year. Are the film kids taking them? If that is the case, I think we should lead a raid on their classroom and take back the two chairs that are rightfully ours. This would, in essence, reduce the amount of inter-peer conflict and create and more efficient and safer learning environment for everybody.

Finally: keep it up Mr. Stephens. I love this class and I guess you are pretty cool too. I promise you that I will visit A LOT next year and spend excess time in your room while skipping calculus, organic chemistry, and anatomy. BYE!

Beck Out...

Sunday April 7, 2013

Recently in class nothing has been difficult at all. I think it has something to do with the fact that we are nearing the end of the school and the curriculum is slowly finishing. AP testing is coming up, so preparation for that is likely to begin soon in the future. For the past few classes we have been working in GridWorld (something that will be prominent on our AP test). In this world, there is a grid in which actors and other sprites are able to be placed. Only one object can occupy a single spot at a certain time, but the objects can detect each other’s presence. For example, the primary actor in the program is a ladybug that moves around the screen. When the user presses step, the ladybug first checks to see whether or not  it can move forward using the canMove() method. Then, if the space in front of it is clear, it moves a single spot forward. If there is an object in front of it, however, the ladybug executes the turn() method and rotates 45 degrees clockwise. This will often occur at either borders or when it contacts rocks and masks. Other methods that GridWorld include allow the user to position the sprite anywhere on the board, change the color of the sprite, and so much more. Another type of sprite that can be placed on the grid is a BoxBug, which travels in a box of specified length and height. This bug differs from the basic ladybug in that it includes two new instance variables that determine the length of the box and how many steps the bug has taken on that side. I don’t exactly know why GridWorld is so important for the AP though. It seems extremely basic to me. Every lesson can be finished within minutes of receiving it. I’m not complaining. I enjoy the free time.

Beck Out...

Sunday March 17, 2013

Over the past couple of weeks, nothing interesting has really happened. The labs have been very simple and I’m not even sure if we are being expected to learn. For example, with the finch lab, we were required to write a second compareTo, but through the use of the compareTo that was already written, the code required was about 12 lines. 12 LINES! The entire lab, from beginning to submission. I don’t know if this was a lab that was done previous years, but honestly, it in no way aided my learning. Conversely, the lab in which we sorted strings was very helpful and extremely gratifying upon completion. Unlike the previously described lab, it required though and analysis of the problem. We were required to start our portion of the code from scratch, thus the feeling of accomplishment stemming from the aforementioned challenge was greater.

The funniest thing that I accomplished the past two weeks was the creation of a bogo sort. It was not difficult, nor was it time consuming (the time it took to write it), but it was absolutely hilarious upon completion. For those that do not know what a bogo sort is, it is a method by which a set of data is organized, for example, from greatest to largest values. In order to accomplish this task, the bogo sort checks the order of the list. If it is not in order, it randomizes the values and checks again. This process continues until the randomizing happens to place the values in the correct order.

The most exciting thing that I did over Spring Break was seeing Sam Beam in concert at the KEXP show at Mellow Johnny’s. I went with Alex Schultz and George and we were on the very front row. For half of the concert I actually sat on the stage! Furthermore, when he was taking suggestions for songs, he asked me what I wanted to hear, and then played my favorite song for me: Lion’s Mane. I also got hit by a car and lost the majority of the skin on my upper thigh and hip!

Sunday February 17, 2012

I don't know why I am still doing these posts since I've been volunteering every Wednesday at the camp, but I guess that is just how things go. Maybe I can get extra credit on my quizzes or something cause I just failed another one. Geez. I think I might need to start trying again in this class cause my grades are sorta getting messed up.
So we had a big due date on Friday, good thing I finished everything on Thursday. MUAHAHA. I got to sit at lunch and watch a lot of people squirm about their incomplete labs that I did on my own in half the time.
I'm kinda sad that I missed the competition this weekend, but what can you do when an SAT comes up unexpectedly. I did get a 2200, which I think is pretty good for a sophomore. With another year of studying I think I will be able to break 2350, which is the goal.
Six-Weeks Exam is next week, something that I am not really looking forward to because it always drops my grade, but I guess if I do well on it, it will eliminate all the failing quizzes that I have that I can do nothing about.
Beck Out.

Sunday February 10, 2012

I'm not really sure whether or not I should be writing this blog post as this week I volunteered at the Pierce Middle School technology camp with Stephens. Only 3 kids showed up, which was disappointing, but I got to spend some quality time with Alex Schultz and worked one on one with the kids for the last 30 minutes of the time.
Mr. Stephens was gone this week, which was a great relief. My sarcasm meter was starting to go off the charts and I don't know how much more I would have been able to take. Mr. Tessler is pretty cool, and he got graded this week, so we were on our best behavior.
All of my labs are up to date and everything is going well. I am understanding the execution of all the programming skills that we are learning right now, but the purpose of them is often quite confusing. I'm not sure how I would use these in real life...
I divorced Vignesh this week as my programming partner. I finally worked up the courage to do that. He has been dragging me down all along and just putting his name on my programs. Now that we are programming separately though, our relationship is mending.
Beck Out.

Sunday February 3, 2012

I'm kinda disappointed that that I wasn't able to go to the competition this weekend. Even though I don't do very well, I still really enjoy them and I feel like they help me learn. There is also that added bonus of not having to do blog posts. Score. But now that I am not competing, I must return to the boring blogs and tell you how my week went.
I signed up to volunteer. Awesome. What a good samaritan, giving back to my community. It oughta be fun though, and we are writing in Scratch, so no challenges there. I hope the kids are smart though.
Finally finished pong. It gave me a few issues and was quite challenging, but overall I had a lot of fun writing it and feeling the warm success that washes over you when your program finally works that way that it was intended to.
I think I am going to start doing all the programming by myself. I feel like it will be much more rewarding and I won't have to deal with Vignesh who kinda just hovers. Backseat driver much?
Beck Out.

Sunday January 20th, 2013

This week was a little weird in that nothing in this class soaked into my brain. I was not focused at all, and I guess that is to be expected as this week was also The World's Fair. With a looming WHAP project like this one, nothing else really matters, so all thought was directed towards the construction of a Romanesque/Gothic cathedral. It all turned out well, and I got a great grade on the project, but it set me back in all of my other classes. I am falling slightly behind on my labs and am praying that we will be given at least one workday that would allow me to catch up on everything, including my incomplete worksheets.
We have a three day weekend. Yay. The only problem is that I have Region Band rehearsals ALL Friday and ALL Saturday, plus a big concert and all that other crap. So there goes a day of my weekend. Now it is just going to feel like a regular two day weekend plus a day of torture.
Beck Out...