Even though it’s a little sad that this will be the last official Computer
Programming blog post for the 2012-2013 school year, I can’t say that the
occasion is all that sad. For the reasons mentioned in previous posts, I can’t
say how thankful I am to be writing this blog post (and still be in one piece;
emotionally speaking that is). This year has been a very interesting
experience. Although the majority of it has been spent trying to acclimate to
different computer languages (both real and preparatory) the first two six
weeks were completely different. Thriving in our Digital World was both basic
and void of anything programming related. At the same time, looking back after
almost six months of labs, quizzes, and project, the first twelve weeks don’t
seem that bad. I did learn some things just not anything really related to
software development.
After that “nightmare” (for some) ended, the class began to
explore other preparatory programs like Scratch, Jeroo, Finches, Code Academy
and Google Script (am i missing something?). While I can’t honestly say I’ve enjoyed
any one of these units more than the other, some were more useful. I definitely
could imagine the usefulness behind Google Script. The ability to manipulate
emails, spreadsheets and documents has so much potential. Unfortunately, the
understanding is very fundamental to the concept of computer languages.
Essentially, that is what languages and scripts are for. Yet herein lies the
problem. For some reason, I’m just terrible at figuring out how to do the tasks
given the parameters of the language even when they are listed step by step as
they are in the labs. It seems like that has been the running problem
regardless of what language we worked with. Thinking back though, Scratch was
probably the least stressful and most straightforward until the later labs or
the ones that called for more complicated patterns. At the same time, it was
probably a good (or necessary) transition. While I can’t measure how much
better off (in the grand scheme of the course) I am because of those
preparatory programs like Scratch and Jeroo, I’d like to imagine that I am
better off for it. To continue with this positive theme, I believe this class
has been beneficial in other regards as well.
If someone were to sit me down and force me at gunpoint to
create a simple program using python, I might have to warn them to expect
waterworks before getting to work. And then I imagine being able to figure it out
only after an entire day in front of the computer with no lunch or water break.
In short, I can’t honestly say I’ve learned or retained many of the languages
we’ve explored this year. But I got other things out of the class like, the
satisfaction that I’ve made it despite numerous emotional breakdowns and
difficulties. In a sense, I’m a survivor! I lasted to the end and learned a thing
or two about how this brain works. This class was a humbling experience as well
as one that allowed me to gain new appreciation for classmates. I couldn’t have
done any of those labs without the help of the people around me. So a thank you
shout out to Mr. S for allowing students to interact with other classmates and
for keeping an open door policy for students who might not be as quick to get
the concepts as others.
I also appreciate the people behind Google (thanks Mr. T
for letting us explore Google) and general web development a lot more than I used to because now that I know
my mind wasn’t geared for that and that I would never be able to do what they
do. Thank goodness for job specialization in industrialized countries!
It’s funny because nowadays whenever I see something even
remotely like a computer language (when errors are displayed on web pages), I internally
freeze and try to get away from the webpage as quickly as possible. Despite all
the bad feelings that I’ve mentioned so far, I’m glad this experience has
happened to me in high school. The
chance to explore a course that isn’t a strong suit is invaluable. Furthermore,
even though I can’t prove it, it’s quite possible that this course has altered
my thinking patterns- broadened my cognitive horizons if you will. At the same
time, thank goodness time-traveling is an impossible feat. There is no way I’m
going back to August 2012 to relive this experience. No. Way.
p.s. Thanks Mr. S for the course support and the printer :
)
