Week of December 10

This week we reviewed the material from the previous weeks to prepare for the test next week and quiz on Thursday. We got a big packet of worksheets due on Friday too, that should be fun...Finals start next week and I'm really nervous about my classes...Hopefullly I get a crackin' in my studies this weekend and I can get through the finals week alive. Comp SC is going to play a major role in my elevated stress levels next week, as the final is going to be  pain in the behind. Still haven't decided if i'm going to switch out of Comp sCi for next semester or not.

Week of December 3

This week we just had a bunch of workdays to finish all of the labs and worksheets that we hadn't done over the previous weekend. We finished the cipher lab and the WordSearch lab this week, as well as starting the song and album lab. There were four worksheets due and I was able to finish all of them with some help from Mr. Stephens. Comp Sci is getting harder as the semester comes to a close, and I'm starting to think about moving down to Computer Programming. I haven't made my final decision yet but It'll depend on how much I'm able to learn and get out of the last few weeks of Comp Sci. Finals are closing in, and I feel like it'll be a big crunch...

Week of November 26

This week we learned a new lesson over parameters and references. This is where your code has references to certain objects and then you call them in certain manners to display things you assign to them. This week was pretty hectic because it was right after Thanksgiving break and everyone was still getting back in the swing of things. There was a lot of work to be finished from previous weeks as well, so lots of people mainly played the catch up game this week. On top of the new lesson, we got a new lab as well: Albums. This lab is where we are given songs and playlists and we have to sort them. Hopefully we I'll be able to finish the lab in quick time so I won't have to play the catch up game and I'll be able to be on top of things.

Week of November 12

This week we went over 2D arrays, a type of array that has   two different dimensions having both columns and rows instead of just singular rows. The concept was pretty confusing because arrays was already hard enough for me. I went over 2D arrays online and it seemed to help a bit but I couldn't really relate it to the WordSearch lab where you have to find certain words in a text file that holds certain hidden words. I still haven't finished the lab, so hopefully I'll be able to get that on lock soon. The worksheets weren't as hard as the lab, because I am able to understand the theoretical conception of 2D arrays but its a lot harder for me to actually write my own code to fit the circumstances asked

Week of November 5

This week we didn't learn anything new because of the scores lab, and we also had the 6 weeks test this week. The six weeks test didn't go to well, I failed the multiple choice section of the test pretty bad because I didn't fully grasp the question or I just didn't get the material of the question at all. I ended up with a 66 on the test, and it brought my grade down from a mid B to a high C. I'm going to have to start coming into mini tutoring sessions to get myself well rounded with the material and hopefully last at least through the semester, and see if I want to drop down to computer programming and not stay on course at the AP level of learning. Other than the six weeks test, we just finished the scores lab and went over arrays before the actual test.

Week of October 29

This week we learned about arrays and started the Scores lab. We also got 3 worksheets over Arrays and I was able to finish them before the week was over. The week was pretty relaxed because we had a few workdays to be able to finish up our assignments before they were all due before Monday. I finished AliceCounter on Tuesday, and finally turned in Files on Thursday or Friday. The 6 weeks test is in two weeks and it will be challenging. I think I'm either going to come in for help from Mr. Stephens or start looking at things online to get my Java skills up to par. It's not as hard as it seems but it just confuses me when it comes to pure code writing.

Week of Oct 22

This week we learned about for loops and files. The for loops were challenging for me because it took me a while to understand how the code in the parenthases after "for" worked. While loops and for loops are confusing to me. I really like if statements better. We also went over files and had the Alice count lab where we had to go through a text file with the entire story of Alice In Wonderland and we had to see how many times certain letters were written in the story. This took a while because I didn't really understand the code to do this. After talking to some of my peers and getting help from Mr. Stephens about how to do it, I was finally able to understand how the program worked and I finished. We also got files worksheets and scanner worksheets this week. Worksheets are no problem to me, but everytime I have to write code my mind kind of freaks out and it takes me a while to cope what to write. I've started looking at tutorials online and hopefully it will help me understand Java and not get me behind.

Week of Oct 15

This week we learned about for loops, while loops, and all other types of loops involved in Java coding. We had our first quiz of the six weeks on Tuesday too, over logic and I thought it was fairly easy but I was wrong. I got a 77.5... I made stupid mistakes and second guessed myself when I was right the 1st time, but that's okay. There will always be more quizzes to balance out that grade. We had a total of 4 labs this week to do, and a couple of CodingBat assignments online as well. GCD, and GCDRunner were assigned in the beginning of the week and I managed to finish that on Friday and start Deal and DealRunner with my partner.    I finished the a logic worksheet this week too, and hopefully I got it all right because then I'll get it and hopefully progress a lot more then I have in the past

Week of Oct 8

This week we extended our lessons on logic and we started another lab on computing operations with different numbers and then having it actually solve the equation. Labs computer and computer runner is where you have the program ask for an operator, and two different numbers, and then use the operator with the two numbers. The lab was a bit hard at first, but once I finally understood what the function of the lab was, I was able to start it up and nearly finish it by the end of the week. We also got a bucketload of worksheets this week. Whoopdeedoo. It seemed like a lot at first, but it was actually a lot of good practice and it helped me actually get all the stuff that I learned during the week. Next Tuesday we have a quiz over logic so hopefully Ill get my worksheets back in time to be able to use them on the quiz and get a 100...

Week of Oct 1

This week we took our first 6 weeks test over all of the material learned we had learned in the six weeks. I was confused over the character placement and whether or not to use the index counting method, so I missed ~4 problems  because of that. I missed 11 out of 40 questions on the multiple choice online, but I did relatively well on the free response that called to write code that had to do with a large system of methods, constructors  and return methods. I ended up with a 78 on the 6 weeks test, and it pulled my grade down 5 points. So now that I know what I messed up on the test, I can understand what I need to improve on to further understand programming in the future. On Friday, we learned about logic and booleans. The true and false in code and if statements. Then we did the lab that made us call things if they were either true or false. I plan on NOT getting behind this six weeks so I can stay on top of my game and actually understand all of the material.

Week of Sept 24

This week we learned the second part of objects and how to use them along with constructors in the book and Bookrunner lab. With experience from the first Turtle, and Turtle Runner lab, I was able to understand book and bookrunner. By calling constructers and giving them a set 'job' or 'objective' the program can run and then modify the variables defined. This week I finished up the Turtle lab after a little trouble understanding it last week. This class is getting more and more challenging. Seeing that I already have enough classes that are challenging, I'm contemplating whether or not to stay in this class, because I am not sure if I want to add AP Comp Sci to one of the classes that causes me to have stress. Never the less, I will definitely  finish out the six weeks and try to get as much in as I can. This next week we have the 6 weeks test, so I will have to get all of my stuff together and make sure I know all of the material comortably.

Week of Sept 17

Third week of blog posts. This week we didn't learn that much new material, but the things we did learn was quite a heft load. We went over objects, in particular the turtle and how to create the image, operate it and such with conductors, and then how to move them. I'm actually quite behind on the Comp Sci assignments and labs. Not because I'm lazy and not doing them, but rather I'm having a slower time grasping the material and fully understanding it. I downloaded JGRASP on my home computer, so I'll be able to catch up on all of the labs over the weekend and be on track by the first class of the week. I'm currently finishing up the Coding Bat assignments, and then hopefully I'll be able to do the Turtle lab by going of the Objects presentation, and if not, I'll come in for help on Monday or Tuesday. This week we also took the methods quiz online, and I scored an 8 out of 10, sadly because I got confused over the outputs of the code. Oh well, better luck next time. This class is pretty challenging for me, but I still find it interesting so I'll stick to it and just try to get caught up so I don't get buried under past labs and worksheets.

Week of Sept 10

So 3rd week of school! This week was actually much more challenging for me then the previous weeks because Mr. Stephens incorporated all sorts of variables to the array of things we were learning and putting into our programming labs. We learned about methods and how to call one program to and from another program. This was confusing for me because in the 'Task' Lab we had to call components from the 'Tasking' program and we couldn't run the actual program so I wasn't 100% sure what the program was actually doing. To add to the confusion, we also took a quiz this week and I got a 70 on it, meaning that I need to either find a way to understand these concepts on my own or have Mr. Stephens help me out sometime. The worksheets that we got this week had to do with output, scanner methods, and certain details that affect the output of the programming. I understood the worksheets with some help from Mr. Stephens and I think I should be able to grasp my mind around all of this programming fun by the time we have our new lesson. And by that time I will be able to understand how to do the Invoke program.

Week of Sept 3, 2012: I'm a noobie

So this week in Comp Sci, we learned the use of scanners, variables and how to get input from the computer. The labs we did this week were somewhat of a challenge for me because I did not quite remember the exact code that was needed, where it went, and why it went there. However, when Mr. Stephens gave his presentations in the beginning of the week, I used his power point presentations to guide me through the labs. The harder labs this week were the Gallons Wasted and the Bean Count lab, due to the minute details needed in the coding to calculate the desired outcome. The higher number of variables also added to the complexity of the program, where there were more variables in the equation to be able to find the number of gallons wasted, or number of beans with certain parameters. Once I figured out how to use defined variables though, things started to click in my head and make sense. I was able to complete all 4 labs   with success to the objectives presented. I think as long as I'm able to keep all of this code and their purposes stuck in my mind, I should be fine, and be able to understand what's going on in the program.