Caroline's Blog
If you would like to view my other blogs from my apprenticeship, those blogs can be accessed at this link:Day 1: 11/9/12
Today was my first day working on a project as an intern. I am beginning to convert lesson plans currently on word into html. This is hard as you have to add tags for most of the text, and a lot of tags for pictures and tables. The lesson plan I worked on today contained a lot of tables, so I had to learn about the tags for tables. For each "cell", line of cells, and table there is a certain code, and I had to look up most of the code in order to make each one show up. I also had to play around with the width and height in order to make everything line up. But, I was able to finish everything, and I was extremely happy that I was able to complete the first lesson plan.
Day 2: 12/21/12
Today I continued to work on one of the lesson plans and I learned a lot about html. First I looked through the lesson plan I worked on last time, and I found a few mistakes. I was able to fix these pretty quickly. Next I made a general outline for each of the lesson plans I do in the future. Last time I worked on the lesson plan, it took me a long time since I did not know any of the tags that I needed to use. When I do a lesson plan in the future I have all the tags I need in this document and what should go in each place so that I will be able to fill it in a lot easier. This gave me a chance to look at a lot of different tags I haven't seen before, and experiment doing a lot of things I didn't even know were possible. This was very cool and I look forward to using these tags and new skills in the future.
Day 3: 1/2/13
Today I worked on my website. On parts of my website, there was almost now content, but the page was huge, and on others the page was tiny, so there were two scroll bars to contain the overflowing content. I fixed this by creating a separate CSS page for each page of my website. After doing this I adjusted the numbers so that each page had enough space for the content on it, but not too much. While doing this I learned a lot about CSS and html. I used to think that CSS was just for colors and shapes, but now I realize that a lot of CSS has to do with size and numbers. This is very interesting, and I hope I get to learn more about CSS and what it can do.
Day 4: 1/11/13
Today I worked on another lesson plan. This lesson plan is 14 pages and I was able to put 5 of these pages into html. This specific lesson plan has a lot of formatting, and as I was putting it into html, I had to deal with the fact that formatting in html is a lot harder than it is in word. For some of the spacing issues, I had to look up how to do different things, and try options until one of them worked. This was very hard, but very gratifying as things began to work. I can't wait to come back in and finish the rest of it!
Day 5: 2/1/13
Today I worked on transferring another lesson plan into html. Since I now understood the format, it was a lot easier to put the rest of the text in, but the hard part came when I had to change the formatting. At one point I went from two columns and multiple rows to just one column and one row. I then had to work on deleting parts of certain code in order to delete the extra columns and rows. Additionally, I had to link multiple word documents. This can be hard, because if you mess up any part of the name or pathway, then the entire link will not work. I am very happy that I am so close to finishing, and I look forward to next time!
Day 6: 2/15/13
Today I transformed a many of the links on the lesson plan into html. These links were links that when clicked on, would open an additional document onto the users screen. In order to create this kind of link, you have to put the document into a certain folder, and then put the pathname on the link. Additionally, I worked on putting some videos into html. This was similar to putting other documents into html. This was exciting as I have never worked with videos in html.
Day 7: 3/11/13
Today I finished the converting the lesson plan into HTML. I finished a lot of the small formatting details and read through the entire document to make sure there are no errors in the text. I have learned many new concepts and new code during this lesson plan that I can use to adjust the other lesson plan so that it will look better and more professional.
Day 8: 3/13/13
Today I made a lot of corrections to the old lesson plan. Since I learned so much on the lesson plan I just completed, I used this new knowledge to edit my first lesson plan. Additionally, I made everything uniform so that everything is appealing to the eye, and can be easily found.
Day 9: 3/15/13
Today I corrected parts of the lesson plan I just finished. Many of the links I had put in were not working on other people's computers, so I went in and fixed them so that the links would work on anyone's computer. Additionally I worked on my personal website and made it so that the background could change with the click of a button. It was very interesting and I look forward to make several pages with different backgrounds, and putting it up on my website!
Day 10: 3/29/13
Today I made some of the text urls at the bottom into links. This way any websites or videos used in the making of the lesson plan can be easily accessed in the bibliography. I learned a lot about linking different types of documents and how each document will open. Have a good Easter/Break!
Day 11: 4/5/13
Today I made corrections to a lesson plan I worked on previously. My mentor (Ron) made changes to the document so I went through and made many changes to the content and the format.
Day 12: 6/10/13
Today I made finishing touches to a lesson plan. This week I will also be working on preparing for the two engineering workshops that will be going on this summer. I am excited to work on these workshops and learn more, because I want to become an engineer. I am looking forward to these workshops this summer!
Day 13: 6/12/13
Today I worked on the engineering workshops. I worked with my mentor (Ron) and another one of his interns (James). We went to the scrap exchange to find items to use during the workshop. The scrap exchange was really cool! There was so much cool stuff there! I can hardly imagine all the things that could be built from only the things in that room. We found a few things and returned to Shodor. We were trying to make an item that can help support a mini plane, but raises and lowers easily. I am excited for the upcoming camps and workshops!
Day 14: 7/31/13
I have not blogged in a while, but I have been working a lot since my last blog. I have had the opportunity to help with two engineering workshops, one for middle schoolers, and one for high schoolers. By helping with these workshops, I got to learn a lot myself. We covered civil engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, and thermodynamics. It was fun to get the opportunity to meet many of the guest instructors (including Dr. Davis and Dr. Love) and participate in many of the fun activities, which included making many circuits, testing "Daredevil Drop", along with many other projects. After the workshops I have transferred another lesson plan into html and I have helped with a Javascript applet. It's interesting to recall the past month and realize how much I have learned, how many new people (students and friends) I have met, and how much I have accomplished. I consider myself fortunate to have many of these opportunities that I might not get elsewhere.