The Blog
Parallel Computing, Day #3
4/21/2018
Today was the last day of our parallel computing unit. We finished the rest of the activities and used VirtualBox to parallel compute on our own computers. The activities were very interesting and interactive. I have a lot of projects to work on and catch up on, but I think I can do them all. I'm thankful to have a short break before the summer session, but I'm also excited to learn more during the summer blocks and become a better young professional.
Parallel Computing
4/14/2018
Aaron led us through a variety of interactive and interesting activities about parallel computing. I didn't have much trouble catching up, even though I missed the lesson last week. I actually really enjoyed today's activities because it was a lot more hands-on, and also because we got to work through the questions in our own time. I still have to work on a lot of projects this week, but I'm hoping I can finish them before I turn in my stipend form.
The Project, Day #3
3/17/2018
The project is coming along well. I made a lot of progress on the JavaScript Model, if you call "progress" being debugging for three hours straight. Still, I think the project is turning out nicely, and that Monique and I will be ready to present by April 7th. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, so I was a bit tired, but I managed. After Shodor, I'm going to the ice skating rink with a friend, so I guess that's like a bit of a relaxation after hard work.
The Project, Day #2
3/10/2018
I'm not starting this blog entry with "today" because I'm supposedly trying to be creative. I feel like other people's blogs are probably more intersting than mine, since all I talk about is what I did in class. I brought girl scout cookies today to Shodor. I bought Thin Mints and S'mores from a girl at school and never got around to eating them, so I thought I might as well let Joseph and Rohan have their way with them. Ernie wasn't here today, so he was on the screen per usual, writing messages on a google doc. At one point, the internet wasn't working at Ernie's place and Ernie was gone for a bit. I hope my project with Monique turns out better than my last one. I don't think I knew what I was doing with my last project. I think I'm doing a lot better now, though.
The Project, Day #1
3/3/2018
Today, we started our group projects. My partner is Monique, who is very nice and hard-working. I just realized that I always start my blog entries with "today." I feel like I should be more creative than that. I think I was fairly productive today, and Monique and I managed to get through the Day 1 steps (with just a little bit of revision required). I have a good feeling about this project!
Functions, Objects, Libraries
2/17/2018
Today, Aaron gave us an informative lecture about functions, objects, and libraries. He also briefly covered css/syntax for programs. We did a refactoring exercise, which was pretty fun, because I got a chance to figure someting out by myself. During lunch, Claire tried to convince me again that I had been eating unripe mangoes for my entire life, but I think she's the one who's been eating artificially overripe mangoes.
Operations
2/10/2018
Today, we discussed three major concepts: arrays, loops, and conditions. We used the Project Euler problem to create algorithms and learn multiple concepts in the process. The thing that stood out to me the most were the infinite loops and how conditions had to be applied to them in order for them to become finite. We also discussed syntax very briefly; however, most of the time we spent on semantics. At the beginning, Aaron went over operations, types of operators, and types of operands, and gave a brief summary of last week's class.
Group Project Day 3?/Presenting
12/16/2017
Today was partially a work day and partially a presenting day, but Kira and I didn't go. Because we were having issues last week, and because Kira had been absent the week before that, we were a bit behind. We managed to create a website and complete the first draft of our Vensim and AgentCubes Model with much work. The groups that presented were very professional and had interesting topics that ranged from zombie ants to the population of China. I hope our group project presentation will be able to go as smoothly as most people's did. I'm typically not a great presenter, and I don't have many public speaking skills, but I hope that I can improve and expand on them through means of this project.
Group Project Day 2
12/9/2017
Today was a work day for our group project. I scrapped my last idea and came up with a new one with Kira that was cops and robbers Harry Potter style. It took a while to make it into a Vensim model, with a lot of help from Aaron and Divya, but we managed to make it. The Agent Cubes Model was a lot easier and fun to do. We added elements such as Azkaban and dragons, which was really cool.
Group Project Day 1
12/2/2017
Today we worked on our group project. Dr. Panoff introduced the project by giving us a short review of all the modeling components we've learned so far. He also gave us a brief lecture about semantics and what that meant in terms of our project. My partner, Kira, wasn't here today because she was taking the SATs, so I took notes on the guidelines of our project and brainstormed a list of possible ideas. I really liked one of the ideas (about drunk driving), so I created a very basic VensimPLE and AgentCubes model to display it. I think I'll have to talk to my partner during the week before I'm able to progress any further on the project.
System Modeling and AgentCubes
11/18/2017
Today we continued our tangent of system modeling with Vensim. We created a scenario with rabbits and wolves in words, and then translated that over to the language of system modeling. Then we discussed the Sick/Healthy project from last week, and talked about semantics and the importance of writing the steps down beforehand. After lunch, Dr. Panoff set up our AgentCubes accounts and we created a similar model based off of the same scenario from before about Sick/Healthy people.
Have= Had + Change
11/11/2017
Today, our lesson centered around the theme of "have=had+change". We discussed system thinking, input and output, modeling techniques and variables. We played around with Excel and vensimPLE to create models of some real-life situations, such as a rabbit population and the number of healthy and sick people in regards to an infection fraction. It was very interesting, and I hope we can learn more about it in the future.
Easing into Excel Modeling
11/04/2017
Today, we discussed computational modeling and other terms associated with it. We created models on Excel and explored the deeper meaning behind them. I learned terms such as iteration, diffusion, and sandbox. During lunch, I realized that I had been eating unripe mangoes for my entire life, and I was stunned. After lunch, Dr. Panoff continued his talk on computational modeling, but this time we explored more mathematical representations. I hope we can practice our skills with modeling on Excel more in the future.
Computational Thinking Revisited
10/21/2017
Today, we explored more about computational thinking/"How Do You Know?" with Dr. Panoff. We worked through some examples on Excel and Google Spreadsheets and discussed efficient ways of manipulating symbols to make problems easier to solve. After lunch, Dr. Panoff showed us a mathematical card trick that "could not not work" and had something to do with counting and number thinking. We then used the Shodor Interactivate program to examine a histogram and a multi-function data flyer. Then Ernie introduced our new project, an HTML Research Guide, and gave us time to start it.
Office Ethics & Intro to Computational Thinking
10/14/2017
Today, Ron and Ojas taught us about professional office ethics, and performed examples of them in front of us. Then Dr. Panoff started an interactive exploration that involved covering the key concepts of representation, formation, expectation, observation, and reflection by using examples on Excel and Google Spreadsheets. At the end, Aaron and Ernie gave us a brief talk about our projects and some other miscellaneous information. Dr. Panoff told us that we would soon be learning about models and simulations in the next few weeks, and I am intrigued.
The Beginning
10/07/2017
Today was the first day of the apprenticeship program. Dr. Panoff gave us an in-depth overview on the Shodor Apprenticeship Program, himself, and what we would be doing in the upcoming weeks. We set up our Shodor login credentials, changed our passwords, and reviewed the Apprenticeship Handbook, which we are supposed to continue reading as part of our project for this week. Aaron took us for a brief tour around the Shodor building that ended with our lunch break. After lunch, Ernie explained our project to us, and we worked on it for an hour. I am really excited to be an apprentice, and I can't wait to start learning more about html code and using text editors.