My programming skills have greatly improved in the following ways: learning and becoming more attentive to every detail of every line and name of my files because one wrong letter or number, or mispelled, or accidentally capitalized letter, can prevent my entire code from working as a whole. I have learned to more than double check but to run and keep on running my code until it works smoothly. In addition, I have practiced to comment on almost every thought that I have and to always start with the simplest solutions or problems to solve and build upon them once I have got it working. I have learned sometimes the answer is not entirely clear and to refer back to the readings and external sources, though, they may not contain the exact code that I need, they may contain hints or clarifications as to what I am trying to accomplish. I have improved in recognizing errors, especially stupid errors. I have improved in neatness, as well as writing out a little bit of code at a time, checking for any errors or problems along the way and ALWAYS making sure that whatever code I am writing, I understand fully, if I do not understand and am having trouble finding documentation for it, I do not hesitate to reach out for help as soon as possible before moving on to the next line of code. From the beginning of the semester, I would say that I have grown tremendously in that I can start to slowly think of solutions for various problems that I am having trouble with; by writing out detailed comments first and then code, I have improved the quality of my code as well as my productivity.
Personally, I need to improve on writing no more than seven lines of code before testing if my application is running. I tend to get over myself and write more than seven lines of code and by that point, I am completely lost and wondering why my application is not running as it should be, this is where I tend to panic and cannot understand what was supposed to have happened. In assignment 1, I had a mental breakdown about 4 days into it. I was just so lost, I had my comments written out, but I could not construct possible codes to implement to produce the outcome that I had envisioned and commented on. To improve on this, I feel that I need to take a step back and look for the easiest solutions and use what I have learned throughout the semester to construct working and understandable code. Another thing that I need to improve on is my CSS skills. I am not the best when it comes to creating an appealing layout from scratch, but for assignment 1, I feel that I did create a rather nice product display from scratch and I am very proud of it. It took me the longest time to do so because of all the RTFMing that I had to do, but I did get it done, early too.
I do believe that I have learned a lot from doing the WODs. However, I do not feel entirely confident that I could successfully complete a WOD within the DNF time without the help of a screencast after I have tried to do it on my own first. Although, I do believe that from where I started with doing the WODs up to now, I have gradually improved because of my consistent effort and dedication to understanding how the code works and why it is written that way. By doing the labs, and asking to meet with Professor Port outside of class to better understand the labs has helped to add to my knowledge and how to best tackle the WODs. I firmly believe that with more practice, I could eventually hone in my programming skills and complete those WODs in a timely manner.
Yes, I do believe that the labs have helped me learn and I am able to complete them with confidence. What has really helped me has been Professor Port’s availability to meet with me outside of class to go in-depth and explain to me at a slower pace than in class in each part of the lab until I have a clearer understanding of what is going on and am able to answer the questions with accuracy and confidence. Prior to meeting with Professor Port after class, I do have trouble answering the questions in the lab because I simply do not understand what is being asked of me or how to implement the instructions in my VSCode. Overtime, I find myself more confident in grasping the information and developing programming skills that best enable me to perform the necessary tasks and assist my classmates.
Yes, absolutely, I can honestly say that I have learned a great deal of information and gained valuable knowledge from my experience doing Assignment 1 and I do feel ready to work on Assignment 2. This assignment has really tested my capabilities and ability to RTFM. I learned how to create a webpage from scratch, creating my own CSS for my index and product display page after not being able to find a template code to implement, I went straight to creating my own. I have learned to write code that runs on the server. One of my biggest lessons was the validations. Understanding what each validation did and how it was supposed to be executed through the server was something that I had absolutely no idea how to do prior to this assignment, but with help from Professor Port and the individual meetings, I was able to get my code together and run on the class server as expected.
To help my learning, I feel that the class could be improved in a couple of ways. First, I feel that Professor Port or another professor that has access to the class website should edit the instructions so that they are more clear and understandable for future students to read. I also think that there should be more time for each lab or possibly a shorter one, if that is at all possible because there is so much to do in a week for this one class with most students being full time with 4+ other classes. I also think that recorded lectures would be very helpful for everyone because then each student could refer back to the lecture if they missed something or want to understand the concepts better.
What helps me the most in class are the WODs, screencasts, readings, working with classmates that are as dedicated to this class as myself and most importantly, one on one help with the Professor. The WODs help me gain hands-on experience with tasks and code that I have been working with in the recurring assignments and labs. The screencasts help me ensure that I am on the right path of learning and understanding each new concept before attempting to write any code. The readings are important to my learning because they set the foundation for my programming from which I can continuously reference back to when I am stuck. Working with dedicated classmates has provided a sense of ease for me throughout this course, knowing that I am not the only one having issues and finding others that are willing to work together and resolve our issues helps me get through the semester and troubling times. Lastly, my one on one help has been the BIGGEST help in my understanding and progression in this class. I have learned more during my one on one meetings with Professor Port because it is just him and myself and he adapts to my level of understanding and pace which helps me to understand the concepts and materials within the labs, wods, and other assignments that I reach out for assistance with.