Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

Ability to enunciate, project my voice and content in a consistent and fluent manner.
The smoothness of the presentation and specificity of the activity for programming.

2. a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       P/AE

     b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

• Met all the "P" requirements.
• Professionalism: Was able to clearly and consciously explain all topics well. Commendations include "Your presentation was very interesting and engaging," "Coding example was very clear and fun to learn about." 
• Organizations and Creativity: Effectively used all the provided time to cover all materiel and complete activity
• Justification of Answer: Content was very in depth with more than the required sources and examples. 5 printed sources used throughout the presentation and mentor mentioned multiple times. 8 references of real life examples of my content. Commendation include "You show you know a lot about your topic."
• Audience Involvement: Directly connected activity to content and Answer #1. Instructions and objective of activity were clear and direct. Commendations include "Activity was very engaging." Debrief included engagement of audience as well (showing their code on screen)

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

• Defining the activity clearly and having people actually be able to code a simple website.
• Using all the time I was provided with.
• Explaining HTML code

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

• I would practice more to avoid slight stuttering
• Mention mentorship experience more

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

• Being able to establish common knowledge or information about the application's objective with the customer. (need to re-word it)

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 hours check

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am doing my mentor ship primarily in my mentor's work room at home where she has her computer and desk set up. Since my mentor is my mom and the room has everything set up, it is the most convenient place for us to meet and talk about different aspects of programming.

2.   Who is your contact?

My mentor's contact information is 909-241-3771 for her cell phone and lilywu1001@gmail.com for her email address.

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?

I have done 14 hours so far for mentorship hours this year (not including summer or independent component hours.)

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.

During the hours I have done so far, I have learned how programmers and customers work in the IRS, Information Technology branch of work and what it means to be a successful programmer. I was also taught different aspects of JavaScript code including basic coding ideas as well as general syntax. I also work on a mini project with the help of my mentor to put the code I had learned to practice and to gain experience in creating web applications. Lastly, my mentor helped me to install Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Express, how to use it, and gave me the assignment JIIS.

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

Over the senior break, I went over with my mentor my independent component, Jason Internet Information System (JIIS) that is based off of the Financial Reporting System (FRS) that is used in the LA county. She described the procedure of what customers and programmers do do achieve the final product and listed out the steps and procedure I should take in order to complete it. In addition to meeting with my mentor, I also spent time over the break to create the opening logo for JIIS. I also started learning HTML with the book that my mentor gave me to help guide me on how to make websites.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

From what I did, the most important thing I leader was the HTML from the book as it not only taught me the code, but it also clarified certain aspects of the internet for me, such as describing what web servers were and how the basic concept of IP addresses and URL's.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

If I were to interveiw someone for my EQ, I would either talk to my mentor or to someone that works at my mentor's job. The reson I think this is because my EQ is centered on creating something for an intended purpose for others to use. At my mentor's work, customers are continually giving what are known as "service requests" to the programmers to create different web applications. If I ask my mentor directly, or one of the people who work there, they can answer based off of their prior experience in something the customers, or generally, the user base, what they want.

Extra Blog: JIIS

As the holidays continue to be moving along, my mentor and I met together to discuss the assignment JIIS, how I should work on it, and the procedure I should take in relation to the real work place. First of all, JIIS stands for "Jason Internet Information System" and is an assignment from my mentor to help me practice web application development. The JIIS is what I will be using as my independent component as the requirements and structure is closely modeled off of the Financial Reporting System (FRS) used in LA County.

Within the JIIS, the requirements consist of creating a logo, a login page, a banner and footer, links to different pages in the site, a welcome page, and under construction pages. The following is the sheet of current requirements for JIIS (Click to enlarge):

The JIIS Service Request Specifications

I will be making this with Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 and Photoshop for the graphics. Once I make these, I would need to get the approved by my mentor, as this is the procedure that the programmers and customers undergo. In the coming days, I will be learning HTML and CSS with my fancy book and will be creating the website and images.

Aside from Senior project, things I've been doing these past days consist of sitting at home, visiting my old, torn down school, moving rooms, searching for scholarships, and achieving exactly rank 10,000 in a video game (down from 7417). Hopefully this next year comes with great experiences as this our last winter break of mandatory school and our class will be moving towards college next year at this time. Cheers for the next year and the class of 2015!

Extra Blog: break;

[Note: I've done this blog 3 times now due to this Blogger phone app not doing what I want. This is either due to my inability to use phone apps properly, lack of a user friendly design, or the general lack of functionality phones can provide. I'd like to believe it's the last one on that list.]

As college appeoaches its finals week, my 5 hour, bi-weekly homework is finally coming to an end on Monday, Dec 1. What this means is that I will not only get a break from staying up till 3am, trying to finish half of what I'm supposed to accomplish, but that I will have more time to work on my independent component - creating a website using HTML, JavaScript, and a little bit of CSS. However, for the time being, I'm concentrating on finishing the last of this boring homework, writing this blog post, and, most importantly, finishing my UC application so I can submit it before Nov 30th when the UC servers get jammed.

As for my independent component, I am planning to first create a logo, then learn HTML formally through the use of my pretty HTML and CSS book, then design the layout of how I want it to look, and lastly, coding and testing it. I hope to get from this experience a clearer perspective of what a programmer does in the 21st century, what were some things that worked and did not work during this process, and whether my current answers will be stronger or weaker in answering mu EQ. But for the time being, I will (attempt to) enjoy my Thanksgiving break at Las Vegas - walking around during the day; sitting in my room and working on assignments at night.

[Another note: I can't put photos in here, so I can't really format this post with pictures in the way I want. I'll upload a picture here about this app. I don't really know where it will show.  Someone, or maybe in the near future, me, should make an actually intuitive word processing application for mobile phones. But who uses their mobile phones for anykind of seriously formal work? I certainly don't. *looks away from cell phone screen as I type this]

Photo caption: This interface is misleading. If you exit this program without clicking 'done' at the top left, your progress is all erased. It's basically a "save" button, so why not label it "save." I mean, what if I'm not "done" and I want to save? There's no option for that, is there?

Blog 10: EQ

1. Review this. Confirm by stating "I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ."

Essential Question
Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question. The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic. An essential question must:

Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
Take a stance (It allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)
Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2. Review the following EQs and

Tell us if each meets the rule of three.
Tell why they do or don't. 

a. What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

Does not meet rule of three

Research is not in depth; can find information to this question with a google search.

Not specific on what "healthy weight loss" is

Answers can be given as a word or as a list (e.g. going on a diet, exercising, sleeping well, ect.)

b. What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

Meets the rule of three

Format is specific on the topic of "securing a conviction"

Allows research to be in depth towards finding what is "most important" to securing a conviction.

Answer can take a stance on what is most important, answer is larger than just a one word answer since securing a conviction is complex

c. What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

Does not meet rule of three

Not specific on what customer sanctification is.

Format is ambiguous and confusing; is it asking what is most important in actually doing the customer's hair or developing a style suited to the customer'd interests?

Research can be in depth, but the topic being researched about needs to be clear first.

d. How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

Meets the rule of three

Gives frame work of study to figure out the best way to treat chronic pain

Specific on the topic of chronic pain

Allows stance on what methods and ways can BEST treat the pain, not just simply treating it

3. Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project. The senior team will be meeting with students shortly for EQ revision and approval; you are expected to bring your research notebook to that meeting with your EQ draft written inside in pencil.

How can an individual become a successful computer programmer in the 21st century?

Blog #9: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

I am most proud of speaking exactly what I wanted to say at the pace I wanted to say. I had enough information planned to extend as far as 15 minutes or more, but I was able to quickly omit, speed up, and leave time for me to get all my points across in ten minutes. I am proud that I had enough preperation and knew my topic well enough to be able to do this.

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE/P

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.

Professionalism:

• Volume/enunciation: Had clear volume and clear speech, fumbled over words a few times
• Body language/eye contact: Felt relaxed and move to the boards as I needed to. Looked as various places in the room and not just one spot
• Engages audience/content clarity: Engaged audience twice, used presentation method as an example in itself for my 1st answer, and clearly enunciated what I was going to talk about and what the purpose was for.

Justification of Foundation:

• Application of research made evident by referencing specific examples: Cited or showed about 10 examples of content through props and pictures.
• At least one published research cited: Mentioned 3 printed sources, 1 book, 2 internet articles
• Mentorship and/or interview referenced: Referenced mentorship twice, one for suggesting the book I read and one of her actual experience in the work place.

I deserve an AE/P because I met and went above and beyond the listed P requirements on the contract by doing extensive preparation, engaging the audience in meaningful exercises, and incorporating the presentation itself as actual content of my presentation (Answer to the EQ of having foundation knowledge; Teaching basic fundamental concepts in the presentation) while making this apparent to the audience. I also had fun teaching during my time up at the front of the room.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?

Getting the audience involved and getting multiple participants to answer questions. Also, content all related to each other and I was able to explain something complex in to simplistic terms the audience could relate to and understand. Also, the powerpoint worked to show examples of my topic, rather than containing content in itself. Knowing what I wanted to say and studying the topic thoroughly helped tremendously.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?

What didn't work was the whole paste code on the white board with tape. It didn't work because it became too much of a hassle and would have wasted too much time. I had to skip part of putting the whole code up on the board. If I could go back and do something differently, I would have reminded myself that I could use technology to do that code, or that I could use the doc cam rather than big pieces of paper. Also, I would not use a powerpoint since I didn't really need it; I knew the examples and knew what I needed to say. I could have visually shown the examples on the doc cam, but I wasn't aware that I could use when I was planning for the lesson.