I dropped the PoC class. I just came to the realization that I really needed to bone up on Discrete Mathematics before going any further in Computer Science. I found myself increasingly out of time every week, and cutting the math-heavy homework to focus on the mini-project. I'd rather be able to do both and really deeply understand the material than just trying to scrape a decent grade.
I really liked the idea of using the MIT courses, but without a set of answers to the problem sets, it is not clear to me how useful it is. It seems like such a good course too. The recitations and the exams *do* have solutions posted. Perhaps I can find exercises to fill in the gaps.
This seems to be my only option, as Coursera doesn't appear to have anything that will fill my needs any time soon. Doing a quick search isn't turning up any alternatives of the same caliber of the MIT course. Bleh. What is frustrating is that there does appear to be a site with links to solutions, but all password-protected. Rats.
This site had some suggestions ofr courses as well as books. I thought this Discrete Mathematics Book by Epp looked promising, but for $200, I'm going to have to think seriously. Amazon does allow for rentals. Maybe there is a cheap version from the library? The other books in pdf on this site needed Haskell. Not sure I want a programming and mathematics combination.
Hm. It was a lot easier at university. Classes were pre-determined, and all anyone had to do was sign up, pay the crap load of money for the class and books and fees, and then make it through. Piece of cake :)
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Two Weeks Left in "Principles of Computing"
I managed last week with data structures and inheritance swimmingly. These two are right up my ontologist's alley. This week's recursion topic is a mind-bender, but I am wading through it. I still struggle with the more math-heavy aspects of the class, though.
There are two parts to the class besides the material: homework and mini-projects. The homework is more a quiz-style format. There are approx. 10-12 multiple choice questions. I have found that these questions are extremely hard for me to grok, and almost always math-heavy. The mini-projects are the actual coding tasks. They include things like simulations of zombie apocalypse, recreating the 2048 game, and word wrangler.
Usually, I need the week to watch the videos and work through the math/coding notes and do the practice activities. I prefer to start the mini-project by Sat to have both days of the weekend to work on it. There isn't much time in there for the hours I would need to finish the homework, so I usually drop it, or make one attempt and then leave my crappy score. There is a very real disparity between how well I can do on the homework and how I do on the mini-projects. I pull a 100% on the mini-projects every time.
It is really unclear to me how much emphasis I should be placing on the fact that I am throwing homework under the bus. I am not too worried about the number grade I get for the class; I am more interested in gaining the knowledge. That said, it still isn't clear to me how much I am leaving at the table by not dropping the class now and switching to a discrete math class, and later returning when I have a better handle.
Even though there is a follow-on class in Algorithms, I am thinking that I will wrap up this Principles of Computing class, then switch to a discrete maths class. Once I have that, I will pick up an Algorithms class. Luckily, Coursera has two: an algorithmic thinking class that is part of this series, and another two-part course done in Java. If I can catch the two-part one in Java, that might be a better choice: more in depth and exposure to Java.
There are two parts to the class besides the material: homework and mini-projects. The homework is more a quiz-style format. There are approx. 10-12 multiple choice questions. I have found that these questions are extremely hard for me to grok, and almost always math-heavy. The mini-projects are the actual coding tasks. They include things like simulations of zombie apocalypse, recreating the 2048 game, and word wrangler.
Usually, I need the week to watch the videos and work through the math/coding notes and do the practice activities. I prefer to start the mini-project by Sat to have both days of the weekend to work on it. There isn't much time in there for the hours I would need to finish the homework, so I usually drop it, or make one attempt and then leave my crappy score. There is a very real disparity between how well I can do on the homework and how I do on the mini-projects. I pull a 100% on the mini-projects every time.
It is really unclear to me how much emphasis I should be placing on the fact that I am throwing homework under the bus. I am not too worried about the number grade I get for the class; I am more interested in gaining the knowledge. That said, it still isn't clear to me how much I am leaving at the table by not dropping the class now and switching to a discrete math class, and later returning when I have a better handle.
Even though there is a follow-on class in Algorithms, I am thinking that I will wrap up this Principles of Computing class, then switch to a discrete maths class. Once I have that, I will pick up an Algorithms class. Luckily, Coursera has two: an algorithmic thinking class that is part of this series, and another two-part course done in Java. If I can catch the two-part one in Java, that might be a better choice: more in depth and exposure to Java.
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Halfway Through Principles of Computing
So I am at the halfway point in the class, and seriously thinking of bailing. These last weeks of probability, randomness, and combinatorics have really put the pressure on me. I don't think necessarily the class is the problem. Rather, the problem is the lack of a discrete math background and the lack of sufficient spare time to make up for it. I did intend to work through a Discrete Math course, but I was waiting until this series was done. In retrospect, I think it would have been better to do the Math first :).
So, these past two weeks have been kicking my learning-to-program butt. I was thinking I should pull out and isolate work on the maths. I can always return to the programming after I have a handle on the maths. I found a couple of books to start creating a lesson plan, and I checked out the syllabus for my programming class to make sure I cover all of the relevant topics. To my surprise, this looks like the last week focusing on maths!! Instead, next week we move onto data types and inheritance. Oh definitely more up my alley.
My current plan is to stick with the class one more week and see if there are still big gaping holes to fill. I can always back out next week. I'd really hate to lose momentum in this series. I finished this week's mini-project with a perfect score, and if I can at least pass the homework, I think it will be fine.
So, these past two weeks have been kicking my learning-to-program butt. I was thinking I should pull out and isolate work on the maths. I can always return to the programming after I have a handle on the maths. I found a couple of books to start creating a lesson plan, and I checked out the syllabus for my programming class to make sure I cover all of the relevant topics. To my surprise, this looks like the last week focusing on maths!! Instead, next week we move onto data types and inheritance. Oh definitely more up my alley.
My current plan is to stick with the class one more week and see if there are still big gaping holes to fill. I can always back out next week. I'd really hate to lose momentum in this series. I finished this week's mini-project with a perfect score, and if I can at least pass the homework, I think it will be fine.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Temporarily Discouraged, but working on solutions
I am having motivation problems in my class. I managed to finish the mini-project for last week, get through the week's videos, do one of the sets of practice exercises, do the evaluations for the mini-project, and one of the quizzes this weekend. I still need to finish the second set of practice exercises, take that quiz, and then finish this week's mini-project.
This is the week we switched from scripting-type programs to OOP. It is a bit of a change for me. I didn't find it as frustrating as animation, but it still took some work to remember how it is different. I am glad we are making the change, because I don't do much OOP when I am writing my scripts for work. I should just make myself do it, but I am usually more focused on getting what I need done rather than how I am getting it done.
I did suspect that I would have a motivation problem when mostly through the class. Why is it the closer I get to the finish line, the harder it is to keep on? I mean, you'd think that seeing how little remains would be so motivating, but instead, it feels like I have just done too much already. SO, knowing all that about myself, I have promised myself a new e-book for every mini-project I complete. I hate doing the evaluations, so I usually do those while savoring a hot cup of tea and eating a bit of chocolate. I have also promised myself that if I complete the course and gain a certificate, I'll give myself a nice pedicure. Not one of the cheaper ones, but one of the nicer, more expensive ones. I am so hoping this propels me to finish!!
For me, the other difficulty is that exercise plays a huge role in my ability to stay positive and work better, and that is one thing that has been slipping of late. Mostly because my preference is a tap dance class I take, and I just haven't been able to get to the classes and keep up with the full-time work and the programming class, and the little matter of a family and home. Oh well, it is what it is. I made a point to do my own little yoga session on Sat., and I will need to come up with something. Maybe I can walk a bit longer to the bus in the morning? Instead of a mile walk, turn it into a mile and a half?
This is the week we switched from scripting-type programs to OOP. It is a bit of a change for me. I didn't find it as frustrating as animation, but it still took some work to remember how it is different. I am glad we are making the change, because I don't do much OOP when I am writing my scripts for work. I should just make myself do it, but I am usually more focused on getting what I need done rather than how I am getting it done.
I did suspect that I would have a motivation problem when mostly through the class. Why is it the closer I get to the finish line, the harder it is to keep on? I mean, you'd think that seeing how little remains would be so motivating, but instead, it feels like I have just done too much already. SO, knowing all that about myself, I have promised myself a new e-book for every mini-project I complete. I hate doing the evaluations, so I usually do those while savoring a hot cup of tea and eating a bit of chocolate. I have also promised myself that if I complete the course and gain a certificate, I'll give myself a nice pedicure. Not one of the cheaper ones, but one of the nicer, more expensive ones. I am so hoping this propels me to finish!!
For me, the other difficulty is that exercise plays a huge role in my ability to stay positive and work better, and that is one thing that has been slipping of late. Mostly because my preference is a tap dance class I take, and I just haven't been able to get to the classes and keep up with the full-time work and the programming class, and the little matter of a family and home. Oh well, it is what it is. I made a point to do my own little yoga session on Sat., and I will need to come up with something. Maybe I can walk a bit longer to the bus in the morning? Instead of a mile walk, turn it into a mile and a half?
Sunday, April 27, 2014
About Halfway Through Intro Programming
We are hitting week 5 in the Coursera class I am taking. We just finished the pong game. I was a little disappointed that I did not seem to fix one of the scoring issues I had noted. I really thought I had it fixed, but no. Pong was quite a jump in complexity from the previous mini-projects that are due weekly. I had to scramble a bit more than usual to finish the work.
Python is a fine little language, but I still prefer Ruby for some reason. The Python's usage of the whitespace annoys me. But over all, they are pretty similar scripting languages. Kind of six of one... as far as I am concerned.
I think most of the value for me has been in the UI bits of the class, especially the animation. It isn't something that really comes up when one is trying to, say, find the number of politicians in a data set without an end date to their terms in office, or the number of entities that are typed as people and organizations :) Just generate a list and Bob's your uncle. While I like the expansion of my tool set, it isn't overly interesting enough to me to make me want to do UI or client-side programming. Good to know!
Python is a fine little language, but I still prefer Ruby for some reason. The Python's usage of the whitespace annoys me. But over all, they are pretty similar scripting languages. Kind of six of one... as far as I am concerned.
I think most of the value for me has been in the UI bits of the class, especially the animation. It isn't something that really comes up when one is trying to, say, find the number of politicians in a data set without an end date to their terms in office, or the number of entities that are typed as people and organizations :) Just generate a list and Bob's your uncle. While I like the expansion of my tool set, it isn't overly interesting enough to me to make me want to do UI or client-side programming. Good to know!
Sunday, April 6, 2014
More Programming Updates
I attempted the Algorithms class on Coursera, and it was a bit too much of a reach. I think if I could have devoted more time, I could have made it work. However, with a full-time+ job and a family, it just was too much. That said, I cannot wait to be in a better position to work through the content. I bought the text, and I have all of the class lectures and assignments. My plan is to circle back, maybe late in the year.
Instead, I started on the three courses from Rice offered on Coursera. The beginning one is fairly easily. I probably could have skipped it, but I had concerns there might be something I would miss, *and* the class projects are all game based: Paper, Scissor, Rock, Lizard, Spock was the first. At some point we'll do Pong.
The other classes cover a Principles of Computing course, and then an Algorithmic Thinking course. Those are the two I am really looking forward to, since that is where I feel like my skill set is currently needing help.
I am still mulling my own kinds of projects that will be a solid demonstration of skills. I am also a bit nervous about the whole idea of changing careers, and wondering if I am just playing some massive joke on myself :) For the most part, though, I concentrate on the steps before me, rather than the mountain looming.
Instead, I started on the three courses from Rice offered on Coursera. The beginning one is fairly easily. I probably could have skipped it, but I had concerns there might be something I would miss, *and* the class projects are all game based: Paper, Scissor, Rock, Lizard, Spock was the first. At some point we'll do Pong.
The other classes cover a Principles of Computing course, and then an Algorithmic Thinking course. Those are the two I am really looking forward to, since that is where I feel like my skill set is currently needing help.
I am still mulling my own kinds of projects that will be a solid demonstration of skills. I am also a bit nervous about the whole idea of changing careers, and wondering if I am just playing some massive joke on myself :) For the most part, though, I concentrate on the steps before me, rather than the mountain looming.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Java Programming
Currently, I am taking some time to beef up on my Java. I took a class in once when I still lived in Austin, something like 8 years ago. I only managed to accomplish one working app in the language, so I am very fuzzy on it.
Why some Java? The data algorithms class that starts at the end of the month is in Java. Handily, the course instructors have an intro to programming class in Java. So t is easy to walk through the exercises.
I have a longer post about the work I did over the holiday and the re-do of a web site we have. Also, we bought a machine to be our server and installed Ubuntu. Our plan is to host our website for C's business and host whatever portfolio pieces I want, and maybe make it part entertainment machine: storing movies and shows more easily connect to Amazon Prime viewing and the like.
Why some Java? The data algorithms class that starts at the end of the month is in Java. Handily, the course instructors have an intro to programming class in Java. So t is easy to walk through the exercises.
I have a longer post about the work I did over the holiday and the re-do of a web site we have. Also, we bought a machine to be our server and installed Ubuntu. Our plan is to host our website for C's business and host whatever portfolio pieces I want, and maybe make it part entertainment machine: storing movies and shows more easily connect to Amazon Prime viewing and the like.
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