Thursday: 1:14-2:30
Friday: 12:25-2:30
Our Hour of Code event at school went very well. We had students coming throughout the day to participate and learn about coding, and also a lot of kids who came to help the inexperienced if they had any trouble. Many times, we had every computer in our lab filled with students who had never tried computer science before. We also had a few teachers that came down to try the Hour of Code over their lunch break. One teacher even brought her entire class to come learn about computer science. I heard a lot of kids talking about how cool computer science was, and many got very excited about how well they could do the exercises without any experience and in only a half an hour of time. It was a really awesome learning experience for all who participated, and I think the event did a good job of raising awareness and interest in computer science.
On a less happy note, I found out during my internship period that AppFurnace has an outrageous publishing fee that is tacked onto the end even if you use the free version to develop the app. So, we are going to have to scrap the entire app that we have currently, and start looking into other options for development. This realization was good in some ways, because, as a team, we weren't very fond of the limitations AppFurnace put on us to begin with. However, the realization definitely put a damper on the chipper mood of our successful Hour of Code event.
I've been getting a lot of good organization and leadership skills lately. This week, I had to do some public speaking when I went on the announcements in front of the whole school and had to choose what I would say. This made me think a lot about how to motivate people to get involved and the best way to get people excited. I also got more experience with the preparation needed to get an event set up. Finally, this week I learned that you can never have enough planned. Even though I felt like we had taken a lot of time to think about how the app would be put together beforehand so that we could save ourselves struggles further along, we were still put in a situation where we will need to scrap a lot of hard work because of something we looked over in the planning stages. Despite our impatience, we should have hashed out the details of all of our options for the app before we started coding. However, not everything can be thought of in the planning stages, so it is important to be able to jump the hurdles in a project when they come up.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
December 8-10
Monday: 1:14-2:30
Tuesday: 1:14-2:30
Wednesday: 1:14-2:30
This week was National Computer Science week, so I spent a lot of time getting our school involved in the festivities. Byte Club's advisor had the idea to have a computer science event on Friday of this week to introduce new people to computer science and raise the interest school-wide. She suggested that we give out passes to the computer science students she has now and let those students pick a friend of theirs that didn't know how to code to let them skip the class that the experienced student had their computer science class to come and learn with hourofcode.com. So, this week I spent a lot of time hashing out the details, printing passes, and organizing arrangements for the announcements to get the word out about Computer Science week.
When I had time, I spent it on the app. I got to a point where I realized that the problem with our current scraping algorithm was the url we were using to scrape from, and not the code itself. This was a bit of a disappointment, because I was fairly certain that by using the shortcut through Google Chrome's developer tools, I would be able to scrape the athletic schedules easily. So, now I'm back to the source code of schedules and the proverbial drawing board.
Tuesday: 1:14-2:30
Wednesday: 1:14-2:30
This week was National Computer Science week, so I spent a lot of time getting our school involved in the festivities. Byte Club's advisor had the idea to have a computer science event on Friday of this week to introduce new people to computer science and raise the interest school-wide. She suggested that we give out passes to the computer science students she has now and let those students pick a friend of theirs that didn't know how to code to let them skip the class that the experienced student had their computer science class to come and learn with hourofcode.com. So, this week I spent a lot of time hashing out the details, printing passes, and organizing arrangements for the announcements to get the word out about Computer Science week.
When I had time, I spent it on the app. I got to a point where I realized that the problem with our current scraping algorithm was the url we were using to scrape from, and not the code itself. This was a bit of a disappointment, because I was fairly certain that by using the shortcut through Google Chrome's developer tools, I would be able to scrape the athletic schedules easily. So, now I'm back to the source code of schedules and the proverbial drawing board.
Monday, December 8, 2014
December 3-5
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
Thursday: 1:16-2:30
Friday: 1:16-2:30
This week, I had some shortened class periods for my internship due to Keystone testing. This limited my ability to work, but I still tried to put in as much time as possible in the data scraping part of the code for the app. It's a bit of a struggle to find ways to scrape using javascript, though. Some of the other Byte Club members coded with me on Wednesday, and we found a way to use AJAX within javascript. The only problem is that it is difficult to determine whether or not the code is working since we have nowhere to print the result. I'm going to try to make a text file to print the source code gathered by the AJAX code, but I'm not sure how to coerce AppFurnace into letting me do that yet. One good thing about the week was that we had our monthly Byte Club meeting and some exciting things are happening. The groups are beginning to code, each has an idea and has started it, and we are planning on having a school-wide hour of code event next week.
I've had another slow week, but there is a lot of odd scheduling between now and Christmas, so I will just have to wait it out and try to get some work done outside of school to make up for the lost time. However, the club is progressing well. Some groups take their projects more seriously than others, but the ones who are genuine are doing very well. Also, the experience of the Hour of Code event will hopefully keep the club alive in the next few years. This week has given me a good experience of the less than organized work environment that can be common in computer science jobs. there are often loose time frames for the actual workday, but very strict timelines for the progression of a project. So the next few weeks will hopefully teach me to get used to odd schedules while still doing the work that needs to be done.
Thursday: 1:16-2:30
Friday: 1:16-2:30
This week, I had some shortened class periods for my internship due to Keystone testing. This limited my ability to work, but I still tried to put in as much time as possible in the data scraping part of the code for the app. It's a bit of a struggle to find ways to scrape using javascript, though. Some of the other Byte Club members coded with me on Wednesday, and we found a way to use AJAX within javascript. The only problem is that it is difficult to determine whether or not the code is working since we have nowhere to print the result. I'm going to try to make a text file to print the source code gathered by the AJAX code, but I'm not sure how to coerce AppFurnace into letting me do that yet. One good thing about the week was that we had our monthly Byte Club meeting and some exciting things are happening. The groups are beginning to code, each has an idea and has started it, and we are planning on having a school-wide hour of code event next week.
I've had another slow week, but there is a lot of odd scheduling between now and Christmas, so I will just have to wait it out and try to get some work done outside of school to make up for the lost time. However, the club is progressing well. Some groups take their projects more seriously than others, but the ones who are genuine are doing very well. Also, the experience of the Hour of Code event will hopefully keep the club alive in the next few years. This week has given me a good experience of the less than organized work environment that can be common in computer science jobs. there are often loose time frames for the actual workday, but very strict timelines for the progression of a project. So the next few weeks will hopefully teach me to get used to odd schedules while still doing the work that needs to be done.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
November 24-25
Monday: 12:55-2:30
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
During my two day week this week, I started to code small parts of the app. I started with the calendar feature that would be used for athletics events, lunch schedules, club and school events, etc. It sounded easy enough, but became slightly more complicated when incorporating leap years and the day of the week each month begins on and then using that day to determine which day the next and previous months begin on. I decided to display the calendar by coding a table in HTML to start, but the boxes of the resulting table will probably be too small to hold all of the information we want them to hold. So, I have started thinking about some alternative options. We could code the calendars as a list of the days of the month, which would be scrollable to give as much room as necessary for each month, or we could have each box in the calendar contain a button that would be disabled if there were no events for that day of the month. Each of these buttons would take the user to a page displaying the events on that specific day. The former seems better to me, but it might not be as aesthetically pleasing and I might end up having to scrap all of my code. So, to remedy my indecision, I'll ask the rest of the group for their opinions.During the weekend, we will be meeting with a former student of our club advisor who has experience making apps so that we can get his input on some of the aspects of the app that we don't understand. Hopefully, since we have a long break for Thanksgiving, we will also be able to get together to start working.
I'm excited that I got to start coding this week! Getting to actually code was very refreshing. It was a really small project that I took on, but I am definitely appreciating the programming aspect of this project rather than the organization side, which can get exhausting. Maybe once we get on a roll, the organization will come more easily.
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
During my two day week this week, I started to code small parts of the app. I started with the calendar feature that would be used for athletics events, lunch schedules, club and school events, etc. It sounded easy enough, but became slightly more complicated when incorporating leap years and the day of the week each month begins on and then using that day to determine which day the next and previous months begin on. I decided to display the calendar by coding a table in HTML to start, but the boxes of the resulting table will probably be too small to hold all of the information we want them to hold. So, I have started thinking about some alternative options. We could code the calendars as a list of the days of the month, which would be scrollable to give as much room as necessary for each month, or we could have each box in the calendar contain a button that would be disabled if there were no events for that day of the month. Each of these buttons would take the user to a page displaying the events on that specific day. The former seems better to me, but it might not be as aesthetically pleasing and I might end up having to scrap all of my code. So, to remedy my indecision, I'll ask the rest of the group for their opinions.During the weekend, we will be meeting with a former student of our club advisor who has experience making apps so that we can get his input on some of the aspects of the app that we don't understand. Hopefully, since we have a long break for Thanksgiving, we will also be able to get together to start working.
I'm excited that I got to start coding this week! Getting to actually code was very refreshing. It was a really small project that I took on, but I am definitely appreciating the programming aspect of this project rather than the organization side, which can get exhausting. Maybe once we get on a roll, the organization will come more easily.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
November 19-20
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
I took a day off of school on Friday to visit Rochester Institute of Technology since it is on my top 2 list of potential schools. So, during the end of the week, I added some research and background info on RIT to my agenda. I interviewed a staff member of our school on his experiences at RIT and was pleased with what he had to say. I also took some time to research the individual majors that RIT has to offer in the computer science field, since they have such a large number.
The rest of my time was spent in a similar fashion to the rest of the week: coding or designing or reading up for the app. I started looking into how we would insert RSS feeds into the code of the app. There were a few resources that App Furnace provided, but they seemed a little outdated and some were blocked by our school's filter. However, it doesn't seem very hard to implement the code. Additionally, our club advisor contacted a student she had a few years ago who now has a lot of experience coding professionally and, more importantly, making apps professionally. He is planning on coming home for Thanksgiving, so our advisor and I have been trying to coordinate with the team about a time to meet up with him and get some insight from him for our project.
This week, while not very eventful, was useful. I didn't want to get too ahead of the rest of my team while working on the app, so I tried to stick to small jobs that needed to be done. This week I learned that despite my lack of ability in the field, I find the UI side of development to be fun whereas many others do not. This will be useful so that I can enjoy my work even if I get stuck with the booby prize of all of the jobs.
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
I took a day off of school on Friday to visit Rochester Institute of Technology since it is on my top 2 list of potential schools. So, during the end of the week, I added some research and background info on RIT to my agenda. I interviewed a staff member of our school on his experiences at RIT and was pleased with what he had to say. I also took some time to research the individual majors that RIT has to offer in the computer science field, since they have such a large number.
The rest of my time was spent in a similar fashion to the rest of the week: coding or designing or reading up for the app. I started looking into how we would insert RSS feeds into the code of the app. There were a few resources that App Furnace provided, but they seemed a little outdated and some were blocked by our school's filter. However, it doesn't seem very hard to implement the code. Additionally, our club advisor contacted a student she had a few years ago who now has a lot of experience coding professionally and, more importantly, making apps professionally. He is planning on coming home for Thanksgiving, so our advisor and I have been trying to coordinate with the team about a time to meet up with him and get some insight from him for our project.
This week, while not very eventful, was useful. I didn't want to get too ahead of the rest of my team while working on the app, so I tried to stick to small jobs that needed to be done. This week I learned that despite my lack of ability in the field, I find the UI side of development to be fun whereas many others do not. This will be useful so that I can enjoy my work even if I get stuck with the booby prize of all of the jobs.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
November 17-18
Monday: 12:55-2:30
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
During my internship periods, I worked on the icons we would use within the app to represent the different areas and types of information available to users. I started to construct some simple icons in paint and continued to get accustomed to the App Furnace interface. I also began looking into the coding half of the project. App Furnace uses javascript, so I will have to look into that syntax before I can get very far. However, from what I've seen, it is not too far from Java or C++.
Surprisingly enough, it is more difficult to make unique icons than one would think. Especially when you are using paint to make them. You have to not only have an idea that accurately represents what the icon stands for, and then paint only has minimal functions with which to make it. So, you have to have a bunch of ideas so that one of them will be possible to make using paint. Hopefully the ones I've made will serve as stand-ins for some made by art students in the future, for they are a little poorly done.
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
During my internship periods, I worked on the icons we would use within the app to represent the different areas and types of information available to users. I started to construct some simple icons in paint and continued to get accustomed to the App Furnace interface. I also began looking into the coding half of the project. App Furnace uses javascript, so I will have to look into that syntax before I can get very far. However, from what I've seen, it is not too far from Java or C++.
Surprisingly enough, it is more difficult to make unique icons than one would think. Especially when you are using paint to make them. You have to not only have an idea that accurately represents what the icon stands for, and then paint only has minimal functions with which to make it. So, you have to have a bunch of ideas so that one of them will be possible to make using paint. Hopefully the ones I've made will serve as stand-ins for some made by art students in the future, for they are a little poorly done.
Monday, November 17, 2014
November 13-14
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
Friday: 12:55-2:30
On Thursday, I sat in on an informational meeting with a new staff member of the high school. We discussed all of the different IP addresses for various servers etc. across the district. I got to look at some of the servers, switches, and closets within the school, which was very interesting. I may not understand most of the goings on in the hardware department, but there is no question that a room full of wires is a powerful sight. Thinking of the fact that our school, small as it is, requires all those wires leads to the overwhelming thought of how many wires are necessary in large corporations.
Friday was spent in preparation for our meeting after school to start doing what we could with the app. The meeting began with some talk of the software design document and how to complete it, but we soon realized that we would be better off if we explored the software we were planning to use before we completed the document. So, we decided on a layout for the first version of the app and started to play around with App Furnace, the app engine we would be using to convert our app for different platforms. We concluded that it would not be sensible to split into groups until some preliminary exploring was done with the software, and since two of our team were unable to attend, we left splitting into groups for another meeting.
It was nice to finally put the finishing touches on one of the projects I have undertaken. Though the library blog was a small assignment, it is nice to be able to check one thing off of the list. I had a fairly eventful week and it was exciting to go on some field trips and sit in on some meetings. It gives me an idea of the cooperative end of computer science that requires relations with people and not just computers. I am glad with the way things are progressing on the app, and excited to see what comes in future meetings. Hopefully, by Thanksgiving we will have a good start on the app and will be able to use our break to really get to work.
Friday: 12:55-2:30
On Thursday, I sat in on an informational meeting with a new staff member of the high school. We discussed all of the different IP addresses for various servers etc. across the district. I got to look at some of the servers, switches, and closets within the school, which was very interesting. I may not understand most of the goings on in the hardware department, but there is no question that a room full of wires is a powerful sight. Thinking of the fact that our school, small as it is, requires all those wires leads to the overwhelming thought of how many wires are necessary in large corporations.
Friday was spent in preparation for our meeting after school to start doing what we could with the app. The meeting began with some talk of the software design document and how to complete it, but we soon realized that we would be better off if we explored the software we were planning to use before we completed the document. So, we decided on a layout for the first version of the app and started to play around with App Furnace, the app engine we would be using to convert our app for different platforms. We concluded that it would not be sensible to split into groups until some preliminary exploring was done with the software, and since two of our team were unable to attend, we left splitting into groups for another meeting.
It was nice to finally put the finishing touches on one of the projects I have undertaken. Though the library blog was a small assignment, it is nice to be able to check one thing off of the list. I had a fairly eventful week and it was exciting to go on some field trips and sit in on some meetings. It gives me an idea of the cooperative end of computer science that requires relations with people and not just computers. I am glad with the way things are progressing on the app, and excited to see what comes in future meetings. Hopefully, by Thanksgiving we will have a good start on the app and will be able to use our break to really get to work.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
November 10-12
Monday: 12:55-2:30
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-1:47
On Monday, I traveled with Dr. Murray to work on some of the school district's big data. Some information had to be sent in to the government for upcoming standardized testing. We sifted through the information entered about new students and graduated students and had to fix errors that had been accidentally entered throughout the start of the year. Some information had to be edited because the id of one piece of data or another had been changed from previous years. Some other data was not changed from a default value that it was originally given. After all of the errors we could recognize were resolved, the documents had to be checked for errors online and uploaded.
I also finally rolled the library blog over to its new theme this week. I made some executive decisions, made final touches on the images for the top menu, and chose a background for the blog. After the roll-over, I consulted our librarian to ensure the blog was satisfactory and instruct her on how to make changes for seasonal blog backgrounds. On Wednesday, I sat in on a class that was using the blog for an assignment and observed their initial reactions to get a census of whether or not students liked the change. The general consensus was positive, but I am still going to try to add a few more features to promote usability and usefulness for students.
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-1:47
On Monday, I traveled with Dr. Murray to work on some of the school district's big data. Some information had to be sent in to the government for upcoming standardized testing. We sifted through the information entered about new students and graduated students and had to fix errors that had been accidentally entered throughout the start of the year. Some information had to be edited because the id of one piece of data or another had been changed from previous years. Some other data was not changed from a default value that it was originally given. After all of the errors we could recognize were resolved, the documents had to be checked for errors online and uploaded.
I also finally rolled the library blog over to its new theme this week. I made some executive decisions, made final touches on the images for the top menu, and chose a background for the blog. After the roll-over, I consulted our librarian to ensure the blog was satisfactory and instruct her on how to make changes for seasonal blog backgrounds. On Wednesday, I sat in on a class that was using the blog for an assignment and observed their initial reactions to get a census of whether or not students liked the change. The general consensus was positive, but I am still going to try to add a few more features to promote usability and usefulness for students.
Monday, November 10, 2014
November 6-7
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
Friday: 12:55-2:30
In preparation for the app development meeting on Friday, I took some more time to explore how we would scrape data from the more difficult school sites. I found some resources that would create an RSS feed of a site if said site had easily identifiable patterns in its source code. From this point, it would be relatively easy to add an RSS feed into an app. For the sites that took a little more creativity, I found a way to trace the source of data being displayed in a site's source code and will hopefully be able to use these origins to scrape necessary data to be stored and formatted in other areas of the app. So, not all of the data that the app will present will be kept in our database. Only the data that is difficult to create an RSS feed from will be stored in the database along with user info.
After our meeting on Friday, I am pleased with the progress we have been making. Everyone has presented the outcomes of their research, and I think we now have a fairly good idea of what we need in order to accomplish our task. I am hoping to have another meeting next Friday to get our thoughts together and start working. We have some major decisions to make before we start, so I hope to get those out of the way soon and start breaking into coding groups for the finished product.
This week was another lesson in leadership. Despite the fact that I haven't asked for it, I seem to have inherited the leadership role in our app development group. It is a bit of an odd feeling because others in the team are people I've always seen as on the same level, if not higher, than I am. However, now I am placed in a position to give them direction and they look to me for answers. It is difficult to find a balance between having your directions respected and allowing everyone to see that you don't have all of the answers. I still organize all of the meetings and nag people to get to work, but I don't have the authority to correct anyone on their work or research because I, too, have a lot to learn. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to keep this balance due to the knowledge of its existence.
Friday: 12:55-2:30
In preparation for the app development meeting on Friday, I took some more time to explore how we would scrape data from the more difficult school sites. I found some resources that would create an RSS feed of a site if said site had easily identifiable patterns in its source code. From this point, it would be relatively easy to add an RSS feed into an app. For the sites that took a little more creativity, I found a way to trace the source of data being displayed in a site's source code and will hopefully be able to use these origins to scrape necessary data to be stored and formatted in other areas of the app. So, not all of the data that the app will present will be kept in our database. Only the data that is difficult to create an RSS feed from will be stored in the database along with user info.
After our meeting on Friday, I am pleased with the progress we have been making. Everyone has presented the outcomes of their research, and I think we now have a fairly good idea of what we need in order to accomplish our task. I am hoping to have another meeting next Friday to get our thoughts together and start working. We have some major decisions to make before we start, so I hope to get those out of the way soon and start breaking into coding groups for the finished product.
This week was another lesson in leadership. Despite the fact that I haven't asked for it, I seem to have inherited the leadership role in our app development group. It is a bit of an odd feeling because others in the team are people I've always seen as on the same level, if not higher, than I am. However, now I am placed in a position to give them direction and they look to me for answers. It is difficult to find a balance between having your directions respected and allowing everyone to see that you don't have all of the answers. I still organize all of the meetings and nag people to get to work, but I don't have the authority to correct anyone on their work or research because I, too, have a lot to learn. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to keep this balance due to the knowledge of its existence.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
November 3-5
Monday: 12:55-2:30
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
I got to talk with one of the Byte Club officers regarding the production of the app during the week, and I think that the key to our success throughout the rest of the app creation is communication. We all have very good ideas and we all have our own doubts, but when we get talking with each other, we motivate ourselves and each other and help to clear up confusion. Just meeting with one club member for a period was enough to get me excited about making the app again. I think that if we meet more often during the development process, we will be more excited to make the app and the app will consequently be finished quicker and be a better quality app.
We also went to one of the elementary schools in our district to manually install some necessary software into the labs and laptop carts in the school. Though a little monotonous, it was a nice break from thinking about app development all of the time.
On Wednesday, we held another Byte Club meeting with the entire club instead of just the app development team. A template for a Software Design Document was distributed, and the teams had the rest of the meeting to work on the design document (due next Friday) and their projects themselves if they could finish the document. Most of the groups got a good start on what they needed to do. I've also assigned someone from each group to post updates on the Byte Club blog about the progression of their projects to be used as a reference for club members in the future, and to ensure that work is being done by the groups. The app team did not get to meet at all during this period, though, as most of us are officers of the club and are overseeing and troubleshooting the projects of the other groups.
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
I got to talk with one of the Byte Club officers regarding the production of the app during the week, and I think that the key to our success throughout the rest of the app creation is communication. We all have very good ideas and we all have our own doubts, but when we get talking with each other, we motivate ourselves and each other and help to clear up confusion. Just meeting with one club member for a period was enough to get me excited about making the app again. I think that if we meet more often during the development process, we will be more excited to make the app and the app will consequently be finished quicker and be a better quality app.
We also went to one of the elementary schools in our district to manually install some necessary software into the labs and laptop carts in the school. Though a little monotonous, it was a nice break from thinking about app development all of the time.
On Wednesday, we held another Byte Club meeting with the entire club instead of just the app development team. A template for a Software Design Document was distributed, and the teams had the rest of the meeting to work on the design document (due next Friday) and their projects themselves if they could finish the document. Most of the groups got a good start on what they needed to do. I've also assigned someone from each group to post updates on the Byte Club blog about the progression of their projects to be used as a reference for club members in the future, and to ensure that work is being done by the groups. The app team did not get to meet at all during this period, though, as most of us are officers of the club and are overseeing and troubleshooting the projects of the other groups.
Monday, November 3, 2014
October 28-29
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
Dr. Murray and I have started to make decisions for the app, lately. We decided on a layout based on other schools' apps and common layouts. We also researched the RSS feeds for the sites we want to scrape data from, because if we can find an RSS feed for the information, we won't have to scrape data for that aspect of the app. Finally, we decided to start doing as much as possible on our own so that the project will stay within a manageable timeline. As the officers of Byte Club, we are leading by example for those who will come after us in the club. We have some awesome ideas, but in our early stages as a club, we have to instill a motivation and seriousness across the board if we are to be successful in the future. Hopefully, once we start coding, we will get the ball rolling so as to be good leaders for the underclassmen. Additionally, Dr. Murray and I took some more time to look at PHP and databases. Dr. Murray is working on a website for some of our faculty, and he showed me some of the back end of that website as a reference for database navigating and PHP and SQL syntax.
Our app project is changing every time we work on it, but I am still confident that it will be successful. If we can motivate our members enough to get through the unexciting parts of the app, I know that we will be able to pull through and do a good job. I think that this is a good experience for me and the rest of us who are working on the app. We are seeing what it is like to work in a team on a larger-scale project and we are also seeing that software development isn't all fun and games. There is some serious thinking that has to come before any serious coding. Even though we are all itching to get started, I think we will see the true value in our planning once we do get started.
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
Dr. Murray and I have started to make decisions for the app, lately. We decided on a layout based on other schools' apps and common layouts. We also researched the RSS feeds for the sites we want to scrape data from, because if we can find an RSS feed for the information, we won't have to scrape data for that aspect of the app. Finally, we decided to start doing as much as possible on our own so that the project will stay within a manageable timeline. As the officers of Byte Club, we are leading by example for those who will come after us in the club. We have some awesome ideas, but in our early stages as a club, we have to instill a motivation and seriousness across the board if we are to be successful in the future. Hopefully, once we start coding, we will get the ball rolling so as to be good leaders for the underclassmen. Additionally, Dr. Murray and I took some more time to look at PHP and databases. Dr. Murray is working on a website for some of our faculty, and he showed me some of the back end of that website as a reference for database navigating and PHP and SQL syntax.
Our app project is changing every time we work on it, but I am still confident that it will be successful. If we can motivate our members enough to get through the unexciting parts of the app, I know that we will be able to pull through and do a good job. I think that this is a good experience for me and the rest of us who are working on the app. We are seeing what it is like to work in a team on a larger-scale project and we are also seeing that software development isn't all fun and games. There is some serious thinking that has to come before any serious coding. Even though we are all itching to get started, I think we will see the true value in our planning once we do get started.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
October 27-28
Monday: 12:55-2:30
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
This week, since I am fairly comfortable with the general concepts of data scraping, I began to look into the practice of actually coding algorithms to scrape. I started by looking into some languages used in databases like PHP and SQL. I looked at basic syntax and got a general grasp of the languages just by looking up a few tutorials. PHP syntax is not too different than Java or C++. There are a few discrepancies, but not so many that it is very difficult to learn. SQL is also very simple I also looked at the library blog. I had photoshopped the pictures for the menu over the weekend, but I ran into some issues with word press and have yet to find an appropriate answer through the internet and have not met with Dr. Murray since last week. Finally, the Byte Club advisor and I decided to move the date for the app research up to next week to keep the process moving along. Hopefully this will inspire club members to start working. I just have to make sure that the majority of group members are available on the new date so that the meeting isn't held for nothing.
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
This week, since I am fairly comfortable with the general concepts of data scraping, I began to look into the practice of actually coding algorithms to scrape. I started by looking into some languages used in databases like PHP and SQL. I looked at basic syntax and got a general grasp of the languages just by looking up a few tutorials. PHP syntax is not too different than Java or C++. There are a few discrepancies, but not so many that it is very difficult to learn. SQL is also very simple I also looked at the library blog. I had photoshopped the pictures for the menu over the weekend, but I ran into some issues with word press and have yet to find an appropriate answer through the internet and have not met with Dr. Murray since last week. Finally, the Byte Club advisor and I decided to move the date for the app research up to next week to keep the process moving along. Hopefully this will inspire club members to start working. I just have to make sure that the majority of group members are available on the new date so that the meeting isn't held for nothing.
October 23-24
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
Friday: 12:55-2:30
I met again with our librarian to further the transition between blog themes. It was a fairly short meeting, but I think we are on the same page now. I am going to photo shop some images for her to utilize as menu images, and she will populate the menu with all of the links and information she finds necessary. After these steps, it will be time to change the theme. On Friday, when Dr. Murray came to visit, we discussed more of our options with the blog that would increase usability for students, but still be easy to manage by whomever might need to manage it. We looked at adding twitter feeds and other social media widgets as well as many other options.
This week was productive in that I have made myself much more comfortable in the position I am in with the app, and I have been able to plan for some other projects I am working on. I'm definitely starting to get a feel for the frustration involved in project planning and management, especially with busy group members. I'm not sure that I would fit well in a project leadership role because I would probably end up being too pushy with the project, as I am now seeing. I don't mind doing it, but I turn into a bit of a nag when given the opportunity, which might not be beneficial to the project. This is good insight for me to have now so that in future projects, I can make sure to let others who are more patient do the project management.
Friday: 12:55-2:30
I met again with our librarian to further the transition between blog themes. It was a fairly short meeting, but I think we are on the same page now. I am going to photo shop some images for her to utilize as menu images, and she will populate the menu with all of the links and information she finds necessary. After these steps, it will be time to change the theme. On Friday, when Dr. Murray came to visit, we discussed more of our options with the blog that would increase usability for students, but still be easy to manage by whomever might need to manage it. We looked at adding twitter feeds and other social media widgets as well as many other options.
This week was productive in that I have made myself much more comfortable in the position I am in with the app, and I have been able to plan for some other projects I am working on. I'm definitely starting to get a feel for the frustration involved in project planning and management, especially with busy group members. I'm not sure that I would fit well in a project leadership role because I would probably end up being too pushy with the project, as I am now seeing. I don't mind doing it, but I turn into a bit of a nag when given the opportunity, which might not be beneficial to the project. This is good insight for me to have now so that in future projects, I can make sure to let others who are more patient do the project management.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
October 20-22
Monday: 12:55-2:30
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
On Monday, I met with Dr. Murray and we discussed how we would conduct our next meeting and planned for the next few weeks. We are planning on giving the app group a deadline for their research of the second Friday in November. This gives the group plenty of time to research outside of school while still minding the progress that is necessary to complete the app on time. We also decided to focus on the fundraising ideas we talked about previously along with the finalization of the deadline at the next meeting on Wednesday.
I also spent some time reading through some resources on data scraping this week. Data scraping is the topic I chose to research for the app, and I am happy with the progress I have made in the research. It turns out that basic data scraping is not as hard as it sounds. The trouble will arise when I need to deal with the information I need to scrape being on popups. Hopefully, that will not pose too much difficulty in the long run. I also took some time in the beginning of this week to look at how we would scrape data for our unique project. I looked at the source code for the sites that we would be scraping from for the app and Dr. Murray gave me some insight into the easiest ways we could accomplish the process. Additionally, we took a peek at some website design using databases and communicating between coding languages. This will be helpful to understand where the data in source code is coming from and how to access that data.
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
On Monday, I met with Dr. Murray and we discussed how we would conduct our next meeting and planned for the next few weeks. We are planning on giving the app group a deadline for their research of the second Friday in November. This gives the group plenty of time to research outside of school while still minding the progress that is necessary to complete the app on time. We also decided to focus on the fundraising ideas we talked about previously along with the finalization of the deadline at the next meeting on Wednesday.
I also spent some time reading through some resources on data scraping this week. Data scraping is the topic I chose to research for the app, and I am happy with the progress I have made in the research. It turns out that basic data scraping is not as hard as it sounds. The trouble will arise when I need to deal with the information I need to scrape being on popups. Hopefully, that will not pose too much difficulty in the long run. I also took some time in the beginning of this week to look at how we would scrape data for our unique project. I looked at the source code for the sites that we would be scraping from for the app and Dr. Murray gave me some insight into the easiest ways we could accomplish the process. Additionally, we took a peek at some website design using databases and communicating between coding languages. This will be helpful to understand where the data in source code is coming from and how to access that data.
Monday, October 20, 2014
October 16-17
Thursday: 12:25-2:30
Friday: 12:55-2:30
On Thursday, I went back to follow up with our school librarian about the library blog. We talked about some of her options with themes and widgets that were supported in Wordpress, and played with the different options. We eventually chose a theme and planned out how we could optimize that theme for the usability she wanted out of her blog. I will continue to meet up with her to help her along in the process of switching to a theme that supports the customizations she wants to see in the future of the blog. As of now, I have asked her to do the setup behind the theme-change so that it is seamless when it takes effect.
We also had a smaller meeting of the Byte Club members who had no other clubs to attend on Thursday. Here, we talked about fundraising opportunities and the ways we could better accomplish our project goals. A lot of our fundraising ideas are a bit far-fetched, but others are doable and could be very rewarding. One major idea is to create a Byte Club scholarship program for those majoring in Computer Science. We would ask successful alumni of the computer science program at our high school to donate a bit of money and then would elect the recipient(s) for the scholarship once a year.
This week gave me more of a chance to see the client-based side of computer science. I got to know how to include the client in the decisions being made, while still guiding them towards an effective and well-made solution. It was good for me to be able to get experience in having to explain what had to happen in simpler terms. On top of that, I got a look at the monetary side of projects as well. Our project is sponsored by our school, so we don't have too much of a need for financing, but it was still eye-opening to think about the possibilities we have to make money if we do end up needing it. There are lots of options and our prospects are promising if we can go about our fundraising in a professional manner.
Friday: 12:55-2:30
On Thursday, I went back to follow up with our school librarian about the library blog. We talked about some of her options with themes and widgets that were supported in Wordpress, and played with the different options. We eventually chose a theme and planned out how we could optimize that theme for the usability she wanted out of her blog. I will continue to meet up with her to help her along in the process of switching to a theme that supports the customizations she wants to see in the future of the blog. As of now, I have asked her to do the setup behind the theme-change so that it is seamless when it takes effect.
We also had a smaller meeting of the Byte Club members who had no other clubs to attend on Thursday. Here, we talked about fundraising opportunities and the ways we could better accomplish our project goals. A lot of our fundraising ideas are a bit far-fetched, but others are doable and could be very rewarding. One major idea is to create a Byte Club scholarship program for those majoring in Computer Science. We would ask successful alumni of the computer science program at our high school to donate a bit of money and then would elect the recipient(s) for the scholarship once a year.
This week gave me more of a chance to see the client-based side of computer science. I got to know how to include the client in the decisions being made, while still guiding them towards an effective and well-made solution. It was good for me to be able to get experience in having to explain what had to happen in simpler terms. On top of that, I got a look at the monetary side of projects as well. Our project is sponsored by our school, so we don't have too much of a need for financing, but it was still eye-opening to think about the possibilities we have to make money if we do end up needing it. There are lots of options and our prospects are promising if we can go about our fundraising in a professional manner.
October 14-15
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 1:15-2:30
The first half of this week was spent, once again, doing research. Dr. Murray had other obligations during my internship period, so I spent the time working towards starting the app. After our meeting on Friday, the app group was assigned the task of picking the topic they wanted to research. These groups have yet to be finalized, so I am in a bit of a holding pattern. However, I am still trying to find things to learn more about while I have time during my internship to lighten others' loads and get the process moving as quickly as possible. So, I started by looking at some resources on data scraping. This is an essential aspect of our app development process because without the information scraped from our school's various websites, there can be no app. I also spent some time continuing my reading on the future of technology and tech jobs.
Wednesday: 1:15-2:30
The first half of this week was spent, once again, doing research. Dr. Murray had other obligations during my internship period, so I spent the time working towards starting the app. After our meeting on Friday, the app group was assigned the task of picking the topic they wanted to research. These groups have yet to be finalized, so I am in a bit of a holding pattern. However, I am still trying to find things to learn more about while I have time during my internship to lighten others' loads and get the process moving as quickly as possible. So, I started by looking at some resources on data scraping. This is an essential aspect of our app development process because without the information scraped from our school's various websites, there can be no app. I also spent some time continuing my reading on the future of technology and tech jobs.
Monday, October 13, 2014
October 9-10
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
Friday: 12:25-1:47
The end of this week was very exciting and eventful. On Thursday, I had a meeting with Dr. Murray and the school librarian about our school's blog and some upgrades and changes that she would like to make. It only lasted 45 minutes, but it was a good example of an informal tech-based meeting. After this meeting, I got a chance to sit down with the high school Principal to talk about the kinds of things the administration would like to see embodied in the app. Thursday was also the day that I finalized all of the specifics of the meeting. We decided where to meet, and I worked a little on how the meeting would be run, what we wanted to accomplish, and how we would go about getting there. I started an agenda, and our club advisor told some other byte club members about the meeting so that we could get some new, creative input on the design end of the project.
On Friday, I spent all of my time preparing for our meeting. I made a list of all of the things I wanted to cover during the meeting and made sure that everyone knew what was happening. After school on Friday, the officers, three other Byte Club members, our advisor, Dr. Murray, and I all went to a local pizza place for our meeting. It went very smoothly, and I think we are all on the same page now. We set up a schedule for regular meetings and check-ups, we talked about how we would break up into teams, and about which topics were the most important to research and understand completely.
This week gave me a lot of insight into what being an administrator or in a leading position might be like. Holding and participating in multiple meetings and having to prepare for such gatherings was different for me. I also got a taste of what it is like to have to lead in a meeting. It is difficult to keep everyone on task and it is hard to know when to interrupt and when to let conversation die out on its own. Though this is not my forte now, I think after a little more practice, it could become a lot less calculated and easier for me to do. I'm still a little wary of ever striving for a position of power, but I won't take it off my list permanently as of now.
Friday: 12:25-1:47
The end of this week was very exciting and eventful. On Thursday, I had a meeting with Dr. Murray and the school librarian about our school's blog and some upgrades and changes that she would like to make. It only lasted 45 minutes, but it was a good example of an informal tech-based meeting. After this meeting, I got a chance to sit down with the high school Principal to talk about the kinds of things the administration would like to see embodied in the app. Thursday was also the day that I finalized all of the specifics of the meeting. We decided where to meet, and I worked a little on how the meeting would be run, what we wanted to accomplish, and how we would go about getting there. I started an agenda, and our club advisor told some other byte club members about the meeting so that we could get some new, creative input on the design end of the project.
On Friday, I spent all of my time preparing for our meeting. I made a list of all of the things I wanted to cover during the meeting and made sure that everyone knew what was happening. After school on Friday, the officers, three other Byte Club members, our advisor, Dr. Murray, and I all went to a local pizza place for our meeting. It went very smoothly, and I think we are all on the same page now. We set up a schedule for regular meetings and check-ups, we talked about how we would break up into teams, and about which topics were the most important to research and understand completely.
This week gave me a lot of insight into what being an administrator or in a leading position might be like. Holding and participating in multiple meetings and having to prepare for such gatherings was different for me. I also got a taste of what it is like to have to lead in a meeting. It is difficult to keep everyone on task and it is hard to know when to interrupt and when to let conversation die out on its own. Though this is not my forte now, I think after a little more practice, it could become a lot less calculated and easier for me to do. I'm still a little wary of ever striving for a position of power, but I won't take it off my list permanently as of now.
October 6-8
Monday: 12:55-2:30
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-1:47
This week, I spent a lot of time arranging plans for the rest of the officers. There isn't much I feel comfortable doing, past what I have already done, without first consulting with the rest of the group. So, I started to set up communications for us and started to think about when our next meeting should be, and what we should decide at that meeting. I also started to make spaces in which the club members working on the school app can post resources, while still trying to build on my own knowledge of the inner workings of informational app development. I had a few meetings with Dr. Murray, so he was able to help me with my planning and getting a better grasp on how the project would eventually pan out. I began to read up on web app development via Oracle's resources as well. I hope that by understanding as much as possible about what we will need to accomplish, I can give our team a head start on the project.
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-1:47
This week, I spent a lot of time arranging plans for the rest of the officers. There isn't much I feel comfortable doing, past what I have already done, without first consulting with the rest of the group. So, I started to set up communications for us and started to think about when our next meeting should be, and what we should decide at that meeting. I also started to make spaces in which the club members working on the school app can post resources, while still trying to build on my own knowledge of the inner workings of informational app development. I had a few meetings with Dr. Murray, so he was able to help me with my planning and getting a better grasp on how the project would eventually pan out. I began to read up on web app development via Oracle's resources as well. I hope that by understanding as much as possible about what we will need to accomplish, I can give our team a head start on the project.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
October 2-3
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
Friday: 12:55-2:30
To end the week, I am still researching. I feel that I have a better understanding of what I am looking for and planning, but I still do not know enough to feel completely confident in programming it. On Friday, I had a meeting with my mentor and he agreed to help me in the research process, but he also taught me some of what goes on behind the programming. We looked into our school's servers and databases for examples. I'm glad that I got the opportunity to learn this because I feel that understanding the back-story makes it that much easier to understand what I will have to do. If I can better know the processes that go on in these components, it will be easier for me to make my code coexist better with those processes.
At home, I have created an SDD for my fellow club members and have given it to the other officers and my advisor to look over and add to. Hopefully, it can soon be distributed to the club members so that they will be able to begin their projects sooner. I'm excited to see what comes out of the ideas our members have, and am probably more excited than they are for them to get started. I hope that either over the weekend or early into next week I will be able to finish my own research so that I can start my own project.
This week has been a little painstaking, but also very educational. I'm excited to actually get started with my project, but I know that if I were to start right now, I would only make a mess of it and make it harder to complete in the long run. So, for now I am stuck planning and researching. However, it is a good taste of the real world. When I see the accomplishments of others, it's easy to think that they could come up with and complete their endeavors in a week or so, but actually going through the process is a good wake up call. Projects such as these require persistence and a lot of hard work. It will be good to remember this so that I won't be so easily put off if it takes longer to complete a project than the few weeks I unintentionally imagine it will take.
Friday: 12:55-2:30
To end the week, I am still researching. I feel that I have a better understanding of what I am looking for and planning, but I still do not know enough to feel completely confident in programming it. On Friday, I had a meeting with my mentor and he agreed to help me in the research process, but he also taught me some of what goes on behind the programming. We looked into our school's servers and databases for examples. I'm glad that I got the opportunity to learn this because I feel that understanding the back-story makes it that much easier to understand what I will have to do. If I can better know the processes that go on in these components, it will be easier for me to make my code coexist better with those processes.
At home, I have created an SDD for my fellow club members and have given it to the other officers and my advisor to look over and add to. Hopefully, it can soon be distributed to the club members so that they will be able to begin their projects sooner. I'm excited to see what comes out of the ideas our members have, and am probably more excited than they are for them to get started. I hope that either over the weekend or early into next week I will be able to finish my own research so that I can start my own project.
This week has been a little painstaking, but also very educational. I'm excited to actually get started with my project, but I know that if I were to start right now, I would only make a mess of it and make it harder to complete in the long run. So, for now I am stuck planning and researching. However, it is a good taste of the real world. When I see the accomplishments of others, it's easy to think that they could come up with and complete their endeavors in a week or so, but actually going through the process is a good wake up call. Projects such as these require persistence and a lot of hard work. It will be good to remember this so that I won't be so easily put off if it takes longer to complete a project than the few weeks I unintentionally imagine it will take.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
September 29-October 1
Monday: 12:55-2:30
Tuesday: 12:55-2:00
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
I spent the beginning of this week doing a lot of research and planning. The officers of Byte Club will be creating an app for our high school, but we have to decide what we want in it and how we will do it before we start coding. So, I began working on a Software Design Document for the app to get a basis of what will be necessary to learn before we start coding, and what we want the app to look like and do. I based my SDD off of a Concordia template. Once I began planning, though, I started to realize just how much the I, and most likely the other officers, had to learn before we even thought about coding. So, I started some research. We are planning on using Google Cloud Endpoints to facilitate our app, and Google App Engine to make the transition across platforms easier. I have to start by understanding how to use each of these tools. Along with this comes a little bit of Java Web Application programming and data storage. This is where I began my research. So, the first few days of the week, I surfed the web for good tutorials, definitions, and code snippets to help me understand how to code the project we will be embarking on.
Additionally, on Wednesday, we had our second Byte Club meeting. This month, our goal was to split our members into groups and have them start to brainstorm and plan the projects they wanted to create. We had a very successful meeting--every group had an idea of what they wanted to do before the end of the meeting. Now, I have to start making a simpler version of the SDD I began to use for the rest of our club members to take advantage of in their programming process. Since some of our club members have less experience with programming than others, it is essential that we have groups make a document that makes sense for all of the members. So, simplification is paramount.
Tuesday: 12:55-2:00
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
I spent the beginning of this week doing a lot of research and planning. The officers of Byte Club will be creating an app for our high school, but we have to decide what we want in it and how we will do it before we start coding. So, I began working on a Software Design Document for the app to get a basis of what will be necessary to learn before we start coding, and what we want the app to look like and do. I based my SDD off of a Concordia template. Once I began planning, though, I started to realize just how much the I, and most likely the other officers, had to learn before we even thought about coding. So, I started some research. We are planning on using Google Cloud Endpoints to facilitate our app, and Google App Engine to make the transition across platforms easier. I have to start by understanding how to use each of these tools. Along with this comes a little bit of Java Web Application programming and data storage. This is where I began my research. So, the first few days of the week, I surfed the web for good tutorials, definitions, and code snippets to help me understand how to code the project we will be embarking on.
Additionally, on Wednesday, we had our second Byte Club meeting. This month, our goal was to split our members into groups and have them start to brainstorm and plan the projects they wanted to create. We had a very successful meeting--every group had an idea of what they wanted to do before the end of the meeting. Now, I have to start making a simpler version of the SDD I began to use for the rest of our club members to take advantage of in their programming process. Since some of our club members have less experience with programming than others, it is essential that we have groups make a document that makes sense for all of the members. So, simplification is paramount.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
September 22-2
Monday: 12:55-2:30
Tuesday: 12:25-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25 -2:30
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
My mentor was out all of this week, so I got a lot of time for various personal projects during the week. I did some research on influential women in the field, as I have posted below, and read up on the gender gap in STEM fields and how much more pronounced it is in those areas than in many other jobs. I also got a lot of time to plan the app Byte Club will be making for our high school. I researched code-sharing programs and brainstormed what we will want to include in the app to make it helpful and include all the things a common student or parent would want to have access to. I did this by asking fellow students their opinions on what they would like to see in a high school app, and what they think is unnecessary to include. Later on in the week, I spent some time preparing for the "Falcon Fair", which is an event held in school in which clubs can fundraise by selling foods or services to the student body. I helped the other Byte Club officers to prepare posters to advertise our booth, collect equipment, and make other general preparations for the fair, which was held on Friday.
This week, while not the most exciting, was very productive for me. I got a lot of work done and started to think seriously about some of the projects I will be undertaking in the future. A lot of computer science is idealistic, so it is good to take time to think realistically about what can actually be done for some projects, given the time restraints and skill level of myself and the other Byte Club officers. This planning gave me a bit of a feel for how a project manager would look at situations and pick out what is possible for their team and the project. It was also good to get a taste for computer science work alone. I spent most of my time in the library working away on my laptop. I'm comfortable alone, but it is harder to stay focused when there is no one else in the room. This is something I will have to work on.
Tuesday: 12:25-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25 -2:30
Thursday: 12:55-2:30
My mentor was out all of this week, so I got a lot of time for various personal projects during the week. I did some research on influential women in the field, as I have posted below, and read up on the gender gap in STEM fields and how much more pronounced it is in those areas than in many other jobs. I also got a lot of time to plan the app Byte Club will be making for our high school. I researched code-sharing programs and brainstormed what we will want to include in the app to make it helpful and include all the things a common student or parent would want to have access to. I did this by asking fellow students their opinions on what they would like to see in a high school app, and what they think is unnecessary to include. Later on in the week, I spent some time preparing for the "Falcon Fair", which is an event held in school in which clubs can fundraise by selling foods or services to the student body. I helped the other Byte Club officers to prepare posters to advertise our booth, collect equipment, and make other general preparations for the fair, which was held on Friday.
This week, while not the most exciting, was very productive for me. I got a lot of work done and started to think seriously about some of the projects I will be undertaking in the future. A lot of computer science is idealistic, so it is good to take time to think realistically about what can actually be done for some projects, given the time restraints and skill level of myself and the other Byte Club officers. This planning gave me a bit of a feel for how a project manager would look at situations and pick out what is possible for their team and the project. It was also good to get a taste for computer science work alone. I spent most of my time in the library working away on my laptop. I'm comfortable alone, but it is harder to stay focused when there is no one else in the room. This is something I will have to work on.
Top Women in Computer Science
Women in computer science and engineering jobs are few and far between. Even more so are those who hold positions of power or management. Some of the most important women in computer science are making a big difference with the work they are taking on as well as the issues they are helping to fight. Ranked among these women are: Meg Whitman, Sheryl Sandberg, Ginni Rometty, Marissa Mayer, Susan Wojcicki, Safra Catz, Mary Meeker, Divya Nag, and Meredith Perry. Each of the above women have made themselves successful in the tech world through hard work and have defied the statistics of the lack of women in tech management.
As a woman hoping to find success in computer science, I take special interest in the success stories of other women in the field. The women I've mentioned all have a few things in common that have helped them to rise in the ranks in their fields. The first thing I've found is a bountiful and prestigious education. All of them have at least a Bachelor's degree, and most have a Master's. Beyond that, most have degrees in multiple fields, some even with a computer science degree and a law degree. They have also all gone to well-recognized schools to get the degrees. So, education is an integral part of becoming affluent in the field.
Another similarity is that most if not all of these women have worked in a plethora of areas of the field. They have all hopped from job to job within their company or area of expertise, and gotten a taste of pretty much the whole company, while also moving up in title as they go. Being versatile and willing to try new things and new positions has helped to advance them to their managerial positions and their prosperity. Similarly, all of the women have been involved in their local and global communities. They complete research, take on worldwide issues, or create new technology for the good of the world. By filling a void in our international community, they get more popular and consequently more fruitful.
Individually, each woman has had their own circumstances, struggles, and victories. Particularly, I have noticed a lot of bad media surrounding a lot of their actions. The more powerful and wealthy these women become, the more they seem to do wrong in the eyes of reporters and the general public. Still, they remain unmoved by the negative opinions. Article titles like "...(Why I Hate Sheryl Sandberg)", "Top 10 Reasons Why Ginni Rometty Will Fail...", and "Dear Marissa Mayer: Please Stop Saying Your Baby is 'Easy'" seem to point out the insignificant details of these women's lives, and ultimately make them feel bad despite all of their accomplishments and good deeds for the world. Despite the hurtful words aimed at them due to their spot in the tech world's limelight, they continue innovating, leading the world, and living their lives.
For this, I am proud of them. At first glance, it seems like a difficult feat to become a leader in computer science as a female. However, these women are setting an example for all of us who follow in their footsteps. Their achievements say to me: "It's possible, if only you put in the effort". As with anyone, they aren't perfect, but the strength they show to stand on the world stage and make it known that women can succeed in STEM fields is inspiring to me. Especially awe-inspiring are the younger of these women: Divya Nag and Meredith Perry. These two are not even thirty, and they are already creating technology that will change the way people interact with their devices and leading the way in their companies and their discoveries. I may never lead the industry, but I will be glad as long as there are women such as these who will.
I can see a bit of myself in the determination and motivation of these women. My biggest goal in my career, unambitious as it might be, is to be as helpful to others through my work as I can be. These women embody this desire of mine through the new technologies they make that help the general public in everyday life, but also through the causes they take up and support. Most, if not all, of these women support other ladies who are looking to start in computer science, and anyone interested in STEM in general. They take up campaigns, like "Lean In", to encourage women in their endeavors, while also taking sides on global issues. When you get more media and money from your occupation, it is easier to raise a movement on topics you are passionate about. These women help thousands through their work and the movements they have been able to start. If I could find ways in my life and career to be helpful to others, I would lead a fulfilled life. Of course, as I've said, it is a lot easier to make a difference for more people when one gets the publicity to let the world hear their opinions.
To make the best of my goal, I would have to step into the limelight as a leader in computer science as well, which is a lot easier than it sounds. However, there are a few things I can do now to give myself the best chances in the future. The first is to get involved in as many ways as possible. If I can make a positive name and image for myself and create connections with those already in the industry, I can begin to be an asset to those I work for when I start working. On a similar note, I can learn as much as possible. If I am capable before I am hired, there is less money spent on training, and I can be useful sooner rather than later. This would also set me up in a favorable position in my future job. Once I have a job I see myself staying in, I can learn about the company's inner workings. In order to achieve a managerial position, one has to know how to run a company and what is best for the specific company being run. So, if I know those things, I could be in the running for positions like CEO and CFO. This is where I will start, and we will see where it goes from there.
As a woman hoping to find success in computer science, I take special interest in the success stories of other women in the field. The women I've mentioned all have a few things in common that have helped them to rise in the ranks in their fields. The first thing I've found is a bountiful and prestigious education. All of them have at least a Bachelor's degree, and most have a Master's. Beyond that, most have degrees in multiple fields, some even with a computer science degree and a law degree. They have also all gone to well-recognized schools to get the degrees. So, education is an integral part of becoming affluent in the field.
Another similarity is that most if not all of these women have worked in a plethora of areas of the field. They have all hopped from job to job within their company or area of expertise, and gotten a taste of pretty much the whole company, while also moving up in title as they go. Being versatile and willing to try new things and new positions has helped to advance them to their managerial positions and their prosperity. Similarly, all of the women have been involved in their local and global communities. They complete research, take on worldwide issues, or create new technology for the good of the world. By filling a void in our international community, they get more popular and consequently more fruitful.
Individually, each woman has had their own circumstances, struggles, and victories. Particularly, I have noticed a lot of bad media surrounding a lot of their actions. The more powerful and wealthy these women become, the more they seem to do wrong in the eyes of reporters and the general public. Still, they remain unmoved by the negative opinions. Article titles like "...(Why I Hate Sheryl Sandberg)", "Top 10 Reasons Why Ginni Rometty Will Fail...", and "Dear Marissa Mayer: Please Stop Saying Your Baby is 'Easy'" seem to point out the insignificant details of these women's lives, and ultimately make them feel bad despite all of their accomplishments and good deeds for the world. Despite the hurtful words aimed at them due to their spot in the tech world's limelight, they continue innovating, leading the world, and living their lives.
For this, I am proud of them. At first glance, it seems like a difficult feat to become a leader in computer science as a female. However, these women are setting an example for all of us who follow in their footsteps. Their achievements say to me: "It's possible, if only you put in the effort". As with anyone, they aren't perfect, but the strength they show to stand on the world stage and make it known that women can succeed in STEM fields is inspiring to me. Especially awe-inspiring are the younger of these women: Divya Nag and Meredith Perry. These two are not even thirty, and they are already creating technology that will change the way people interact with their devices and leading the way in their companies and their discoveries. I may never lead the industry, but I will be glad as long as there are women such as these who will.
I can see a bit of myself in the determination and motivation of these women. My biggest goal in my career, unambitious as it might be, is to be as helpful to others through my work as I can be. These women embody this desire of mine through the new technologies they make that help the general public in everyday life, but also through the causes they take up and support. Most, if not all, of these women support other ladies who are looking to start in computer science, and anyone interested in STEM in general. They take up campaigns, like "Lean In", to encourage women in their endeavors, while also taking sides on global issues. When you get more media and money from your occupation, it is easier to raise a movement on topics you are passionate about. These women help thousands through their work and the movements they have been able to start. If I could find ways in my life and career to be helpful to others, I would lead a fulfilled life. Of course, as I've said, it is a lot easier to make a difference for more people when one gets the publicity to let the world hear their opinions.
To make the best of my goal, I would have to step into the limelight as a leader in computer science as well, which is a lot easier than it sounds. However, there are a few things I can do now to give myself the best chances in the future. The first is to get involved in as many ways as possible. If I can make a positive name and image for myself and create connections with those already in the industry, I can begin to be an asset to those I work for when I start working. On a similar note, I can learn as much as possible. If I am capable before I am hired, there is less money spent on training, and I can be useful sooner rather than later. This would also set me up in a favorable position in my future job. Once I have a job I see myself staying in, I can learn about the company's inner workings. In order to achieve a managerial position, one has to know how to run a company and what is best for the specific company being run. So, if I know those things, I could be in the running for positions like CEO and CFO. This is where I will start, and we will see where it goes from there.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
September 18-19
Thursday: 12:55-2:00
Friday: 12:55-2:45
On Friday, we traveled to one of our district's elementary schools to put some Android tablets in a kindergarten pod. We used the kind of mailboxes that the teachers used with holes drilled in the back for the chords to be run through. First, we had to pull all of our supplies into the building on a flatbed. Then, we had to find somewhere to put the charging station. We asked around, but none of the teachers had a preference, so we chose a table near an outlet. Then the fun began. We had to assemble the shelving first. We placed all of the necessary pegs into the mailbox shell so that the shelves would stay in place. Then, we unwrapped all of the chords, adapters, and power strips for the unit and numbered each shelf. I then had to feed all of the chords through the holes in the back of the unit while my mentor arranged them between shelves. Next, we plugged all of the chords into their adapters and mounted two of the power strips on the back of the unit so the chords had more leeway. Finally, we arranged the power strips to fit into an adapter we mounted on the outlet underneath the table and plugged all of the devices into their designated chords. Below is the finished product:
Friday: 12:55-2:45
On Friday, we traveled to one of our district's elementary schools to put some Android tablets in a kindergarten pod. We used the kind of mailboxes that the teachers used with holes drilled in the back for the chords to be run through. First, we had to pull all of our supplies into the building on a flatbed. Then, we had to find somewhere to put the charging station. We asked around, but none of the teachers had a preference, so we chose a table near an outlet. Then the fun began. We had to assemble the shelving first. We placed all of the necessary pegs into the mailbox shell so that the shelves would stay in place. Then, we unwrapped all of the chords, adapters, and power strips for the unit and numbered each shelf. I then had to feed all of the chords through the holes in the back of the unit while my mentor arranged them between shelves. Next, we plugged all of the chords into their adapters and mounted two of the power strips on the back of the unit so the chords had more leeway. Finally, we arranged the power strips to fit into an adapter we mounted on the outlet underneath the table and plugged all of the devices into their designated chords. Below is the finished product:
This week wasn't all action-packed--I had a lot of time to myself to work on my own projects--but what I did get to do was a lot of fun. Putting the charging station together on Friday was definitely the highlight to my week. I loved the opportunity to problem solve, and I love how diverse the jobs we get to do are. As we were building the unit, kindergarteners were entering and leaving their classes, and being able to see how excited and curious they were to get their new devices was another huge bonus. I am very glad to see that the field I am looking at doesn't have to be constantly sitting at a desk, but can involve hands-on projects as well.
September 15-17
Monday: 12:55-2:40
Tuesday: 12:55-1:50
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
On Monday of this week, my mentor and I were called to our district middle school to help them sort out a problem they were having regarding Adobe Reader and Flash. We spent our entire time finding and solving the problem, which turned out to only be fixable by allowing the student population to use Firefox rather than Internet Explorer. I got to learn about the limitations of different browsers and how imperative it is that websites keep releasing new versions of their website to match the new versions of software they employ. Without doing so, it makes it much more difficult for customers to continue using their website. It hurts their own business to not keep their website up to date.
For the next two days, I had some time to work on my own. I got to start organizing a coding project that the Byte Club officers and I would start during the year--to make a high school app. We had planned on outsourcing a district app while the high school one was in the works because the district wanted an app by the end of the year. So, I started research on some companies that would take the project on for us. Additionally, I continued reading up on futuring.
Then, during the last half hour or so of Wednesday, my mentor returned and he and I held a meeting with the Byte Club officers to gauge their interest in creating the high school app, and the amount they felt we could accomplish during the year. The meeting was very successful, we decided the course of action in regards to the app, and cleared up some issues that they had found within our computer labs in the school. We also decided how we wanted to go about making the app for multiple platforms, and how we would split the coding as a group. We have a much clearer direction now, and once the project gets started, I think it will run smoothly.
Tuesday: 12:55-1:50
Wednesday: 12:25-2:30
On Monday of this week, my mentor and I were called to our district middle school to help them sort out a problem they were having regarding Adobe Reader and Flash. We spent our entire time finding and solving the problem, which turned out to only be fixable by allowing the student population to use Firefox rather than Internet Explorer. I got to learn about the limitations of different browsers and how imperative it is that websites keep releasing new versions of their website to match the new versions of software they employ. Without doing so, it makes it much more difficult for customers to continue using their website. It hurts their own business to not keep their website up to date.
For the next two days, I had some time to work on my own. I got to start organizing a coding project that the Byte Club officers and I would start during the year--to make a high school app. We had planned on outsourcing a district app while the high school one was in the works because the district wanted an app by the end of the year. So, I started research on some companies that would take the project on for us. Additionally, I continued reading up on futuring.
Then, during the last half hour or so of Wednesday, my mentor returned and he and I held a meeting with the Byte Club officers to gauge their interest in creating the high school app, and the amount they felt we could accomplish during the year. The meeting was very successful, we decided the course of action in regards to the app, and cleared up some issues that they had found within our computer labs in the school. We also decided how we wanted to go about making the app for multiple platforms, and how we would split the coding as a group. We have a much clearer direction now, and once the project gets started, I think it will run smoothly.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
September 11-September 12
Thursday: 12:55-2:40
Friday: 12:55-2:30
We continued the laptop roll out process for the rest of the week, with Friday being the students' last chance to pick up their laptops before they were put in their respective homerooms to be distributed by homeroom teachers. After handing out, configuring, and troubleshooting devices for those students who came to pick laptops up, our team again had to pack up. On Thursday and Friday, however, we also began to inventory the laptops that remained. So, after the last lunch of the day, we sat down and created an Excel document to keep track of the laptops, and the students they were assigned to, that had been left with us. After Friday, we only had around 70 left. So, we consolidated the remaining devices and organized to have them given to their respective students via their homeroom teachers.
This week, I got to meet a few more members of the school tech team and got more experience with working with "clients" through the roll out procedure. I learned some tricks of the trade, and got to see how close-knit teams like this can be due to their small size. I had a lot of fun working with everyone on the team, and enjoyed their banter during work. It seems like an awesome environment to work in--one that I could easily see myself joining. Though the job seems to keep you busy, it looks like it's an enjoyable one. So, even if you have to take work home, you could know you'll enjoy it. These past few days have shown me that you can work with friends on fun projects and get paid for it at the same time.
Friday: 12:55-2:30
We continued the laptop roll out process for the rest of the week, with Friday being the students' last chance to pick up their laptops before they were put in their respective homerooms to be distributed by homeroom teachers. After handing out, configuring, and troubleshooting devices for those students who came to pick laptops up, our team again had to pack up. On Thursday and Friday, however, we also began to inventory the laptops that remained. So, after the last lunch of the day, we sat down and created an Excel document to keep track of the laptops, and the students they were assigned to, that had been left with us. After Friday, we only had around 70 left. So, we consolidated the remaining devices and organized to have them given to their respective students via their homeroom teachers.
This week, I got to meet a few more members of the school tech team and got more experience with working with "clients" through the roll out procedure. I learned some tricks of the trade, and got to see how close-knit teams like this can be due to their small size. I had a lot of fun working with everyone on the team, and enjoyed their banter during work. It seems like an awesome environment to work in--one that I could easily see myself joining. Though the job seems to keep you busy, it looks like it's an enjoyable one. So, even if you have to take work home, you could know you'll enjoy it. These past few days have shown me that you can work with friends on fun projects and get paid for it at the same time.
Friday, September 12, 2014
September 8 - September 10
Monday: 12:55-1:50
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-1:50
This week, we began rolling out laptops for our high school's one to one program. I got to work one-on-one with some students to get their laptops configured with their own personal accounts and worked with other members of the staff to make the process of handing out a few hundred devices as smooth as possible. The first two days of this process were handing out laptops to sophomores who already had experience with the devices. We split into four stations: one to receive and set up the laptop, one to get a power cord, and two for information. I was at the first station, giving out laptops and setting up the accounts for each student. I think I had the most fun job in the process, because my job got interesting. When configuring the laptops, there were occasional network, domain, and login issues that we had to troubleshoot on the spot. So, I got to learn a little about the network of our school, and some tricks for Windows 8 connection issues within the school. After the last period designated for laptop pick-ups, we had to condense the devices that weren't picked up, wheel all of the carts back to the storage room, and set up for the next day of pick-ups by creating tickets to be sent out and making them distinguishable from the previous day's.
Tuesday: 12:55-2:30
Wednesday: 12:25-1:50
This week, we began rolling out laptops for our high school's one to one program. I got to work one-on-one with some students to get their laptops configured with their own personal accounts and worked with other members of the staff to make the process of handing out a few hundred devices as smooth as possible. The first two days of this process were handing out laptops to sophomores who already had experience with the devices. We split into four stations: one to receive and set up the laptop, one to get a power cord, and two for information. I was at the first station, giving out laptops and setting up the accounts for each student. I think I had the most fun job in the process, because my job got interesting. When configuring the laptops, there were occasional network, domain, and login issues that we had to troubleshoot on the spot. So, I got to learn a little about the network of our school, and some tricks for Windows 8 connection issues within the school. After the last period designated for laptop pick-ups, we had to condense the devices that weren't picked up, wheel all of the carts back to the storage room, and set up for the next day of pick-ups by creating tickets to be sent out and making them distinguishable from the previous day's.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
September 4th - September 5th
Thursday the 4th - 12:55-2:30
Friday the 5th - 12:24-1:50
On Thursday, my mentor and I began setting up for the rest of my internship. We started an outline for online coursework and reading so I could continue learning at home or on days I could not be at my internship. We also planned areas that I would like to focus on during the year, like futuring, networking, data, leadership, and app programming. Along with this, we discussed the future of my high school's programming club and other opportunities I could have to get more experience in the field. I am the treasurer of the programming club, Byte Club, and therefore help to communicate ideas and expectations between administration, like my mentor, and the rest of the club. Additionally, we spent some time discussing the difference between jobs in the field.
My mentor had a meeting on Friday, so I had time to reflect and get started on some of the things we had set up online. I began thinking about and answering some of the questions online, and also got to start reading a book that was lent to me on futuring. It's called "The Design of Future Things" by Donald A. Norman.
This week has been really exciting and eye opening for me. Even on the first few days, I got to have a taste of what working in the computer science field is really like and I am ready to do more. There always seem to be new things to figure out and new problems to solve no matter where you turn, so there is never a dull moment. It also seems to be more of an adventure than a job, even though you are paid to do it. The more I get to see of computer science, the more I grow to like it. This week has really helped me to get a feel for how diverse even one job can be and how fun working can be. I feel a lot more confident in the direction I'm heading, now, and I'm ecstatic to continue learning about where I can go from where I am.
Friday the 5th - 12:24-1:50
On Thursday, my mentor and I began setting up for the rest of my internship. We started an outline for online coursework and reading so I could continue learning at home or on days I could not be at my internship. We also planned areas that I would like to focus on during the year, like futuring, networking, data, leadership, and app programming. Along with this, we discussed the future of my high school's programming club and other opportunities I could have to get more experience in the field. I am the treasurer of the programming club, Byte Club, and therefore help to communicate ideas and expectations between administration, like my mentor, and the rest of the club. Additionally, we spent some time discussing the difference between jobs in the field.
My mentor had a meeting on Friday, so I had time to reflect and get started on some of the things we had set up online. I began thinking about and answering some of the questions online, and also got to start reading a book that was lent to me on futuring. It's called "The Design of Future Things" by Donald A. Norman.
This week has been really exciting and eye opening for me. Even on the first few days, I got to have a taste of what working in the computer science field is really like and I am ready to do more. There always seem to be new things to figure out and new problems to solve no matter where you turn, so there is never a dull moment. It also seems to be more of an adventure than a job, even though you are paid to do it. The more I get to see of computer science, the more I grow to like it. This week has really helped me to get a feel for how diverse even one job can be and how fun working can be. I feel a lot more confident in the direction I'm heading, now, and I'm ecstatic to continue learning about where I can go from where I am.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
September 2nd - September 3rd
Tuesday the 2nd- 1:00-2:30
Wednesday the 3rd 12:25-1:50
On my first day as an intern, I got to help set up Android tablets for our elementary schools. The tablets had to be configured to run Google Play for Education, and we had to set up security so that the users (kindergarteners) would not be able to change important settings or download unnecessary apps. We also wanted to ensure that teachers would be able to whitelist apps that could be pushed to all of the tablets in their class without having to download each manually. During the time I got to work with the tablets, we were able to figure out how to activate each tablet to use Google Play for Education, how to share settings between tablets and save time by bumping them, and how to manage devices, classes, and whitelisted apps via Google's provided interface.
The next day, I got my school issued laptop. The majority of my time interning on Wednesday was devoted to setting the laptop up and discovering difficulties that future users of similar laptops would face. We spent time brainstorming ideas for instructions that would be given out with the laptops when they are distributed, and recorded some common problems that might occur during regular use of the laptops so that future problems could be avoided. We also took note of ways that high school kids could get into trouble with some of the features still available to them on the laptops so that these features could be blocked if possible and could be kept track of if not.
Wednesday the 3rd 12:25-1:50
On my first day as an intern, I got to help set up Android tablets for our elementary schools. The tablets had to be configured to run Google Play for Education, and we had to set up security so that the users (kindergarteners) would not be able to change important settings or download unnecessary apps. We also wanted to ensure that teachers would be able to whitelist apps that could be pushed to all of the tablets in their class without having to download each manually. During the time I got to work with the tablets, we were able to figure out how to activate each tablet to use Google Play for Education, how to share settings between tablets and save time by bumping them, and how to manage devices, classes, and whitelisted apps via Google's provided interface.
The next day, I got my school issued laptop. The majority of my time interning on Wednesday was devoted to setting the laptop up and discovering difficulties that future users of similar laptops would face. We spent time brainstorming ideas for instructions that would be given out with the laptops when they are distributed, and recorded some common problems that might occur during regular use of the laptops so that future problems could be avoided. We also took note of ways that high school kids could get into trouble with some of the features still available to them on the laptops so that these features could be blocked if possible and could be kept track of if not.
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