CST300 - Week 4

 

Lecture: Week 4 Learning Journal Post

 

This week, I am learning about setting goals and the characteristics of establishing specific goals with a timeline. The module introduces the ETS computer science test; an outline and a test sample are provided. The test is about 18 months from now, allowing time to plan and review other previously learned. 

I am formatting an outline to prepare for the upcoming ethics paper. I will also research the sources and write the formal outline for the argument essay.  

Part One: Set Your Educational Goals

It took me a few years to get transfer-ready to meet the requirements for the CSUMB CS program. My educational goal was partially achieved by accumulating the CS Online prerequisites required for admission. Admission to the program is a reminder that setting academic goals and planning are necessary for success. My educational goal in the CS program is to expand my learning and principles of software engineering and project management. By the end of the two years, I envision myself earning a bachelor's degree in computer science that demonstrates the learning objectives of the CS program. Moreover, the longer-term educational goal is to enroll in a Master's program.

Part Two: Set Your Career Goals

I have been employed in the private sector for years, leading and managing on-premises data centers and cloud solutions. The work experience I gained and obtaining my degree in the related field will help me secure a higher leadership position within the company I work for or another organization. 

Part Three: Take a wild guess of your percentile of the ETS Computer Science test

After viewing the ETS information, the sample of the test, and the content page, I feel that achieving a percentage between 75% and 85% is feasible. The success of a high score on the test is to review key concepts in discrete mathematics, algorithm analysis, programming, database management, and operating systems. Additionally, practice lots of similar questions to master fundamental principles. Although I have only reviewed one sample test of the questions provided, the difficulty level seems reasonable. For the next 18 months before taking the exam, I would attempt to review the material from the previous courses to refresh myself on the subjects. Also, creating a document, 'ETS Test Preparation,' to include notes for each testing category is a good idea. This way, I can review all the outlines effectively before the test. 

Part Four: Keep Up With Your Learning Journal

I am learning about how to structure arguments and claim types. A critical element of an argument is to identify the stakeholders. Another aspect is the control of bias in an argument, as it can be hard to avoid. I finished reading the article Biased Argumentation and Critical Thinking by Vasco Correia. He discusses motivational reasoning and its impact on the arguer and how it leads to committing fallacies. As the author states, it is a difficult concept to avoid and detect because it happens unconsciously. 

There is an activity related to responding to an ethical scenario. The first thing is to justify my response to the ethical dilemma with a claim type. In order to start on the ethical paper, I need to fully understand claim types and how to defend each one. This is going to come in handy in writing the essay. 

OLI Learning: This week in module 4, I am learning how to objectively apply the information about myself and my team members to improve our working relationship. During our weekly team meeting, we shared our findings about each other, putting the information we learned in previous modules to the test. We aimed to analyze each team member's preferences and use these traits to positively impact the group's success. The activity of telling two truths and one lie was fun and interesting, highlighting the importance of diversity in teamwork. I am also learning about different types of work and conflict styles, which is essential for any team to work cohesively. The OLI learning content is well-structured, enabling students to apply the learning immediately with the group. This practice demonstrates the high quality of this CS program education and how it was thought out very well.

 

 

CST300 - Week 3

Lecture: Week 3 Learning Journal Post

Another great week as my learning journey continues. The topic of ethics in the technology field and explore the computer science major curriculum. So far, I am finishing all my assignments on time, but everything is moving so fast. This week is my third in the program, and it is amazing to see faculty, administration, and instructors working to support students.
The assigned activities are highly interactive and engaging, making the learning process very effective. I remind myself that every minute counts toward taking a positive step toward gaining knowledge and learning something new.

Part 1

My quiet place to study is my home office. I can lock my door while working on my assignments or during video conference calls. I have enough office supplies, a printer, a comfortable chair, and a small sofa with a reading light. It is my distraction-free zone to focus that allows me to pay attention to my study.
In my previous blog, it was mentioned that I could take longer time to complete an assignment or study a lecture. Reviewing the tips for effective study shows that I can improve by knowing my learning type. I am definitely not a haptic learner at all; I am more of a visual learner. I do learn more by taking notes, typing my thoughts, summarizing material, solving problems, and doing hands-on programming. The SQ3R is a great method and an effective way to study. I did notice that effectiveness here does not mean saving time but rather studying properly to retain information. While reading the section Skimming Tips, I got an idea to enhance my notes for easier skim through techniques. This will include color coded VIP notes, underline statement, highlighting, and a better use of headings.

Part 2

• What every computer science major should know

In this informative article, the focus is on what a student majoring in computer science should know. The idea of building a portfolio is much more effective than a resume. I am looking into doing this so for the next two years, I can publish my projects on github.

The article is loaded with many tools that I still need to explore. One of these tools is LaTeX, a document preparation tool for scientific and mathematic papers. I have downloaded the tool and watched two YouTube videos to understand how it works. The article also touches on the need for students to understand computer architecture, networking, operating systems, data structure, algorithms, and the theory of computational. The author listed several recommended programming languages that cover various paradigms. The recommendation is to learn more than one language and at least one compiler. The author is advising students to learn the following items while in school: -

•  Get familiar with CL, Unix, and editing files with emac, vim
•  Learn how to evaluate and read large codebases.
•  Work with debugging tools
•  Utilize theorem prover – mathematical logic tools
•  Read more about security engineering
•  Explorer the world of Cryptography - Understanding   Cryptography: A Textbook for Students and Practitioners - here
•  Web Design with CSS, HTML, and JavaScript
•  3D, Graphic and clever designs
•  Grasp the fundamentals of AI and Machine Learning

 

Part 3

• Introduction to Ethics

In module 3, the writing lab, we are learning about ethics. According to the lecture materials, ethics encompasses doing what is right within the standard to benefit society. There are different ethical frameworks, such as ethical relativism, utilitarianism, care ethics, ethical egoism, divine command theory, natural law theory, Kant’s ethics, and virtue ethics. Understanding ethical concepts helps when approaching a problem in the technology field. There are several issues related to computer science in this video

    Examples of Ethical and Social topics and views from stakeholders.

o Technology and Environment: how does manufacturing electronics and waste management impact our environment?

o Erosion of Privacy: opinions on government practices of forcing citizens to share information to identity theft, and information collected about citizens helps with national security.

o The Digital Divide: disadvantages caused by the disparity of communication availability from one area to another.

o Mobile Technology: work flexibility, work-life balance, and data security concerns related to mobile devices.

o Social Media: Opinions about sharing knowledge, platforms serve as enterprise solutions, cyberbullying, and the risk of sharing customer experiences online.

o Health Issues: Health problems caused by excessive computer use.

o Changing Cultures: The benefits of blogging, privacy, criminals caught on video, and capturing life experiences and sharing them with others.

o The Law: Major laws that protect data, access to private and public networks, ideas and intellectual property, licensing, and the Freedom of Information Act.

• School of Computing & Design Policies and Student Support

The document highlights the academic enrollment and grades, communication, and primary student resource policies for the School of Computing & Design. It communicates important details about academic integrity with clear outlines of possible personal choices to avoid at CSUMB. On the last page, the document provides students with resources to help them achieve their educational goals.

• OLI Learning – Module 3

In this module, I learned about identifying work and conflict styles. The self-assessment points to the collaboration preferences and how they relate to our contribution to the team. For example, knowing the type of processor for each team member helps understand how to make participation equal among the team to improve the team performance.

 o Work styles are divided into four groups: Get it Right – task-oriented, Get it Done –                  task-oriented, Get Along – people-oriented, and Get Appreciation – people-oriented.

o Conflict styles are avoiding, forcing, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating.

In conclusion, identifying each member's collaboration preference contributes to the team's success.

 

Part 4

• CSUMB CS Online Code of Integrity

I learned that the Code of Integrity at CSUMB tells us three rules as follows.

o Rule 1: I should not submit any programming assignments with a code that is not mine. In the case of the assignment stating to use an existing code, the source URL for the code must be listed.

o Rule 2: I should not share my code or algorithm details about my solution with others, and I should not ask others for their code.

o Rule 3: When receiving assistance, help, or advice from someone other than a TA or faculty member, I must include a proper citation.

 There are many reasons that make integrity an essential element of the learning process. First, violating this principle diminishes the main objective of obtaining education and knowledge that lasts a lifetime. Academic dishonesty results in incompetence and a lack of qualified individuals. Additionally, academic dishonesty undermines the hard work and dedication of students who participate in the CS Online program. Ultimately, integrity is an ethical issue that reflects an individual's moral principles and commitment to serving society and striving for something greater.

CST300 - Week 2

Lecture: Week 2 Learning Journal Post

Part 1: Review and Reflect Learning Strategy

The Effective Study Skills by Dr. Bob Kizlik is a helpful guide to develop more efficient study habits. The guide is easy to read, providing several practical suggestions on how to improve study skills with respect to time management. After reading and reviewing the document, the three areas I excel in are;

1.      Time allocation: It is important to have a structure and routine to dedicate time for study. The schedule helps me to learn with less stress and to deliver assignments on time.  

2.      Active reading: This is an important factor of saving time especially when time is precious. I like to remind myself that reading alone is not enough to process information. A close reading with critical thinking helps with extracting the purpose of the material.

3.      Taking notes: It is one of my top strengths as I have learned from previous classes that notes become extremely helpful with reviewing. I also find that taking notes hand-on helps with processing and remembering information better.

The other areas I feel it needs more improvement are;

1.      Asking questions: This could be challenging to come up with the right question.

2.      Quality check and revising: While I try to stay on track with the schedule, the negative impact on final reviews and quality checking sometimes is evident. This area requires additional attention.

3.      Time efficiency: Although I have a structure and set schedule for study time, I do feel sometime I am slow at producing results. In other words, I could take longer than expected to study lectures or finalize an assignment. 

Part 2: Preview Time Management Skills

For the past three years, I have spent most of my time studying and working from home, and so far, I have managed my time well. It took quite a long time to adjust my schedule to balance all types of activities comfortably. Since I have been enjoying both work and academic activities, I have found fulfillment in doing both. The daily routine contributes to accomplishing small goals one step at a time; thus, prioritizing tasks becomes intuitive with the experience of success. Additionally, I learned that using Outlook calendar is a powerful tool to arrange my week and invite others to a meeting, and my favorite part is to schedule recurring events. I take smaller breaks to walk or rest before resuming work or study. Additionally, the support I receive from my family plays a tremendous role in building a positive environment and freeing me from doing extra errands and work around the house.

Part 3: Project Management Basics

A project aims to produce a target outcome or a product by planning phases within a specific period and focused scope. The difference between a project and an operation is that the project ends once the desired objective is reached, while the operation is a continuous business practice. The phases of a project are called lifecycles, which include initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and controlling processes, as well as closing. Managing projects is done by a project manager (PM) trained and skilled to close projects successfully. Projects fail due to failure in time management, cost management, scope management, and quality management. To define a project scope, a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) tool is developed to organize and define the deliverables. According to the PMBOK guide, WBS is "a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables." Another essential tool of any project is the Gantt chart. The Gantt chart helps organize the WBS terminal and summary elements. Moreover, the chart displays the schedule of the list of tasks with percentage completion, tasks dependencies, and activities dependencies. PMs widely use these tools to control and manage projects.

 

How to create a WBS using Microsoft Excel Sheet à Click here

Part 4: Check Out Previous Capstones

Reflection on three presentations from the capstone festival.

1- PetRecs

The project is a web application to keep pet records and track a pet's medical and health aspects. The idea is beneficial and could be widely used as a commercial application for veterinarians or pet owners. The presentation shows the potential of the application to support notification and analytics modules and mobile view support. The presenter explained the available functions, the method used to develop the software, and the challenges the team faced so well. 

2- Like A Camera

The project is an interactive educational website built on JS Platform, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Learning about camera settings is a great topic and will attract many people interested in photography; I always thought there had to be a better way to adjust camera settings to capture these lovely, vivid photos. The added feature of translating to a different language is invaluable.

The demo presentation was good. However, I recommend changing the website background and font appearance. Another feature I suggest is taking advantage of the photo simulator by allowing learners to upload an actual photo and test their knowledge. Overall, the presentation is very informative, and the outcome is beneficial.

3- STEMranks

The demo presentation was good. However, I recommend changing the website background and font appearance. Another feature I suggest is taking advantage of the photo simulator by allowing learners to upload an actual photo and test their knowledge. Overall, the presentation is very informative, and the outcome is beneficial.

Although the data is entered manually in this platform application, the STEMranks addresses a deficit for students interested in STEM programs. The presenter conducted the presentation addressing all significant points. However, it is unclear if reviewers must be authenticated to the website or verified before leaving a review. Data authenticity could play a significant role in the accuracy and reputation of the platform. Overall, the product requires more improvement to add advanced search capabilities and reliable data sources with automation.

Part 5: Summarize Your Week on Your Learning Journal

In this module, we are learning about academic writing to refresh the fundamentals that prepare us for the industry analysis paper. I have completed a large portion of my paper already, but I would check the following items:-

ü  Address target audience - avoid technical terms without clear explanation.

ü  Use an inform tone and maintain coherence.

ü  Avoid idioms and cliches..etc.

ü  Double check the APA Reference page

ü  Fix any in-text citations

ü  Adjust 2-3 paragraphs per page

ü  Focus on part II – 2 to 3 pages

ü  Final check on departmental standards and proofreading

·       I received feedback for the industry analysis outline showing two issues. The major area is to describe how the core courses are going to prepare me for this career.

·       Peer Review is part of the upcoming team meeting. The goal is to review the industrial analysis paper for two team members. There are specifics to address besides the academic writing requirements.

·       The Future is Faster than You Think is the book title that Dr. Eric recommended for this module. The shared YouTube video explains the accelerating forces behind computing power, The video discusses the impact of technology on the world and businesses, including the growing availability of capital investments, world of abundance, increased communication, and a well-connected world. These factors suggest that we may be approaching technological singularity.

·       AI and the future of software engineering: The article explains the limitation of AI in software engineering to suggestions of function names, variables, and suggestions of best configurations; however, building more sophisticated systems remains at the hands of engineers.

Open Learning Initiative (OLI)

Module 2 is focused on learning about teammates and identifying team players. I am learning a lot by reviewing OLI modules. The advantage of this tool is that it targets real-life workforce environments directly by addressing the challenges we face at the workplace.

The findings of the Collective Intelligence Research have provided me with valuable information that I can use during job interviews as a manager. For instance, I learned that diverse teams with more women and can demonstrate high social sensitivity with members who contribute equally tend to be more effective. While researching for my industry analysis paper, I discovered that Accenture, the company I was investigating, is seriously committed to inclusion and diversity.

I took the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test and scored about 65%. The article What Google Learned from Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team provided crucial information for building a team.

Listening to Jesse Schell, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was informative. The information provided during Jesse's interview is an excellent tip for recognizing who is a team player and who is not. He pointed out the challenges we face when working with people with different perspectives on solving problems. 

CST300 - Week 1

Module 1: Intro & Lecture

In this module, we are learning about the Computer Science major, CSUMB vision, plagiarism, APA style, and reviewing the industry analysis essay requirements. I must admit that I feel very positive and energetic about this program. However, as expected, the assignments in the first two weeks consist of many small tasks that require some time for reviewing several materials. Regardless, my level of motivation remains high, and I am fully committed to giving it my all.

It is fascinating to learn about the history of California State University Monterey Bay and its establishment by the local community following the closure of the army base Fort Ord. The review of the history and vision was informative and left a positive impression and sense of pride in joining CSUMB. 

There are three quizzes in this module, and I believe all of them were easy to answer after reviewing the weekly material. Part of the first week's assignments is to connect with faculty, instructors, and teammates. Therefore, some assignments are designed for scheduling meetings, creating a video for self-introduction on YouTube (which I have created with unlisted visibility,) and then adding the link to the team roster. Other basic small tasks include uploading a picture to Canvas, updating preferred pronouns, and creating a LinkedIn account.

Module 1: Writing Lab

The module introduces the APA (American Psychological Association) as the writing style used in this class. Additionally, the module covers guidelines for in-text citations, citing from different sources, and formatting the reference page. After reviewing the APA guide, I still find citing a website challenging without an author's name and an available publication date. We are also learning about the types of research sources and reviewing examples of the accepted types for the citation to prepare for the upcoming research paper.

The first paper in this class is an industry analysis research essay. I like how this prompt is the first paper in this program. The benefits of researching and analyzing an industry go beyond this class as a first step to establishing a career, advancing an existing one, or even changing a career entirely. I spent more than the allocated 4 hours researching and connecting ideas, but it was worth the insight I gained by scratching the surface. I am satisfied with the outcome of my outline and hope to receive beneficial feedback in the upcoming modules.

OLI  Learning

This week marks the first assignment related to the Open Learning Initiative (OLI). Unit 1, which includes the pretest, consists of several questions with the intent of thinking about teamwork and collaboration. Module 1 also incorporates a video depicting an intense team meeting, asking to recognize the poor behaviors exhibited by the participants. As a working individual, I cannot stress enough how crucial teamwork is for the success of a business. Next is module 2.