SI 618, Week 5

This week's class has gone fairly well.  The last assignment gave our group a lot of trouble, but after a lot of trial and error, we finally managed to get it to work.  Unfortunately, the largest homework assignment came at a very busy time in the semester for all of us, and since it was unexpected, we had to do some rearranging to make it work.  Annoying though it was, it was understandable why it had to happen this way, and I appreciate that we won't have a homework due on the last week of class.

SI 618, Week 4

While I appreciate the change-up in lecture this week, I found it a little disrupting to approach the homework stop-and-go style.  We would be making progress, or on a roll in the middle of attempting something, and we would be stopped so we could go back to lecture.

I also found myself feeling time-stress, which I'm not used to in this class.  Usually, I'm ok knowing other students work faster than my group does, but when we were on number 2, as you begin to explain number 11, we felt the time crunch, and it lead to a little argument in-group about how slow we were going, which slowed us down even more.

I think this kind of class set-up works well when everyone is working on the same place: you explain Numbers 1-3, everyone does 1-3, and then everyone moves on as a collective.  If everyone is NOT on the same pace (like our class), then I think it makes more sense to give the entire assignment at the beginning, and  then allow students to work at their own pace, so there is not any of this kind of time-stress, and it doesn't make any students feel like they are being ignored or glossed over because of the pace at which they work.

Thank you!

SI 618, Week 3

This week seems to be going very well again!  While there were frustrations in class about the data being "non-pretty",  once that problem was solved, things have been going much more smoothly.

I'm finding that I very much enjoy using R as opposed to ManyEyes or the other programs we worked with last semester.  While I find myself much more frustrated with this program, I find the end result much more gratifying, and I appreciate the flexibility provided by ggplot.

SI 618, Week 2

Again, I don't have much to say about this week.  I've found that things so far seem to be much easier than last semester, which I think is a result of the ability to rely on resources that I know are credible (the book and the tutorials you have made available thus far).  I feel more confident when I am working on assignments, and feel generally good so far.

My only question comes from this week's assignment: the tutorial was for a box and whisker plot, but the data for our assignment didn't seem suited for that kind of plot.  There seemed to be a little disconnect, but I am overall glad that we were introduced to the various kinds of graphics that can be created using ggplot/qplot.

SI 618, Week 1

Even though I was continuously worried last semester, I was even more worried this semester: I have no experience with R at all, and I was sure I would be lost and would need to spend a lot of time to understand this class.  However, I have pleasantly surprised so far.  I appreciate that we have access to a book this semester, as it gives me a concrete place to turn when I am confused by something in the assignment, and allows me to feel prepared when I come in to class.

I also appreciate the new lab/hw set-up.  My group never finished a lab in class all of last semester, so we always felt like we had 2 homework assignments.  This new set-up makes us feel more confident about the lab work, and allows us to feel like we have more time and energy to focus on the labwork, which can only be beneficial.  Thank you!

Week Six

This week, my focus was not on the lab or the homework, but rather on the project.  I'm really enjoying the group work in this class, as I think we work together really well, and we all have different strengths that can be drawn during this process.

I do have one problem with our homework, however.  One of our group members set up a Google API for our whole group to use during our project.  When I log into Google with my email, the API key I receive is the same as the one we used for our project.  However, when I try to use it for our homework, it seems not to work.  All I have done so far is to take the sample code from the Google API tutorial, add my key, and change the lat/lon from Sydney Australia to Duck, NC.  When I try to run this program, I get an error stating that the key I am using isn't authorized to do that.

I guess my question is: is there a way that I can change my Google API key, without screwing up the keys we use for our project?

Thanks!

Week Five

This week, I really feel like things are back on track. The Lab/Homework combination assignment is not only clear and easy to work with, but I have so far found it enjoyable and interesting.  It's been a good week overall, and, I honestly have nothing to say.  Our group is working well, assignments are going well, and class went well. Thanks for a great week!