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!

Week Four

After the happy mood regarding last weeks lab, I found myself again frustrated this week.  The biggest problem that occurred this week (in class) was related to downloading the various programs that we need.  It took almost the entire class period to just figure out how to properly download the programs necessary for this weeks assignments, and my lab group didn't get a chance to get anything, requiring a meeting outside of class.  The frustrating part about it, is that it's not anything that we are doing wrong, but is some funny computer glitch or preference that I simply don't yet know about.  When other students are making progress on their programs and we are waiting for someone else to help us figure out the problem, I get reasonably frustrated.

I think this week went really fast as well.  While I have used SQLite before (in SI 502), we only used to Browser, and used the execute function there to add/delete/interact with the database.  I felt like the description of the use of Python and SQLite in class went by really fast, and assumed a lot of background knowledge that I simply don't have. Furthermore, while both the lecture and the book gave enough basic background knowledge, it didn't give enough knowledge to actually complete the lab assignment.  Because we didn't have time to start the lab in class, due to the downloads, we weren't able to ask questions when they arose. I know that you suggest consulting Google, but I didn't even know where to start in my search.  We also didn't know how to ask for help (via e-mail or in person), as we were so lost that we couldn't figure where to begin.

I apologize for an entire post of complaining, but I am very frustrated this week.  Overall, I found this week incredibly frustrating, and that was before even beginning the Homework Assignment.

Week Three

This week, I felt a lot more confident coming into programming.  While I'm still not one hundred percent sure about regular expressions, I feel a lot more comfortable using them, and have actually found them helpful (and time saving), where as before, I thought they were a waste of time because it took me so long to figure out how to properly write one. I'm excited that we are moving into other methods of programming this week (HTTP, JSON, etc) because most of it is new to me.

I also took your advice from last week and wrote out a plan for how I/my group was going to attack the lab, and found that it went much more smoothly when we had decided on a step-by-step plan for how to go about working on it.  We didn't get stuck near as much, and if we did, we could easily brainstorm an alternative way to address the problem that we were attacking in that step, so there were fewer moments where we sat staring at each other, unsure of what to do next.  While I did like the "To-Dos", I think this new method of labs allows for more creativity, which also helps my problem of getting stuck.

I'm looking forward to using this same method for my Homework this weekend, and hope that it to goes smoothly.

Week Two

After two weeks, the overwhelmed feeling began.  I have this method when it comes to programming: I hit it as hard as I can, until I get frustrated and then I walk away. I come back a little while later, and hope that something goes differently, and so far, this method has worked for me.  Once I come back, I try something new, I turn to Professor Google or one of my classmates, and suddenly, it makes sense.  As my specialization isn't one with a large programming background or base, this has served me well, but I'm worried I need a new method of learning this material.  While things make sense eventually, I usually work slower than the majority of my classmates, which is stressful (though it shouldn't be).  At the beginning of the semester, my goals for this class were vague: I just wanted to pass and get my requirements out of the way.  Now they are much more defined.

I want to learn how to learn programming.  I want to walk out of this class feeling confident not only in my programming abilities, but in my ability to learn other programs down the road. I don't know if that will be possible, but I do know that I am going to work to that end. 

Introduction

For my first post, I thought I would take a little time to introduce myself.  I'm Natalie!  I grew up in White Lake, MI, in a household that stressed love of the University of Michigan from birth (My father has two degrees from this great institution).  After graduating from Lakeland High School in 2007, I came to Michigan as an undergrad, where I majored in Anthropology (Focus: Sociocultural and Archaeological) and minored in Museum Studies.  As an undergrad, I worked for the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum as an Educator, took a Field Course in Archaeology at the University of Michigan Biological Station, in Pellston MI, and interned for a summer for Mackinac State Historic Parks (Also known as Fort Mackinac).

After much debate my senior year, I decided that I loved Michigan too much to leave, and consider myself very lucky that the School of Information was here and that I am able to attend!  My specializations are LIS and ARM, and my academic and career interests are varied: I am very interested in the collections side of both of these fields, as well as the Public Programming and Outreach aspects of them as well.  Ideally, I would like to work in a library, archive, or museum.

I have very little experience with programming: I took a Visual Basic class when I was 10, and promptly forgot everything I learned.  Last semester, I took SI 502, and feel fairly competent in Python and am confident that I will be able to figure out assignments in Python.  I'm taking SI 601 not only because it fulfills a research requirement, but because I felt further exposure to Python could only help my future career goals, and because I think the skills I will gain from this class are those that every MSI-holder should have.  I look forward to a challenging and productive semester!