What did you do this past week?

It’s the beginning of the semester so I’ve been focused on getting settled into my new schedule. Outside of class I spent some time learning basics of the C++. Having a good amount of experience in Java, this process has not been too difficult. I also set up Docker, but right now I still haven’t decided whether I will use Docker or ssh into the lab machines.

What’s in your way?

Since only a week of the semester has gone by, there isn’t much in my way right now. The only thing that I would consider in my way right now would be this class’s quizzes. The prospect of a daily quiz is intimidating. However, I understand how quizzes are useful and they’ll be something I have to get used to. Also, blogging is something that I am not familiar with. Answering these questions took me a long time, but I am sure it will get easier as the semester progresses.

What will you do next week?

I plan on getting started on the first project as soon as possible. After looking at the “Workflow” portion on the class homepage, it is evident that I need to start early. Also for the textbook readings, I am going to make sure I do the reading throughout the week. Doing the ~40 pages of reading all at once was not fun. To prepare for the next quiz I am going to review my class notes as well as the assigned readings. For the readings, I am going to take notes so that I can review them right before quizzes.

What’s my experience of the class?

The lectures have been interesting so far. I have always enjoyed the traditional lecture style classes, but the inquiry-based lessons are more engaging. The pacing of the class lectures has been great. I also like that class notes are created during the class. Having the lesson’s content typed out engages me far more than a static PowerPoint.

What’s my pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

My pick-of-the-week would be this webpage about “Top 10 algorithms in Interview Questions”. It provides in-depth explanations and examples for all the common algorithms. Another great thing is that the solutions can be viewed in C++. This has been useful for me when learning C++ for this course.