Arram Mandel - M2 Portfolio
Areas of Emphasis:
This module I aimed to create more complex applications and greatly increase my mastery of array prototype methods. I also wanted to deepen my understanding and mastery of object oriented programming. I feel that I have learned how to create larger, more complex applications. I have also greatly increased my proficiency with array prototype methods, particularly when it comes to using dot and bracket notation.
Self Evaluation:
Individual work-3 Group Work and Projects-3 Professional Skills-3 Community Participation-3 Final Assessment-3
Individual Work and Projects:
My individual projects helped increase my understanding. The linked list was a complex structure to me at first but working with it simplified that structure. The sorting suite proved challenging when it came to the recursion in the merge sort and quick sort algorithm, however cracking that code felt like breaking through a mental wall. In the future I would like to increase my psuedo coding capabilities because although I psuedo coded before coding out these projects and it helped, I still feel that I could improve in that area. I will continue breaking down these problems and making them work by starting with the simplest data possible and working more towards more complexity.
Study Habits:
I could have focused on studying the sorting suite more. I understand how the algorithms work but I am not at the level where I can do them in my sleep. I consistently studied the array prototypes throughout the module and it was successful. Mastering a concept a little at a time proved beneficial for me similar to the first module. Giving the knowledge time to marinate churned positive results. I took more agency over my studying this module because we did not have a project constantly and I had to consider how best to use that time. While breaks are important, whenever down time occurs I need to think about what I need to improve upon and spend that time studying it.
Sorting Suite:
Outcome-Pass
Sorting suite was good practice with recursion and writing more complex functions. I felt that the most challenging part was completing the merge sort algorithm which involved calling itself recursively twice as arguments within a higher order function. I found that weatherly and game time were more enjoyable to work on because of the creation component. Still it increased my understand of core programming concepts and helped my thought process. This understanding will prove useful in future job interviews.
Complete Me:
I enjoyed seeing my tests pass and therefore knowing that my program was working the way I desired. The suggest method was very challenging and structurally complex, however I did comprehend it by the end. I felt accomplished once it was finished and I understood it, however I enjoyed the creativity of game time and weatherly a little more. It did support my goal of creating more complex applications so in that way it aided my development. Having an understanding of that structure will be useful in future jobs.
Group Work and Projects:
My group projects greatly expanded my knowledge. Gametime was a fulfilling opportunity to gain proficiency with ES6 classes and inheritance. Weathrly was a worthy introduction to React as well as making fetch calls and working with the returned data. Through these two projects I also practiced working with more complex file structures and keeping them organized. These were the more complex projects I was looking to make in this module. I plan to continue practicing test driven development and putting the right components in the correct folders. This approach will be a change from previous work where we end up writing tests after the fact.
Game Time:
Partner: Chris Boylen Game: Frogger
When working on Game Time I enjoyed seeing the game come together as we added functionality. I especially liked enabling collision detection on the logs. It was incredibly rewarding to play through it once it was finished. I gained a greater understanding of Javascript by working with ES6 classes and inheritance. This project will help me greatly when I have to use object oriented programming in my future career.
Weathrly:
Partner: Marika Ross
For Weathrly I enjoyed practicing using React and getting our various components to render. I also became very enthused when our fetch call became successful after implementing conditional rendering and we could see our components being rendered with live data. The challenging part was properly testing our React methods and components as well as getting our fetch call to work properly. It was this added complexity that I hoped to achieve throughout my experience in module 2. This project was fundamentally useful because I will be working with live data frequently in my future career as well as React most likely.
Professional Development:
- Agile Practices and Leadership
- Feedback II
- Storytelling II
- Feedback III
- Outreach and Networking
In module 1 I was not clear about the purpose of the Storytelling PD, however in Storytelling II when Allison explained that you may be asked to share a similar story in an interview it suddenly made sense to me and I was more motivated to make my story compelling and believable. I was also surprised when they talked about how the purpose of the first few networking meetups is not to ask for a job. In hindsight this approach makes sense because you must establish a relationship along with credibility as a programmer. I honed my feedback skills during this module because I had to have in person conversations with my project partners. I feel better prepared professionally now because although I must practice these skills more, I have a clear picture of what this practice entails.
Gear Up Sessions:
- Empathy and Priviledge
- Getting Better at Difficult Things
- Bio Hacking
I was surprised by how many different areas your cognitive resources encompass. I did not think that working hard on problem solving would impact your ability to choose healthy foods. I believe it can be important to have these conversations because it can lead to new insights or at least encouraged you to think more about various topics. I don't know if I have all the tools to keep having these conversations in the future but I am definitely more set up than I was before.
Community Participation:
I paired many times with students from module 1. I also did a mythical creatures workshop during lunch for module 1. I liked helping the module 1 students to gain a greater understanding. It was rewarding to see their progress. The experience was illuminating at points because it never hurts to go back and review older material.
Final Assessment:
Over the intermission weeks I plan to strengthen my knowledge and implementation of React as well as creating React apps using TDD. Next module I am looking forward to learning about functional programmming because it is an area that I have not yet explored and sounds interesting and important. Over the break I plan to visit my parents and get other aspects of my life organized in preparation for a difficult module. I also plan to start networking so I can have that momentum going well before the end of my time at Turing.