Before this lesson, I understood the basics of coding: inputting instructions for a program to follow. Though, participating in unplugged coding activities has helped me understand the fact that computers only do as they're told. I particularly enjoyed role-playing activities, pretending that I am the program receiving data because I was able to understand the specificity of instructions. Ideas from lecture solidified these claims by relating the disciplines of math and humanities; computers understand a language unique to them. I've decided to continue developing this analogy: coding is the process of learning to translate the desires I think of in English to the computer's spoken language. I especially found this helpful during Rebecca and Adam's Learning and Facilitating Activity. They adapted the unplugged coding concept learned in class by allowing students to be both the coder and the computer. Students first wrote instructions on how to solve their created maze (fulfilling the role of a coder) and attempted to solve another person's maze using these instructions (simulating a computer program).
What struck you during this session?
I liked behaving as a computer to understand its need for precision. Most, if not all, of my post secondary career has relied on my interpretational skills. My first teachable, English, has shown me the importance of viewing texts from different perspectives. Poetry, a medium that I encounter often, has the ability to be read, analyzed, and discussed in many different ways depending on the person reading, their background knowledge, and experiences. It is difficult for textual interpretations to be incorrect, only if the reader misunderstands or relies on insufficient evidence (either not enough or unrelated). Coding is the exact opposite, there is a correct way to code and inputting incorrect data will yield unwanted results.
Dominant emotions evoked:
I thought that the meticulous process of coding would frustrate me entirely but its interesting in a different way. I love puzzles (the traditional kind, sudoku, nonogram, etc.,). Needing to find a particular solution feels like a game, a challenge that I must overcome. Coding is just another type of puzzle. I'm challenging myself to think like a computer program and solve problems that arise because of my lack attention to detail (momentary lapses in attentiveness). Yes, there have been instances where I get frustrated by my inability to create all that my imagination seeks but this fuels me to continue trying different combinations to achieve my goals.
This happened during lecture eight when students were given an hour to play with scratch.mit.edu. I wanted to include a restart function that would change the positioning of everything in the room, returning to its starting position. I realized the program cannot know where I want everything to be without being directed. I used the "when _ key is pressed…" function to set my sprite into a position (x=18, y=-67). This challenge taught me the level of specificity I must use while playing with this program.
One of my hobbies heavily relates to the concept of unplugged coding. When crocheting, I often read patterns. Some combinations of stitches are written similarly to others but mistaking one for another will yield very different results. I have included a video of an example: in this video I show the difference between "2 HDC (half double crochet) in next stitch" and "HDC in next 2 stitches." The only differences in these two phrases are the placement of the number and the indication of how many stitches will be used. These differences complete change the anatomy of the project.
Pattern writers will often ask for volunteers to test their patterns. Testers find inconsistencies in patterns and instructions that are unclear. The relationship between makers and testers is similar to coders and programs. Pattern makers are the coders, those who write instructions, while testers are the programs, indicating when an issue arises.
What actions might you want to pursue further?
I need to understand my biases that prohibit me from completing instructions as written. If I get confused while reading a crochet pattern I assume the pattern writer has written the wrong instruction. I do what I think is intended and later find out that the pattern is written correctly, I just had no fate in it. I need to be more analytical.
Arts and math are said to work different parts of one's brain. I need to practice, exercise the math part I've been neglecting. Frustration from misunderstandings displays a need for more practice.
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