I believe I acquired basic programming skills throughout the entirety of ITM352. I've acquired some skills by learning how to use a programming language like JavaScript. We used JavaScript heavily throughout the course to aid us in things like web development. I enjoyed learning about the fundamentals of web development like how to structure the content and style a web page through HTML forms and CSS. I did not have any programming skills prior to taking this course, but after this semester I feel a bit more confident in my programming abilities and feel I could apply the skills i've inherited to future courses or for my own IT needs.
Understanding why MIS people need basic programming skills and knowledge is to understand how very crucial these skills are for things like conveniency, and efficiency in your job. Working on the SmartPhone Products w/ Varaibles WOD, showed me how to eliminate hard-coding and use variables to achieve the same goal. This WOD was one strategy among many of showing me how I can do the same exact task in an easier, time efficient way. Knowledge in basic programming could aid an MIS person while working on things like data management, troubleshooting, and security, and overall make their jobs a bit easier.
Assignment 1 was the most difficult hands-on experience in developing software applications I had. Professor Port had provided us with a template to get started with assignment 1, which at first, I thought was super helpful until I realized how heavily I had to modify it to fit the requirements. I overthought a lot of things, and was even letting the assignment get the best of me at some points. I think validating a purchase based on the 3 given requirements was what I had struggled with the most. Despite this project being so difficult, I received a 4.2 out of 4, which was such a shock to me because I was not too confident in what I had turned in, but I prevailed.
One MIS problem I had experienced first-hand was figuring out how to enhance the user experience on assignments 1 and 2. The template we were given to start off assignment 1, I thought it was good at first, and from there I wasn't entirely sure what really needed to be fixed or changed. I had the same dilemma during assignment 2. However, after chipping away and working at it for so long, I began to realize how much actually needed to be changed to better cater to the user (ie data validation, good UI), and how awful the template was. This taught me a lesson of actually taking the time to understand a problem even though it may not present itself, which happens A LOT in programming. I've also learned that PATIENCE is the solution to many MIS problems.
We experienced understanding first-hand project management and software development issues through working on the assignments. Both assignments required us to effectively complete several tasks and address any problems we may have ran into along the way. I did not get to work in a team this semester, but I did have many of my classmates to lean on in times of need which I am grateful for. However, I do wonder if working in teams was a requirement this semester, how that would have aided or hindered this experience.
I do think I have much more confidence to gain when it comes to addressing MIS problems. However, I won't discredit myself because I've only just started my MIS journey. I think assignment 2 was a big step at gaining my confidence because instead of running to ChatGPT or the TA's for help, I would attempt to figure the issues I encountered on my own, first. That was a surprise to me, because I would have never thought I would be able to understand and fix problems in programming without having to use help from a 2nd or 3rd party. There is much more room for improvement I'm sure!
The professional portfolio was a great way for me to gauge and track my progress throughout the semester. I believe having a platform to write about our experiences was helpful for me since I could always refer back to it and understand the mistakes and solutions I've encountered before in previous assignments, and have a better grasp of what and what not to do for future assignments. I thought it was also a nice way of being able to follow my classmates journeys and feeling relieved knowing that I wasn't the only one having a tough time.
The WODs were exercises (quite literally), that were helpful in applying what I was learning in the labs and lectures. The WODs are what I will miss least from this class, mostly do to the fact of how time consuming they were. HOWEVER, I did find them extremely essential for my learning. The WODs required so much repetition, and I timed out MANY times, but in light of all that, you have it embedded in your head! All that repetition made it a bit easier for me to reach Rx time on almost every WOD I turned in.
I do think the quizzes were somewhat helpful in preparing me for the labs. I felt that in some quizzes, the questions we'd be asked wouldn't really supplement what we covered in the labs. I also think having them based upon several readings was rough, but a good way of making sure that we read all the material!
The labs were a method to apply what we had learned from the readings and screencasts. I do feel that the labs went over some of the tedious things and issues we will encounter in MIS. It also taught me how cruical it is to actually READ before doing things & being patient. A lot of the time in these labs, I would jump to doing something and wonder why it wasn't working and would try and do everything but RTFM! and then feel really dumb after finding that the readings or screencast address whatever issues I was encountering. So, yes! Read very carefully and be patient!
The essays were a nice way to voice my experiences on the different assignments. This portion of the coursework was probably the easiest for me because I'm just putting my thoughts down! As I mentioned before, reading my classmates blogs were also helpful because you could gain a better idea of where the class understanding is and where everyone is on their programming journey. Through these essays, I learned that reflection is a beautiful thing!
Assignment 1 and 2 taught me how the very basics of how to set up an e-commerce store. In assignment 1, I think my biggest issue besides my IR, was the CSS! The CSS was the last thing I had finished for assignment 1. I couldn't really figure out how to align all my products correctly with their titles, prices and input boxes. There were huge gaps between all of them, which I believed I fixed through padding. Simple mistake right?! However, CSS for assignment 2 went much more smoothly since I had a considerable amount of practice of trying to make things cute. In assignment 2, I learned how to implement a login and registration page and how to carry query strings over different web pages. I think this assignment taught me how delicate the inner workings of an e-store are! I felt like if I had made one small mistake, all my errors would stop displaying, or my quantities would stop transferring over. I had to figure out a way to do everything separately, which was so time consuming...BUT it also taught me time management because I definitely should have started sooner to be prepared for something like that..So I guess it also taught me self-awareness in a sense as well?
I think many of the bones I had to pick were with loops and whatever involved math! ); Math is not my strongest suit, I was a bit intimidated by adding numbers into this, but a lot of it was actually so simple. Can you tell I'm an overthinker yet? Also, I just could not figure out loops for the life of me. I still can't explain them to someone confidently, but I hope to one day overcome that! Another challenge of mine was completing the WODs. I do feel they were essential, but they were so time consuming and there were some that I just took my losses with. Invoice3 was definitely a doozy for me! The Rx time being >30 minutes was crazy. I had already DNF'd probably 3 times until I gave up. Invoice3 was probably one of the bigger challenges I faced in this class!
As I mentioned, I am an overthinker. I feel that I had to to remind myself that I am: overthinking things greatly, to RTFM, and that help is available for me when I need it. Once I started to get a better grip on these values, I felt less stressed out and confused... at least for the last half of the semester.
I think the highlight of this course was the grade I got on assignment 1! Assignment 1 was the hardest thing I had encountered this semester! For a short period of time, I did not know if I was even gonna be able to complete it! I had a lot of help from Madden and Lui (shoutout to them!) I ended up receiving an A which was super exciting! It was funny because after my application was deployed, I was sending all my friends and family the link so they could try it out! I was so geeked about assignment 1 even though it gave me my toughest battles this semester!
In the syntactic level, we focused a lot on formatting code and creating HTML forms and styling them through CSS, and other basics to start us off with a basic foundation of programming. Looking back at it, the things we were learning here, seemed harder in the moment, but is almost second nature now because of how much we used it throughout this course. This was maybe the easiest level. Algorithmic was probably the most difficult for me. As I mentioned, I still have a bit of an issue understanding loops & I still get a bit tripped up on functions and when to use the different statements. Around this level was where I had a harder time with the WODs too. I would still consider this one of my weak points, but I am a bit more keen to it now compared to when we first touched on the subject. The application level allowed us to take what we had learned throughout the course and apply it to creating our stores! This was also a pretty difficult area, but I enjoyed being able to recall what we had learned earlier in the semester and apply it to something bigger.
I feel that the hands-on experience developing our e-stores was like a simulation of applying our knowledge to real work problems that we may encounter throughout our MIS careers. Majority of the time we worked on these assignments alone, which was beneficial for our understanding of utilizing our resources because we won't always have a TA or a professor to rely on for help. This experience was a great way to create independency in your work and trusting your own thoughts and processes.
To start, I used ChatGPT quite a bit throughout this course. I thought it was pretty useful for doing things like telling me what a piece of codes function is, and pick out any errors in my code that I may have missed. I think It was also somewhat useful for completing smaller tasks on the labs or WODs. At first, I tried to solve things without the need for AI. However, I do feel that I may not have been able to fully comprehend the material from this course that well if it weren't for the use of it.
Now we are not strangers of just how much ChatGPT...chats. I feel like it gives out a lot of information that you don't necessarily need. Or it would explain it in an even more complex manner and I would have to ask it to repeat that in layman's terms..HA! It also is not very helpful for giving you a code that will actually work. I would be lying if I said I didn't give it an entire problem to solve off one of the labs. I would also be lying if I said it would actually solve it! It's almost like it was forcing me to just RTFM.
I do think ITM352 was made to be taken first on purpose since I believe it sets a good foundation for 353, 354 and so on. I do believe I will be able to recall some of what I learned during this class if I encounter issues or situations that I know we have addressed before. This would also help in terms of my professional endeavors as I can state in my resume what programs and languages I am familiar with.
I don't think I will have to require much coding knowledge for the field I am trying to pursue, but it is beneficial to understand the basics of it at the least. However, learning of and addressing several security issues will greatly aid me in respective field.
While this course was tough, I enjoyed how rewarding it felt to get things done! Imagine working relentlessly on a project or assignment and the relief that comes when you've finished. It's even more rewarding when your grade reflects the amount of effort you've put in! This class taught me a few key things, like patience, managing my time better, and slowing myself down to create quality work because programming is a process. I can take these lessons and continue to apply them through the rest of my ITM courses and eventually to my career. Although I've grumbled, I did enjoy how challenging this class was because I leave feeling like I've actually learned something.