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As the new semester started in September my progress on codecademy lost its pace greatly. What is more, codecademy gave me very upsetting news:

As they were going to make this change on September 26th, they expected me to complete my course until then. What are the odds of me (who found herself in midst of academic intensity) doing that? Therefore, I must say that unfortunately all my progress on coding has been interrupted, or let's say delayed until further notice. (I am a huge fan of codecademy, I totally appreciate their efforts and by no means I blame them for my laziness. I will try the new version and probably post on my experience comparatively soon enough)

Well, losing one side-project does not mean I will sit still. I love to juggle different tasks and activities. Of course, I was going to end up jumping in a new initiative. With that character (flaw) I have taken on a new responsibility for this year (as if I did not already have a lot on my plate) and I have decided to finally initiate a dream project I've had ever since I started working at my current university.

I have always been intrigued to performing arts: theater, dance, music and I have always been in such enterprises. That's why it had always been on my mind to found a drama club. The year I started my job at his university (2013) is the same year when the film version of one of my all time favorite novels: "The Great Gatsby" by dear Scott Fitzgerald. I could not keep but think how magical it would be to put this extraordinary work as a play on stage. And finally I am doing it, so say hello to my new initiative.

I am well aware that it will be an overwhelming experience, though. For that very reason, I convinced to of my colleagues (the very ones I had convinced for coding, either they are susceptible or I am mesmerizingly convincing) and we have officially started to work on our Drama club.

I will be posting more on what we have done so far. Try to keep up!



Hell yeah! I am a drama queen, but in the nicest way possible :)

S.O.S: Lost focus

It has been some time since I last wrote and my blog on my code-learning process which actually reveals my laziness and lack of progress. I have never been an ideal self-learner as I need some external drive that guide me through my studies or simply push me in. 

Self-regulated learning is very challenging in terms of motivation and organization. It is quite easy to procrastinate since there is no one to monitor you and it is really easy to get lost in what you have to study. That's why, with an attempt to go back into my intense coding studies I tried to find myself a source of motivation, something that would trigger me; so I googled :). I searched for "how to reinforce motivation", "motivation in self-learning", "motivation in learning coding" and many others. I have come across with a great many articles; here is the one I loved pointing out to every single question I had in my mind (but could not name) :"8 barriers to overcome when learning tocode" (I had already hit 6 barriers out of 8 so yes speak to me baby). It was perfectly clear for this newbie code-learner. Here are the two barriers I identified myself mostly with:

3. You can’t apply the theory you learn and blame yourself

5. You don’t know how to approach a task

In the end of my motivation quest, I have come up with two major problems that hinder my coding:

1. I do not have a project that would motivate me in terms of production

2. I could not learn the theory well. 

For the former issue, I believe I have some more steps ahead so that I can transform my coding experience into a project. So, let that hang on there a little longer. The latter issue, however; seemed to me much more important and urgent as it was clearly sabotaging my learning.  

So I decided to improve my learning; if you remember from my earlier posts on coding I was using two different websites (codecademy and datacamp). Inevitably, I found myself sticking to one of them (and the Oscar goes to codecademy!!) but despite its easy instructions and user-friendly system the fact that it could not provide me with the contextual basis worried me. As I thought this might be the core problem why I cannot have a solid understanding of coding and why everything seems to be floating in the air. So, I decided to get some supplementary aid; and I found some MIT lectures online. As I checked the online database one of them, Introduction to Computer Science and Programming, attracted me most as it claimed to have focused on Python and I said why not. 
As I checked the info on the course, I saw that the subject claims to be aimed at students with little or no programming experience (that's me, that's me! hello!). It is made up of lecture videos by Professor John Guttag (received a bachelor's degree in English from Brown University in 1971, and a master's degree in applied mathematics from Brown in 1972; BA in humanities?! He can actually understand me!), you can also access a bunch of other resources (handouts, slides, code files and even unit quizzes for self-assessment). From what I have seen so far, is designed to provide students with an understanding of computation in solving problems. 
My first impression on the Professor; I really like him, I would like to be there in his class. I loved his style both in lecturing and forming his lectures and assessment procedures. 

Let's see if this step will take me any further in my studies :). 

BONUS:  Someone more advanced (already producing something real) in coding might enjoy this  article for a motivation boost: "Bored Programming? How to Stay Motivated.

Weekend bonus: HCF

It has come to my notice that as I was writing about my motivation for learning how to code one slipped off my mind. A month ago, I have stumbled upon Halt and Catch Fire totally by chance (it was love at first sight). I have always known I had a nerdy nature, and with one episode, all the nerdiness was prompted to run through my veins and I started consuming them all; one after another.

Set in the early 1980s in Dallas, Halt and Catch Fire (apparently named after an early computer command for a restart) is a very engaging tv-series with a focus on the early days of computer industry.

Telling a fictional narrative on how an entrepreneur sought a role in the PC wars, Halt and Catch Fire employs a very Mad Men-like plot (yet far better with all the technical milestones and the ambiguity of 80s). Convinced by Joe (the mysterious but highly charming ex IBM worker), Gordon Clark (a dull engineer who has failed many times and projects a very depressive image) tries to reverse-engineer an IBM PC. With the participation of Cameron (a rebellious programming genius with a marginal nature) the battle starts.

I must confess the existence of so many technical things that I couldn't just comprehend but I believe to have fallen in love with the magical simplicity of coding and the sparkling enthusiasm it had meant.

Living in an age where we just consume without looking into further details, this story of Genesis thrilled me genuinely.

motivation(n) /məʊtɪˈveɪʃ(ə)n/

As I am moving on with my coding work I want to get back to the core of my motivation. In an earlier post, I have mentioned the famous initiative Computer Science for all and how Obama encouraged young people to code by saying "Don't just play on your phone- program it". I may not be that ambitious but certainly I have my reasons and own motivation to jump into this world.

First of all, there is nothing like a good challenge. I have always been one of those romantics trying to revitalize the Renaissance-man (WOMAN) idea, that's the very reason behind my constant urge to learn something, to have an idea about something. The fact that I earn my living by teaching does not ease the situation but multiply it as then comes the "I need to be a role model" thing, more than that I have always had a great respect for my teachers who had great wisdom and intellectual capacity (obviously) and I like having the same effect on my students (It had made great sense to me when I learned about the concept "expert authority").

I must admit that another reason that triggers me into coding is fear or let's say anxiety. The anxiety that I will fall behind the present. The anxiety that I will not be able to speak the same language with my students (also my boyfriend).

If I manage to combine my present skills and expertise with coding and finally be able to create something that would be a fortunate stroke of serendipity but not something I am aiming for at this very moment. An alternative career expectation; therefore, is out of the picture (but you never know).

So, what I mean by all this is that the essence of my motivation is primarily the pure hunger for knowledge and curiosity. Let's see if I will be able to make something more out of it! :)

Getting into the world of coding

So this is what I have done so far:
Apparently, CS is a big hell of an ocean for me (see, I have already started using the acronyms: like a boss!). I spent a long time on Google trying to come up with my path into coding and I though that it would be a good idea to choose a programming language first. I must give credit to this post: https://www.codementor.io/learn-programming/beginner-programming-language-job-salary-community as it helped me greatly and convinced me to start with Python! (it was a clever choice to put this blog entry as a supporting evidence: http://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/176450-python-is-now-the-most-popular-introductory-teaching-language-at-top-us-universities/fulltext Talk to me with facts baby!)

Currently I am working at both courses provided by 2 different websites.
https://www.codecademy.com
It is pretty easy to use. Exercises are not always meaningful as it aims for you to acquire the mechanical skill first (I assume). Hints and feedbacks are useful but the correct answer is not given so it is: "try! try harder!"
https://www.datacamp.com/courses?learn=python_programming
The video lectures are purposefully arranged to provide a contextual basis. The fact that you lose experience points when you ask for hints or the correct answer is kind of challenging (might be de/motivating for some users)

What I have learned from my studies so far is that I SUCK AT MATH! (well, it's no news Earth! It feels so much like high school, damn!)

I proudly present my current status as a newbie coder:

Computer Science for all? Even for me?

I was pretty inspired when I heard Barack Obama announced the new initiative "Computer Science for all" (in case you are like "what the hell is she talking about" here is the link with details of the programme: https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/01/30/computer-science-all). I should mention here that I am not an American citizen and actually I live quite far from the continent and I am aware that in a country where we could not manage our kids to learn English as a second languages despite the long years of education (which seem so ideal but not working anyhow) it is pretty impossible to implement such a programme. However, I have to admit that I really admire the mindset.
As a graduate of Humanities with a Literature major, I have to say that I am very (REALLYYY) far from computer science; nevertheless, the idea of learning coding did excite me very much.
I was like "if kids are going to learn this stuff in public schools, I can learn it too!"
So my journey begins.

For a very inspiring Ted Talk on the matter: http://www.ted.com/talks/mitch_resnick_let_s_teach_kids_to_code

Getting my shit back together

After a long time without writing anything on my blog (which gives away my inconsistent and unsustainable nature), I am back!
As years passed since my last blog entry, I have grown up (totally! are you buying this?) I have decided to adopt a new approach and instead of trying to get back at karma I will try to show some progress (hopefully).
This doesn't mean I have been having a disastrous life; I have had good moments bad moments but found a way to keep myself so busy that I wouldn't even have the time to push the pause button and reflect on what I have been doing. So yes.. That's what we will see a lot here, reflection :)
Wish me luck!