CST 300 Week 2

CST 300 Week 2

Part 1: Review and Reflect Learning Strategy

The top 3 areas that I am good at with regards to studying are making a schedule and adhering to it, outlining reading material with a highlighter, and the "memory dump" technique. Working in a client environment in banking, I constantly am making schedules on my work calendar. Transfering this strategy to my studies has come easily. Using a highlighter instead of underlining visually makes the topics that you need to re-read or concentrate more on more appealing. When taking tests I have always used the "memory dump" technique. I did not know there was an actual term for this strategy.

The top 3 areas that I am weak in are organinzing references before starting to write, where to keep notes, and reciting after reading sessions. When collecting references for my industry analysis paper in this class, the online sources were randomly placed in my favorites folder and the books were laid out on my desk. Had I had a more organized approach to this, the process of writing the paper would have been more efficient. Also I have been found to keep notes in places other than the notebook they belong in. This can lead to disorganization and loss of efficiency in finding the notes. Also I have never really thought about reciting after reading. I will try to employ this strategy in my future study session.

Part 2: Preview Time Management Skills

Part 3: Project Management Basics

A project is a temporary endeavor that may create a unique item and has a completion. Project management is effectively planning a project from inception to completion. Some effective tools for creating an efficient project managment schedule are creating a hierarchical structure chart and gannt chart. A hierarchical structure chart can organize the scope of a project as a visual representation of the project making it easier for team members to understand why a particular piece of a project is necessary to the entire project completion. A gannt chart can show whether a project is being managed effectively or may need some guidance to manage it better.

Part 4: Check Out Previous Capstones

Steebly

This project was an application that allows its user to develop their programming project on multiple devices and collaborate among team members. User's can access, edit, and compile their code on pc's, android devices and other platforms. It supporst multiple languages. The project and idea of the project seemed well done. The presentation was also thorough and informative. Given the scope of this project, it seems only logical that it can be improved on and tweaked with more time.

Pickup

This project is an application that allows its user's to say they have joined a specific sports pick up game or are available for a game at an athletics court or field. The interface of the project looked good; however, during the presentation the presenter said that there were some bugs still with the application. I thought the presenter did a good job presenting and even used humor to engage the audience. One setback of using humor was he also used it to point out the flaws in his application.  The project can be improved with more testing to sort out the bugs encountered during the presentation.

CERES

This project is an open source management tool for small businesses so that staff can modify, create, and delete inventory, services, and events. The idea of the project seemed well done. As it was tough to see the actual interface I can't comment on the content within the project. The presentation was informative; however, the speakers could have seemed more enthusiastic regarding their project. Not being able to see the interface, I cannot comment on whether the project can be improved.

Week 5 Summary

First, Thomas Friedman's article. I couldn't agree with this statement more. Americans can't just sit back and expect that innovation will just come. We have to actively pursue it. Getting more people education in technology is essential in today's global economy if we wish to stay the leaders in technology.

The capstone video gave some good insight on what to expect for that. Since we are online, I wonder how the presentations will work. Given I haven't written a formal paper in 10 years it was refreshing to catch up on APA format.

The writing assignment for the industry analysis has further strengthened my focus in my ultimate goal of entering software development within the video game industry. I was able to find textbooks in programming specifically for games that will help me on my free time to create a portfolio. I also was able to attain key tips to help me get my foot in the door as well.

I like that we are having 2 peer reviews for our papers. This gives different perspectives to help further our writing skills and create a well thought out analysis. My login for Dashboard did not work for the weekend, and I see that others' logins were disrupted as well. I am glad that the faculty gave an extension for the peer review to accomadate for this.

I was a little bummed that I missed a question on the peer review guidelines quiz. Next time I will read each question more thoroughly and not rush through it.

All in all it was a good week. Catch you on the flip side!