Window Tracer! Happy Holidays! (2010-12-17)

Today in class we worked on the window tracer program. Mr. Arkin initially showed us some variations and examples of the programs. I chose to work on what seemed to be the root, "most basic" program. It was the program with the never ending loop of a character appearing around the edges of the run window.

We had the entire class to work on it. However, since it was a half day, I didn't have enough time to get it to work properly. The homework for the holidays it to finish both program and complete today's blog post.

Hurray for the holidays- and sleep! : )

Small Glitches (2010-12-16)

Today we got more time to work on our bouncing-ball program. I found out that although my program works, there are still some small glitches that I had to fix. I also helped some of my classmates with their programs. Cindy and I sought to fix the illogical aspects of my program.

I also had the chance to "embellish" the program a bit more. The program now allows the user to specify the speed in which the character "moved" and whether or not the user would like the program to stop and restart when the screen is filled with characters.

At the end of class, it was concluded that "animation" is truly just the output of something, clear screen (cls), and output of something else at a high speed. It is the same base concept with film making. After all, that is why they call it "motion pictures". Programming is truly a remarkable however tedious and difficult skill.

The Winter Break is near! I am so excited! I finally get to sleep in and catch up on some reading and extracurriculars! I hope to finish reading The Blue Fairies Book, get at least 10 hours of sleep every night, and catch up on my DECA (business competition) studying.

Today was the last full day of school. The stress is starting to disappear. I started watching The Big Bang Theory even though the show is already on its third season. There is a quote from one of the episodes:

"Raj: I don't like bugs, okay? They freak me out.
Sheldon: Interesting. You're afraid of insects and women. Ladybugs must render you catatonic."

They truly bring a new perspective to sitcom humor.

Duo Blog Post (2010-12-15)

Yesterday I forgot to write a blog post so here is what happened:

I had to leave class early to perform at a Seniors home. So, Mr. Arkin gave me back my unit test from yesterday.

Today when I went to class I realized that I didn't sign the test. I didn't check the daily log, either unfortunately. I will get the notes about parameters and executables from a friend tonight.

It turns out that the class was assigned to create a program that asks for a character from the user, and outputs the character moving around the screen and "bounces" when it hits the edge of the run window.

Mr. Arkin gave us the majority of the time in class to work on the assignment. My goodness, may I say it was a challenge to get the program to work the way I want it to. I first tried writing the program using trial and error and constant mental desk checking. When something didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, I would use the debugger menu option to see why. However, even with that I wasn't able to write a program that met the criteria (hints) that Mr. Arkin revealed on Wikispaces. To restate them: (1) 34 lines long (6 of which were regarding the sound, so in reality 28), (2) one loop.

Then, I tried writing the instructions in English first. It may have been because I was doing it wrong, but I found it even more challenging and complicated. So, I finally tried drawing out what is executed in the run window. It helped me understand what had to be incremented and decremented. Before I was able to finish, class was over.

When I got home, I did some of my French homework. Then, I started working on assignment. My program worked half way, then the pathway of the character (ball) changed and was stuck. Finally, after much struggle, the program was complete using only one loop. Hurrah! And it actually works!

Test Number Two (2010-12-13)

Today we had our second unit test. It was slightly unexpected, but Mr. Arkin did inform us. Although I didn't formally prepare for this test, I felt quite comfortable writing it as I found most of the questions easy.

Before the test, Mr. Arkin asked us if we had any questions. Then, he administered the test.

After the test, we had our introduction to graphics. It seems that animation is truly the usage of the function delay after something has been displayed. Some things still seem quite confusing. I will look through the Turing manual that Mr. Arkin posted on touque.ca tonight since I don't have any homework....

.....other than this blog post, of course.

Final/First Peer Tutoring Group! And.. math? (2010-12-10)

Today was a tutoring day for me. Since I missed two days of peer tutoring, today was my first and final day of peer tutoring. My group went over some concepts such as arrays, functions, and procedures.

I actually found out that I knew more than I thought I did about Turing! I will probably review some other concepts and continue reading tho Turing manual this weekend.

On a side note, I never realized that we have a new student! What a surprise! I left early on Wed before he can introduce himself to us and on Thursday as well. It wasn't until today that I realized there was a new student.

Today after school, as I mentioned in my title, I went to the peer tutoring program. I was supposed to tutor Kussai, an applied Gr 9 student, French, but since he didn't show up, I tutored Branson, an IB student in my math class, math instead. I have this crazy dream of specializing in a career related to law and business, and on my spare time I would tutor high school students math. Today I had the chance to experience it to a certain degree. It was quite frustrating at times when I was tutoring him since he would say he understood and then he would ask the same question again. However, other than that, I have to say it was a fun experience, and after this semester I will definitely sign up to be a math tutor.

Yay for tutoring! Now I have to tutor myself (study) for a Geography unit test and the Computer Science test! Horrah.....

International Volleyball Night (2010-12-09)

I am kidding. There is no such thing as International Volleyball Night. Well, maybe there is, but not that I know of. Today in the morning and afternoon, I was at York Mills at a volleyball tournament. It was quite an intense day. We played against four schools one after another. Then, after a one hour lunch break, we played three more schools. Unfortunately, we only ranked fourth place. (Pssh, there were some intense teams!) However, on the bright side, we received pizza as a consolation prize!

Right after the tournament, my dad drove me back to Victoria Park to prepare for the International Night. I stopped at Parkway to buy a meatball sub-sandwich. However, that is a different story. I performed at International Night today. I represented China by playing a traditional Chinese song on the flute. It was nerve racking playing in front of two hundred people, but I take it as an amazing experience. I also got a chance to watch some other acts on top of the Parade of Nations. Most definitely awe-inspiring!

Tonight I got home at 10pm. I was so exhausted that I was about to flop down on the bed. I have to finish my Geography project, but I don't believe that I will be very productive since I am so tired. Anyways, I have to finish my assignment now. Goodbye, Blogger!

(Procedure) Step One: Manage Time (2010-12-08)

Today in class we learned about programmer-defined procedures. It was similar to functions, except there were a few differences such as the absence of the keyword result. One new keyword was, of course, procedure. Last night we had to write the nextConsoant function. Only a few people in my class actually obtained the correct code for the function. I wrote out a rough guess of the code. However, I will check with my peers tonight after I finish my blog.

I left the class early for another volleyball game. To be frank, I feel like volleyball is eating away my energy and ability to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Practices are at 7am in the morning and some end at 5:30pm (not the mention the one hour bus ride..) after school. I also have to constantly catch up on my schoolwork after I miss classes for games. The sacrifice is definitely worth it, but I have to truly learn how to manage time properly.

That will be my goal for this week. That's all for now. International Night is tomorrow! I am nervous and excited at the same time!

Writing Functions + Being Organizaed... (2010-12-07)

Today we learned about functions. To be more specific, we learned about programmer-defined functions. The functions that I was familiar with before was pre-defined, such as ord. We learned today how to declare functions and apply them in the programs that we create. We learned two new keywords: function and result.

In addition, we also learned how to write algorithms in pseudocode. It helps when a programmer is not sure how to write the code in Turing to solve a specific problem. By writing algorithms, the programmer can write the instructions in English and translate it to Turing.

We also had a homework check today. I printed it out but I left it on my printer. I was going to get it when I pack my backpack before I left for school this morning, but I forgot it along with my flute for the dress rehearsal for International Night. Did I mention I forgot my shoes for the volleyball game today after school, too? It just goes to show how important organization is. Fortunately, I was forgiven for missing the dress rehearsal, and Zainab lent me her shoes for the game. Mr. Arkin was annoyed, but there is nothing I can do about what happened. Sigh. I will just be more organized next time.

For homework tonight, we have to write the function for nextConsonant. I noticed on the daily log that Class B and C have to integrate the usage of functions into their substring assignments. I may actually try to do that just for practice. That is, after I figure out the function nextConsonant.

Eight hours? (2010-12-06)

Today it was an early dismissal day! We had our introduction to counted loops. I have to finish some volunteer work so I am going to try to make today's post as succinct as possible. Eight hours of sleep is entirely possible today. Back from the tangent, we learned about the keywords, decreasing, and for.  We also reviewed our substring assignments. I must say, it was very handy to have all my assignments in writing in front of me. I was able to take notes on the revisions and modifications have to make as Arkin went along.

Thanks to Stephanie C., we have to modify substring assignment nine to gather a word from user and exchange every consonant with the consonant that follows. I wouldn't say it is a bad thing, simply the fact that I had more homework today. Regardless, I finished the assignment in five minutes, and I took a couple more minutes to revise and print it out.

That's all for now. As I said, eight hours of sleep is entirely possible today.

Absence once again (2010-12-03)

This morning I woke up at 5:30am to finalize and print my substring assignments in preparation for the quiz. Thankfully, (depending on how you look at it) I checked my e-mail before I began my work. I got an email from Mr. Arkin saying that he will not be here in class today. So, I went back to sleep at got one and a half hours of sleep.

Since Mr. Arkin is not here today again, we had time to fully complete our substring assignments. Since I already finished them, I spent the period teaching the concept of substrings to Zainab and Zahra. I must say, they caught on quite fast. It took me only around five minutes to explain the concept from beginning to end. Well, "end" meaning knowing enough to start the first three assignments.

I went home today and printed out all my assignments. Was it painful? Yes, you bet it was. Is it mandatory and are there benefits for doing so? Of course.

Hopefully Mr. Arkin will return to school on Monday. Once again, I hope I will do well on the quiz! (If we are having one...)

Proper Studio 218? Quiz tomorrow! (2010-12-02)

Today, we once again had a guest teacher. I spent the period helping Mithunya with the assignments and concepts of substrings and revising some of my repetition assignments.

At home, I printed out all my substring assignments. There will be a substring quiz tomorrow. Somehow, I feel quite prepared since I finished all my substring assignments. Hopefully karma will come along, understand that I worked hard, and allow me to do well tomorrow!

I also had the time to create a playlist for Studio 218 tomorrow! I posted a link on Wikispaces, but the link is: tinyurl.com/studio218

It is a shortened URL that redirects the user to a playlist that I created on Youtube. I chose the official music videos and re-production of pop songs. I also purposely chose numerous old classics -which in this case means they were released over one year ago- that many already forgot about. They are, in my opinion, truly the most amazing singles ever produced. There are also some Glee performances released by Fox on Youtube. Sweet!

That is all for now, hopefully Class A will, for the first time in a long time (since Cindy's contribution), have a proper Studio 218!

Substring Assignment Redux! (2010-12-01)

Today is the first day of Deccember! That means that there is only one more month until 2011. The year passed by so quickly it is incredible! Anyways, today I worked a little more on my substring assignments in class. I didn't print them out yet, so I am planning to do that either later on tonight or tomorrow in preparation for the substring quiz on Friday.

I spent a fraction of my time today in class helping my classmates with the assignments. I noticed that most of them had trouble with substring assignment four. Personally, the assignments didn't start to get challenging until I had to switch the cases. I started thinking I had to use case statements, but then I realized that there is actually a simplier way: to control the ASCII codes of each charater outputted.

I am almost finished my substring assignments. I am currently on number 19. Will continue to work on it right now...

By the way, I don't recall adding this, but I understand that some of my classmates are reading my blogs. So, if you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to leave them! I am always looking for ways to improve my blog posts, and I do read my comments. :)

Guest Teacher Once Again! (2010-11-30)

Today we had a guest teacher again! From what I heard, Mr. Arkin is ill. I do genuinely hope that he gets better!

I worked more on my substring assignments, and I am currently on assignment twenty. It has been fun, but I do hope Mr. Arkin returns so we can start learning more concepts. I began reading the Turing manual and resources that I found online. I have been learning about graphics. Interesting, I must say. I am actually nervous about the culminating activity. I hope we get to complete it at home so that I get more time to complete it just in case I miss class again due to volleyball.

I always put some extra information about my life in and outside of school at the end of my blog. I try to keep it only about Computer Science class. However, I always end up ranting on and on about my life by the end of my blog post. So, today I am going to do the same. I just had a teleconference with the executives and president of the CCCYC (Chinese Cultural Center Youth Chapter) on Skype, and may I say that I am technologically deprived. I had a panic attack right before the meeting, because I didn't realize that my computer does not have a microphone attached. I must say, that was a facepalm worthy moment. Fortunately, I got it worked out and everything else when smoothly. Again, "Wow, Lisa."

That's all! Goodbye, Blogger!

rkWo riodPe! (2010-11-29)

Today we had a work period to work on the substring assignments. Not much happened today in class, actually. I just spent most of my time learning about substrings and testing out different things. I started on my substring assignements, and finished a few more at home tonight. I am currently on assignment twelve. When I look at how many assignments there are to complete, I get overwhelmed. However, when I actually read the instructions, they are actually not that hard. They are simply very time consuming to add a documentation sections, declare variables, and add the major sections (D.I.P.O.).

Speaking of something-completely-unrelated-to-computer-science, I had the first official league game for volleyball of the season! We won! I have a good feeling about this year's volleyball team. We are on a roll!

There will be a game on Wed, Friday, next Wed, and all day next Thursday for a tournament. Wow, I just realized that I miss a lot of class just for sporting events. First there is cross-country, and now volleyball comes along. It is definitely worth it, and I would be able to catch up. However, it is simply a lot of stress to have to worry about so much.

Lastly, the unit test is postponed to next week. As happy as I am, I just hope it will not be scheduled on one of the days I have to miss computer science class for volleyball... *fingers-crossed*

Tomorrow we will have a guest teacher once again! It will be a work period, I assume.

Ms. Underachiever (2010-11-26)

Today I felt like I just won an award for Ms. Underachiever. On Friday, Mr. Arkin showed us a game he created and as did Prashanth. Tasfia also had a creation of her own! Lastly, Zelin created a tag game as well as a remake of the classic mini game, Pong. As much as I feel happy and proud of my classmates' achievements, I realize that I barely know how to draw a circle in Turing. Sigh... There is so much to do, and there is so little time. I saw this "IB joke" on the Internet a while ago: "I noticed that sleep has been canceling on me lately. Maybe its cheating on me. I guess I have to make plans with homework now then." Anyways, enough complaining, I spent this weekend editing and printing any outstanding assignments. I also spent it starting a test study guide. I wonder when the test will be... I just hope Mr. Arkin won't suddenly announce that it will be on Monday- since he said that we should be prepared.

In addition, I played my band CD for Studio 218 today. Let's just say that the feedback was not so positive. :/ However, that is fine. I actually kind of expected it after I listened to it myself for the first time last month. 

Aside from this, I better start doing some Kumon math. I am really behind on my homework...

Goodbye!

..the most wonderful time of the year! (2010-11-25)

Today was one of the best days of this school year so far! I attended a volleyball tournament today at the school, and I played volleyball for the entire day. As the Staples commercial said, "It is the most... wonderful time.. of the year!" The team played a couple of games and between those games we had time to rest. I spent most of that time wandering around the school and doing my homework. It was beautiful.

We advanced to the finals and played against East York. Unfortunately, it was a very close game. We lost to them by 22-25 in the last set. If only we got those serves in...

Anyways, on the bright side, we received a silver medal that said, "Victoria Park Invitationals Finalist" My first medal of the season!

I had a break near the end of the second period, which was my computer science class. However, since it was already 11:29pm, I didn't feel that it would be suitable to disturb the class just for a few minutes of class.

I visited the daily log. Apparently, I missed a lot of material- or so it seems. The class learned about "the three skills of successful programmers," and the "logical alternatives for repetition assignment 8." I should really get the notes I missed for Tuesday (which I haven't taken the initiative to) and Thursday.

That's all for now! Goodbye!

Fun. (2010-11-24)

Today we learned about arrays. It is such a complex concept, but we only learned two new keywords: array and of. It just goes to show how much we learned over the course of this unit and how far we have come.

For homework, we have to modify repetition assignment twelve to incorporate what we learned today about arrays. We also have to catch up on all programming assignments -except substrings- to prepare for a test next week. Fun. I have a better feeling about this than the first unit test earlier this month. Hopefully I will be able to bump up my average before the Winter Break.

That's it for now. I just noticed that my blog posts are getting shorter and shorter. Whenever I write these posts nowadays, it is always so late at night. At that time the only thing I am thinking of is sleep.

Which reminds me. I need to go to bed. Goodbye.

Slowly Killing Me Inside (2010-11-23)

Today I missed class because of the G20 Summit at Leaside which I attended. Since this is a computer science class blog, I am not going to rant on about my experience there.

I heard from my classmates and read from the daily log and wikispace discussions that we had a printer assignment review. I received an email last night notifying us that the marks are posted in front of the rm 218 door in the morning. It is slowly killing me inside to know what I received.

Anyways for homework, all we have to do is assignment twelve. Aha! My prediction was correct! I am going to do assignment twelve for homework today!

Programming is Fun! (2010-11-22)

Today we had individual time to work on our repetition assignments. We have number nine to eleven assigned for homework. I finished up to ten on Saturday, so I only had assignment eleven to finish. It was quite a relaxing period. I finished the basic elements of the assignment in ten minutes, and I spent another twenty minutes "embelishing" it.

The rest of the period was just spent helping my classmates with their assignments, and I also had some time to play around with my code. I added a continue or exit option at the end. Then, when the user chose to exit, I added several delays. Then, the program outputted, "Sorry, did I annoy you? Okay, sorry about that. Go do your IB homework. Lisa did hers, and you just experienced an exemplar. Goodbye." Class was fun.

I should have spent the time to work on assignment twelve, but I thought to myself I can do that for homework.

However, it turns out that I had to go to a VPLAY meeting to work on a lip-dubber video project. Then, I returned home at 5pm and waited for my French teacher. I am not sure if it was mentioned in the previous blog posts, but I will be attending a G20 Summit at Leaside High School. I will be representing Argentina. As exciting as it sounds, I am truly not prepared for the conference, as I only did very minimal preparation and studying. Very unfortunately, I will not get time to work on assignment twelve tonight. I will probably do whatever is assigned tomorrow (I will be missing class) tomorrow night.

Looking forward to the G20 Summit tomorrow! Now.. about Argentina's economy and its political issues...

Individual work on repetition assignments. Homework: Repetition assignments 9–11. Daily blog posting.

Printer Comparison! Mark Comparison! (2010-11-18)

Today we had some time to work on our reptition assignments. Then, we went to our tables to take some notes. That was when we found out that we were assignmed a website design assignment that is due on Monday. I am still a little confused. So are we expected to upload it by Sunday night? However, on the daily log, it says, "due Monday." Regardless, I am planning to upload it on Sunday.

It is quite sad, however, since I actually planned to spend my PD day with my mom -which she set aside her work for- and the other two days catching up on my music theory. Sigh.

Anyways, we also have to complete a modification of repetition assignment eight to accept integers from the user and display a message whenever a positive even integer is entered. Lastly, the program has to  end when 20 positive even integers have been entered. I finished that in class so now all I have to complete is the Printer Comparison assignment. Speaking of which, my news and events article for Panther Press is due tomorrow! AHHHH! Now is time for panic. I did all my research, interviewed five different people, and now all I have to do is write an article, which shouldn't be that hard. I am just concerned that I won't have enough time to complete and upload the assignment by Sunday night at 10pm.

That's all for now. I am going to go start my webpage outline now...

I love these work periods. (2010-11-17)

Today in class we had time to analyze and desk check a partner's repetition assignment six. Other than that, not much occured. I worked with Mithunya, and I felt that this period helped quite a bit. First, I had time to practice my desk checking. In addition, I was exposed to another individual's work. Usually, I would always make my programs one lateral way. Seeing Mithunya's work told me about other things I can do to improve my assignments. Also, Mithunya pointed out a few things I can do to improve. I love these work periods.

For homework, we have to finishe revisions of assignment six -which I finished- and the modification of assignment seven and the completion of assignment eight.

To be frank, I am so busy with the extracurricular activities, such as volleyball practice and classes outside of school, that I barely have time to complete my homework for school. I am truly grateful that I finished these assignments ahead of time and I have very minimal homework from other classes. What's more is that my panther press article deadlines are coming soon... and I still have not started interviewing my subjects and researching...

That's all for now! Goodbye, Blogger!

Mon Dieu! Homework Check! Quoi? (2010-11-16)

Today is class we had a homework check. Normally I would be panicking, but as I mentioned in my previous blog, I finished assignments 1-8. Gosh, does it feel good to be prepared.

Anyways, apparently according to the daily log, we had a class survey. I wonder what that is about...

Anyways, while Mr. Arkin individually called us up to discuss the assignment, we had time to work independently on the computers to complete our homework for today. Today we have to finish repeititon assignments six and seven "demonstrating [my] best form." (From the daily log) I will spend a few minutes today after I complete this blog to embelllish these assignments. Too bad I have to print them out again...

That's all for now! À demain!

Bullet-proof Programs! Baam! (2010-11-15)

Notice how my date switched from mm/dd/yy to yyyy-mm-dd! See? I am Canadian. :)

Anyways, today we had a homework review of repetition assignment two. Mr. Arkin handed a copy of his modified version of Repetition Assignment 2 to the class. We were asked to do a code analysis on the program, and we along the way we also learned five new procedures and functions: abs, getch, play, whatcol, whatrow. As a musician, I love the play function the most, since instead of uploading a sound file or similar, we can actually compose our own music with Turing!

We also learned that we need descriptive comments to identify and describe different part of the program. It is to allow the programmer to more easily identify and modify the program, such as errors which the programmer cannot easily point out.

For homework today, we have to complete repetition assignment three to five. I technically don't have any homework today, since I completed the repetition assignments up to eight yesterday (Sunday).

Now all I need to do is print them... (It really hurts me to see so much paper used up.)
*For anyone who is reading my blog, could you tell me if there is a function on Turing where you can print multiple files at once and double side them? Thanks!

Awe-inspiring Blogs and Unfortunate Absence (2010-11-12)

Today I missed Computer Science class, because I wasn't feeling so well-- and let's just say I had some things to take care of that time. It was truly an unfortunate absence since I missed my first official repetition lesson. I will need to do a lot of catching up...

I was initially going to contact some of my peers for their notes and what they learned in class today. However, I though to myself, there are so many other alternative ways to do find out what I missed in class, especially in an ICS class. I decided to do some "stalking" and read over some of my peers' blogs. I must say, I felt quite embarrassed after reading some of them. They were absolute amazing! There were pictures, poetry, comics, etc. Wow! 

I will probably spend my weekend more wisely. Well, I always do, but here is exactly what I will do:

1. Practice flute and piano
2. Study and review music theory

3. Finish math homework

4. Revise blogs (from past)

5. Organize ICS binder

6. Dance practice

7. Catch up on repetition

8. Read ahead in repetition and work on assignments 5-6 (if possible)

Lately this week I have been cramming for a Geography unit test. It was just painful and very stressful. When I got to Geography class today to write the test, I realized that I completely overstudied. *oh-my-goodness!*

It was very sad since I could have spent my time doing other things such as catch up on my music theory studying (for the Royal Conservatory of Music). I am pursuing my ARCT Teaching diploma for the flute- which is not happening anytime soon since I can never squeeze in time to practice my neither my flute nor piano.

At least this weekend is a little bit more relaxing so I can spend more time catching up.





Remembrance Day and Unit Test Review! (NOV/11/2010)

Today was Remembrance Day. The day when we honour and remember the lives of the soldiers that fought in war.  In the morning we had a Remembrance Day assembly and after lunch, there was Computer Science class. We had a test review when we pair up with a classmate and create model answers for each question. After we took up the answers, we received the test. The mark is not what I want it to be, but today I truly didn't expect anything high, because even before I handed it in, I had a few more things to complete and add to the test. I unfortunately have to get it signed by tomorrow for my homework along with the posting of my blog.

There is not much to say at the moment since I am not in the mood to write anymore. This is all for now.

Look forward to whatever comes tomorrow.

Programming Unit Test! (NOV/10/2010)

Today we had our programming unit test. It was not as difficult as I thought it would be. Most of the concepts I reviewed over wasn't applicable in the test. In addition, I rushed at the end since I didn't manage my time well and spent most of the time working on the first page.

For homework, we had to complete the arithmetic mean (counter and accumulator) program that we began yesterday.

Today is a gift! That's why they call it the present! (NOV/08/2010)

With a little bit more sleep and time management, who knew? Today actually went quite well!

-The French presentation I was stressing out about went wonderfully.
-I am an official member of VP's Jr Girls Volleyball Team. Go panthers!
-The ICS presentation went smoothly
-New for DECA Regionals Competition: Out of approximately 100 participants in my category, I placed top 10 for written, top 10 for oral, and placed third overall. I will be competing in provincials at Sheraton Center in Feburary!

Back to reality, today in class each group presented their code analysis to the class. I just found out last night that the unit test will be on Wednesday. Wow, the same week as my Geography unit test. Just wonderful. I really need to start studying to ensure a good grade considering both these two unit tests will be worth a lot of my final grade. At the moment, I am just finishing up this blog and then I will begin reviewing the programming unit. I may also write down some questions that I will ask Mr. Arkin tomorrow in class.

Sarcastic moment here: I simply cannot wait for my unit test! Whoot! Yay!

(This is why I will begin studying right now...)

Because [I] had a bad day, [I am] taking one down, [I am singing] a sad song just to turn it around.. (NOV/05/2010)

(Lyrics in the title belong Daniel Powter, artist of the song, "Bad Day")

Today was simply a bad day. Here are the reasons why:

1. In the morning, I woke up at 5am to finish my French homework
2. Left the house at 6:45am in a rush to arrive to school at 7am for my volleyball try-outs (which I was slightly late for)
3. As I was running to my dad's car, I slipped and scraped my leg from my shin to my knee.
4. Attended volleyball practice with a scraped leg.
5. Arrived to ICS class and find out that the presentations for the code analysis will be occuring on Monday
6. Received a 60% on my binder check.


On the bright side, here are the good things that occured:
1. Was selected for a final try-out for the girls volleyball team despite my terrible performance in the morning
2. Was allowed to bring my code analysis assignment home to complete. I shall make the final product amazing. :-)
3. The oral regional competition for DECA will be occuring tomorrow, and I have a good feeling about it
4. My ICS homework will be complete after I click "Publish Post."

DECA! DANCE! DANG IT! (NOV/04/2010)

Today we returned to the desk checking. We received a code analysis assignment. We are required to take an example of a selection assignment and desk check it. We received a big piece of paper, which I assume we have to write our code analysis on; however, we never got a chance to write on it. The entire period was spent desk checking the code. For homework, we have to complete the skills inventories, desk check our three most sophisticated selection assignments, and prepare our binders for a binder evaluation.

For my binder, I have to print out all my HTML, CSS, and Turing codes. I also have to organize it a bit. I was quite afraid that I will not be able to complete these tasks as I knew that I will be writing my DECA exam after school today until 5pm, which then I had to help set up for the dance and I didn't return home from school until (literally) 10:45pm. I am now cramming for my french presentation tomorrow, ICS binder check, and this daily blog post.

My goodness! Wish me luck!

Drag Myself to My Mom's Office Day (NOV/03/2010)

Today is going quite well. All I can say today has been very relaxing and eye-opening- sort of. My mother works for the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) as an insurance advisor. Therefore, she does not stay in her office located at Kennedy and Steeles for most of the time. She mostly works at home making phone calls, sending e-mails, and doing paperwork in her office at my house. I have been to my mother's legitimate office billions of times- figuratively speaking. However, since I decided to participate in Take Your Kids to Work day, my mother took me to her office since she had to fill out some forms and pick up a few policies that have been recently approved. The office is enormous. It is twice the size of Victoria Park C. I.'s cafeteria. However, it is occupied by vacant cubicles and meeting rooms- since most of the employees like my mother has their own appointments with clients to attend or work to do at their offices at home.

This brings me to explain why I am at home at this moment. I spent the morning in a cubicle studying for DECA, a business competition. The written exam will be done tomorrow afterschool, and the oral competition will be held at Ryerson University on Saturday along with the awards ceremony. Then, I returned home at noon when my mother finished with her paperwork and would like to return home to start telemarketing. Yes, I said it: telemarketing. It is because of the fact that telemarketing is what puts a roof over my head that I have gain respect for the people who call my home interrupting my dinner.

I helped my mom send some e-mails (which I do every evening for her) and then continued with my studying for the DECA competition.

I wouldn't say that today was much of an experience since I am practically helping my mother run her business every evening when I help her with paperwork and emails, but I can say that this opportunity should be taken advantage of to experience the work force.

It was a wonderful day!

Yay! Mr. Boole! (NOV/02/2010)

Happy birthday, George Boole! Today we learned about case statements, another way to provide selection to the user. I learned about if statements, and case statements are similar but they make it more efficient and reader-friendly when there are multiple statement in one set. It is up to the programmer to decide which one to use whether it is a case statement or a selection statement. However, case statements won't work with "real". It must be the datatypes: "int", "string", or "chr". We learned three new keywords today: case, label, of.

For homework, we are required to complete the ATM outline provided on touque.ca, and modify the code to guard against negative balances.

Tomorrow is "Take Your Kids to Work Day!" Yay! I will be spending the morning at my mom's office located at Kennedy and Steeles, and the rest of the day at my home- which is also where my mother's "office" is located. Yes, my mother operates her business at our home as well.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Yes She Can! (NOV/01/2010)

Today we spent most of our period reviewing the thirteen selection assignments and discussing how we can better our program fragments. Additionally, we received our marked quizzes from Thursday. I received a level three, with the highest possible mark level four. I most definitely feel disappointed with my mark, but I cannot do anything to change the mark I got. I can only do the best I can to make up for this mark. Mid-terms are coming up. So, I will try my best to bring up my mark by: finishing homework, reviewing, and getting ahead. Here comes a leftover politician phrase from the rep campaign: "Yes she can!"

Validate and Complete! Catch up! (OCT/29/2010)

Today we had a guest teacher in our classroom. In addition, the student hosts were Tasfia and Prashanth! As I mentioned in my previous blog post, we will be working on our HTML clean-up. in class and for homework, we will be finishing the thirteen selection assignments. These few days have been spent reviewing and finishing outstanding. Although we are not learning much, I feel that it is crucial that I work hard catching up, as I am quite behind with my work due to the cross-country meets and the SLC campaign.

On Monday, Mr. Arkin will return our tests! I believe I made at least one mistake, which is writing "elsif" instead of  simply "else". However, other than that, I am curious to see how else I can improve on my programming.

At the moment, my main goal is to finish the thirteen selection assignments, finish up the HTML clean-up, and get ahead by reading the material on toque.ca that Mr. Arkin has not talked about.

Today we had time to independently review and complete the outstanding homework, which encompasses the thirteen selection assignments. In addition, we had a pop quiz on selection! We were asked to write a program to request two distances in kilometres and then display the largest distance. To be frank, it was not much of a pop quiz since I was expecting it hence the other two classes have already had theirs.

After the quiz, as I mentioned, we had time to finish the selection assignments. According to the daily log, all selection assignments are due on Monday. Unfortunately, I need to do a lot of catching up. I will use the time I have left tonight and tomorrow in class to finish and review the assignments!

A guest teacher will be present tomorrow! Looking forward to a day of reviewing and catching up!

The truth is hard to find with "and"! (OCT/27/2010)

Today we had our review for the first two selection assignments. We learned about the boolean operators: "and", "or", and "not". We also learned about the "If ladders". At first I was a bit confused about the "if ladders" and how we can apply that into the assignments. After I read and studied the "selection" page on touque.ca, I understand it more now.

For homework, we have to finish selection assignments up to #7. This is a lot, but I am determined to finish it since I am already behind in class!

City Championships! (OCT/26/2010)

Today, I missed an entire day of school to attend the City Championships for cross-country. Many people were asking me what place I got. I actually didn't place very high, so I think it was a little bit over one hundred (100). So unfortunately, I did not advance to OFSAA (provincials), because the top 6 individuals and top 4 teams advance to the next round. Therefore my cross-country season is now officially over.

To be frank, I am actually satisfied with my results this season as I did not expect to advance to cities. I joined cross-country, because I have always participated in this sport right before my volleyball season, and it was a great excuse to force myself to wake up in the morning and exercise. Cross-country is one of those sports that don't involve a lot of initial athletic ability to succeed. You just need time, perseverance, and determination. The only true competitor is yourself, as you are the one who will drag yourself to the practices, and the one who will tell your body to keep pushing and running even when you feel like you are on the verge of "dying" (during a race).

I am actually glad this season is over, as I am now mentally and physically exhausted from all the practices and the four meets that I had to attend. Wow! Four meets!

So, I did not attend Computer Science class today, but I contacted Cindy, and she scanned me the notes. I will print it off tomorrow, as the toner for my laser printer is now very low. For now, I will finish this blog and go through the first two "Selection" assignments.

Sleep deprivation issszzz.... (OCT/25/2010)

Today I have to shamefully say that I was late for class. Usually I am late for class, because I was talking to the teacher from the previous class or was waking too slow so I would be a couple of seconds to a minute late. However, this time I had a lame, International Baccalaureate (IB) excuse: I was doing homework. I would not say that this is a legitimate excuse, because no excuse is legitimate for being late. However, I was actually finishing my Geography project up until 3am and woke up at 5am to finish the rest. It was assigned over a week ago, but I was so busy with my Grade 9 rep campaign and other extracurriculars that I completed disregarded this assignment. Unfortunately, I put the "pro" in procrastination.

Anyways, back from my tangent, we learned how to trace the execution of the code by desk checking. I was reading the daily blog and I found that Classes B and C started with the same thing as us, but they advanced and learned a lot more than we did today. Perhaps it was because of the lateness and interruptions today. This fact just makes me even more guilty about being late for class in the morning.

On the bright side, I am happy to say that we are wrapping up our Input assignments and section. Now, we have to start previewing the "Selection" page and assignments.

Colours! Colours! What a wonderful song! (OCT/22/2010)

Colours! Colours! Colours! What a wonderful song! (I was actually going to put these phrases in capital letters, but I realized that it was the incorrect way to emphasize. Time's top 100 most influential people: Mr. Arkin.)

Today in class we learned the pre-defined procedures: colour and colourback. The keyword "colour" changes the colour of the text. "Colourback" changes the background colour of the text. If we want to make the entire background a certain colour, then we will have to clear the screen (with "cls") and change the background colour using the keyword, "colourback".

After we learned about the pre-defined functions: "ord" and "chr". They are used for the same purpose as special character entities in HTML. I always find it interesting when I can relate material from Turing to what we learned in September and beginning of October about web design.

We received the rest of the period to work on our Input assignments. Unfortunately, we didn't have Studio 218, because no one brought in any music. I should really go out and get some legal music. Not solely for Studio 218, but because I don't have many decent, legal music tracks on my mp3. I was thinking of a Glee (fantastic television series) sound track. They have a variety of music in terms of genre and artists, and to be frank, they perform the songs better than the original artists!

Homework for today is simple: finish outstanding Input assignments and of course, the daily log.

Vote for Lisa, because she has super-powers! (OCT/20/2010)

Today we had the elections for Grade 9 rep! Wow! I think it turned out quite well! Many people flagged me down afterwards and told me that they thought my speech was the best and/or they are voting for me! I realize that it sounds like a cheesy politician's line, but even if I do not win, just the thought of my supporters' words of encouragement and praise cheers me up!

After lunch in class, Mr. Arkin notified us that our marks for the super-power autobiography are up. When I was about to check my mark, Mr. Arkin asked me to run down to the staff room to deliver a power cord of some sort. When I returned, some of my classmates told me that I didn't get a mark for my autobiography. "What?!?!" My first instinct was that my mark didn't show, because I received a zero for a some particular reason. Then, when I asked Mr. Arkin, he told me that it was simply an error and he showed me my mark. I am not going to say what it is, but I can say that I was definitely satisfied to some extent. Of course, from the perspective of a stereotypical International Baccalaureate student, it is not a perfect score, but I will take this mark and be happy with it. :)

After Mr. Arkin discussed with us his feedback on the assignment, he gave us the ballots and the class voted! The results will not be up until tomorrow. Of course it is nerve racking, but all I can do is get a good night sleep after one whole week of intense, friendly-competitive campaigning. As I mentioned before, whether I win or lose, the experience I obtained this past week is invaluable!

Jog! Run! Sprint! Print! Print?! (OCT/19/2010)

Today I missed school yet again for a cross-country meet. I will make this short and sweet. We left the school at 9am, and I ran my race at 10:30am and finished way before 11am. Then, we left the park to go back to school at 4:30pm, which means that I had to wait around for the whole day and miss school without doing anything. Although I did partake in the crowd who cheered for the competitors, I felt that I should have simply ran my race and ask my parents to pick me up afterwards. The good part is that I placed 33rd individually, and the team (Grade 9 Midget Girls) placed 3rd which we were awarded with a bronze medal. I am happy to announce that I will be advancing to the City Championships next Tuesday at Centennial Park! Yeah!

I got home quite late today since I had to go to Kumon Math class after the meet. Up until late tonight, I did not get a chance to call a classmate to see what happened today in class. I checked the daily log and apparently it was simply a lot of homework review. Tonight I mainly focused on perfecting and memorizing my Gr 9 Elections speech. It is truly a lot of pressure, because many people mentioned that they are going to base their decision on this speech (which I feel is complete nonsense since we are capped at a one minute time limit) There is simply not much time to say what I want to say to my classmates. Regardless, the other candidates are on the same boat as me so I will make the best out of this situation. Whether I win or lose, I found that what I truly got out of this week of intensive campaigning was the experience of meeting many of the students in Grade 9, especially those who are not enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program.

I did not get to review my homework today, but what I did get a chance to finish was print out all my HTML & CSS codes and my programming codes. Well, I suppose I feel accomplished tonight to some degree.

Look forward to tomorrow!

If only there was a program that would let me specify.... (OCT/18/2010)

Today in class we began again with our homework review. We reviewed over the first input assignment, which asks us to create a program fragment that allows the user to specify the number of decimal places. It was a bit confusing at first, because I did not quite understand the homework when I worked on it at home. However, as the class progressed, I understood the concepts better.

For homework, we must finish input assignments four and five and finish the blog. When we work on the assignments, we need to apply the documentation template and follow the programming guidelines.

To be frank, I am still grasping the principles of Turing. It's been quite a struggle for me lately. Perhaps it is because my schedule is becoming a lot more hectic due to the fact that I have been working on my Gr 9 Rep campaign. I will try to catch up on my outstanding homework and reviewing after Wednesday, the elections.

I like variety! In music selection, ice cream, and... in programming! (OCT/15/2010)

Today at the beginning of class we had our homework review and we learned quite a number of new glossary terms. We learned how to vary the output of our programs using various keywords, such as var, get, string, and I assume that there are more keywords to be learned.

The glossary items that we learned the definition of include: variable, constant, declared constant, parameter, argument, assignment operator. In addition, we learned the pathway to the Turing Keyword Reference page. It is F9 on the keyboard. I feel that this is one of the most useful things I learned, because if I am unsure of my notes or can't remember the use and meaning of a keyword, I can simply refer to this page to obtain the most succinct and "official" explanation of the keyword.

My homework for today is the Input assignments one to three and this blog! I will have the assignments completed once I finish this blog...!

That's all for now, great day today! I don't have any questions at the moment. If any questions do arise, which I am sure they will, I will post them on Wikispaces.

Geography Trip (OCT/21/2010)

Today I missed computer class yet again to attend a geography trip. We visited the Niagara Falls! According to some of my classmates, we did review again. However, according to the daily log, Mr. Arkin discussed "a model process for developing programming solutions." No one responded me when I tried to get in touch with my classmates. Since it was already 11pm, I assume that they would already be off the computer or asleep.

I will try to get this sorted out today in class.

In case you are wondering since my tenses are a bit different from the ordinary, I am writing this blog in the morning because I leave the house to attend a cross-country practice.

No kidding, Sherlock. I want my asterisks back! (OCT/14/2010)

No kidding, Sherlock. I want my asterisks back!

I normally don't give explanations about my titles, but this one came out quite odd. So this post's title is a response to Mr. Arkin's blog post, "The Case of the Disappearing Asterisks." This was also mentioned in the daily log.

Today, we received a handout called, Skills inventories, with many glossary terms on it. We learned about "delay", and reviewed our homework from the previous day. Very straightforward.

For homework, we have to get notebook dividers, which I made by printing pages that say, "Web Design Notes" and "Programming Codes". Then, I completed the asterisk-border program, and reviewed a couple of concepts and terms on the touque.ca class website.

To be frank, this course was not as bad as I thought it would be when I filled out the course selection sheet last year in January when I applied to IB. I regretted my choice and wanted to choose civics and careers. However, despite my desire to want to major in law and business in the near future, I feel that what I am learning at the moment can definitely be applied in the future in the workforce.

Wow, that was deep. Anyways, I am looking forward to another great day tomorrow!

HTML all over again! (OCT/13/2010)

Today in class we learned six glossary terms. They are: concatenation operator, comma, % (comment), output-field width, and output field. It was quite disappointing to have the homework review and be missing out on what Mr. Arkin was saying at times. I told him that I was not able to launch Turing, but he couldn't do much to help me, because I couldn't provide more information about why I couldn't launch it. I was planning to post the question up on Wikispace when I get home. Then, I realized that I wouldn't be home until around 9:30pm. So, I spent a great deal of time just now trying to figure out how to launch the program. After sessions of trial and error, I found out that instead of clicking "open", I must click "save" and launch from there.

For homework, we have another set of assignments from the class website. We have to finish task 1 of the Character Graphics assignment. For me, I have to finish the outstanding homework from yesterday and today. I am finishing up my blog at the moment, and I will start my assignments shortly.

Currently, it truly feels like the first few days of school when we were starting out website designing unit. I am walking into a room where I have no knowledge of how or where I am going to head off to. At the moment, it feels like a bad start since I am behind on my homework and the material taught in class. However, I am sure it will get better with an effort to get organized and back on track.

Look forward to another day of learning tomorrow!

Principles of Turing (OCT/12/2010)

Today in computer science class, we learned about different datatypes in the language of Turing. To be more specific, we learned about characters and integers. We also discussed several options of output objects. As I remember on the top of my head, they are "cls"; ".."; and "skip". In short, we learned the fundamentals and principle functions of Turing.

For homework today, we are supposed to do the Output assignment question one to four. However, I tried launching Turing and the computer did not allow me to do so. I will ask Mr. Arkin tomorrow in class when I get the chance. For now I will just look over the assignment and instructions and do whatever I can without the tools.

Party in Studio 218!

Today we had a party to celebrate our achievements. There was food, drinks, music, and fun!

Party in Studio 218! Whoot!

Introduction to flowcharts! And.. turing? (OCT/07/2010)

Today we had our introduction to programming with the software, Turing, and flowcharting. We learned about:

1. IDE (Integrated Development Environment) which has all three necessary tools to write a program
2. Basic functions of turing, including the save and execute sequence (ctrl-S; F2; ctrl-S; F1)
3. General process of program development (through flowcharting)
4. General process of webpage development

I also forgot my password, unforunately. It had something to do with validation... but I can't seem to recall what it was. I will hopefully get it sorted before computer class tomorrow, one way or another. You know what they say, "Desperate times call for desperate measures!" Well, not entirely, but I will find a way to access my account by next computer class. :-)

In addition, we are having a class party tomorrow! At first, I thought Mr. Arkin was joking and saying that we "deserve" a party, but we are not actually having one. However, regardless of my interpretation, I am glad we are going to have some food and drinks... and hopefully music tomorrow! If no one is playing their music, I will be glad to play my Senior Band music album to the class. Anybody enjoys listening to Handle?

I will be bring some drinks to contribute to the party. The party list is posted on Wikispaces. Looking forward to it!

Today was had a redux (new vocabulary term and word of the day) to the topic of ASCII. Mr. Arkin talked about identifying bitstring codes by their decimal name. We also learned the shortcuts to memorizing capital and lowercase letters. It was fascinating!

Also, Mr. Arkin posted a blog yesterday substituting characters with bitstring codes. Our homework today was to decode his message. Although I can take the shortcut and use a binary code converter, I took the luxury of decoding the message character by character. Fun! ;-)

I would post the message here, but I want everyone to have a chance at decoding the message. If anyone is wondering what I am talking about, Mr. Arkin's blog is Rockin’ ICS2O.

Oh, and I now officially have 3 followers on my blog! Yay!

This is all for today! Happy decoding!

Binary coding! Can you spell validation in binary? (OCT/05/2010)

 Today we talked about the final few terms in our basic computer glossary. We learned about the paradox of booting and the solution to how the CPU can transfer files from the secondary storage to primary without initial instructions from the secondary storage. Then, we spent the rest of the period talking about the ASCII and binary coding. We learned about the columns and digits of a binary code. It can only go up to two values (0 and 1) in terms of the digits. I guess this is where they got the Latin root "bi"! It was eye-opening learning about how our everyday tool, the computer, truly works behind the screen (or in the CPU for that matter!)

The homework today was to update, validate, and post the Basic Computer Glossary. I need to continue finding small images to illustrate the last four glossary terms.

This blogging habit is really starting to stick in my brain. As Sean Covey said in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, "A habit can be formed in 30 days." Guess what? It's October now! It's actually been a month (two days short) since school started! Amazing!

As Alice Morse Earle said, "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why its called the present." All the assignments I did in the previous unit is history (excluding the fact that I will have to apply my prev. knowledge..), today was a wonderful day, and tomorrow is a mystery as to what new things I will be learning..!

I see the finish line for the BCG race! (OCT/04/2010)

Today in class we spent the majority of the period discussing the terms for the Basic Computer Glossary (GCG). We learned the difference between secondary storage and promary storage, the definiton of RAM, ROM, bit, byte, and binary code. It was a lot of fun obtianing new, fascinating knowledge about computers. However, as Mr. Arkin mentioned, and as I stated before, this is like the calm before a storm. All these terms are just preparations for a big, new unit on computer programming. I wonder what will await after we finally finish discussing all the terms for the BCG tomorrow!

For homework hoday, I have to continue to update, validate, and post my Basic Computer Glossary. I also have to find small images to illustrate glossary terms. In addtion, the workload will come from gathering reference information for each image! Also, I almost forgot to mention that we have to search up the meaning for: redux, CRT, and what comes after the term "terabyte" and after that, so on.

Look forward to another day of learning new terms tomorrow! Great day today!

Class Rep Elections! Basic Computer Glossary! (OCT/01/2010)

Today, in class Mr. Arkin discussed the application Notepad++ and some of its functions. We were taught how to convert cases, and show the invisible characters. I also learned about the HTML validator options. They are: show source; show outline; verbose output. I knew and have been using some of these options, but it was interesting learning what "verbose output" meant.

Mr. Arkin also gave us some more definitions for our Basic Computer Glossary. I missed a few terms and definitions, because I was away yesterday, so I will probably ask one of my classmates to email me the notes so I can finish my glossary tonight.

My homework for today is:

1) Finish, validate, and post Basic Computer Glossary
2) Find small images to illustrate glossary terms and gather reference information for each image
3) Finish writing this blog!

In addition, before I forget, we had our Class A Rep elections today! I was not prepared at all! However, I had an idea of what I wanted to say in the class so I just improvised my speech. I am glad I improvised, because the speech went quite well, and it sounded more natural. It was nerve-racking when I was awaiting for the results, but I won! I am sure that Naeem was equally as good of a candidate as I was. I will do the best I can to be a great class rep. If any of my classmates are reading this, thanks for all the support!

I got to get to my homework now! I have a tight schedule ahead of me tonight!

I am back from cross-country! Now where is my buddy? (SEPT/30/2010)

Today, I attended a fraction of computer science class and left early to attend a cross-country meet.

Before I left, Mr. Arkin went over the SFTP instruction. I know that a lot of people last night was not able to upload their files up on FilleZilla. I got some phone calls and messages myself from my classmates asking if I got my file up on the net. There was also the page on Wikispaces that classmates created. It turns out that many people who were not successful in accessing FileZilla was because they did not follow the instructions to change into SFTP. Before I sleep today, I will try my best to change it as well.

I stayed for part of Mr. Arkin's discussion about new glossary terms. The homework today is apparently to create a validated Basic Computer Glossary. I missed half the lesson so I don't know if I missed some crucial definitions or can I simply obtain the definitions on the web. Where is a classmate to answer my question when I need one?

Since it is already too late to call anyone, I will just finish the glossary using definitions I find on the web (with references, of course) and fix any errors tomorrow in class.

Blog: finished
Glossary: long way to go..

Glossary and Introducing... Notepad++ (SEPT/29/2010)

Today, Mr. Arkin discussed the construction of our glossaries, of a basic webpage, and he announced the new FTP password. (Shh!)

Mr. Arkin today talked about citing our definitions that we obtained directly from the Internet. There is a particularorder in which we place information such as: the author, date, title of page, link, etc. More information can be found on touque.ca

Before giving us time to work on our glossaries, he talked about lab 235 opening at lunchtime for students to work on their assignments. In addition, there will be leadership opportunities for us to supervise the room. I definitely would be using the lunchtime opportunities when possible to work on assignments. And in regards to the supervision opportunity, I will try my best to clear my schedule to be a part of this initiative.

I panicked a bit, because the glossary was due at 10pm tonight. However, I had to attend enrichment classes in Thornhill that night and had to bus there. Busing there alone was 1hr and 15minutes. Even if my father drove me back, I would literally get home at 9:45pm. Frankly, I hadn't made much progress on my glossary. I only completed the glossary and bare minimum of the actually definitions and references.

Before Mr. Arkin gave us time to work on the glossary, he told us to install Notepad ++. I have been using it, and it is not bad. It is very organized and convenient. However, it will take me sometime to adapt to it, as I have been using the regular notepad  for a long time.

I made quite a bit of progress in class, and before I left class, Mr. Arkin said that I would be able to upload it at lunch! The only problem is that right after I reached my locker that day I realized that I have to attend a crosscountry meet the next day. This means that I will not be able to upload it the following then!

When I got home at 10:15pm (miscalculated my time a bit. Turns out that even if my dad drove me I would still not make it home by 10pm!), I went straight to my computer to work on the glossary. To be frank, I actually took sometime to look at the updates on the class rep page! Votes should be in by next Friday! Can't wait for the results! Back from my tangent, I finally finished my glossary late at night and uploaded some links on the definitions resources page on Wikispaces. The references section was very painful, I must say, and it took the most time to complete.

This is it for my blogging at the moment. I will be missing part of class tomorrow for the cross-country meet! Wish me luck!

Class Representative and Glossary! (SEPT/28/2010)

Oh wow! It has almost been a month!

Today in class Mr. Arkin gave us the full period to work on our glossaries. However, before he let us go to our computers, he talked a little bit about choosing a class representative. I want to run for this position. Even if I don't win (which I hope I do), I think this will be a good experience for me. I created a wikispace page and posted my personal statement on it. Take a look!

In regards to the glossary, I finished validating the HTML and CSS of the skeleton version of the glossary. In class I added all the terms onto the glossary, but I did not get a chance to add the definitions, because I spent sometime helping Zahra and Zainab with their coding. However, I feel that the whole class, including myself, has become a lot more knowledgeable about website design! As my classmate, Zainab said, "I can't believe I now know what all this [coding] means!"

Tonight, I got home at 8pm after I attended a science club meeting that I stayed behind to help and a session at Kumon math and reading center. I did not get a chance to work on my glossary so I hope that tomorrow I will get more time to work on it. After all, I need to get some sleep to mentally and physically prepare me for tomorrow!

At the moment, this is all I have to say! Today was a great day!

Computer Science Terms! Glossary! Yay! (SEPT/27/2010)

Computer Science Terms! Glossary! Yay!

Today at the beginning of class we were taught ordered lists, unordered lists, and definition lists. Mr. Arkin then gave us some examples, what it would look like in an HTML file. I actually learned this by myself as I was exploring the different HTML and CSS tags on the Internet a week ago. However, I am glad Mr. Arkin went over it today because often the explanations on the Internet are not always very succinct and informative.

After the mini lesson about lists, we were asked to take out our class glossary with terms that were accumulated from day one of the semester. The assignment in class was to brainstorm "informal" definitions, and we were encouraged to use computer science terminology learned in class. Then, the homework today was to make a skeleton html file of a glossary webpage with definitions taken from the web. Of course, we would need references if it is copied and pasted.

The homework for today is: Complete a validated Glossary skeleton and save it in the Dropbox. (The dropbox is a new program introduced to us near the end of this class.)

At the moment, I am currently working on the glossary skeleton and I have created my Dropbox.

I don't have any questions today, but I just read over this class' course outline, and I found out that we are spending the next 40-60 periods learning about computer software. I managed to survive this unit, because I had some foundation and prior knowledge about webpage designing. I do hope that this unit will not be too difficult.

Overall, today was not a bad day. One big assignment was finally over and done with. Now, I am simply curious to see what will await as the classes progress.

9:30pm! 9:56pm! 10:02pm! (SEPT/24/2010)

Today was the final work period for the autobiography assignment. The main goal today in class was to have our peer editing sheet completed and up live on the web. I spent the period working on the final touches for my webpage and the end of the period editing my partner Govind's webpage. There was not much of a lesson today in class as Mr. Arkin gave us the time to complete our big assignment.

Unfortunately, Govind was not able to mark my page until 5pm afterschool. I had to leave for Kumon (math tutor) and art class afterschool and did not return home until 9pm. It was, in a way very stressful, because I still did not validate CSS, and I wasn't sure if Govind uploaded the peer marking sheet. When I checked, the CSS for the peer marking sheet did not show-up. I sent Mr. Arkin an email, but there was no reply. I had ONE HOUR until the deadline. Every ten minutes I would glance at the digital clock on the bottom right corner of my monitor. 9:30pm, 9:40pm, 9:50pm.... It was slowly moving towards the 10pm mark. After much struggle, I finally managed to complete my webpage up to minimal satisfaction and figured out the CSS problem. At that time, when I finished uploading my webpage, it was exactly 9:56pm with a few minutes to spare.

Overall, I am not completely satisfied with my webpage (I am such a perfectionist!) but I am glad I got it up on the web before 10pm. If not, even if I was 30secs late, the connection would break and my transfers would fail. Now, I cannnot do much except wait anxiously for the feedback.

Work Period! Peer edit! Too much for me to handle? (SEPT/23/2010)

Today in class we had a great amount of time to work independantly on our assignments. I chose my partner for the peer marker and had the chance to use the peer-marking scheme to review my webpage. I made some notes about what I should add when I get home and emailed them to myself.

In class I learned that it would be best if I added a comment after a hex color code. A comment would show up on a source code like:
/* SPACE NAMEOFCOLOUR SPACE */

It would not be seen when viewed as a webpage.

At home, I contacted my partner, Govind, and he helped me look over my autobiography (writing component), and I helped him look over his. Tomorrow we will evaluate each other's work. Well, that's the plan at least. I do hope everything goes as planned. I want to finish the twenty pgs of tutor math and ten pages of music theory as well. Hopefully my time management skills will not fail me.

Tomorrow is the dealine! I shall make it on time without depriving myself of sleep. :)

Friday deadline! (SEPT/22/2010)

Today in class after the usual routine of logging on and taking out our notebooks, we learned about linking files to different locations in a hierachical file structure. Mr. Arkin gave us different cases ont he board and showed us how to properly link a webpage in that certain scenario (add an anchor). For example, we learned how to link from the homepage and how to link from the autobiography webpage.

I was also informed that the Superpower Autobiography assignment will be due on Friday at 10pm (so we can sleep ontime)

Later on in the period, we got time to work on our assignment using the peer-marking form to guide us.

Tonight, I think that I am ready to hand in my assignment. However, due to the fact that I am a sem-perfectionist, I like to do things to the point where I think that I can no longer improve it anymore. I would like to edit the format (CSS) a bit more and proofread my autobiography one more time.

I must say, getting my assignment to this point was not easy. I wrote my autobiography on Word Processing so I had to find all the special characters and replace them with the codes (e.g. ”) See? I typed the entities so many times that I know the codes by heart! Then, after I finally finished adding the special character entities, it was already 11pm so I decided to stop and validate my HTML. To my surprise, it was actually validated on the second try (after I fixed a typo)! Amazing! The first time I tried to validate my HTML file, it took over an hour!

Tomorrow is one more day closer to the deadline. Goal: finish it with satisfaction and get enough sleep :-)

"Eat! Move! Sleep!" and Grade Nine Day (SEPT/21/2010)

Today we had a guest teacher and a grade nine activity day. So, we did not have class. I won't go on about what happened today in activity as this blog is for computer science class discussion, material, updates, etc.

Speaking of updates, I just found out that the deadline for the Super-power assignemnt is on Friday! I now can get more sleep today. As Mr. Arkin says, "Eat! Move! Sleep!" This is my motto from now on— at least for tonight. My goal is to get more than 8hours of sleep tonight and work on my assignment so I can finish it by Thursday.

This is all for today! I once again look forward to tomorrow!

My goodness! I am not prepared! (SEPT/20/2010)

My goodness! I am not prepared!

Today in class Mr. Arkin announced that the superpower autobiography was due on Wednesday! I was completely shocked! I was not prepared for this assignment to be due in two nights without me completely at least a fraction of it! I have to work harder from now on!

Anyways, back on track, the class began with Mr. Arkin's "Questions Arising" session when students can ask Mr. Arkin any questions they have in regards to the class. Then, he gave a brief introduction to client-server paradigms. He also talked about protocols: HTTP and FTP. Finally, we learned about the importance of increasing line spacing when using different colour combinations.

After this small lesson, he gave us all time to work on our assignment and walked around to answer any questions we had. I had most of my work on the autobiography assignment on a USB flash drive at home. Therefore, I simply worked a little bit more on improving my index page. Mr. Arkin looked over my index page and gave his say on it. After a few more moments, it was already time to log out and go to our next class.

At home, I am happy to announce that I am halfway finished through the HTML file of my autobiography.
My goals for the next two days are:
Tonight: Proofread final version of aubiography, finish majority of coding and design
Tomorrow in class: Finish all designing and coding
Tomorrow night: Validate and review
Wed in class: Review if time permits

It was a great day. Tomorrow, I will once again be the student host as Mr. Arkin attends a conference.

Character Entities! Studio 218! (SEPT/17/2010)

Today, on Sept 17, we learned about Character Entities in STUDIO 218! Every Friday from today onwards, Mr. Arkin will allow us to play music in his classroom (studio). Today Mr. Arkin was the DJ and he played us some of his selections. There is also a page on touque.ca that tells us more information about it. See:  Studio 218. In addition, I noticed that none of my classmates from Class A created a page on Wikispaces to choose the DJ for the upcoming week. So, I took the initiative to create it. See: Studio 218 Class A DJ selector. I created a system where students can nominate themselves and vote for their upcoming DJ.

NOTICE: I was supposed to write this blog on Friday, as this is Sunday now. Don't worry, I didn't forget about it, I was very busy assisting my cousin with her wedding on Friday night and Saturday. And to go off on a tangent, I was the bridesmaid! :-) Therefore, there may be some mix up in the mentionings of when I accomplished what and when events occurred. 

Later on in class, Mr. Arkin gave us time to work with a partner and review each of our printed versions of index pages. My partner had trouble uploading her webpage on the web, so a fraction of the time was spent assisting her to get in FileZilla and upload her webpage. After that, I had the chance to fix some of my misuses of underlining. (I learned that underlining is only used to indicate a link.) Then, it was time to go.

As far as homework goes, as I mentioned, I was not able to do any work until later today. I had the chance to make some changes to my revised index page and upload it one last time— or so I hope! (LOOK! An "mdash"!) However, I suppose change is good, and I should always make changes to my page by applying pieces of information I constantly obtain in class.

Lastly, Mr. Arkin gave us his recommendations of softwares we should download for home use. I will try my best to install these softwares before I go to sleep today.

Overall, Friday was a fairly good day.

Look forward to lots tomorrow!

A new perspective on computers! WOW! (Sept/16/2010)

The class today began with the typical routine: logging on and taking out our binders and notes ready for a lesson with Mr. Arkin. Today in class, Mr. Arkin discussed typography. Typography is using keyboard shortcuts to replace occasional uses of the mouse. I knew great fraction of the shortcuts Mr. Arkin was talking about; however, I was completely left in awe when he talked about some other shortcuts on the Windows computer that I have never heard of! It was definitely eye-opening. As I would say, it gave me a new perspective on computers. I have always thought that I knew ample about computers and even some basic knowledge of programming, but over the course of the past several classes, I found that, as wisemen would say, "The more I know, the less I know."

Then, after Mr. Arkin finished discussing keyboard shortcuts and answering questions that arised, he provided us with the rest of the period to work on either validating our index pages, and/or completeing the autobiography assignment. Today since I finished writing my autobiography, I simply started designing an outline of the webpage on the program, Paint, and started the HTML coding. I wouldn't say that this period was the most productive class I had, but I am definitely satistifed with what I accomplished.

At home, the only homework I had was read the "Typography" section of the class website, and by the time I finished, it was already 11:30pm since I had to go somewhere afterschool and did not arrive home until 10pm. I do hope that I will be able to finish the entire autobiography assignment by the end of this week (Sunday) and be able to concentrate on other things during class. When I finish, I will post a link to my webpage! :-)

Today was overall a very productive and eye-opening class. I look forward to much more knowledge that I will obtain in the near future.

A day of validating and finalizing (SEPT/15/2010)

Today was September 15, 2010. In class Mr. Arkin mainly focused on helping us validate our index pages and answering any questions we had. As I mentioned yesterday, I worked very hard at home trying to validate my index page. I asked Mr. Arkin some questions on wikispaces, and I finally knew how to validate it. I didn't get a chance to fully correct my errors and revaildate my index page until today in class. I must say, I felt extremely accomplished when I finally did. It took a lot of struggle to finally validate both my CSS and HTML files. After I did, I hit yet another obstacle. I did not know how to properly link my local copy of the two badges to my index page. After I asked Mr. Arkin how to fix my mistake, it was already time to go to our next class. So, I had to leave out the final task of finally completing my webpage at home.

The first thing I did when I arrived at home was, very evidently, take out my USB flash drive and finalize my index page. Then, within minutes, I had my fully validated and formatted index page live on touque.ca as a subsite.

I left for an English out-of-school class afterwards and when I returned at 10pm, I took some time to finish writing my autobiography. Now, my Superpower Autobiography assignment is now ready to be formatted and uploaded. I do hope that I will be able to finish by the end of this week so I can be less stressed out about my assignments and focus on taking extra time to learn more about HTML and CSS formatting.

Overall, I feel like this was a day of triumph, for I finally got my webpage fully validated and uploaded live on the web! :-)

Index page is finally up! (SEPT/14/2010)

Today was another work period with a supply teacher, because Mr. Arkin was away for a funeral. We were given instructions yesterday about uploading an index page and working on our superpower autobiographies. I didn't mind having a work period today, because I still had to upload my index page and finish my superpower assignment.

During class, I was not able to upload my index page, because many others were already connected to Filezilla. By the time I finally got connected, it was too late to upload my files. Therefore, during class time, I experimented a little more of CSS and added a little more styling to my index page.

Please refer to this URL to see my first webpage live on the net! http://touque.ca/EC/ICS2O/students/2010-09/ICS2O7A/XiaoL/

I definitely feel very accomplished. I finally uploaded my index page! I even got my CSS file to be validated! In addition, I currently just received an emai on Wikispaces from Mr. Arkin in regards to validating my HTML file. I will continue to work on validating my file tomorrow in class, if not tomorrow night.

At the moment, I am currently working on the draft of my superpower autobiography. Once I finish the written component, which is hopefully by tomorrow night, I will begin to work on my HTML and CSS coding to put it on a webpage.

The experience of making changes to my CSS or HTML file and refreshing my webpage to see the changes is completely and utterly rad!! Computer science has become a lot more interesting after I have become more confident about HTML.

My goals for tomorrow: Try to understand more of what Mr. Arkin will be teaching us; finish the writing component of my autobiography; validate and upload my index with a link to my autobiography assignment.

Mr. Arkin is back! ..To teach us a new language: HTML (SEPT/13/2010)

Today is when Mr. Arkin returned from his two-day absence. At the beginning of class, everyone had a chance to log on. Then, we were seated in rows ready to take notes of the lesson he was going to teach. I learned about hierachies, directories, subdirectories, and he listed several examples of each. Then, he talked about how to upload our files live on the web and answered some questions. Frankly, it wasn't completely confusing as many of my classmates expressed, but I didn't feel like I fully understood the concepts until I went home and experimented for hours today. I will explain more of my progress at home later on in this blog.

After his small lesson, Mr. Arkin gave us individual time to work on our index pages. He circulated the room to see if we have any questions. I did not feel confident at all when I worked on my html file, for I had only a fraction of the concepts understood in my head. (It may have also been because it was the end of the day, and I was exhausted from my cross country practice. Or perhaps that is simply an excuse) :-)

At home, I began my homework by searching up several html templates and analyzing and experimenting with them. What I did for the past couple of hours tonight (5pm-8:30pm) was taking pieces of the templates apart and putting it on my "TestingOne.html" file. Sometimes when I tore the templates apart, some sections of the website would not show up the way I wanted to, and I challenged myself to figure out why using Google and the Trial + Error method. This process began as a result of curiosity, but ended in frustration. However, I feel like I am more competent in HTML. I spent so much time self-teaching it tonight that I feel like I am speaking another language! My head feels dizzy and disoriented, and that is why I am taking a break by writing this blog.

I also worked on getting my files validated. It took a while, but I PARTIALLY succeeded. I posted a few questions on the Wikispaces discussion tonight and got my answers. Hopefully before I sleep I will be able to finish my other hwk from other subjects and get my index page validated and uploaded live on the class website.

Honestly, I truly believe that the learning of HTML is bittersweet. It can make a learner, like me, SO frustrated and doubtful when he/she encounters an obstacle. On the other hand, (for example) I felt like a million bucks when I finally got my file validated (until I found out that it was only PARTIALLY validated, of course)

Am I good at HTML coding? Of course not.

Am I ready to face the challenges and become better? YES.

Work periods! Experiments! Guest Teacher! (SEPT/10/2010)

Work periods! Experiments! Guest Teacher!

Today was definitely not as intense as the class Mr. Arkin taught two days ago! Frankly, I found it kind of wasted- in a way. Today was yet another work period under the supervision of a guest teacher. I was the student host, but everything was in order during that period so all I had done to play my role was introduce myself and help the teacher answer any questions the students had about the Superpower Assignment.

I had prepared a rough outline of the webpage I wanted to create for the assignment at home. Therefore, I spent the period testing several html codes that would fit the theme of my webpage. I ran into some trouble with the coding, and I spent a majority of the period trying to solve the problem. As I mentioned earlier, in a way found it a wasted period. It is because when I encountered the problem on my website, no one was able to answer my questions, and I couldn't fully continue to progress on my assignment until I solved it.

On the other hand, I do enjoy occasional work periods. They are a great way to catch up on my assignments and homework, as well as time to absorb all the materials that were previously taught in class. Two days of work periods in a row are enough. I am now waiting impatiently for Mr. Arkin to return and surprise me with another bundle of new material!

In regards to the homework that I was assigned, I currently still have to complete a daily log, which is the last one of the week, and the Superpower Autobiography.

In short: This is the end of the first week of high school. So much has occurred, and I am glad that I recorded them down in blog posts over the past several days! First week of high school: Completed; Superpower assignment: Soon (hopefully by Monday!)

I look forward to the first day of my second week of high school!

HTML, CSS. I can handle it (SEPT/09/2010)

Today we had a guest teacher in our CS class, because Mr. Arkin is away today and tomorrow for a celebration of the Jewish New Year. The students entered the classroom, and immediately logged on to our computers not wasting one minute of our computer work period. My friends and I also took the liberty to open the blinds while the computers were logging on after we signed in.

This period was meant for us to practice and apply the different things we learned in class yesterday about HTML and CSS. At the beginning of class, I had trouble opening my file on the computer. (I had already prepared an HTML file to test in class when I was at home yesterday.) After that, I inserted the stylesheet link to my file and created a CSS file to go along with it. A few minutes later, there it was: the first website I designed by HTML and CSS from scratch. A feeling of pride and joy overwhelmed me at that moment.

It turns out that I was one of the few successful people that did not have trouble with figuring out how the concept of HTML and CSS files work together. I took the majority of the period assisting and explaining to several of my classmates, as well as experimenting on my own website by adding images, links, and even a comment box that I learned how to code on Google! It was such an enjoyable class today! I also enjoyed hearing my peers' cries of triumph ("Yes! I finally figured this out!") after I helped them figure out why their webpages did not turn out the way they wanted to.

I had a couple of questions about the autobiography at the beginning of class, but a classmate of mine showed me the marking scheme, and it gave me the responses to my questions- and more!

In regards to the homework, as far as I know, all I have to work on is the SuperPowers assignment and complete this daily blog.

Tomorrow is another day of working on the assignment under the supervision of a guest teacher. In addition, I will be one of the student hosts!

Overall, it was a great day today!

Intense, fast-paced, thrilling, IB CS Class! (SEPT/08/2010)

I was enrolled in IB, because I found the regular Ontario Curriculum easy, and I wanted a challenge. Those who say be careful what you wish for are wise, for today there was a lot of new material taught in class.

At the beginning of class, Mr. Arkin discussed the duties of the students in a first period class. We were told that we must open the blinds on a sunny day and log on to the computers. There was a few moments of trying to figure out our passwords and attempting to log on. I knew my password, because I changed it over the summer when I checked my schedule online at http://www.tdsb.on.ca/

After all the madness passed, Mr. Arkin began his lesson. It started with HTML and CSS coding then ended with questions and how we can apply this knowledge in our homework.

I must say, even though many of my peers, as well as I, can agree that today's class was very intense and fast-paced, I found it interesting and enjoyable! It may have something to do with the previous knowledge and experience I had with HTML coding. Frankly, I actually learned it while I was playing NEOPETS (http://www.neopets.com/) as a child! When I was in grade 4 and 5, I created a guild with a couple of my friends, and we were required to make create the guild page with HTML. I have forgotten a majority of the knowledge I obtained through that playful experience, this is why I am extremely interested in learning more about webpages and related material.

Today for homework, according to the Daily Log on touque.ca, I have to finish writing a post on my blog and try to begin the superpower autobiography assignment. I am almost finished reading the information on the web mechanics, which will hopefully equip me for the work period I have in class tomorrow.

*On a side note, just to get it out of my system, I have to mention that I wrote eight pages of notes today in class. It was extemely tiring. as well as: Dreadful, alarming, painful, terrible..... (thesaurus) appalling, direful... now I shall stop at this moment before I incorrectly apply these words and offend someone.

A transition to a new chapter- High school (Sept/7/2010)

Today is September 07, 2010. In the morning, I attended my first computer science class of the 2010-11 school year. It was also the first day of high school! I walked in the classroom nervous and anxious. Who can possibly blame me? I am a pre-IB freshman with no clue what to expect!

At the beginning of class Mr. Arkin distributed our locker numbers. Then, he discussed the importance of having a good lock in possession. The class was then asked to copy down our homework for tonight.

"Homework on the first day?!" (Yes, that was I; however, I then accepted this fact and eventually moved on..)

For homework, as explained by Mr. Arkin in class and on the class website, we have to:

1. Review the class website (touque.ca) with a parent/guardian

2. Complete Wikispace assignment (www.wikispaces.com)

3. Preview the Super-power autobiography assignment

4. Create a Blogger account and write a blog.

So far, I have finished assigned homework number one to three, and I am on the verge of finishing the forth. (Writing this blog) Surprisingly, I am actually enjoying the experience of blogging! I find it a way to express myself and finish my homework. Who knew?

In closing: After my first day of high school, I feel that I am now mentally equiped for what challenges high school may present to me tomorrow, and in the next four years. I know I can handle it.