CIA-Alex_Edwards-Day02

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Successes: 

Shape Calculator: Today I was able to complete all of the tasks! I’m pretty proud of myself as I found it quite time-consuming as this is a completely new realm to me. Firstly, I was able to complete the shape calculator. At first, I thought that we were supposed to program python to draw out the shape, then I realized that we were simply making an area calculator based on shapes. Although I have been going well on CodeAcademy, I wasn’t extremely confident in myself as I knew this wasn’t going to be easy for me. After watching a few tutorials I figured out it’s quite simple actually! All you need to do is define the variables of each shape you choose and in this instance, I chose a circle, triangle (the requirements) and a square (for good measure). I had them set to equate to a number, therefore, the computer would ask you to select a shape and you would input a number into the calculator. Then, I had set each of the area formulas of the three shapes into the calculator so it would then ask you if you would like to calculate the are of your chosen shape. It doesn’t let you select yes or no (why would you not need to calculate the area if you are using it in the first place!) so it goes straight into asking you to input your measurements of each shape. For example, for square, it asks for the length, for circle, it asks for the radius, and for the triangle, it asks for the base length and the height. It will then automatically display the area of your shape with your given dimensions.

Here’s what it would look like if you were trying to find the area of a triangle whose base length is 6 and height is 8:

 The area is 24!

Rock, Paper, Scissors Game: This game was one of my first interactions with JavaScript and I have to say it is a lot harder than I expected. I thought that it was going to be good for beginners like me but I found it to be extremely frustrating. A simple game like this took me more than a few hours as I kept coming across syntax errors. Thankfully though I was able to finish the game through all of that coding (the hints didn’t really help). I am pretty proud of myself too figuring it out on my own because I made at least 50 attempts per stage of the game as I could not get through perfecting each stage. This is also something I’d like to work on; getting through each stage without having as many syntax errors or errors in general. By the end of this course, I would really like to get through a stage without making any errors at all! Other than that I still found it fun, but think I prefer to code using Python…

Failures: I would say definitely the amount of time this took me was a bit of a failure. Although this is the first official day of the course, I would have liked to have taken less time on these tasks. But this is also a good thing because it’s another thing I’ve now noted that I clearly need to work on. I should definitely start a bit earlier in the day and try to fit it into my busy schedule but by the end of this course I would really like to see more efficiency with my time management.

CIA-Alex_Edwards-Day01

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Vlog Reflection: So far starting off the course my first impression is not what I was expecting. Having no introduction to coding whatsoever, I have to admit it felt like diving head first into something completely unknown to me. Here’s a vlog as to why I decided to do this course, as well as some successes and challenges I’ve faced thus far.

I forgot to mention that I’ve also found myself coming across quite a few syntax errors as my initial reaction to coding, but that’s okay because I’ve figured out a solution to every problem myself!

Design Thinking Activity: This activity was my first introduction to the design thinking strategy and I now clearly see how it can help me sift through ideas as I develop them in the future. I decided to write the steps of how to make a banana smoothie that I simply know; just basic steps. After writing everything out, I had Jessie ready through it and write any questions she had while reading it to clarify any misconceptions to the audience. Through this, I understood that as creators we have completely different conceptions to a viewer. Something we may think is simple and easy to understand triggers questions to someone else and these things are very important to identify and fix. This concept is the first step in the design thinking process, Empathize. Then there’s Define, writing out the steps; proceeding with, Ideate, developing a solution. After that Prototype and Test follow, which is where you would test your creations and make any revisions from that point forward. This process stems from an idea of empathizing with others to identify a central problem and working towards solving said problem creatively.

Coding Languages: Just this morning was my first introduction to understanding any coding language whatsoever. Here’s what I learned. Python seems to be the easiest of the coding language, great for beginners like me. It is the oldest language out of JavaScript and Google Script. JavaScript is slightly more complex as it is case sensitive but it is one of the most popular languages worldwide. Google Script is the baby of the languages, but very similar to JavaScript. The biggest advantage of Google Script though is its correlation with google you can run the codes you create in google slides, sheets, docs, and forms.

 (Python) (Google Script)(JavaScript)

‘Hello World!’: Here is my first ever project. I decided to take on a challenge and use Google Script for this one. After looking up the process I found there are two ways to do it. I could have, through google spreadsheets, written the code by defining a variable. I then found another way, which is to use a debugging method. Heres my code:This can also be displayed using JavaScript and Python. I was able to figure it out in Python as it was simply just instructing the program to print the message.

I was unable to successfully use JavaScript but here’s what it should look like:

Codeacademy: Through Code Academy, I found I definitely learned the most. I found it to be great practice as they wouldn’t let me move forward until I had perfected the code. I learned how to print statements, strings, fixing syntax errors when printing, variables, arithmetic (including using a modulo operator), updating variables, adding comments, using a float and integers, division, multi-line strings, booleans, and finally fixing value errors.

Timetable Program: Using the skills I learned today I decided to use Python to display the 5s timetable, here’s what I made. 

I wanted to have the code try to solve each equation but I had a really hard time trying to figure that out. So I decided to simply display multi-line strings using triple quotes. I’m honestly pretty pleased with the outcome as this the first program I’ve ever made!

SML Reflection

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  1. What is your topic and why did you choose it?

I chose learning how to play the guitar as I have a passion for music and I wanted to be able to have the advantage of being able to play an instrument. I love music and have always wanted to be able to play the guitar giving me the advantage to write and compose music.

2. Describe your experience so far: What challenges have you faced? Did you overcome those challenges?

Some challenges i’ve faced were not fully getting something the first time but being resilient really help me overcome my challenges.

  1. Has your project changed since the beginning? If so, how?

My project has slightly altered its direction as I first started off with wanting to be able to learn a few chords but I found out this goal was too easily achievable. Now my project

  1. What are you proud of so far?

I  am really proud of myself for accomplishing what I’ve gotten done so far.

  1. Do you feel creative when doing SML? If so, what are the conditions that help you to be creative?

  2. Can you share any specific samples of your learning?

  3. What have you learned about yourself as a learner? How do you learn best? Does the structure of SML help? Or is the structure frustrating for you?

Identity, Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Racism

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1. How does race shape the way we see ourselves and others?

I think that race shapes the way we see ourselves and others as what we look like. Race varies in different definitions depending on different people and their views but the way I see things, race is something that we first see in a person. If you look at an Asian person in the US you may not know were this person is from or what language they speak but you are curious. Of course people may have a guess to where about they think this person is from, but they don’t really know them, not even their race. Race isn’t the thing that defines people, race is made up; race is an ideology. Nationality is a characteristic of where people truly feel where they belong, where they are from. When someone asks, “Where are you from?” for me that question is hard to answer and what I say may be something the person I am telling gets blindsided by. When someone looks at me they can tell I am probably from the US because of my accent but no one knows until I tell them. Even though my ancestors may have come from Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, Native America, and more, that is not where I identify myself to be from. I was born and raised in Hong Kong and that is where I feel home is to me. Even though I carry an Australian passport and have an American accent, I am from Hong Kong; my nationality however is different. People classify themselves in different ways however they feel comfortable. Race is just the first thing you see when you look at someone regardless of where you are in the world and based on race is how people create things like stereotypes and be prejudice. before you get to know someone, based on how people may think they’re going to act is the way they might get treated by you because that is all you know about them; you haven’t taken the time to uncover who they are, truly. Race may shapes what we see in people but that is just because we have nothing else to base assumptions about who we think these people are.

 

2. To what extent do our ideas about race influence the choices we make?

I feel like our ideas about race influence the choices we make by making us become prejudice based on stereotypes even though someone may not know someone else’s identity. When people take a look at someone they’ve never seen before they immediately, based on stereotypes, will be prejudice towards someone.  For example, a stereotypes against Chinese people is that they are loud eaters, who are rude towards other people they haven’t met before, they don’t speak very good english and they are bad drivers. These things don’t apply to all Chinese people but some other people when looking at someone on the street may think they do these things. Some people who don’t know aspects about race might consider it more than people who know more about it would. What I mean by this is that without being educated about race and how its an ideology might help people to took past it rather than to be focused on it because people shouldn’t be defined by their race.

Spring Parent Conference Reflection

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After creating my brain frame and having a conference with Ms. Bevear, there are a few things I would like to work on.  When working on creating writing pieces I would like to improve my time management and quickly finish my drafts as I need to revise and edit more. I also feel that I should advocate more time for myself to come in after school and work on things that I struggle with, for example, vocabulary. I could also review more and practice with newsela, and noredink. In my reading I feel I should read more non-fiction genres and I tend to not favor them the most and it would improve my vocabulary.

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圣诞节

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圣诞节不但是美国一个传统节日，而且也是一个地道的美国节日。圣诞节是12月25日，而12月24日是圣诞节前夕， 很像中国新年的除夕。因为圣诞节是基督徒纪念耶稣诞生的一个重要的，所以也是很多西方国家一年最盛大的节日，很像中国的节日春节。我从小开始就很喜欢这个节日，因为它比其他节日更然闹。

 

每年的这个节日，美国节日气氛很­­­浓厚， 衘上有很多人购物。商店会卖各式各样的圣诞节礼物，他们也会把商店装饰得很漂亮。有的商店会卖圣诞节礼物，有的商店会卖衣服。很多美国人除了在家里放圣诞节以外，还会布置他们的房子每年这个季节，我都会跟爸爸妈妈一起去坐飞机回美国庆祝这个节日。我喜欢在美国圣诞节，因为那里有我们的亲戚朋友。

 

圣诞节那天，我们的家人准备了很多美食。这些食物比我想象得还要多。它们和中国的年夜饭很不一样，它们不是中式的鸡鸭鱼肉，不是家常菜，也不是快餐。说起美国的食物，人们一般都认力我们不是吃汉堡包和热狗，就是吃披萨饼。更多不同的东西，比如新鲜的水果和蔬菜沙拉，牛排，火腿，烤火鸡，土豆泥等等。这么多好吃的东西，我一点也不挑食。

 

在美国，即便孩子们没有压岁钱，还是高兴，因为他们会 收到很多礼物。他们在睡觉前把一只 袜子放在枕头旁边，因为圣诞老人会把礼物放在他们的袜子里。他们酸来的时候，就可以看到礼物。现在我和我的爸爸妈妈住在香港，我们每年都有机会在香港体验中国的春节，我们也对过年很感兴趣，我们也对中国的文化越来越喜欢。只要能和家人在一起过节，我都会很开心。

 

LA Goals

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Photo on 11-1-16 at 12.36 pmQuarter 2 – Reading Goal

For this quarter my goals is to read 8 different genres to help me get on my track of reading 35 books by the end of the year.

 

Quarter 2 – Writing Goal

For this quarter my goals is to incorporate at least three different words into my stories form either my wonder words wall or my quizlet lists indicating that its there by underlining it.

 

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Approaches to Learning Rubric – Quarter 4

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Oral Presentation – Quarter 4 goalsPhoto on 6-6-16 at 1.58 pm #2

 

Grammar

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The Imperative Mood – The imperative moos is a sentence that gives a command. This mood is common in English sentences. Other verb tenses that are not the imperative mood may express a hope, a possibility, a fact or ask a question.

Example:

– Feed the dog!

– Do you’re homework.

– Clean your room.

Grade 8 Writing

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Photo on 9-21-15 at 12.30 PM– Overall I’m pretty happy with my results!

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– Im pretty pleased with only two mistakes on this page.

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– I had a few spelling mistakes but over all i’m pretty pleased with the outcome.

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– Only having a few spelling mistakes i’m glad with the results, again.

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– Even though I forgot the word count, i’m pleased with the pretty flawless outcome!

Overall Grade: ME!!

 

 

 

 

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Persuasive Uniform Essay

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Argumentative Writing Summative

Photo on 11-1-16 at 12.20 pmPhoto on 11-1-16 at 12.20 pm #2 Photo on 11-1-16 at 12.20 pm #3 Photo on 11-1-16 at 12.18 pm #2Photo on 11-1-16 at 12.19 pmI feel like overall, my argumentative writing could you a little help. My Language could’ve used some help in particular, especially spelling. I feel like I well in organisation and the structure of the essay though.

Photo on 11-1-16 at 12.18 pm 6 word story

 

Literary Techniques used in The Giver by Lois Lowry

Before:

 

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After:

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 The Outsiders Summative Essay

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Reflection – I think somethings that I did well with this essay was my organization as I planned out my structure before hand as well as had my post-it notes organized with quotes. As well as this, I think that I stayed on topic and focused on answering and talking about the prompt. I wish I had checked my spelling more and would’ve have been more careful when typing but I didn’t to bad enough to lower my grade.

 

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Summative Double Entry Journal

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Grade 8 Notetaking for MacBeth – The Witches Scene

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我最好的朋友

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我最好的朋友

虽然我有很多的好朋友, 可是我最好的朋友叫Regan。 她十二岁, 又矮又瘦。她的黑头发不长也不短。她有一双大大的眼睛，咖啡色的，很漂亮。她除了很爱笑以外，还很喜欢说话。也许这就是她在朋友中很受欢迎的原因。她有小小的耳朵，她一般都戴耳环。因为她是个混血儿，一半是菲律宾，一半是加拿大，所以她的皮肤比我的皮肤黑。她不但很聪明，而且也对人友善。因为她很爱笑，所以她总是很开心。

 

去年我们是在科学课上认识的。第一节科学课我们坐在一起。上课的时候，她很少说话，所以我认为她很害羞。我以为她很难相处因为她看起来很骄傲。事实上，她对人很友善，是一个很好的朋友，而且她特别爱笑。我们都喜欢科学课。我们常常一边讨论，一边做作业。而且，我们非常喜欢当同伴，为了完成科学课的作业，我们经常去对方的家里做功课。

 

她很擅长交朋友。她经常跟朋友们一起聊天。我做运动比她做得更好。我对唱歌更感兴趣，但是她不喜欢唱歌。每次在学校吃午饭的时候，我们和很多个同学坐在一起，她总是和她们说很多的话。上科学课的时候，她不是和老师开玩笑就是和同学聊天。

 

我们不但都喜欢数学，而且还都喜欢科学。我们都喜欢一起去逛街。虽然我们在一起的时间很短，可是我们像姐妹一样。我们在一起的时间越长，我们的友情也越来越深。

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