Oct. 8th 2016

The first day as an apprentice was really exciting. I was able to become acquainted with the Shodor staff and my fellow apprentices. I look forward to being an apprentice at Shodor.

Oct. 15th 2016

Today, I learned about computational thinking and information. It was amazing to see that two reliable sources had entirely different anwsers to the same question. There was also a presentation by Mr. Broadnax about Professional Ethics.

Oct. 22nd 2016

I was unable to come to Shodor today. I made up the missed time by reviewing the recordings and looking at the coin flips activity on my own.

Nov. 5th 2016

I learned about programming concepts and how they are useful in creating models. I created excel spreadsheets to create many different models. My favorite model was the diffusion model, which can be found under iteration examples.

Nov. 12th 2016

I learned about dynamic systems and system models , and how they can be applied to the real world. It was cool to see how one equation, Have = Had + Change, dictates the behavior of all models, and that all models are based off of simple stories. I also learned how to use another modeling software, Vensim. It was difficult to use at first, but over time, I was able to get used to it. I created system models of the following scenarios, Simple Population in excel; and an SRI and predator prey model in Vensim. All of these models can be found in my portfolio.

Nov. 19th, 2016

Today, I learned about a second types of model, agent based models. An agent based model consists of individuals, called agents, which are governed by a specific set of rules. I also learned ho to use agentcubes, an agent based modeling software, to program agent based models. Like system models, agent based models have a story in the beginning; however, agent based models are governed by probablility, while system models are governed by ratios. I created two models in Agentcubes, Thing1 and a disease model, which can be found under my portfolio.

Dec. 3rd, 2016

I started my group project today with Ritvik. Our project was about Kingfisher and Fish. We were able to plan our project today, and begin creating the VenSim and Agentcubes models of our project. The completed website of the group project can be found under my portfolio.

Dec. 10th, 2016

Ritvik and I continued our group project. We made a lot of progress today, and almost completed our Agentcubes and Vensim models. I worked on the Agentcubes, and it was really hard trying to balance all the agents to make the model work. Sometimes, the Kingfishers would eat all the fish, or the reproduction of the fish would spiral out of control. But overall, working with Ritvik and working on the AgentCubes model was a fun experience.

Dec. 17th, 2016

Today we put our final touches to the Vensim and Agentcubes programs. Most of the errors were fixed, and the ones that were not will be fixed soon. I can"t wait to present the group project.

Feb. 4th, 2017

I was not able to come to class today. Instead, I listened to the audio recordings and followed on with the activities. In class, we learned about a new programming language, Javascript, and looked at a predator prey model.

Feb. 11th, 2017

Today, we worked on trying to turn a predator prey model into a disease model. We learned about variables and the syntax of javascript. It was really fun to experiment with Javascript in the console and use those same

Feb. 18th, 2017

We finished turning our predator prey model into a disease model. It was cool seeing how the whole disease model came together, and it took a lot of work changing all the variables and functions to create specific agents and to modify the behaviors of those agents.

March 4th, 2017

Today Heeba and I started on our group project. We had to create a forest fire model by altering either the Disease or the Predator-Prey model. After completing the HLD Document , Heeba and I started altering the Disease Model, and we were able to make the fire spread.

March 11th, 2017

I continued to work on the Group Project today,and I was able to finish the Forest Fire Model while also adding Temperature and Humidity. The completed Forest Fire Model can be seen in my portfolio.

March 18th, 2017

I was unable to come to Shodor today for the Project Presentations. Instead, Heeba and I will present our projects next class, on April 1st.

April 1st, 2017

Today we started learning about parallel computers. It was really cool to see how more than one computer could help conserve time, memory, and be able to do more all at the same time. We also started on our Parallel Computing Notebook with corresponding activities, which enhanced my knowledge of supercomputers. This can be seen under my portfolio.

April 8th, 2017

We continued our Parallel Computing Notebooks and learned more about supercomputers. It was cool to see the difference between different supercomputers on the Top 500 list, and how the list may not even bee an accurate representation of supercomputers. We also experimented with workload sizes( how much work each computer has to do) and dependencies (how much each computer relies on each other). Finally, we went "shopping" for our own supercomputer, and I found it hard trying to balance the processing power, memory, and the CPU to a budget below $3,000.

April 22nd, 2017

I was not able to come to class today, but I listened to the audio recordings instead. In class, the other students linked their computers together to form a massive supercomputer using BCCD. After, they experimented with programs such as the "Game of Life".

June 19th, 2017

Today was the first day of the Summer program. I started the modelling project by trying to model an oil field. First, I completed my HLD(High level design) document and then started on my AgentCubes agent model. This was very difficult, since my model was very complex and had multiple variables and agents all interacting with each other at the same time. I had to change my model multiple times to make sure that the agents were working with each other.

June 20th, 2017

I started my second day at the Shodor Summer program by learning about graphics ans CyberDuck, an application that allows for the transfer of files from the computer to the system. Next, I began on my system model using Vensim PLE. Modelling the petroleum supply chain was a difficult task, since I had to balance many different variables and make them work with each other. Finally, after many attempts and failures, I was able to get my VenSim to work. After finishing my System Model, I began correcting the errors on my AgentCubes Model. This was also very difficult, due to the "scent" that the agents had to follow. After modifying the amount of scent, I finished my AgentCubes model.

June 21st, 2017

Today at Shodor I worked on the AgentCubes for my model. There was an error which caused my AgentCubes model to malfunction, so I had to redo one of my agents. After many attempts , I was finally able to fix my agent cubes. After fixing my AgentCubes, I started to work on the Responsive HTML tutorial and was able to complete 3/4ths of it.

June 22nd, 2017

I finished my Responsive HTML tutorial today. It was cool to see how I could create a professionally looking website from scratch. After finishing the tutorial, I started on the modelling website. I also updated my High Level Design Document to reflect the changes of my modelling project. After finishing my modelling project, I updated my VenSim and AgentCubes to make it more user-friendly.

June 23rd, 2017

I began my graphics project today. First, Ernie began a tutorial about InkScape, a drawing program. Then. we started to create our own logos and designs for our website, and we just created a few for the fun of it. Even though the process was fun, it took a long t ime. I had to balance many things, such as color and layers. Sometimes, the shapes deleted themselves after a neighboring shape was deleted. After a long time, I was able to complete most of the projects.

June 26th, 2017

Today we learned about Gimp and we started on a graphic called "Cosmic Turtles". Gimp was harder to use than InkScape, but I quickly got the hang of it. I was able to complete the Cosmic Turtles graphic, along with another collage. After finishing my Collage, I had to mess with pictures of Ernie and Aaron. I also began my web banners.

June 27th, 2017

Today was a work day at Shodor. I finished all my Gimp Projects including the scaling images and the web banners.Next, I updated the graphics onto my portfolio, which took a while because I had to edit the size of the images. After uploading the graphics, I edited my website a bit and edited my models to make them more realistic and started to add my finishing touches.

June 28th, 2017

Today was another work day at Shodor. I worked on my Modelling project. While I was working, an error occurred in AgentCubes. After a while, I was able to fix it and continue on with AgentCubes. After working on AgentCubes, I spent a lot of time fixing my VenSim and my project website.There were also a few issues with the CSS on my main website, which I also improved. At the end of the day, I had started on my Website HLD.

June 29th, 2017

I had morning reception in the beginning of the day. I worked on my website HLD at the front computer, and on editing my main website. After lunch, I started putting my final touches on my agentcubes model and my modelling website. However, Ernie pointed out that I had a few error on my AgentCubes, and my graphics were not scaled correctly. After working on AgentCubes for a long time, I was able to correct the problem. However, I still have to update my VenSim and modelling website, and I still have to edit my graphics.

June 30th, 2017

I began my day by updating my modelling project. However, since agentcubes was under maintenance,I worked on my VenSim model. After updating my VenSim model, I made an inkscape graphic of the new website I was going to create. After that, I changed my website logo into a gif on the top left of my page. After creating my gif, I started simplifying my website in the process of creating a new one. I tried to add a horizontal navigation bar, but it did not come out the way I expected. Instead,I decided to simplify my navigation bar by putting all the Shodor links into a new page called "Shodor Resources".

August 9th, 2017

I had gone on a vacation, so I started my second block today. I started by working on my programming syntax guide. Then, I watched the videos from last block to catch up on the PHP demos. I worked on a coin flipping model and embedding PHP into HTML and rendering HTML into PHP. After Lunch, Ms. Ross gave a presentation on resumes, and we also made our own resumes.

August 10th, 2017

Today, I worked on my embedding/rendering HTML and PHP demo in the morning, and then proceeded on to morning documentation. I took pictures and took notes during the Shodor Scholar's program about the concepts the students learned and what the students did throughout the day. After the documentation, the apprentices watched a movie called "Code: Debugging the Gender Gap". The documentary explored why women are underrepresentated in the computer science field and the challenges women face following a career in computer science.

Code: Debugging the Gender Gap

While watching the documentary, I learned that it is mostly society that does not allow women to go into the computer science field. Stereotypes about women and the computer science field in general steer women away from pursuing a degree and getting a job in computer science. I feel that helping underrepresented populations learn coding and computer science is important for the United States, especially as there will be a shortage in software engineers in the future. This is especially alarming as many other countries in the world are getting ahead of the US in educating their populations about computer science. Raising awareness about STEM and disproving the stereotype that STEM is only open to a "particular kind of person" may be helpful to improve diversity in STEM. Educating employees about diversity and teaching them how to respect people of different backgrounds may help improve inclusion in STEM workplaces.

August 11th, 2017

Today I started on my php projects. I started by working on my ransom hex project, which randomly changes the page bckground color. Next, I worked on my dice statistics file, which took the number of dice and number of roles and made a probaility chart out of them. I tried to do my calendar and Dane Joe files, but by the end of the day I had not completed them. I also started on my dynamics pages demo.

August 14th, 2017

I worked on my Second Part of the PHP projects today. The first project was a background selector with a drop down menu to choose the color. However, the page had to remember the last color a person made the background using cookies. The second project I worked on was the XML blog. In this project, I had to create a page that dynamically loaded blog entries from an external XML file to a PHP page.

August 15th, 2017

I worked on finishing up my php projects today. I started by finishing on my XML blog, a dynamic php page that loads content from an external xml file. Next, I checked if my diceStat and and calendar programs were working. The diceStats file was not working properlt, so I created a function to take in the number of rolls and dice. Later, I worked on formatting my calendar file.

August 16th, 2017

I began remaking my website today. I used two libraries to make my website, JQuery and Bootstrap. I reformatted the CSS and adapted my pages to bootstrap. I also added a drop down menu and multiple slide down features. I also incorporated bootstrap into my website, and a few errors arose. I hope to fix the errors tommorrow.

August 17th, 2017

I continued to remake my website today. I added more sliders in my blog page and updated my blogs. I also fixed the formatting in my calendar php file. I made the menu and footer come down when the ucer scrolls, but the main heading does not come down with the menu.

August 18th, 2017

Today I continued remaking my website. I made my navbar into bootstrap and added new features to my portfolio. I also had my presentation today. I showed my Modelling project, my graphhics, my background selector, and my calendar.