Semester Reflection

Katie Fullerton

Semester Reflection:

What I remember from the beginning of the semester are the HTML pages that I created. I enjoyed learning a little bit of the code behind the webpages that I use everyday. Obviously, it was an incredibly simplified version of websites like that the one I am using now but I liked being able to concretely see the changes I was making on the webpage I created.
I’m feel like we did something between HTML and Scratch but I don’t really remember it. As far as Scratch goes, I think that has been my least favorite part of the class so far. That’s not to say that I hated it. I just like writing the code instead of using pre-made building blocks. Scratch also felt very tedious, especially towards the end when we were embedding numerous blocks inside other blocks. However, I do feel like it helped me in the transition from HTML to Jeroo.
Jeroo has been favorite so far. At times, it is frustrating but most of the time it feels like a puzzle or a game and it is incredibly rewarding when I finally finish a lab. And, to be honest, I like the ones with storylines best. The Prince Jeroo rescuing the Princess Jeroo in lab 5C made me really happy. Recently, Christmas spirit has been taking over my life so my Jeroos have had names like Rudolph and Santa. Jeroo is the kind of thing that I could see myself getting addicted to if it was an app on the Iphone.
Overall, I am enjoying this class much more than I thought I would. I like how the labs we do are like puzzles and I like that there aren’t really lectures. Having the freedom to work on our own makes working on the computer much more interesting. After switching into this class desperately in need of a tech credit, I was not expecting to enjoy it at all. Honestly, I was expecting to hate it but I have been impressed. This class is perfect for LASA students. Teach us the basics and set us loose; offer help but don’t stand over our shoulders; let us work through the problems and they will get solved one way or another.

Now for the Weekend...

      This Saturday, my rowing team as Field Day instead of practice (which is especially nice because I'm still sore from yesterday's practice). After Field Day, I'm going out to lunch before coming home to watch the UT game and put of Christmas lights. My mom has Saturday labelled as "Exterior Illumination Day" on her calender and I think it's hilarious.
      Sunday after church, my mom, sister, and I are going to the Sprint store to get Iphones. We've all been saying we're going to get them for almost a year now and it's finally on the calender now. My sister and I are especially excited. My mom, on the other hand, is rather apprehensive. She doesn't think anything is wrong with her old phone but we've convinced her that she'll want to know how to use the Iphone by the time I go to college so we can talk on Facetime and/or Skype. I think she'll adjust well but it might take some time.
     Only one more full week before finals and then WINTER BREAK! : )

Life is Fantastic

     I've been in a ridiculously good mood all week so the Jeroo programming we've been doing has bordered on fun. They're like puzzles: super frustrating until you solve them, at which point they turn out really cool and rewarding. I even feel like I'm making progress. I only have one lab left and then I'm done until the final. Which, by the way, I'm a little concerned about. I think I might get really frustrated and not think straight. I usually get a lot of help from the people around me on the labs so I'm worried that I might not be able to do a really complicated one like the final on my own. I guess we'll see.
      Last week I forgot to do a blog post so here's what I did over Thanksgiving Break. My family and I drove to Dallas to see my dad's family. His is the big side of the family so there were 22 people in one house on Thanksgiving. I ran the Dallas Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning and it was first time I had ever run eight miles. I felt like a cripple old woman afterwards; my knees hurt and my ankles hurt and my toenail hurt. Essentially everything hurt until Friday night. It was fun while I was doing it but, in hindsight, I probably should have walked some of it.
     The highlight of my Break was watching the final UT vs. A&M game on my uncle's enormous TV. My uncle is an Aggie and we always watch the Thanksgiving game together and try and out-cheer each other. It was absolutely wonderful to beat them in College Station and send them off with a great, exciting game and a last-second field goal. My sister and I has some serious breathing problems in the last minute and half of the game, after we got the ball back and has to drive down the field to win. I didn't have much faith at the point, to be honest, which made our comeback even better. Once the Aggies scored that last touchdown, I was pretty sure we were going to lose but my Longhorns came through for me! Needless to say, life is fantastic.