Week 1 Reflections

First Introductions to Computer Science
Due: 11:59 PM on Sunday, February 7

Weekly Recap

Congratulations! We have finished the first week of class. During this week, we began our journey into the world of computer science. As a recap:

  • On Monday, we discussed computer science as a discipline that studies problem solving and algorithmic thinking (i.e., developing a sequence of steps that produces a solution). Throughout this semester, we will make use of many of the related skills you have already developed as we explain to a computer how to solve problems for us using software programs that we will write.
  • On Wednesday, we finished up our review of the syllabus, and we introduced the six steps to problem solving with computer science: (1) analyzing the problem, (2) determining the specifications (recognizing what inputs we have available and what outputs our solution should make), (3) creating a design, (4) implementing the design as a program, (4) testing and debuggging the program, and (6) maintaining the program. We highlighted how our natural problem solving skills are very useful for the first three steps. As an example of this process, we created our first program as a class to convert temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit.
  • On Friday, we introduced the most basic building blocks needed to explain an algorithmic solution to a computer: variables (for remembering information), expressions (for creating information), and assignment (for saving information). We also discussed four fundamental types of data that a computer can understand: integers (whole numbers), floats (decimal numbers), strings (pieces of text), and Boolean values (True/False). We considered what happens when different operation are applied to instances of those data types. We also explored what types of data we might need for creating a program that communicates a social calendar of events.

Your Reflections

In this first of a weekly series of activities, you have the opportunity to reflect on your own experiences and connections with computer science. In particular, you should answer the following three questions:

  1. What did you learn this week?
  2. What would you now like to know more about?
  3. What connections can you make between something from class this week and your life (e.g., your personal interests, your future goals, your other classes, or society at large)?

You should type up your answers to the above questions in a single document using your favorite word processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, Google Docs), save the file as a PDF, and upload it to Gradescope under the assignment "Week 1 Reflections". Each answer should be at least one paragraph of 3-5 sentences.

At the end of your document, please indicate that you have followed the honor code on this assignment by writing:

I have adhered to the Honor Code in this assignment.