Day 39

Secondary Resources: JavaScript on Khan Academy

Challenge: Recipe CardMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

Challenge: Movie ReviewsMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

Challenge: Picture PainterMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

Spin-off of "Project: Bookshelf"Made using: Khan Academy Computer Science

Math Review

Intro to slope-intercept form: Slope-intercept form, y=mx+b, of linear equations, emphasizes the slope and the y-intercept of the line. Watch this video to learn more about it and see some examples.

A bit of physics...

And some art in the neolithic era

Day 38

Math Review

Linear equations with unknown coefficients: Sal solves the equations ax+3x=bx+5 and a(5-x)=bx-8 for x. Note that these equations include other unknowns (a and b) but we solve them for x.
Interpreting units in formulas: Sal finds an appropriate measurement unit for Power given the formula P=W/t where P is Power, W is Work, and t is Time.

Intercepts from a table: Sal finds the y-intercept of the graph of a linear function given a table of values.

Some introductory physics:

These are fairly short videos that put art history in a broader, albeit simplistic context:

And yes, the narrator is kind of annoying.

Day 36

Launch School Prep Curriculum

Here is a podcast from Course Report about coding boot camp news. It's worth a listen:

https://soundcloud.com/course-report/episode-8-october-2016-coding-bootcamp-news-roundup

And a Chicago Tribune article about standards for reporting job placement statistic for boot camp grads:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-coding-boot-camp-job-placement-bsi-20161027-story.html

Secondary Resources

So I have a ton of javascript and html/css projects I worked on through Khan Academy that I haven't shared here yet. Khan Academy used to have a simple embed link to embed them easily here, but that functionality does not seem to be working lately. Instead I will have to rely on screenshots to show what I have been up to. These are ugly and missing functionality. Hopefully Khan Academy fixes the issue soon.

These challenges are all about arrays, which are basically just collections of elements that you store so you can tell the program to access them and do something with them later.

Math Review

I'm up to 46% in Algebra I.

Evaluating expressions using structure (advanced): A few more examples where Sal evaluates expressions with multiple unknown variables.

And for something lighter, here is a video about the process for making lithographic prints.

Day 35

Creating an equation with no solutions: Sal shows how to complete the equation -11x + 4 = __x + __ so that it has no solutions.

Day 28

Math Review

I've been hovering around 43% in Algebra I all week. Making progress slowly.

Equations with parentheses: Sal solves the equation -9 - (9x - 6) = 3(4x + 6) using the distributive property.

And some art history for fun:

Day 27

Math Review

Equations with parentheses: Sal solves the equation -9 - (9x - 6) = 3(4x + 6) using the distributive property.

Number of solutions to equations: See how some equations have one solution, others have no solutions, and still others have infinite solutions.

Study Habits

Here's Sal Khan giving a Ted Talk on Mastery Based Learning.

My Study Priorities

My Study Priorities

I've laid out my study priorities for the next couple of months. Breaking them into categories and writing them down has really given my a sense of structure and more confidence that I can put in the work I need to to reach my goals.

Launch School Curriculum

The landing page at Launch School says "Our program is about slowly building up proficiency in fundamentals (of software development) while at the same time exposing you to new workflows and practices. Don't rush, take it slow, follow the path, and you'll be transformed. This is the slow path to master." I've been very attracted by the teaching philosophy they hint at here, and you can find more about it on their website: launchschool.com.

They offer a full path to learning full stack development with a monthly payment plan. The coursework is self paced, but there are teaching assistants always available.

They also offer a big chunk of beginner prep coursework for free. Right now I am working through the beginner section and really trying to get all of the concepts down before I start the main (paid) section.

Secondary Online Resources

For secondary resources beyond the Launch School curriculum and as preparation for it there are lots of options. Here are a few: codeacademy.com, khanacademy.com, Learn to Program by Chris Pine, coursera.org, edx.org, udacity.com, udemy.com, and MIT open courses. My plan to is to pick and choose what is useful from the free or low cost option among these. I'm always happy to be pointed in the direction of more resources as well!

Math Review

Khanacademy.org is a great resource for reviewing math. It goes all the way from beginning elementary school math to calculus. You can do practice sessions and mastery challenges to move on to higher levels, and can even share the videos they have to help you.

Study Habits

I believe we can all study more efficiently. And efficiency it truly key when we have limited time with work, family and social obligations. I want to share all the things I find helpful to me to be an efficient learner in this section.

Exercise, Nutrition and Sleep

Exercise, nutrition and sleep are helpful for efficient learning. I aim to keep track of some of my habits here.

Language Studies

Language studies are by now means my primary goal right now. But being a polyglot has always been a life goal of mine. That being said, some spaced repetition of languages using duolingo, rosetta stone and other online resources will lay the foundation for working on languages when I have more time.

Day 23 and 24

Launch School Prep Curriculum

Today I worked on some more Command Line Interface exercises. There's not much to show here, but I am getting better at them.

Secondary Resources

I'm working on a drawing of a house using JavaScript loops. Here's the unfinished project.

Spin-off of "Project: Build-a-House"Made using: Khan Academy Computer Science

Math Review

These took me a while to figure out exactly what it was asking me to do. It's simple once you get the hang of it though.

Compound inequalities: OR: Sal solves the compound inequality 5z+7<27 -3z="" a="" or="" style="color: #111111; font-family: helvetica;">


This second one is pretty easy.

Equation with variables on both sides: fractions: Sal solves the equation (3/4)x + 2 = (3/8)x - 4.

Exercise, Sleep and Nutrition

Friday: 18215 steps (9.92 miles), core workout

Saturday: 18151 steps (9.64 miles), core workout

Nutrition needs work. I'm still figuring out sleeping habits for starting work at 4am (I have to get up at 2:30).

Language Studies

French - Duolingo review

German - Location (inside, outside etc), Predicate Adjective 2 (These were pretty hard)

Spanish - Numbers, began past tense

Italian - Colors

Day 22

Launch School Prep Curriculum

I worked on Command Line interface exercises today. I also read about Executables, which are files for which the following is true:

1. They have special characters at the beginning to tell the computer how to execute them.
2. They have scripts or machine language as their content.
3. They have the executable permission (we'll talk more about this later).

Math Review

I'm up to 41% in Algebra I on Khan Academy.

How to determine the number of solutions of a system of equations using algebraic reasoning (example): Sal solves several examples where he reasons about the number of solutions of systems of equations using algebraic reasoning.

Sleep, exercise and nutrition

I slept pretty well last nigt and took a nap this afternoon. I'm still adjusting to getting up at 2:30 am for work, but I'm feeling pretty ok about it. For exercise, I did a short core workout and walked 16,470 steps (8.87 miles). I also spent 10 minutes stretching. Nutrition has been all over the place. I had McDonald's for lunch so that wasn't the best. I remembered to take my multivitamin. 

Languages

French - Review on Duolingo. My tree is still all gold

German - Predicate adjectives

Spanish - Object pronouns

Italian -  Questions

Day 21

I'm studying like Wonder Woman Today!

Launch School Prep Work

I'm still reading about the Command Line Interface (CLI). Here are some common symbols that help us navigate the CLI:

• / - The root directory or a separator when listing directories
• . - The current directory (also ./) or the same level
• .. - The directory one level up (also ../)
• ../.. - Two levels up
• ~ - Your "home" directory, or the directory you are placed in when you log in.
• * - The "splat" or "glob" operator. This is the wildcard of the command line and represents "any characters."

And some more helpful commands:

• cd - change directory
• ls - list files
• pwd - display the current working directory

As I get further into exercises to move files around, the most difficult thing for me to do seems to be remembering where I am which my chain of directories. That's something that's pretty easy to do in a graphical interface like Windows, but without that graphical representation is going to take some getting used to.

Secondary Resources: HTML on Code Academy

Here is a short video about how the internet works that is recommended on code academy.

Math Review

Simplifying square root expressions can get kind of tricky. See the video and the chart below and remember the properties of square roots.

Simplifying square-root expressions: no variables (advanced): Sal simplifies elaborate expressions with square roots. For example, he simplifies (4√20-3√45)/√35 as -√(1/7).

Languages

French - Keeping the completed Duolingo tree gold!

German - Review on Duolingo

Spanish - Review on Duolingo

Italian -  Review on Duolingo

Day 20

Launch School Pre-curriculum

Today I did some exercises from the Command Line Interface book that involved creating and moving files around using commands like touch and mv. 

Secondary Resources - HTML and CSS on Code Academy

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. The first part, Hypertext, means that it is text with links in it. The second part, markup language, means that is it a programming language that can be used to do more with text than make it just sit on the page.

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It's what makes HTML pretty.

So here we go with learning some HTML syntax (CSS I'll be learning later)

< and > are called Tags. And they usually come in pairs, an opener and a closer. Tags are nestable, so they can be inside each other, like Russian dolls.

HTML files have heads, which contain information about the file, like it's title, and bodies, that have your content.

I built this basic web site for a sandwich shop by writing the html code!

Karate Bear's Sandwich Shop

Come eat the best sandwiches ever. You've never tasted anything so tasy. Rawr!!!
We have peanut butter and jelly, salami, tuna, ham, turkey, grilled cheese, meatball subs, chicken, roast beef and poop.
Come on down and get some and eat lots of sandwiches forever!
Read about sandwiches

Math Review

I've skipped over to Algebra I (I'll come back to general 8th grade math later) and I'm 38% of the way done with it.

Converting from standard to slope-intercept form: Sal converts the standard form equation -7x-8y=28 to slope-intercept form.

Converting from slope-intercept to standard form: Sal converts the slope-intercept equation y=2/3x+4/7 to standard form.

Study Habits

I'm continuing to read Dr. Barabara Oakley's book A Mind for Numbers. The topic today is sleep. Sleep is necessary for the brain to flush out toxins. Without adequate sleep you can't learn as efficiently. 

*Tip* - Working on a challenging problem before going to bed or taking a nap increases the chances that you will dream about it 

Languages

French - Did a little review to keep the Duolingo tree gold.

German - Time (Days of the week, time adverbs etc)

Day 19

Launch School Pre-curriculum

I'm still reading the book about the Command Line Interface (CLI). Here are some common commands used on the CLI:

cd	Change directory.
ls	List files and directories in current directory.
pwd	Display the path of the current directory.
touch	Create a file.
mkdir	Create a directory.
rm	Remove a file or directory. Warning: deleting a file or directory with this command is permanent!
cp	Copy a file or directory.
mv	Move or rename a file or directory.
echo	Print text to STDOUT.
cat	Display contents of a file.
more	Display contents of a file, starting at the top and letting the user scroll down.
less	Display contents of a file in an even more interactive way.
head	Display the first part of a file.
tail	Display the last part of a file.
man	Display documentation about a command.

Secondary Resources: JavaScript on Khan Academy

My first project for the day was a magic eight ball that displays a different message each time the program is run. Press the restart button to get a new message.

Spin-off of "Project: Magic 8-Ball"Made using: Khan Academy Computer Science

Next I read about using a "rubber duck" as a debugging method. You explain your code step-by-step to a rubber duck as you debug. I think my friend Henry is a good rubber duck. He's not as smart as me, but he'll listen as well as any rubber duck.

Henry

In the next project, I used two while loops to draw rulers across the top and left sides of the canvas.

Challenge: A Loopy RulerMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

In the third project, I used while loops to repeat a landscape image across the bottom of the screen. 

Challenge: A Loopy LandscapeMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

In my third project, I was given a while loop that created horizontal lines across the canvas. I converted it to a for loop, then added my own code for a for loop that made vertical lines to make graph paper.

Challenge: Lined PaperMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

Math Review

I finished 7th grade math on Khan Academy! Woohoo!



Equivalent expressions with negative numbers (multiplication and division): In this video, we figure out whether or not some expressions are equivalent. To do this, we think about properties of multiplication and division.

Languages

French - keeping the Duolingo tree gold

German - Comparison, qualifiers and Household objects 2 (Ich bin ein besserer Bär als Sie)

Spanish - People

Italian - Animals, Food 2, Possession and Clothing (Io sono un orso.)

Day 18

Secondary Resources: JavaScript on Khan Academy

I did a whole bunch of JavaScript projects today. The first one is a ball animation that uses a Boolean expression to set parameters for the range of motion and direction of the ball. The syntax of the code uses an 'if' expression to change the direction of the ball once it reaches the edge of the canvas.

Challenge: Bouncy BallMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

The second project also uses an if statement. If the mouse is pressed on the canvas, it paints. Give it a try!

Challenge: Your First Painting AppMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

The third project uses three different if statements that tell rectangles to be either drawn or not drawn based on the number I give the program so that it draws a rectangle text that describes the number I give it.

Challenge: Number AnalyzerMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

In the fourth project I used an if statement to change the color of a button, but only when the mouse is pressed and the cursor is within the borders of the button.

Challenge: Your First ButtonMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

In the fifth project, I used a similar expression but further limited the paramters to make the button smaller, which just required a bit of math.

Challenge: Smarter ButtonMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

The sixth project is similar to the fifth, this time displaying text in the button to make a flash card. Click on the button, try it out!

Challenge: Flashy Flash CardMade using: Khan Academy Computer Science

Math Review

Today's math review is another question about if you understand what negative numbers are. Pretty easy. I'm up to 89% on 7th grade math.

Substitution with negative numbers: Practice substituting positive and negative values for variables.

Day 14, 15, 16 and 17

Secondary Resources: JavaScript on Khan Academy

I finished my fish tank JavaScript project. It draws three fish at specified locations however many times I want it to (currently three times). I've also made it so the eye size, body size and the color of the tail is randomized each time the function is called. You can try it yourself by pressing the restart button below. As a finishing touch I created a function to draw bubbles in random locations and with random sizes within a size parameter I set. This project took me a while to complete!

Spin-off of "Project: Fish Tank"Made using: Khan Academy Computer Science

Math Review

So here is four days worth of math review. I'm now up to 87% in general 7th grade math. Nothing too hard this time below.

Two-step equations with decimals and fractions: Learn how to solve equations that involve decimals and fractions. The equations shown in this video are called "two-step" equations because they each take two steps to solve.

Making predictions with probability: Predict the number of times a spinner will land on an elephant.

Equations for proportional relationships: Learn how to write a proportional equation y=kx where k is the so-called "constant of proportionality".

Find measure of vertical angles: Given two intersecting lines and the measure of vertical angles, watch as we solve to find the measure of the remaining angles.

Languages

French - Keeping up the Duolingo tree gold. I'm just trying not to fall behind.

German - Prepositions 1, Numbers 3 (ordinal numbers)

Spanish - Places 1

Italian - Food 1

Day 13

Launch School Pre-curriculum

I continued to read the book Introduction to the Command Line Interface today. The section I read discussed the components of the CLI: Prompt, cursor, input and outpout. 

The prompt has a few pieces of information usually that show the context of what you are doing. A typical prompt might have the following: username@hostname:current directory$, so for me on my ubuntu system when I first log into the terminal it reads trevor@balzac:~$, where trevors is my user name, balzac is my hostname and the current directory is the home directory or ~.

After the prompt is the cursor, and that's where you put in text of course. Whatever instructions your giving are the input and the output is the result printed after.

Secondary Resources

I'm working on a JavaScript project on Khan Academy where I'm creating my own function to draw fish in a fish tank and calling that function to draw the fish where I specify. I should be ready to share that in a couple of days.

Math Review

Today's math review is pretty easy. You just make sure to convert the mixed numbers to improper fractions and multiply by the reciprocal, making sure to not forget negatives signs if you have them, and then simplify. I'm through 84% of 7th grade math.

Dividing mixed numbers: Dividing Mixed Numbers

Study Habits

Continuing the third chapter of Barbara Oakley's book A Mind for Numbers, the biggest distinction in the reading today is between working and long term memory. Working memory is the part of your memory that deals with what you are immediately and consciously thinking about or doing. Researchers believe working memory can only hold four items at a time.

By contrast, long term memory is like a vast warehouse. There's plenty of space, but finding where that piece of information is is the challenge. 

*Tip* Spaced repetition - Repeat the information or skill you are trying to maintain, but extend your practice over the course of a number of days.

Information sticks much better when it is repeated at spaced intervals rather than many times in a row without space. Dr. Oakley uses the metaphor of building a brick wall. The information or skill you are trying to learn is the bricks and the mortar is the spacing, in which time you're ideally using techniques to bring about the diffuse mode of thought.

Exercise, Sleep and Nutrition

Exercise - I did a core workout and walked 17018 steps (8.7 miles) today
Sleep - Sleep is a bit challenging right now because I am switching to a 4AM work schedule and I'm adjusting to getting up at 2:30 in the morning. It's hard to go to bed as early as I need to. My aim is for an 8PM bedtime, which I made last night, but I don't think I'm going to make tonight.
Nutrition - I ate chocolate cake for breakfast and had frosted shredded wheat for dinner. There's definitely room for improvement here. I'll need to put in the planning and preparation to have nutritious meals that are easy to make or reheat for one.  I also need to drink lots more water.

Languages

French - Reviewed a little Duolingo. Still keeping the tree gold!

German - Occupations 1 on Duolingo

Italian - Basic 1 and Common Phrases 1 on Duolingo

Spanish - First half of Places 1 on Duolingo

Day 12

Launch School Pre-curriculum

The introductory materials lay out several options for Windows users like myself, including using a virtual or a web based development environment. I did sign up for Cloud 9, which is a web based development environment and it may come in handy some time later. But I also installed Ubuntu on a laptop I had and I'll be mostly using that for my learning environment.

I've begun reading the Launch School book Introduction to the Command Line. The command line interface (CLI) is a text based interface through which we can do whatever we need to do to a computer's files and directories with precision.

Math Review

Math review today is again pretty easy. Just order rational numbers by value.

Comparing rational numbers: Comparing Rational Numbers

Study Habits

Chapter 3 of A Mind for Numbers is called "Learning is Creating." The main idea of the chapter deals with how switching from the focused and diffuse modes of thinking creates breakthroughs in an individual's learning. Both modes are necessary for learning, highly focused, intense practice and more relaxed states of thought. The most important of these diffuse mode activities is sleeping. Some other good activities to activate the diffuse mode are exercising, going for a drive, walking, drawing, listening to classical or wordless music, taking a bath or meditating.

*Tip*- Alternate intense, timed study sessions with breaks that include relaxing or physical activities to alternate activating the focused and diffuse mode.

I'll continue chapter 3 tomorrow.

Languages

French - My duolingo tree is still all gold this morning, so there isn't anything to review. Eventually I'll want to add more resources for studying French, but since it still isn't a primary focus, it's all good for now.

German - Colors

Spanish - Second half of Objects 1

Day 10 and 11

Math Review

I'm up to 81% on 7th grade math. Nothing too difficult here.

Simplifying tricky fractions: Learn how to take complex looking fractions and make them much, much simpler.

Equivalent expressions with negative numbers: Equivalent expressions with negative numbers

Study Habits

Today I continued reading Barbara Oakley's book A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even if you Flunked Algebra). 

Chapter 2 is called "Easy Does It." The main gist of the chapter is about focused and diffuse modes of thinking, and how pushing too hard staying in the focused mode can make learning harder.

*Tip* - Prime your pump -  It's a good idea to glance through chapter headings, graphics, charts insets, etc, when first reading a text about math or science. Doing so sets up a framework for your brain to fill in when you actually read the chapter.

Contemporary neuroscientists understand the brain as having different types of networks that it switches between--highly attentive states and more relaxed, resting states. Barbara Oakley calls these types of networks, and modes of thinking associated with them, the focused mode and the diffuse mode. 

The focused mode uses a direct approach of rational, sequential and analytical thought to solve problems. Dr. Oakley uses the metaphor of a highly focused flashlight beam to describe it. By contrast, the diffused mode is associated with big picture perspectives and happens when you relax your mind and let it wander. New insights pop up when this mode of thought happens. Both modes of thought are necessary for learning, especially in math and science, and switching back and forth makes learning easier. There will be tips and tricks to get students to switch back and forth between modes in later chapters.

There are evolutionary reasons for the brain to work this way, and Dr. Oakley delves more deeply into them, so definitely get her book.

Languages

French - Duolingo review: My tree is still complete and I'm keeping it all gold!

German - Numbers 2

Spanish - Objects (first half)

Day 9

Math Review

Today's math review:

Number equations & number lines: Integer equations to describe diagram

Pretty easy.

Languages

French - reviewed abstract objects 3, Adverbs 3
German - reviewed a bunch of items on duolingo
Spanish - reviewed a bunch of items on duolingo

Day 8

Launch School Pre-curriculum

First I read an article Launch school recommends from Bloomberg. It's a pretty long article, but it's kind of funny and pretty informative while still approachable. Read it here.

Second I read the Launch School page on different careers in software development. You can find that here.

This page page on the Launch School teaching philosophy and the webinar on mastery based learning at the bottom is worth checking out.