It seems to me that the programs we have done this year have alternated in my level of how much I have liked them. The more visual programs really worked for me, but the more complex, wordy ones I had some trouble with, and fear I will have more trouble with in the future, if something is not done about it.
As far as programming its self went, I MUCH preferred Jeroo to Alice. I found Alice to be overly complex for what it was trying to do, with too many unnecessary commands. It became more of a task to actually find what you needed than to actually work through the problem. Jeroo, on the other hand, was very straight forward, it gave a good graphical representation, helped with programming and, most importantly, was fun to work with. Compared to any other labs, I think they were the most enjoyable, next to making the game of Pong in Scratch (a program that I also liked). I think that for future versions of the class, a direct cut to Jeroo and on would probably be more advantageous to the learning process. In Scratch, things were very, very visual, with only drag and drop for word placement, and in Jeroo, there was a very clear representation of what was going on physically. In addition, the verbal code was incredibly simple, Jeroo only needing method calls, a few movements or simple actions, and a constructor or two. Things were drastically different, however, when it came to Alice. While Alice gave some visual and physical representation of how the code was going to be executed and of the things in the program, it was often quite difficult to find what part of the program a certain phrase was in, or the exact terminology used if you wanted to execute a specific command, such as certain kinds of movement.
My worry with Java is that it will be much like Alice, only without any visual aid at all. From my current level of experience with it, I have found the wordings and vocabulary opaque, the necessary terms needed hard to find and/or remember, and the direction and capabilities of the program as a whole uncertain. I really hope that as the class progresses, the pace of Java is slowed up a bit from what it was for Jeroo, as it does not seem to be clicking for me on the same level as the previous programming programs. I do not think I am fully understanding the reason for much of the code, and have been having more trouble than I would care to admit remembering the term required when I have no link to make in my head. This, I feel, is one of the essential parts of making programming “work” in the minds of programmers. There has to be a connection between the words typed out on the page and what they do in the program. In Jeroo, “hop();” ment to hop forward, and “pick();” meant to pick up a flower. In Java, however, such simple things as making it possible to spit out a number require at least 3 lines of basic code, plus start up, and more obscure wordings. Once the connection is drawn between what is being said and what it does is made, the problem will be solved. Until then, I must soldier on.

MakeupBlogPost:

Overall, I have really enjoyed Jeroo. I feel that the program could do a lot, but was not overly complicated. My transition into Java has been a bit rough, as I don't really feel that the language is all that intuitive, and am having trouble making some of the connections between the labs and slides and how to really apply it. It seems to me I am having some of the same vocabulary issues I was having with Alice. I suppose these will clear up over the next semester, though.

Ironically enough, my primary problem with computer science right now has been having a hard time phrasing my blog posts in a different manner each time I wish to say that I have been having no trouble programming. I have done my best to check a thesaurus, but I can't help but feel that my wording is getting old. I will do my best to rectify the situation, but I see little solution.

My troubles, as minimal as they are with Jeroo, have not been stemming from any difficulty with programming, but with staying focussed. More often than not, I can't seem to concentrate and focus long enough to do all of the code all at once, as it becomes rather repetitive after a while. It is much easier to stay engaged when I have to think of a new way to do something or program in a more advanced language rather than type out more code that I know how to do, but there is just a lot of.

I found this image absolutely hilarious, as I have a taste for the ironic. Even more ironic would be if that was not actually a translation...

As far as programming went, I MUCH preferred Jaroo to Alice. I found Alice to be overly complex for what it was trying to do, with too many unnecessary commands. It became more of a task to actually find what you needed than to actually work through the problem, something that wouldn't happen much, if at all, in Java, our end goal. Jaroo, on the other hand, was very straight forward, it gave a good graphical representation, helped with programming and, most importantly, was fun to work with. Compared to any other labs, I think they were the most enjoyable, next to making the game of Pong in Scratch (a program that I also liked). I think that for future versions of the class, a direct cut to Jaroo and on would probably be more advantageous to the learning process.

I thought this image was particularly amusing. The hilarity, in our eyes, of applying computer terms to a basket of fruit is surprising. Even more surprising still is the thought that the application of computer terms to seemingly unrelated things may become more common.

I am looking forward to Jeroo, and am excited to get into the program. I think that my only issues with Alice has been becoming accustomed to the vocabulary and finding everything, which I will work harder at in Jeroo.

After the last week, I have really felt that I have grown accustomed to Alice, and feel I understand the program better. I have gotten over my previous difficulties with locating the correct option in order to say what I want.

I have been having a little bit of trouble in Alice, although I feel I can work through it. Right now, I know what and how to say what I want it to do, but I can't seem to find the right bit of code or phrase in Alice to communicate what I want to the program. I expect this to become a bit easier, actually, in Java, as the program is much more open ended.

I haven't had any issues with the class so far. It has really smoothed out after getting used to dealing with Alice. However, I do not think it would be good for the class to go all that much faster as far as work goes, as it seems to be getting ramped up.

In the past week, I haven't had too much trouble with any of the things we are covering in class. For the most part, coding has been making sense. However, I am having a little bit of trouble with what kind of vocabulary to use when putting in the correct bit to fill out something. I am not particularly struggling with it, it is mearly not as easy as I would like it to be.

So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed computer science, and have not had an exorbitant amount of material that I was unable to comprehend. My only perturbing point in the class has been learning the programming vocabulary to use. I am fine with syntax, that gives me no trouble. I really like the blogging aspect, and think that the class is going to a comfortable, yet not dully slow pace.
-Peter