CS Online Learning Journal

 My Educational Goals This week we briefly discussed setting goals. As part of this we were tasked with setting our educational goals. CSUMB Goals The goal I am currently working on is completing CS Online at CSUMB. My goal is to graduate from the program in 2027. To accomplish this, I need to complete a few smaller goals during the program. I need to complete a foreign language. Currently I am taking Spanish 1 at Sierra College. I need to complete an ethnic studies course. I plan to take Intro to Ethnic Studies (ETHN 11) or Ethnic Images in Film (ETHN 50) at Sierra College during the Summer 2025 semester. I need to complete a physical science course. I plan to take Physical Geology (ESCI 1) or Introduction to Earth Science (ESCI 10) at Sierra College during the Fall 2025 semester. I need to complete a computer science elective course at CSUMB. I plan to take Game Engine Programming (CST 306) or a similar class during the Spring 2026 semester. Other Educational Goals While attendin...

 Last week I wrote about how we looked at a document called Effective Study Skills, and how one of the areas in studying I'm weak in is taking notes. This week we looked at various study techniques covered by the website AcademicTips.org. Some of the study tips were about note taking. One tip the website gives is to only write down the important information, instead of writing everything down. This is something I somewhat struggle with. With classes with a live lecture, typically in-person classes, I feel pressured to retain all of the information. This causes me to try to write everything down. I'm better with this with classes with recorded lectures or slides. In these classes I don't feel pressured to write everything down since I can always go back to look at the lecture material.  Another tip given by AcademicTips is to divide the pages of your notebook into two halves, keeping lecture notes and textbook notes on separate sides. The idea is that it's easier to dist...

This week we read a document called Effective Study Skills . As the name suggests, it discusses various ways you can improve your studying. One of the areas of studying I'm better at is managing time. I feel that I'm pretty good at making sure I set aside time to study and work on homework. Another area of studying I'm better at is organization. I think I'm pretty good at keeping my notes and assignments organized, usually by class and module. Another area of studying I'm better at is surveying. I believe that I'm good at understanding assignments and questions, as well as eliminating answers on a quiz. One of the areas of studying I'm weak in is schedules. I don't write study schedules, or schedule when to study specific assignments. Another area of studying I'm weak in is outlining textbooks. Whether it's physical or digital, I don't outline textbooks. Another area of studying I'm weak in is taking notes. I'm inconsistent with takin...

Today I completed my first week at my new school program for computer science. This program is something I've been both anxious and excited for for several months. It's nice to finally be in the program, and not waiting for it to start. I think the biggest thing I learned this week was APA formatting. My past schools used MLA formatting. APA might be new to me, but it didn't feel to dissimilar to how I remember MLA being. That being said, I haven't had to cite anything in MLA since before the pandemic. It could be that I don't remember MLA very well. I also learned a little about the school I'm attending. Apparently it used to be a military base! After the military based was closed it was repurposed/reformed into a school. One of the essays we have to write in this class is analyzing an industry that we're interested in, and coming up with a plan to get a job in that industry. One of our assignments for this week was making an outline for this essay. This wa...