Cow Goes "Weekly Status Report 16" Moo

Week 16 of Cow Goes Moo was a big week. We started off with Network worksheet where we had to research things that would eventually be on our ergonomics/network test. We learned things like different types of topology, networking devices and different media. On the day I went job shadowing, there was a review sheet and i got it and had to study it the next day.

Then we finally got our final project, which is done in a group of 3. I expected a one giant program, such as a calculator for the final project, instead we got many different programs that each has points for and should make it add up to 100. Easier the program is, the lower the points and I started working on a program that is worth 30 points and it was very, very hard. I spent two classes, just trying to figure out what ascii is and how to use it, and I'm still not done understanding it fully.

Finally, we had a test on ergonomics and network, which I feel very bad about. I did not completely the whole test and do not feel confident about the result. Other than that, the goal for the upcoming classes are the same until the rest of the school, to complete the final project and study for the final exam.

Cow Goes "Weekly Status Report 15" Moo

Week 15 of Cow Goes Moo, we did not do much. The week was cut short by Victoria Day and the Spring Fling Fair. When we were in the class, we focused on completing the big assignment, Lottery Ticket Record Keeping Program and getting it marked. After I finished the basic structure of the program, I added some extra features to the program. I added a function where the user can change the sale record of a previous sale and a one that can show the records of previous sale. Also added the reset button to reset all the records. I did very well for getting the program marked and was satisfied with the result.

Then we did one more lesson of Ergonomics. We talked about the Ideal Workstation to use the computer. Things like adjustable chairs and other furniture and equipments can help to create it. Also the monitor position, brightness or the darkness of the surrounding lights, and surrounding noise can affect the ergonomics of the workplace. In order to not get hurt from doing work, it is important to take a rest at least once a hour and do exercises that can prevent injuries.

Lastly, once we finished the lottery ticket program, we moved on to animation, which is just moving an objective witing Visual Basics form. We used a picture box and moved it up, down, left and right by using the timer function and coordinates. We also made the picture look like it was zooming in by stretching the picture everytime you click it.

Cow Goes "Weekly Status Report 14" Moo

Week 14 of Cow Goes Moo, we got back to full lessons and schedule. We started a new theory, ergonomics, which is really unrelated to programming but is essential for computer working environment. Ergonomics is the application of scientific information concerning humans to the design of objects, systems and environment for human use. It helps to improve the design of things that we uses and the ways things work in order to create a healthier environment. The ergonomics started out during the World War II in order to improve the performance and safety of military systems to maximize the work efficiency. Creating a more ergonomic environment is quite simple. Things like sitting posture, foot rest, proper chairs and proper height for desks are some of the examples that can be used to create a more ergonomic work place. If not, it can lead to cause problems physically, like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which is caused if the wrist is pressure for too long and not be in a neutral position when working.

We continued from last week on working with arrays. We moved on to create a program that can sort the arrays in order. Then we got our assignment where we had to create a program that keeps the record of daily lottery tickets sale. It records the amount of tickets sold every day for a year and should do multiple functions. It should calculate the number of total days, number of days with no tickets sold, number of days with 50 or more tickets sold, number of days with 50 or less tickets sold, the biggest number of tickets sold in a day, smallest number of tickets sold in a day, and number of days it took to sell at least 200 tickets. I am about 80% finished, need to double check if the functions work properly and create a better interface for the program. It should be done by Tuesday next week.

Some problems I had was when I was working on the Lottery Tickets program, I thought I did the inputting part correct but later found out that it was wrong. It caused me to recreate the codes for all of the things that I finished and start fresh. Also I was struggling already to write the codes and just caused me to race against time. Fortunately all the struggle went away on the last day of the week, and was able to finish the most of the programs, including fixing the old mistakes. With only number of weeks left of school, I would have to focus on the test on ergonomics and the final project soon to receive.

Cow Goes "Weekly Status Report 13" Moo

Week 13 of Cow Goes Moo was a tragic week. This week, for 2 classes we did not work on Visual Basics because of lack of people in class and for a tragic reason. On Monday, we were given a class to finish up a program that determines high, low and average of the marks entered by the user that we started last week. Fortunately I already had it finished last week. I got to work on other subject works in that class.

The other 2 days where I actually worked on some stuff, we learned something new called Arrays. An array is a data structure that stores variable data that has the same data type. It is a group of variable that is given only one name. Each variable that makes up the array is given a number instead of a name which makes it easier to work with using loops among other things. We declare by Dim ArrayName(ArraySize) as DataType. We used this structure to create a program that does several things. It can initialize elements of the array to one, initialize elements of the array with random numbers between 1 and 50, switch the values at either end of the array, and input 10 numbers from the user to change the negative value to positive, calculate the sum of all the numbers and to calculate the product of odd numbered position in product.

This week, I completed the first program using the array structure. However I did not yet get started on the second program and the third program using arrays. I'm expected to work on and finish them next week.

Cow Goes "Weekly Status Report 12" Moo

Week 12 of Cow Goes Moo, there was only one lesson this week. We learned how to draw in Visual Basics using CreateGraphics statement. This involves a lot of mathematical graphing skills and uses the coordinates to draw lines according to the coordinates. Using the the similar format, we also learned to draw circles. However fully understanding this complicated function was not all necessary because it is something extra for us to learn and is not part of the curriculum course.

This week, I had to finish the SIN validation program that I started working on last week and was marked on based on our performace. Also the day when there was the teacher was absent, we worked on some fact finding assignments where we found some unique facts like the first calculator, the number of paqes that can be save into 60G hard drive. We also solved some mind games which was pretty complicated. We also worked on a program where the numbers are being inputted and the user can press either High, Low, or Average button to determine the biggest number, lowest number of the average of all the numbers combined. It was very complicated at the beginning and I had no idea where to start but once I got the an idea of how to develope the program, it was actually very easy to develope.

Lastly we got our previous test back. I did very good, expect that it could've been better considering how confident I was when I wrote the test and some few silly mistakes I made on the test. Overally the week has been satisfying, including garbage pick up and fire drill.

Cow Goes "Weekly Status Report 11" Moo

Week 11 of Cow Goes Moo, we learned several new features of the Visual Basics. After reviewing the different careers related to computers others in the class researched, we learned Timer control which is used to respond to the time event. Once the Timer Control's Enabled property becomes True, it updates and receives an event at every time interval set. The interval is set in milliseconds. However there are few limitations to Timer control, like the maximum interval is only 64767, meaning no more than little over a minute can be set as an interval or the fact that the timer might not be able to keep up with its interval due to its accuracy. We applied the Timer Control to create a stopwatch program where the timer control enabled is set true if the start button is clicked. Another lesson was on the While Loop. This loop is used when the statement needs to be repeated indefinite amount of times and is only stopped if a given condition is matched. Using this, we started working on a program that determines the number of times that a positive even integer can be divided by two and a program that determines if a SIN number is valid.

The program that determines if a SIN number is valid using a While loop is yet completed and is the primary goal for the upcoming week.
The week also included a unit test. I feel I did very good on this test even though the next day in the course of reviewing the questions on the test, I realized I got the last question completely wrong. The day before the test, we had a practise test and review on things learned before. I didn't so particularly well in that practise test and had to study the previous lessons again to prepare for the test. The biggest challenge and the acheivement for the week was the test and I believe its been resolved by studying and reviewing the notes from previous classes.

Cow Goes "Weekly Status Report 10" Moo

Week 10 of Cow Goes Moo, I first started the week by completing the loop programs from last week which I had 4 out of 7 finished. The rest 3 programs were much more complicated than the 4 I've completed. It involved me setting up a n, number value, for calculating and creating a loop. The most complicated one was the final program where I had to develop a program which have to determine if a number inputed is a prime number or not. Then I moved on to creating a slide show using a picture box and a picturebox loop statement. The pictures would appear in sequence when a button is clicked. Next we moved on to learn the Exit For statement. Exit For statement is used when the user wants to exit the For...Next loop in the middle of the loop. We developed a average mark calculating program by using the Inputbox and we can terminate the program by inputing -1.

The most complicated program of the week was the guessing game program. We would use the randomize statement to let the program randomly select a number between 1 to 255 and the user would be given 8 tries to guess collectly with the hints given. either too high or too low. Finally we ended the week with a group project where we had to research 6 different careers related computers and make a report. For every career we divided it up into 4 subtopics, brief descriptions, education/training, potential workplace and the wages. We researched Game Designer, Web Designer, Securities Specialist, Computer Technician, Net Administrator and QA tester.

This week, all of the works were completed and feel comfortable with the skills learned. The challenge faced, by the whole class, was that when we saved a program into the G drive on the schools computers, the programs would not run due to some firewall and security issues. The problem was solved, atleast temperately, by saving the programs on to the USB key. The only problems with this is that we have to remember to bring the USB key everyday. Other than that, it was a week with all the works completed and not much goal for the upcoming week.