So far, technology has been great! Mr. Calvert has posted workshops and Nearpod lessons to do, and we also have to collect things like bottle caps, rubber bands, paper towel/toilet paper rolls, cardboard, etc. I’ve told my family to always save things like that, when we’d usually throw it out. I have already collected eight bottle caps, two toilet paper rolls, a few rubber bands, and a lot of cardboard boxes! Every time I finish using something that has a cap, I always take it off and wash it, then I put it in my bin where I’m collecting all these things. This is only the start of technology, and I’m already excited. Whatever the first project is going to be, I’m sure it’ll be fun!
Archive by Author | ayang26
Final Blog Post
Out of all of the activities I did in computer tech quarterly during e-learning, my favorite was the game design project on scratch. I had the most fun doing that project. I loved creating more and more levels, even a challenge and bonus level. I had a friend of mine try it out, and she gave me feedback. Aside from creating the game, I also really liked playing my game, especially how while playing it I knew that I was the one who created it. Through this project I realized how video games and other games were made. For me, it was a bit challenging in the beginning, but soon it became easier and I had a lot of fun. Overall, computer tech was a great experience.
Scratch Game Design Project
Today, I tried playing a maze game on scratch created by Sarah Luo. I really like how she added “minions” and a background story to the game. In order to complete the level, which I’m still trying to do, you have to collect all the “minions” to save the kingdom. I also tried a few other maze games, and none of them, including mine, had something you had to collect and then reach the end of the maze. Maybe there are, but I just didn’t play them yet. Looking at her game, maybe in my next game I’ll include something the sprite has to collect. Overall, I think her game is really fun and interesting, though it’s also really challenging at the same time, which makes it even better!
I added a link to the game in Scratch (below) created by Sarah Luo, so you guys can go check it out if you want!
Learn to Code 1 (Swift Playgrounds) #2
After finishing all of the lessons that were assigned for “Learn to Code 1”, I think that this was a good way to learn a little about programming because it taught me all different kinds of codes. I enjoyed all the lessons a lot, even though there were some that were very challenging, and some that I understood instantly after reading the introduction.
I liked the Loops and Conditional Code sections the best because they were slightly challenging, but also very fun to code. I think that these two sections are also very important and I will definitely make use of them in th future. Loops made coding much easier for me, because instead of writing repeated codes over and over again, you can use a loop to shorten your code. Conditional Code taught me how to plan for the unexpected. It taught me that in case your original plan didn’t work, you should always know that it might happen and be prepared for it.
A more challenging section for me was the Logical Operators section. While doing it, I found that it was challenging because sometimes I didn’t know how to use the “NOT” operator, or the “AND” operator, or the “OR” operator. I don’t know exactly what part had me stuck, but I just couldn’t seem to understand how to complete it. I tried and tried, but every time I got it wrong. I decided to take a break from it, and come back to the lesson later. And I did. But when I came back, nothing magical had happened, and I still didn’t know how to it. So I sat there, waiting for the answer to hit me. It never did. Then, I re-read the introduction and tried to do exactly what it said, and realized that I was getting closer to the correct solution because Byte was close to finishing the task! Determined to complete it, I tried using the operators again, and it worked! Finally, after a long process, I completed the “NOT” operator lesson. After completing that one, I had not much trouble completing the rest of them.
Overall, I really enjoyed these activities and recommend people who are trying to learn a little bit about programming to try out “Learn to Code 1” on swift playgrounds. It was an exciting and fun, yet challenging and tough experience, but in the end, I realized that challenges allows me to make mistakes, which allow me to learn.
Learn to Code 1 (Swift Playgrounds) #1
I chose the “Checking for Switches” lesson because it helped me learn how to plan for the unexpected. This lesson taught me how to plan for different circumstances using an “if” statement. In this case, I saw that there are three switches, and every time there is a different amount of switches that need to be toggled. So I had to use an “if” statement in order to complete it. I realized that if a switch was closed, then it would need to be toggled, and if a switch was already on, then Byte would just walk forward and I would use the same “if” statements for the next switch.
At first, I was completely confused out of my mind. I was like, “is this even possible?” I tried reading the introduction over and over again, hoping a realization would hit me and I would know how to do it. But after going through the introduction three times, I still didn’t get it. And so I read the directions over and over again, and tried something I thought was correct. Unfortunately, it wasn’t correct. After a few trial and errors, the correct solution finally came to me. I realized what I had to do and did it, and completed the lesson!
I still have a few more lessons I have to complete, but without this lesson, I would have never learned how to plan for the unexpected. Overall, “Learn to Code 1” has been a great experience so far and I’m sure I will always need to use an “if” statement in the future.
About Me Project
This project was my first project on scratch. To be honest, at first, I didn’t know what I was doing half the time. But then, I got more used to it, and now I can do a lot more things than when I first started. I chose slopes as my backdrop because I love skiing. My project included a lot of sprites, and each one when you clicked on it, a fact about me would pop up. I included my favorite food, the instrument I play, a sport a play, my favorite colors, and more! I loved creating this project on scratch and it was a great experience for me!
Computer Science Is Changing Everything
Before I watched the video, I barely knew what computer science was. All I knew was that it had to do with coding and technology. But now I know that a lot of jobs require computer science, even if your job isn’t computer science related. I learned that you don’t have to be a genius to do computer science. As long as you put in the effort, everybody can learn to do computer science.
Capstone Blog Post #7 – Capstone Share and Overall Reflection
Have you ever had to present a TED Talk that you worked really hard on? Well, I did. Today, I recorded my Capstone TED Talk on YouTube. But this Friday, I am going to present my TED Talk to a large audience.
When I recorded my TED Talk today and whenever I come up to present my TED Talk to my class, I always realize that I’m not that nervous or scared. However, the first time I presented my TED Talk, I was nervous. I think this is because the more and more I present, the less nervous and scared I am.
I think the easiest part of my whole Capstone project was to make my slideshow. This was easy because all I had to do was find a picture that matched what I was saying on each slide and paste it on there. For each slide, I tried to make the picture fit the whole slide, but some of the pictures I needed didn’t fit the slide. Even if I tried to make it fit, it would either end up getting cut off the slide, or stretched out. Making the slideshow was the easiest part, but there were still some challenges inside of that. I think the two hardest parts of Capstone were writing the essay and memorizing my script. It’s very challenging for me to memorize things, so I practiced and practiced at school and at home. In the end, I was very surprised that I memorized most of my script.
Overall, Capstone was a very fun, exciting, and new experience. I learned many things along the way from when I came up with my topic, to presenting my TED Talk to an audience. Capstone was such a great experience and I will never forget it.
Here’s my TED Talk recording:
Capstone Blog Post #6 – Preparing For My Final Presentation
Have you ever done a TED Talk in front of a large audience? Well, I am going to this Friday! And in order to do that, I have to prepare. So keep on reading if you want to learn how I prepared for my TED Talk.
Once I finished my essay on answering my main inquiry question, I transformed it into a script. I copied and pasted my information from my essay into my script. I had to change my script a lot so it would fit the time limit. Capstone TED Talks had to be five to six minutes. The first time I timed my presentation, it was four minutes and thirty seconds. And so I had to add more to my script to make it more than five minutes. After I changed my script a few times, I finally got it to five minutes and twelve seconds. Success!
Here’s my script:
Slide 1: Hi. I’m Alina. For those of you who watch YouTube, have you ever wondered how it’s changed over time? Well, I did. So today, I am here to talk about YouTube. My main inquiry question is how has YouTube evolved over time? Hope you enjoy!
Slide 2: First off, you might be wondering, what even is YouTube and what does it allow you to do? Well, YouTube is a video-sharing website. People can watch, upload, and comment on videos. YouTube offers a wide variety of videos. There are videos posted from all different kinds of people. The site allows people to add keywords or tags to videos. Tags used on YouTube help people categorize, organize, and search for videos on specific topics.
Slide 3: YouTube makes it simple for most people to present videos to the world. The site allows people from all over the world to share videos with others. YouTube has all kinds of videos. For everyone who uploads a video, others have an opinion about it. People are allowed to comment on videos and share them across the Internet. On YouTube, people can also rate the quality of a video.
Slide 4: YouTube was founded in 2005 by the American Graphic Designer Chad Hurley and two computer scientists, the Taiwanese-born Steve Chen and the German-born Jawed Karim. Since YouTube first came out, it has become the #1 place for video content online, attracting over one billion users.
Slide 5: There is a new “play all” button for playlists coming out which will make it easier for people who like to watch playlists on YouTube. A lot of “bug fixes” are coming out as well. Many people have reported that comments were not loading for them. But that is an issue that has been fixed.
Slide 6: During one period of time, YouTube videos only worked on computers. Now, people are able to watch videos on computers, tablets, smartphones, and more. This is another example of how YouTube has changed.
Slide 7: When you search for a video on YouTube, the algorithm decides which videos it will show you and in what order based on what people watch and what they don’t watch, how much time people spend to watch a video, how new a video is, how often a channel uploads a new video, the likes of the video, the dislikes of the video, the “not interested” feedback, how much time people spend on that platform, and how quickly the popularity of a video increases or doesn’t.
Slide 8: You may not believe this, but YouTube is actually struggling to make money. YouTube still makes money, but not a lot. In fact, YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki said that YouTube is “still in investment mode”. However, when YouTube does make money, one of the ways they do is when people pay them to play their ad before a video. YouTube was far from making money when Alphabet Inc. bought it in 2006. Google decided to buy YouTube because it had a problem with how many videos it offered.
Slide 9: Keeping the people who watch YouTube a lot as content creators is a challenge. Buffering is another challenge YouTube faces. People can only watch videos once it has fully buffered (loaded). Older electronics and places where the internet is bad can cause slow loading. Videos that take too long to load can make people frustrated and leave the site.
Slide 10: Copyright issues are still a problem. YouTube tries to protect copyright, but as more and more people upload videos, YouTube struggles to secure permissions fast enough. Another problem is that YouTube must also keep people watching after the click on their first video link. To make this happen, YouTube tries to predict what kinds of videos people will want to see. But the problem is that YouTube doesn’t know exactly what people want to see. As much as that is a problem, another serious problem is that most people skip the ads before videos which results in YouTube videos making almost no money at all.
Slide 11: Overall, YouTube has evolved over time in a few major ways. One way is that a lot of “bug fixes” are coming out. Many people have reported that comments were not loading for them. But that is an issue that has been fixed. Another way is that YouTube has became available on more devices than just computers. Before, YouTube only worked on computers, but now it’s changed. A final way is that YouTube used to rank it’s videos by how many times people have watched them, but now YouTube ranks videos by how much time is has been watched for. And that is how YouTube has evolved over time. For more information, visit my blog at blogs.scarsdaleschools.org/ayang26. Or, scan this QR code. Thanks for listening to my presentation!
After finishing writing my script, I started my slideshow. The images on each slide were based on my script. Making the slideshow was easy since I already wrote my script. It only took me one hour to make my slideshow. And of course, once my slideshow was done, the next thing I had to do was to rehearse. Everyday during Capstone, I would partner up with someone and we would practice our presentations over and over.
Overall, preparing for my TED Talk took a lot of time, concentration, patience, and most of all: effort. But it was also a great experience. I can’t wait to present on Friday!
Capstone Blog Post #5 – Answering My Main Inquiry Question
Have you ever wondered how YouTube has evolved over time? Well, when researching about how YouTube has evolved over time, it’s important to know what YouTube is, what it allows you to do, what some of the major changes related to the kinds of videos, technology, and playlists are, how YouTube works now compared to how it worked before, how YouTube makes money now compared to how it worked before, and what some problems YouTube still faces are.
What is YouTube and what does it allow you to do? Well, YouTube is a video-sharing website. People can watch, upload, and comment on videos. YouTube offers a wide variety of videos. There are videos posted from all different kinds of people. The site allows people to add keywords or tags to videos. Tags used on YouTube help people categorize, organize, and search for videos on specific topics. YouTube makes it simple for most people to present videos to the world. YouTube has all kinds of videos. For everyone who uploads a video, others have an opinion about it. People are allowed to comment on videos and share them across the Internet. On YouTube, people can rate the quality of a video. YouTube was founded in 2005 by the American Graphic Designer Chad Hurley and two computer scientists, the Taiwanese-born Steve Chen and the German-born Jawed Karim. Since YouTube first came out, it has become the #1 place for video content online, attracting over one billion users. YouTube allows people from all over the world to share videos with others. And that’s what YouTube is and what it allows you to do.
What are some major changes related to the kinds of videos, technology, and playlists? Well, there is a new “play all” button for playlists coming out which will make it easier for people who like to watch playlists on YouTube. A lot of “bug fixes” are coming out as well. Many people have reported that comments were not loading for them. But that is an issue that has been fixed. New special icons for playlists are also coming out which will show if a specific playlist is private or not. YouTube videos became available on more devices than just computers, telephones, and televisions. In December, 2011, YouTube gets a major website design. Then, later on in August, 2017, YouTube got a new logo for the first time.
How does YouTube work now compared to how it worked before? Well, during one period of time, YouTube videos only worked on computers. Now, people are able to watch videos on computers, tablets, smartphones, and more. Before, YouTube ranked it’s videos by how many times people have watched them, but now YouTube ranks videos by how much time is has been watched for. When you search for a video on YouTube, the algorithm decides which videos it will show you and in what order based on what people watch and what they don’t watch, how much time people spend to watch a video, how new a video is, how often a channel uploads a new video, the likes of the video, the dislikes of the video, the “not interested” feedback, how much time people spend on that platform, and how quickly the popularity of a video increases or doesn’t.
How does YouTube make money now compared to how it made money before? Well, believe it or not, but YouTube is actually struggling to make money. YouTube still makes money, but not a lot. In fact, YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki said that YouTube is “still in investment mode”. However, when YouTube does make money, one of the ways they do is when people pay them to play their ad before a video. YouTube was far from making money when Alphabet Inc. bought it in 2006. Google decided to buy YouTube because it had a problem with how many videos it offered.
What are some problems YouTube still faces? Well, keeping the people who watch YouTube a lot as content creators is a challenge. Buffering is another challenge YouTube faces. People can only watch videos once it has fully buffered (loaded). Older electronics and places where the internet is bad can cause slow loading. Videos that take too long to load can make people frustrated and leave the site. Copyright issues are still a problem. YouTube tries to protect copyright, but as more and more people upload videos, YouTube struggles to secure permissions fast enough. Another problem is that YouTube must also keep people watching after they click on their first video link. To make this happen, YouTube tries to predict what kinds of videos people will want to see. This is a problem because YouTube doesn’t know exactly what videos people will want to see. As much as that is a problem, another serious problem is that most people skip the ads before videos which results in YouTube videos making almost no money at all.
In conclusion, YouTube has evolved over time in a few major ways. One way is that a lot of “bug fixes” are coming out. Many people have reported that comments were not loading for them. But that is an issue that has been fixed. Another way is that YouTube has became available on more devices than just computers. Before, YouTube only worked on computers, but now it’s changed. A final way is that YouTube used to rank it’s videos by how many times people have watched them, but now YouTube ranks videos by how much time is has been watched for. And that is how YouTube has evolved over time.
Here are the sources I used:
- Beattie, Andrew. “How YouTube Makes Money Off Videos.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 12 Mar. 2019, www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/053015/how-youtube-makes-money-videos.asp.
- Cooper, Paige. “How Does the YouTube Algorithm Work? A Guide to Getting More Views.” Hootsuite Social Media Management, 3 June 2019, blog.hootsuite.com/how-the-youtube-algorithm-works/.
- “How Does YouTube Work? – How It Works.” How It Works, 5 Mar. 2019, www.howitworksdaily.com/how-does-youtube-work/.
- “How to Make Money on YouTube?” Vertical Sight, 17 Nov. 2018, verticalsight.com/how-many-views-do-you-need-to-make-money-on-youtube/.
- Zaidi, Zia. “Here Are Some Major Changes You Might See on YouTube.” Digital Information World, 10 Mar. 2019, www.digitalinformationworld.com/2019/03/youtube-live-control-room-play-all-button-for-playlists.html.