Connor's Blog

Final Reflection

Connor J — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:17:55 +0000

TAG: In all honesty, TAG did not make a difference to me whatsoever. I don’t know that if is because I was in Alice all year, but I felt as if it did not apply to me. I never got into the XP, gold, or other currencies of TAG because they did not seem to be of value, as I always had enough time to get my A. Besides, being in Alice made me feel as if I wasn’t really apart of the class, as it seemed all of the focus was placed on photoshop.

If I were to improve TAG, I would start by making it more relevant to people who are not in danger of owing time. I would also make TAG a bigger part of Mac Lab, rather than it being more of a afterthought (at least, that is how it seemed to me).

AMP: I handled AMP pretty well, I worked on my projects everyday and it was not a problem having the freedom to work on my projects the way I wanted to. The only time I even recognized that I had the freedom to do as I pleased was when I was in between projects, because I would have been working on projects with regular instruction anyway.

ZIM: I did benefit from my time in the Mac Lab. I already knew that I wanted to major in an engineering field, and I decided that the field I wanted to major in is computer science. A lot of that can be attributed to AMP, because I was free to explore computer science as an option, looking into actual coding as I began to understand Alice more and more. Because of the Alice program, I was able to make a decision on what I wanted to do in college on beyond, and this recognition has allowed me to focus on getting ahead and preparing for college.

Week 32 (week 32)

Connor J — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:25:22 +0000

The honor code explains that a hero is a person who tries their hardest at everything they attempt and has the courage to dream. “How does this affect you, Connor?” One might ask. I plan to finish strong, like I … Continue reading →

Week 27: Alice post #1

Connor J — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:10:37 +0000

Issues I have encountered thus far: 1) After a certain point (around 20,000 polygons from what I can tell), Alice begins to lag to the point that it ruins the simulation. 2) It is extremely difficult to position objects in the world. 3) We don’t have access to the files that would allow us to create new texture for the objects (uniforms or clothing for example). 4) When I add a new event, or alter an existing one, I am automatically sent back to the top of the events panel. This gets particularly annoying when I have over 20 events.

The book is not particularly useful, it is much easier to experiment with Alice to learn the basics. A better way to teach it would be through videos or interactive tutorials, as those would be easier to follow and more interesting.

One of the reasons I continue to use Alice is how easily code can be viewed and manipulated. It offers a wide range of commands that are easily understood and allow me to do almost anything.

Week 23 post (week 23)

Connor J — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:26:08 +0000

Still in Alice, not much has changed. Autonomy has made almost no difference for me. Honestly, barring a major change in the class, I do not see much change in store for my Alice experience.

On an unrelated note, I absolutely LOVE the Art Institute presentations that interrupt me and my Alice time. If I ran a college, I would most definitely harass the students weekly, because that is the way to a teenager’s heart.

The Question

Connor J — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:52:29 +0000

I have chosen to do Alice, because it its both interesting and provides almost guaranteed freedom (apart from reading the Blog)….

… And it is working out quite well thank you. Alice, while having some minor problems, is very interesting and while fun, Alice is very challenging.

Evidence…

My time (week 15)

Connor J — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:38:36 +0000

Time for Autonomy… Even though it’s already what i’ve been doing with Alice or the past 10+ weeks.

Oh well, the 500 XP doesn’t hurt

No More Tutorials

Connor J — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:13:52 +0000

Done with tutorials

One More Week (Week 11)

Connor J — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:16:10 +0000

I have officially moved on to Alice. Goodbye Logos, Grids, and all of your annoyingly complex (yet “simple”) friends.

One more week… I’m not sure if I’m more excited for Thanksgiving or the week off for Thanksgiving.

So Far… (Week 9)

Connor J — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:46:23 +0000

Though 9 weeks the Mac Lab has been full of surprises, making the second year feel completely different. I have learned that the philosophy, “Simple is better” applies to all walks of life.

Total XP Tracker

Connor J — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:52:38 +0000

9/23/11: 204

10/3/11: 241