Course 1 - Week 3

Part 1

Note Taking Techniques

There were a couple of good techniques noted in the academictips.org site that I feel I could benefit from.  Using different methods for taking notes, for example, by breaking up the page I'm taking notes on, one side for headings/important points, the other side for more detailed information.  Or using colors to highlight different subject matter so it's easy to parse.

Part 2

This week's big topic was ethics and specifically how ethics is important with the realm of computer science.  It's not typically what one thinks about when they hear computer science, but ethics is a very real concern for computer science students.  The tools and software we make as computer scientist have a very really effect on not only the people who use them directly, but on the people who are affected by the information they generate.  I've come to understand that when designing a system, I'll need to not only think of the immediate issue of how to solve this problem, but how my solution will effect others or the environment.

Part 3

What every computer science major should know was a fun and interesting read.  It's full of advice across a wide spectrum of topics, that ultimately is about being a knowledge computer scientist, that might not know everything, but knows how to go about figuring things out.  It's full of recommendations from what programing languages (or types of programming languages) one should know, to why you should have a portfolio versus a resume.  Overall, it's great information to have at any stage of your learning, to help you understand what's important and why.

Part 4

The Code of Integrity is important for myself and other students in the CS Online program, for multiple reasons.

1. By agreeing and abiding by the Code of Integrity it's instilling in us to become better, more ethical contributors to projects.  By asking us to cite our sources and those who've helped us solve a problem.  By asking us to not plagiarize, to make sure we're learning the work we're solving.
2. At the end of the day, it's us who's paying money to be here, learning and growing.  If you're going to plagiarize and not contribute, you're only cheating yourself in the long run