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MID SEMESTER BREAK: The Mysterious World of Programming


Hi all!

This is Mikayla here, and I’m going to be sharing my experiences with programming/python so far!

Walking into the computer lab on the first week I had absolutely no idea what to expect. With zero coding experience up my sleeve, I was determined to give it a go. I remember that feeling of relief as everyone in the class introduced themselves pointing out their lack of experience and thinking we were all on a similar page. That was until pretty quickly in the lesson I started feeling very lost and when I looked around the room it seemed like everyone was following along quite easily. I remember that overwhelming wave of stress and uncertainty as I left the lab, wondering what exactly I had gotten myself into this semester.

The next couple of classes after that consisted of following lesson plans (which were structured incredibly well!) and trying to find my feet in this new and mysterious world of coding. There was certainly a lot of staring blankly at the computer screen because I had no idea why my code was or wasn’t running. The small class did make it really easy to get help and if teaching staff weren’t available, it was easy to turn to a peer as everyone seemed more than willing to lend a hand.

Eventually it was time to start bringing in ideas from our own projects. Bringing in relevant examples and putting the coding into a context that I was familiar with, definitely helped to clarify a few things. By no means was it a walk in the park and I still had more than my share of defeated moments. It was at this point I started bonding with the people next to me as I realised I was by no means alone in the confusion. Once I realised that getting frustrated with my coding abilities (well my lack of) was not in the slightest going to help, the lessons became easier and more enjoyable.

During week 4 I definitely felt progress as I had begun building my code and finally in Week 5, what I thought at the beginning was unachievable, actually happened! I got one of my very own images to  display on the screen. Although a very small step, when I think back to day 1, this feels like an enormous achievement. With next week being our final class using python, to my surprise, I’m feeling excited as I’m hopeful I can finish off the last of what I have planned!

Despite that every single time I walk into these programming classes I feel nervous, unsure of the challenges I'm going to experience, or that headache I know I will inevitably have by mid way through (because I don’t think I've had to concentrate so intently for such a long period before), I honestly don’t think I would change anything! I’m appreciative for the many laughs I’ve shared with peers because we have had absolutely no idea what we were doing wrong or how to get our code to run. But most of all, my favourite moment was the excitement of finally coding my first real experiment image and it successfully displaying on the screen!



I could go on forever talking about all the things these programming classes and internship in general has taught me thus far, but instead I thought I would share just a few:

Mikayla’s top intern tips:

1.   Persistence is absolute key: reflecting on those first 5 weeks, I had numerous opportunities to close off and label coding as being too hard. However, I made the most progress after I felt things had gotten too tough but decided to give it another go anyway.
2.   To ask questions no matter how silly they are you may think they are: I lost count of the numerous times I didn’t want to ask for help as I was afraid of looking stupid, but I learnt just how far pushing past that fear can actually get you. Between the teaching staff and peers, everyone in this course is so supportive and encouraging that there really isn't anything to be scared of.
3.   You can get so much out of the things that are the most challenging: Although I’ve never had so much on my plate before, and stress levels are definitely elevating week by week, embracing everything this internship has to offer has made this semester my favourite. I have found that the more time I put into this course, the more skills I learn and the more rewarding it gets. There isn’t a much better feeling than finally achieving something you have worked really hard for!


Well that’s all from me! I hope everybody’s proposal writing is going well!

Mikayla :) 

Comments

  1. Elizabeth11 April 2018 at 04:19

    Hey Mikayla,

    I'm so glad that all your hard work in programming has finally paid off! Programming is such a foreign language and I had heaps of moments where I didn’t understand why my code wasn’t working (and why it was working). It's great that you persevered through and was able to successfully display your first experiment image.

    I was also afraid to ask questions because of looking silly but then I realised, most of us are on the same boat. And the teaching staff and supervisors are always so supportive and ready to help. It definitely helps to talk to peers and to share our thoughts and experiences.

    Best of luck with your project!
    Elizabeth


    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown12 April 2018 at 19:18

    Hey Mikayla.

    Great to hear you have such a positive attitude to programming. As with learning any language, it can feel tough trying to grasp even the basic of words and functions. But the important thing is having taken that first step, every following step will get easier and longer strides- and soon you will realise how proficient you have become with programming. To be able to say you are fluent in a programming language, I think that is a pretty cool achievement to have.

    After learning one programming language, there are so many other things to dive into - you might learn another programming language or decide to take on board a coding project. Hey, it might even become a hobby for you! Regardless, programming is an important skill set to have that has applications with horizons that extend far beyond just psychology.

    All the best with the project,
    Justin

    ReplyDelete

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