The wait is finally over, dear readers. Exam 1 has come and gone!

The length of the exam was extremely reasonable and the types of questions asked were well-grounded in the concepts from the study guide. My one piece of advice for my future readers who take this course is to look over the entire exam before attempting to answer any of the questions. In the case of this exam, the first two questions were (for me) the most conceptually challenging as they asked us to build on more complicated concepts that we had only recently gone over in class. The other questions, however, tested how much you studied the listed material and functions and how well you knew their implementations. Overall, I would say if you take the full two weeks to prepare and are extremely familiar with every function on the review list, you should do well.

Now I’m afraid, dear readers, it’s time for a little venting. This past week Professor Downing encouraged us all to post our note sheets on Piazza so that we could collaborate on the topics listed. Though I will be the first to admit that my sheet was heavily condensed (filling the allotted two pages) and seemed overwhelming at first, I was surprised when it was immediately criticized by other students in the class. These types of note sheets have worked very well for me and many other students I have taken courses with. One of my peers even posted notes like this in our Algorithms class to help with exams and nearly half the class used it. All these students had to offer was either outright distaste for this particular format or pedantic comments on how to "fix it." I'm not so much concerned with how these comments affected me (I can get over myself), but instead how they affect other students in the class. The whole point of Downing's suggestion (and of Piazza in general I would argue) is to offer a safe place for struggling students to get the help they need to succeed in the course. But these unexpected passings of judgement just make it harder for those students to reach out and get that help (especially right before a major exam). All I'm saying is, help these students help themselves by being more considerate and saving your advice for something more than just a difference in taste.

Okay. Off the soapbox, dear readers. Won't happen again. Here's your tip of the week!

Tip of the week: Computer programming is becoming more and more an essential, everyday life skill. If you've got younger siblings or friends, here's how to get them started early: http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/03/12-games-that-teach-kids-to-code/