Team Log

I'm doing a data science online course which encompasses a holistic range of skills from R Programming to Reproducible Research and eventually Developing Data Products. I've finished the first course in the series and passed with distinction. Currently i'm halfway through the next 4 courses. Some uses for Data Science include Technical Analysis for the Stock Market (something I want to do in the future), Biostatistics/Genomics (what the course instructors are specialized in), and basically any study aimed to show inference.

The subject Jack is covering is Python which is useful for such a wide variety of things. Python is excellent for introducing people to programming as it is very simple compared to other languages since it is a high level language (and uses an interpreter). One of the more interesting uses i've seen for Python is for autonomous drone navigation (there is a course on the subject on edX here).

The subject Cannon is working on is HTML5 and CSS3 which I have some background knowledge of. This technology is very useful as it is essentially what is the backbone of the web. The newer version of HTML adds a bunch of features such as video playback. The original version of HTML created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee was essentially only for sharing documents (most likely scientific findings) and not purposed for the web as we know it today. HTML5 gets rid of unnecessary extensions that were created to make up for the lack of features HTML had before.

I think introducing the freshmen to Unix and the Command line is very beneficial for starting them off with computer science. The minecraft module is great for creating interest and should follow early on in the year. Then they should be introduced to different types of technology to make it clear what skills they need for what they want to do (many kids have a hazy idea of what C does or what use is Java). Then they should decide what they are interested in and explore a little more on what they want to do.

Some things they could pursue include:

• Web Development - HTML, CSS, Javascript
• Web Design - Photoshop, Color Theory
• Programming - Python, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Game Design
• Modeling - Blender (free & open source), Maya (3 year free trail for students), Google Sketchup
• Computer Hardware - CPU, Motherboards, Clock speed, Cable Management, ATX/ITX chassis