CST 300 - Week 3

Part 1 - Study Strategy Websites

 This week, we were given a link to a list of websites that had time management skills and study strategies. In last week's post, I wrote about how I had a hard time gathering my ideas and materials for the essay, so I viewed "Tips for writing researcher papers" under the section titled "Writing Essay Tips". My summary below will be helpful when developing our next paper which is an ethics essay. 

    In this article, it mentioned the four areas of writing a paper that one should focus on. The first area is getting started. To start, develop a thesis statement. They recommend keeping it simple and specific as it will help keep your essay focused. Give yourself time to look for sources about your specific thesis statement. It is important to give yourself time to write the paper, the bare minimum being a week, and being organized with the time you have. This includes time to take notes, find sources, write an outline, write a draft, and make revisions. 

     The second area is taking notes. This is important when reviewing your sources and how they connect with your thesis. It is important to make notes about what each resource is about and write down what specific quote or idea you plan on using for your paper. 

    The third area is creating an outline. This involves writing out the introduction. For the introduction, you want to think about how you will develop your thesis and introduce what your paper will be about. They recommend starting with the background or history of the material. This will lead to your concluding statement which is connected to your thesis, setting the stage for the rest of the paper. From here, create main headings with subheads involving the topics you are writing about and where you plan on using each resource. 

    The fourth area is creating the rough draft and final draft. They recommend writing as freely as possible using the outline as a guide. Keep quotes from sources short. Review your draft for facts and underdeveloped areas and make changes if needed. The final draft should involve looking at sentence structure and syntax errors. 

**Do not forget to create a reference list that is appropriately formatted**

Part 2 - Reflection on Week's reading and activities 

Part of this week's lecture is focused on the CS Online Program Policies. In reference to the CS Online Program, we were reminded of the Academic Honesty policies that we are to hold ourselves to, as well as the expectations of the program (engagement, withdrawals, assignments, etc). 

Another part of the lecture focused on ethics in computer science, which is the topic of our next essay. The video provided describes the 12 issues that come along with ethics in computer sciences. When discussing ethics, it is important to note the stakeholders that are affected by the issue at hand. Issues can be in one or more of the following categories: 

• 
  Ethical
• Legal
• Cultural
• Environmental
• Privacy 

Some ethical issues that stood out to me in the video involved the Digital Divide and health
issues. The Digital Divide refers to the unequal distribution of technology in different areas of a town, city, or country. It mentioned that these areas have little chance to compete with areas that have faster internet since, in technology, the faster the internet, the more productive a company or individual can be. The health issue was centered around the work environment of employees in the field of computer science. Working at a computer all day can lead to issues such as obesity or injuries. Other issues included privacy with social media, how mobile technology can lead to work addiction, and how technology affects our environment. This is a great video as it helped me see what ethical issues I may want to cover in my essay. 

Another reading provided to use was the "Code of Ethics" document. This reading describes the four codes that a "computing professional" should hold themselves to. This involves a positive work environment, privacy, and proper behavior when dealing with technology and data. Each principle tackles important ethical issues such as maintaining high standards of professional work working with the public good in mind, and respecting privacy in the field. The principles are titled General Ethical Principles, Professional Responsibilities, Professional Leadership, and Compliance With the Code. The first three set the stage for how a computing profession should act while the last one involves holding oneself and others to the previous principles. 

In addition to the readings and videos, we also had OLI Module 3 to complete. This module focused on what I bring to the team. From the activities, I realized that I am a "Get Along" in a team setting. I am very aware of others and do my best to make sure everyone is included. I do my best to avoid conflict, and I am accommodating to my team. I often give up my own ideas for the sake of the team. All of these traits are true. I tend to listen more than speak. I plan on speaking up more in team meetings, in a respectful way of course, and advocating for my ideas as well as others. 

Part 3 - What a Computer Science Major Needs to Know

Another article assigned for reading was focused on what a CS student should know. It is
recommended that a CS student have a portfolio, a resume, classes in physics and multivariable calculus, communication skills, knowledge of the Unix philosophy (being comfortable with command-line computing and IDE-less software), and System Administration. It surprised me that they suggested having physics and multivariable calculus as part of your experience. It does make sense since you are technically an engineer. I have experience in mathematics, having my B.S. in mathematics, but physics is something I would need to review. In addition to this information, there was a lot of information on programming languages and topics in computer science such as networking, security, and user experience design. 

Part 4 - Code of Integrity

Integrity is important as it shows your capabilities as a person, or in this case, a student going into the field of computer science. We, as humans, can be helpful to each other but there is a difference between helping and cheating. Helping involves assisting a person with a problem while cheating involves doing the work, or part of the work, for them. This also includes receiving work to copy or using a piece of someone's work as your own. The work did not come from the mind of the developer and, therefore, is not a true display of their abilities.