My first day at college, a fellow computer science major suggested that I get into a Computer Science Student Mac based on the fact that I would soon be able to write a simple program. The only requirement was that I turn in a final exam, something like the GRE exam, within six months. I thought this was a great idea, but I didn’t really know what a “finished product” was, or how much better off I would be by doing it myself. When I got home, I started to do some research online. Here is what I found:
A Programming assignment is the most common type of coursework taken by Computer Science students. This term loosely encompasses a large number of projects. Typically, students will be given some sort of computer project that they need to complete within a set time frame. For instance, the assignment might be to create a game. However, that’s not all that can be completed. There are many different types of programming assignments, some of which are extremely difficult.
For instance, I believe the first programming assignment ever completed was a maze generation game. The creator of this assignment came up with a solution for every level of the maze and programmed the computer to do it. click to read Today, the Internet is filled with very complex programs, often times much more complex than those required for a programming assignment.
Of course, the difficulty level increases as you move higher in school. If I were going to complete such a project, I would definitely want to use a computer that was a bit more powerful. Today’s computers have so many features, and they run so much faster. The amount of time it would take me to complete such a project using current technology would be many hours instead of the couple of minutes I estimated. Therefore, my guess would be that the future of computers is amazing, and we will soon have devices that run faster than human brains.
Computer Science students, especially those in my College, are very passionate about computers. They spend countless hours programming, building, and tearing everything apart. It is truly amazing what a few people can accomplish with a few pieces of equipment. In fact, I would estimate that most students in my College and many of my friends have more advanced degrees in electronics than many of my professors. Because of this passion, I have been able to give students practical advice on what type of equipment they need for their next project, which has paid off well for them.
It is very important for a student to take a course of study that interests him or her, and that also allows for independent studies. Independent studies allow students to experiment, build, and modify their projects based on their own desires and skills without having to follow a pre-determined path. My Computer Science teacher, Mr. Quirk, has always encouraged me to do independent study, and he is happy to see me sticking to it every semester.
For students who love to program, the Mac environment is much more conducive to learning and making mistakes than a PC environment. This is because there are no buttons, brackets, or moving parts; just a basic platform that makes it easy to experiment with and build a robot. This also means that students are less likely to hold themselves back and procrastinate on projects simply because the work takes a long time to do. As a result, they can complete their projects much faster than students who must wait their turn for a PC. Mr. Quirk loves to tell students that their Mac is an “immense tool” for their independent study.
In conclusion, I love my job, and I love helping students understand science. However, if I were given a gift for one year of college, it would be a Macintosh. Not only does the Mac support independent study, but it allows me to experiment, build robots, create code, and do whatever I want with the computer. What other computer would offer all of this?