Learning Journal - CSUMB - January 15, 2025

     Lecture: Week 2 Learning Journal Post    

Part 1: Review and Reflect Learning Strategy

 

    The tops three areas that I am good at is to stick to my schedule, unless an emergency comes up, I like to stick to my schedule from the beginning of the day, until the end of the day. I am also good at studying when I have "planned" for it, I usually plan my studies in the evening and over my online educational journey, I have been disciplined enough to stay on track. Lastly, I am good at thinking skills, I can think critically, and come up with ideas or a desire to research something and learn about it. This ability is used in our everyday life’s, at home, while studying, and at work. 

The top three areas that I feel I am weak in is where to study, sometimes it is easier to study at home but that is where I can easily get distracted at. I also feel that I am weak in is reading, sometimes when I am tired, it is hard to read all the material, including pictures, graphs, etc. I also need to work on reading less aloud, I did not know that this does not help one study more effectively. Now that I reflect on it, it makes perfect sense; since one can read silently much faster than the speed at which we move our lips.  

 

Part 2: Preview Time Management Skills

Part 3: Project Management Basics

    Project management basics entail utilizing several tools that keep either an individual or a team organized to reach an end goal. Those tools are Gant charts, project managers, and a work breakdown structure. These tools are vital to managing projects because they keep task items organized, in sequence and most importantly, it is valid data that one can present to upper management, get proper sign off and continue with the project. A project manager (PM), role is a professional whom communicate with the workers who are moving the project along, a PM also keeps upper management updated with scheduled intervals, or as they request an update. A "Work Breakdown Structure" is a structured topology of how the project will move along regarding the task it will take to reach the end goal. This keeps the task laid out in a strategic manner, where one can prioritize them accordingly.  Lastly, the Gant Chart keeps activities/task vertically, while time is horizontal. This layout shows how the project is progressing as the days go by, with certain optional checkpoints for status updates, reviews, etc., until the end goal is reached within a respective timeframe. 

Part 4: Check Out Previous Capstones

Project I: Out of Mana    

The type of project was video game related; it was developed individually. The project was extremely well done, the motion of the character appeared fluid, the menu had all the basic features such as audio adjustability, option to load/save game, and a way to exit from the game gracefully. I really enjoyed the presentation, the way in which Nathan Simpson presented his project, was nicely structured since he initially showed gameplay, how it evolved over time, the specifications, and his end results. The presentation was perfect, but the project might be able to improve if he would have collaborated with a team, maybe they could have made more progress, regardless, this capstone is amazing. 

Project II: Vault JS 

The type of project that Vault JS was is focused on SecOps/Cybersecurity. This project was extremely well done because he had an accuracy rate slightly above 90%. It is also wonderful how he was able to develop a program that can detect malicious script injections. I truly enjoyed the presentation, I learned plenty just by watching it, such as VJS' architecture, QE testing processes, and from the example he provided towards the end of the video. I believe this project was perfect, since the information was shown strategically and cohesively. 

Project III: Drive Diary     

This type of project was a web-based application that assists with logging maintenance for one’s car by creating your cars profile, update mileage, gas logs, which show cost over time, maintenance logs. This project was a full stack application; hence it used technology such as AWS, SQL, APIs, and React. Which are all modern technologies that are heavily used in the workforce.  Yes, the project could have easily been improved by making the application GUI much more graphical. Overall, it is a great application! 

Part 5: Summarize Your Week on Your Learning Journal

What I learned this week a was all the different capstones, and all the effort, technology and benefits that will come from it. I also learned how to manage my time and efforts better, by utilizing tools such as Gant Charts, and Work Breakdown Structures. I also got a deeper understanding of the job duties a project manager entail. The important of time management and a refresher on good learning strategies. These learning strategies are great because they make us aware of when we are being time efficient or procrastinating. I also took a test of facial features, which taught me to be more aware of those certain aspects in human body language. This week, I also enjoyed learning about team collaboration, and the corrections of my outline; which helped tremendously, since I can see where I was on task, and where I was making mistakes, which I will correct and learn from.