My programming skills have greatly improved in the following ways in that I have a greater understanding of the foundations of Java coding and programming and I can apply the lessons in a practical way without becoming lost. There is a lot more patience now than before and less frustration overall.
I need to work on the following to improve my programming skills by solidifying my ability to think in less linear ways. I often get stuck because I have a hard time with the number of solutions that a problem can have.
I admit that the WoDs can be difficult to complete within the passing time limit and I have to watch the casts and do them several times to get under the DNF. They do help a lot, but the time required for real proficiency is prohibitive.
The labs help in learning the concepts. Seeing how they work is insightful especially when they break. The explanations given really remove a lot of the confusion that would otherwise be present. I wouldn’t exactly say I can do every single one with confidence given the pace of the course but I do think I could do them with less help given more time.
While I do think it will be challenging, I think I have gained enough knowledge to at least get me started. So in short I feel that I am ready to work on the next stage.
I think the class can be improved to help my learning by updating some of the instructions on the labs.
The screen casts and recordings are by far the best thing that helps me learn in this class hands down. There is so much information when you search and often it’s really about asking the right questions so it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but the recordings especially help keep me on track and make sure that I’m understanding and thinking in ways that don’t waste time.