A13IanSmith

A13IanSmith

To-Do

Please Answer the following Questions: provide a brief rationale for your answer — not just yes/no answers

1. which classes did you take outside of your chosen discipline?
   1. how did you select these classes?
      1. based on interest
      2. based on requirements for your degree program
   2. did would you evaluate the “outside classes”?
      1. a waste of time
      2. okay
      3. an enrichment of your education
      4. if you had a choice: would you take more outside classes?
2. to be a well educated graduate in your respective discipline — what do you consider the most important objectives?
   1. did CU offer classes for you to meet these objectives?
   2. have you pursued these objectives outside of classes (in other settings at CU; outside of CU)?
3. what do you consider the most important impact of new media and human-centered computing on YOUR education?

which classes did you take outside of your chosen discipline?

Classes I have taken which were outside my major (computer science): fictional writing workshop, circuits, physics 1 and 2, introduction to and intermediate macro and microeconomics, neurobiology of learning and memory, psychology 1, cognitive science.

how did you select these classes? (e.g. based on interest or based on requirements for your degree program)

I selected these classes based upon both degree requirements and interest. I am fascinated by how the brain works and as such took neurobiology and cognitive science courses; I was not disappointed by how much I learned. The neurobiology course also fulfilled my upper-division science credit requirement, which was nice. I would say that I chose these classes because they were the most interesting to me out of the set of all classes that would help get closer to earning my degree.

how would you rate the “outside classes”? (e.g. a waste of time or an enrichment of your education)

They were definitely beneficial to my education as a whole, but I would not say that every class was worth my time. I had to take introduction microeconomics in order to take intermediate microeconomics, but intro to microecon was not much more in-depth than what I learned in high school. Fictional writing was very much worth the time I put into it, since it really helped me strengthen my writing skills. Even though my cognitive science and neurobiology knowledge probably will not transfer much into other areas of knowledge, I consider those classes very valuable for how much they transformed my worldview.

if you had a choice: would you take more outside classes?

Yes. If I had the time and money I think I would never leave school and just take classes that appeal to my sense of curiosity. I would learn multiple languages, learn filmmaking and design, work on my figure drawing skills and also read novels upon novels.

to be a well educated graduate in your respective discipline — what do you consider the most important objectives?

Probably the most important thing, I am somewhat hesitant to say, is to write concise readable code. However, it is also important to be creative and empathetic. You can't come up with a successful website without being creative, and you can't design it well without being empathetic to your users.

did CU offer classes for you to meet these objectives?

Yes, absolutely. As far as being a good programmer, classes like Algorithms, Data Structures and Principles of Programming Languages meet that objective. Taking Educational Game Design, User-Centered Design and Intro to Artificial Intelligence helped me be more creative and empathetic.

have you pursued these objectives outside of classes (in other settings at CU; outside of CU)?

Yes, definitely. I taught myself web design and development on my own time. I listen to educational podcasts (eg Radiolab) and read related books often. I would comfortably say that I haven't been bored for a long time.

hat do you consider the most important impact of new media and human-centered computing on YOUR education?

It is overwhelming how many programming resources are on the internet today. I could teach myself literally anything I wanted to if I put my mind to it. Communities like StackOverflow and video podcasts like CSS Tricks have taught me things that I never would have learned on my own. Everything I have learned about web design/development I learned from new media.