Introduction to Computational Thinking

I had already had many "first" experiences in university, and adding to the list is one more from the course titled Introduction to Computational Thinking (ICT). It was learning Python programming.

I had never seen Python code in my life before so I was all the more shocked when I heard that this whole course would be based on Python. The labs were all based on the Raspberry Pi board (whose packaging box I was very fond of back home because the logo is very cute, but that was pretty much all I knew about it). I had an especially hard time adjusting to Python syntax since it's so verbal and English-like, but as the labs progressed I started getting more comfortable with it. In the final lab, I was able to write the Python code to model a rolling ball game on the RPi SenseHat display module. My experiences with Google from Engineering Math 2 encouraged me to use the internet without being afraid of finding complicated, confidence-destroying answers to my basic questions.

Another new thing this course taught was data structures in Python. Though they only taught only binary trees and nothing more, I found myself lost throughout that section and all the Python codes, which I just had started feeling comfortable with, started seeming like Latin and Greek again. However after some intense research effort, I was able to understand those concepts.

The course also involved a (very large) "mini project". It was to construct a full fledged canteen recommendation system with UI graphics using Python. The final few weeks were dedicated to the project and contributed significantly to improving my comfort with Python, which was at first unusual and unfamiliar. The project exposed me to the more nuanced aspects of a new programming language, the greatest example being industry standard syntax and best practices. All in all, as challenging as this course was, it was the one that benefited me the most in my following years at university as Python formed an integral part of another course in the next semester as well as my year 2 research project.

Something I learnt from this course is that to learn something new, there's nothing better than hands-on practice. The labs as well as the project provided me with the opportunity to practice coding in Python. Despite the fact that at the time of the project it felt forced and intense, in hindsight, I know I wouldn't be as comfortable with Python as I am now if I hadn't done those projects.