Module 3

 Time Management and Study Strategy

A study strategy that I struggle with the most is creating a study schedule for each week and sticking to it.  The AcademicTips website has many tips for study strategy including how to create daily study schedules.  Picking the media on which to create your schedule is the first step.  I like using the reminders app on my iPhone.  Constructing the schedule is the next step.  AcademicTips recommends blocking the day into hour-long intervals (or half-hour intervals on busy days).  The necessities such as class assignments, work, and eating take priority over other daily activities and should be scheduled during the most productive time of the day.  I will place these necessities towards the start of the day because that is where I am most energized.  It is also important to allow yourself small breaks each hour to give yourself a rest.  Other tips to help stay on the schedule are to not be a perfectionist, be able to say no, prioritize responsibilities, and combine activities at the same time if they relate.

Ethics

Ethics is the study of determining morality and right from wrong.  Issues are broken up into five different categories, ethical, legal, privacy, environmental, and cultural.  When looking at issues, it is important to view the issue through the eyes of multiple different stakeholders, or the person or group affected by the issue.  For example, an issue on mobile technology and the workforce, the stake holders might be the workers who enjoy the freedom of less strict work hours and the company who might be at risk of mobile technology being stolen that has sensitive information.  These stakeholders present an ethics argument where at least two sides on an issue attempt to persuade the other side or the bystanders which side is more correct.  There are several ethical frameworks.  Ethical Relativism states that there are no universal answers for what is right or wrong.  Utilitarianism determines rightness based on pain versus pleasure generated for everyone involved.  Care Ethics expresses rightness to whatever generates good for others but generates more good for someone with a close relationship.  Ethical Egoism is exactly what it sounds like, whatever provides good to ones self-interest is the right option.  Divine Command Theory bases rightness on what is in line with religion such as God's will.  Natural Law Theory states that rightness is directly related to what our natural inclinations are because those inclinations were created by God.  Kant's Ethics says rightness is what is the most rational arguing that any rational person is not only rational to themselves but also to others.  Virtue Ethics states that one will act right if they possess proper virtues such as courage, moderation, wisdom, justice, and truthfulness.

What Every Computer Science Major Should Know

• Knowing the difference between a portfolio and a resume.  A resume lists your GPA, work history, and facts about an individual.  A portfolio on the other hand shows the actual abilities a programmer possesses.  A portfolio for example can include passed projects, contributed code, and even a self-made website that houses it all.  
• A computer scientist should be able to understand and work with Unix systems and be comfortable with IDE-less situations such as command-line and text-file configuration.  
• Although a computer scientist is not a network administrator, it is expected they have knowledge of system/network configuration.  Knowing the network stack and the protocols grinning within a network should be a core fundamental. 
• The top used programming languages are always changing.  It is important to learn how to teach yourself new languages to stay up to date with the current norms.
• Important to be fluent in discrete mathematics such as sets, tuples, sequences, functions, and power sets
• Because computer scientists work with computers, it might be a good idea to familiarize yourself with computer architecture such as transistors, caches, ALU's, RAM, CPU's and GPU's.  Knowing how they all work together may be worth studying as well
• Security is a must.  Computer scientists must be aware of their program's vulnerabilities or must be able to act quickly in case their program is compromised.
• Knowing some robotics is recommended because computer scientists work closely with engineers who may be working with robots.
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming a staple in computer science
• Data is the new king of how companies run.  Database management and creation is something computer scientists need to know 

Code of Integrity

It is important for every student to submit their own work or express in their work where they received help for many reasons.  It is okay to ask for help and students should always feel they can.  Help doesn't mean providing the answer though, it means helping guide the student in the right direction.  The most important reason in my eyes is to ensure everyone is receiving the education they are paying for.  If an assignment is plagiarized, the student will not learn a single thing about that topic.  It also teaches students about real-world code of conduct.  Once securing that dream coding job, copying another company's code is unacceptable, and are expected to come up with solutions on your own.