CS2101 Week 0/1 Notes

CS2101 Week 0/1 Notes

Watching assigned videos and engaging in subsequent discussions.

1. In simple terms, how would you define communication?

   According to the Oxford dictionary, communication is the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium.

   To me, in simple terms, communication is conveying messages between two or more parties, to ensure mutual understanding of the message at hand. This can be done through various forms, including verbal, written, or visual imagery.

2. Watch these 3 YouTube videos. What connections can you draw between the content in the videos and the art of effective communication skills?

   • “Why Japanese Calligraphy Ink Is So Expensive.” YouTube uploaded by Business Insider.
   • “Jackie Chan Hilariously Critiques Amateur Stunt People.”
   • “40 Minutes Of Satisfying Videos Of Workers Doing Their Job Perfectly.” - 1st 5mins

   For the Japanese Calligraphy video, the connection to effective communication could be related to the precision and craftsmanship involved in making the Calligraphy Ink. The attention to detail, focus, and skill required draw parallels to effective communication that also demands a similar level of precision and clarity to convey messages accurately.

   Secondly, Jackie Chan’s critique of amateur stunt performances show his expertise and experience in stunt work, allowing him to accurately deduce whether a given act is “stunt-work” or “needs-work”, given the contextual picture. In communication, understanding the context is equally important to deduce an author’s message.

   Lastly, the satisfying 40 minute video shows the satisfaction that comes from performing a task with precision and excellence. This could parallel the satisfaction derived from delivering a message effectively, where clarity and competence contribute to successful communication.

3. With regards to #b, which specific moment in these videos resonates most with you? How would you connect this to communication skills?

   For the Japanese Calligraphy ink video, the moment when calligrapher Sho Azakami uses the sumi ink stick is satisfying and is similar to how good communication skills are appreciated by others.

   For the Jackie Chan video, his humble critique of amateur stunt performers reflects the importance of feedback for improvement in communication.

   Lastly, in the 40 minute video, the truck parking moment parallels the precision needed when communicating.

Week 0

For this CS2101 class, we need to look for a job advertisement with job description related to your desired position for an in-class activity. (You can assume that you already have a degree).

Additionally, we are to:

• Engaging in discussions on YouTube videos via Teams/OneDrive
• Familiarizing with Google Sheets/OneDrive/Canvas (modules, syllabus, assignments)
• Navigating the course on Canvas:
• Sourcing for a recent job advert from your industry and bringing it to your 1st lesson
• Select a topic for your provisional/CA1 presentation.

Apparently, most of our lessons will be conducted in a workshop mode, encouraging active participation from us as learners which will contribute to a fruitful learning experience.

My assigned tutor is Mr Dioni Yong. Hope this will be a fruitful module for the semester! This is giving ES2660 vibes lol.

Week 1 Tutorial Notes

1.1 Notes: Introduction from Mr Dioni Yong.

• Business jargon is important.
• Networking and finding opportunities is important.

Introductions.

• Shows command of language, train of thought etc.

1.2 Notes:

• Grouping for CA1.

Reading: “Software Engineering at Google” Abseil. https://abseil.io/resources/swe-bookLinks to an external site.

Chapter 6b. Brian Fitzpatrick “The Genius Myth”

• Core Principles of Humility, Respect and Trust
• Insecurity as a symptom of a larger problem
• The Genius Myth is the tendency that we as humans need to ascribe the success of a team to a single person/leader.
  • Tendency to find leaders / role models, idolize, and attempt to imitate.
  • This myth is another manifestation of our insecurity.
• Hiding considered harmful. Play off against alone time, concentration for collaboration and review.
  • Allows for early detection of fundamental design mistakes.
  • Gain benefits of collaboration. Fail early, fail fast, fail often.
  • The Bus Factor: the number of people that need to get hit by a bus before your project is completely doomed.
  • If you’re the only person who understands how the prototype code works, you might enjoy good job security—but if you get hit by a bus, the project is toast. If you’re working with a colleague, however, you’ve doubled the bus factor. And if you have a small team designing and prototyping together, things are even better—the project won’t be marooned when a team member disappears. Remember: team members might not literally be hit by buses, but other unpredictable life events still happen.
  • Increases pace of progress. “Many eyes make sure your project stays relevant and on track.” People working in caves awaken to discover that while their original vision might be complete, the world has changed and their project has become irrelevant.
• In Short, Don’t Hide
  • So, what “hiding” boils down to is this: working alone is inherently riskier than working with others. Even though you might be afraid of someone stealing your idea or thinking you’re not intelligent, you should be much more concerned about wasting huge swaths of your time toiling away on the wrong thing.

Simple in-class presentation on this topic.