In this section, I will be sharing what I have studied on the CMT119 Computational Thinking module and my own personal reflections after studying this module, thinking about the modules that follow and showcasing examples of my work.
We first studied the concept of procedural programming and how this type of programming language is structured. It was explained to us that JavaScript and Python are both procedural programming languages – two languages we would be studying on the CMT120 Fundamentals of Programming module. We were able to practice writing JavaScript functions in a text editor – I used Visual Studio Code. Examples can be found in the photo gallery below. However, the next module will cover JavaScript in further detail.
We also studied how to create webpages using HTML. I was able to code the basic elements for a head, body, and footer to begin with. I was introduced to the concept of adding links and images, including how to create a link within an image. I now know how to link a CSS stylesheet into a HTML document. Most importantly, we were taught how to create classes which could be edited within a stylesheet so that it was easier to create responsive webpages.
Touching upon my HTML skills, I was able to adjust the font colour and size of basic elements within a CSS stylesheet, including how to add borders around elements. Furthermore, we were also taught how to create a grid layout to position text and images on a webpage and how to use flex to create layouts. Examples of my practice work in HTML and CSS are included below in the gallery. As well as that, I was asked to work as part of a group to recreate a website in HTML and CSS. We chose the BBC News website due to part of our group being Computational and Data Journalism students. My contribution to the group involved using flex positioning to create fake news articles, featured in the gallery below.
I also feel that the Computational Thinking module is essential for my progression on the Msc course as it is an essential precursor to the CMT120 Fundamentals of Programming module which will further develop my JavaScript skills – beyond just understanding the basic structure of JavaScript. Having practiced coding in HTML and CSS may also help me to learn to code in Python as I have developed the transferable study skills in the Computational Thinking module that I can apply to the next module, such as resilience and problem-solving skills.
Putting into practice all the skills we were taught during the module, I was able to work with others during Data Journalism workshops to create websites which could display analysed data in a visually appealing way to others. We mainly used HTML and CSS but also practiced a little bit of JavaScript in preparation for the new module. Examples of these group projects are featured in the gallery.
