For me the thing that really helped me acquire basic programming skills in an IT context were the WODs , using chatGPT to help me understand how to write the syntax of certain codes. On top of this I would go to W3Schools to improve my understanding of certain blocks of code.
For me I think MIS people need basic programming skills and knowledge to understand how their network is running and how different systems are communicating with one another, how different processes are being done and it also gives us the necessary tools to figure out and solve problems which we have never seen before.
Assignment 2 was where I really felt I was getting hands-on experience in developing Software applications. In assignment one and two both of my individual requirements were complex and took me a lot of time to think through on how to execute them. I even paid for the premium version of chat gpt to see what other GPTs there were. One of them is called Code Copilot. This Chat was extremely helpful in getting me the code I needed to run the query string of the quantities all the way through. I would typically ask the AI how I would pull this query string out of the url and continue to use it throughout the pages. I might have spent a lot of time on training the AI but it was so worth it because coming up with the technical questions was easier than trying to figure out the syntax and coding part. That is the part of coding I am pretty bad at but understanding the concepts of how pieces of code work is more so my strong suit.
I think my first-hand MIS problems and solutions I ran into this semester usually came from syntax errors and how things are being transferred through pages. A lot of my MIS experiences came from helping others troubleshoot their problems. I often found myself having to explain very technical issues at not such a technical level. More often than not having to explain the issue like I was explaining it to my younger cousin.
I gained valuable hands-on experience in software development while working on Assignment 2. This project highlighted the importance of effective time management to meet deadlines and ensure the delivery of a fully functional website, which has enhanced my project management skills. Additionally, collaborating with my peers on troubleshooting features and discussing various issues provided me with significant teamwork experience throughout the course.
I would say I am more confident in addressing MIS problems than I was at the beginning of this course. I have gained confidence in my ability to start tackling MIS problems by helping others navigate through their code, helping find solutions to their problems and utilizing Chat GPT to get and simplify code where I could.
What did you learn from creating a professional portfolio and using it in ITM 352? What I learned from creating a professional portfolio and using it in ITM 352, is that I could showcase the work I have done especially if it is work that I am proud of. It also allows me time to reflect on the work I did to see what ways worked and which ones did not. This allowed me to learn from any mistakes I made and further emphasized me not to repeat them in the future.
I learned how to code effectively and efficiently. It also helped me figure out ways to solve certain issues in coding and how to get through them by using a different approach. It also heavily encouraged me to go seek out answers through W3 schools and to get a handle on what the requirements were getting me to do for the WODs.
To be quite honest I feel like the quizzes were not really helpful. This is because there were already so many assignments that I had to do. I ended up just redoing the quizzes until I got a 100%. On top of that if I needed to figure out something in class I would typically use Chat GPT how it would do it or I would go to the slides and look it up there or I would go to w3 schools to RTFM it. At the end of the day though the quizzes were somewhat helpful for the preparation of the labs but, I felt that I never really understood how we would implement the code or how we were gonna use the code until you showed us during the labs.
What I learned from the labs is that many of the problems and issues you will encounter in MIS, will require a significant degree of RTFM and that AI is your friend to use throughout the class, but you need to know the right questions to ask it, for it to give you the answer you need. Also from the lab, I truly learned many other topics and concepts that would prove to be useful and integral to the success of my assignments, with the learning of calling functions, creating functions, variable naming, if-else statements, and so much more that the Labs have taught me.
What I learned from doing the essays, was how I could improve as an MIS student, and as I mentioned before the essays found within the MIS portfolio allowed us to reflect and think upon the work we had done throughout this course and how I can better prepare myself for the next challenge that this major will throw at me.
What I learned from doing Assignments 1 and 2, in a technical sense, is how to get query strings to pass through web pages, how to create functions that will validate user data or stop the user from moving on to the next webpage, without the use of guards to stop users from entering invalid data. Consistent use of params and get/post methods, use of stringify, and so much more. I also truly learned the importance of client/server-side processing especially in regards to sensitive information such as passwords and so forth, and how to implement more security measures with your code to stop sensitive data from leaking out. I also learned how to properly implement templates from say W3 schools and got a much better grasp on CSS and making the webpage format and function more properly and more professionally. I also learned how to leverage AI.
Detail the specific challenges you encountered during the course, such as understanding new programming concepts, completing WODs, web application development assignments. One major challenge I encountered was getting my server to deploy to the cloud and this was not an issue due to incompetence but rather one to deal with a billing issue. I ended up having to use Micah’s account to deploy my server. A very common challenge/problem I encountered were syntax errors.
I usually overcame these syntactical issues by “banging my head against a wall” till it worked or I would go to ChatGPT for help. But more often than not I would typically chose the latter to get the work done faster and more effectively.
A particular achievement in the course that I felt was significant to me was getting my Assignment 2 in working order and done correctly. Especially after I figured out how to get the quantities ordered to pass all the way through each web page.
Syntactic was about how to format code so that it would execute properly and such. This level was fairly easy to do. However I would often make a very small syntax errors like missing commas, semicolons and other small syntax errors. For this I would often have friends or ChatGPT find the small errors.
Algorithmic was about finding a general solution to a problem that would work when given a different set of inputs. For this I had a much easier time because I just thought about how I would solve the problem using a bunch of if else statements and applying various other procedures/processes to solve problems within management information systems, with me throughout this semester developing algorithms and systematic approaches to analyze data, streamline operations, or enhance decision-making.
Application: At the application level, it involved us strategically applying our MIS experience into more complex business scenarios, whether it was being able to pass your query string from webpage to web page and so forth.
Describe how the hands-on experience with web-based e-service applications enhanced your understanding and confidence in handling MIS issues. The hands-on experience with web-based e-service applications most definitely enhanced my understanding and confidence in handling MIS issues, primarily with me getting much more practice on how to troubleshoot and find solutions to my problems with us building an e-commerce website, this heavily involved us needing to search whether it be on W3 schools, ChatGPT, and so forth, for the answers to our various problems, throughout this course. I now feel confident in my understanding of my application and could explain the elements in it and what it provides to the overall framework of our webpages/databases and I feel confident that I will be able to RTFM the next problem/issue that arises in my MIS career.
I heavily used AI throughout this course. It was scary how good it was at solving a majority of my issues. I used AI effectively by training it on what worked for the code and what didn’t. I was also able to analyze the code it gave me before implementing it into mine on assignment 2 and see if that code it gave me was appropriate and would function. I would highly recommend to any students who take this course in the future to start playing with the AI, and also pay for the premium version because it allows you to attach files. These files will be analyzed and you can ask how particular things work in the file. AI can also be super useful in writing emails and improving your own grammar and helps to make your thoughts more clear and concise.
I think AI has inhibited my learning in the sense that it has made me reliant on it for solving the problems with the specific code I need. However I think it has really helped me to form technical questions. That I would ask the AI to write the code and then I would see what that code did in VS code and see if it worked or not. I would also say it has helped me improve my response time to questions that are fairly easy when it comes to being technical. To further add to this it has helped me in figuring out how to achieve a solution without necessarily needing to know the write built in functions to get the task done.
For me the skills that I will continue to use and apply in my future academic and professional endeavors are the ways on how to problem solve and troubleshoot issues and how to keep on using AI to my advantage. I would also keep on working with AI because it is never going to go away in the workforce.
For me since I am both an accounting and MIS major the skills that I have learned will be put to good use if I go into IT Audit. Which is a subsection of Audit that deals with IT systems. These skills which I have learned will assist me in understanding on how the client’s, the people I am doing the audits on, systems are communicating with one another and where potential security issues may arise.
This course overall has given me another tool/perspective to use whenever I encounter an issue in my educational journey and future career. It has also improved how my brain comes to certain conclusions and opened new path ways to get a better understanding and solution that others can understand.