Key Concepts in COmputingWhile I was taking the course Key Concepts in Computing, I began to realize as the quarter went on that I was thinking more logically about how technology that we interact with functions and performs. During the quarter we looked at pre-existing technologies such as one that notifies homeowners via their phone when their house plants need watering and broke down how the technology works from a logical standpoint. For our final project, we were assigned to come up with a new technology and describe it in detail including the design and function.
To prepare us for taking on these two large projects, we were given smaller assignments throughout the quarter that involved working with a logic board and an integrated development environment called Arduino. The logic board involved a series of wires and lights that would light up at different rhythms and speeds depending on what computer program was imputed into Arduino. The computer program Arduino operates using the programing language called C which tells the logic board how it should function. Going through the logical flow of how different technologies operate and setting up our Arduino projects ourselves allowed us to view the technology we interact with on a daily bases in a more understandable way. By seeing how all computer programs are just a series of steps all flowing together showed us that even the most seemingly complicated technologies can be broken down into a simple logic step by step process. |