"Success without Sacrifice is Silent; Dreams without Determination is Dead! (3S;3D)" - OVECJOE
Because I made up my mind to write for every week of this term, I have dedicated myself to documenting my experiences (favorable or otherwise) as I move up the ladder of every Kiboan's dream. It is not easy to write when you have nothing to say, but who am I to judge what impact my contents have on others? I can only control the positivity of the impact!
Hit by so many hindering factors, I find myself on the trail of time, running slowly as fast as possible, stealing away behind the shades of failure, and breaking the covenant I have had with time management. If there is one thing that comes to mind, it is panic.
Or must I panic about being behind the term's clock by a week?
Or must I panic about waking up to a new term on the wrong side of the bed?
If, for a split second, I decide to make a different decision, I will firmly decide to restart the term and pray on the right side of the bed.
"Why do you talk like a loser, Kid?", you must ask.
"Because I am not a loser...", I would answer.
Am I allowed to, for a moment, brood? Study the times and figure out the clock to see in what direction I must head to preserve my goals.
Now that I have neutralized and dispersed the anxiety that has built up in my bones and brain box, I can write like a man again!
Courses Offered This Term
And yes! A new term has begun, and I am so excited! Do you know how excited I am?
Think of how excited a boar is when he tastes a bottle of honey; he would not hesitate to inform his sleuth. Or...
Imagine the facial expression of a rat (or a buck) when he sees and tastes the homemade sandwich you left on your kitchen table. What a feeling of excitement he would shiver with as he made his way to his home to inform the swarm of rats (or the mischief) about the temptation. I am already feeling happy for him as the other rats give him a noble prize as a reward for his hard work. Aren't you feeling the same way?
Enough of my brainwashing speech!
As my eyes spotted Web Application Development on the timetable for this term, I remembered the thrill of last term's "Web Foundations." You won't understand this feeling if you are not a Kiboan, and don't try to imagine it.
Sorry, start imagining it! If you didn't imagine it, how will you enjoy my narration (or is it a description)?
With this week's focus on how web apps work generally, I couldn't help but absorb the reminder.
"But you are an ALX alumni, you should already know these things?", you might ask.
Oh, that is true! I didn't forget that! I have also developed a few small or medium-sized web applications. And this knowledge makes me more excited about the week's materials. I have always led a life of believing that I know nothing, and this has always helped me learn more, even from the areas that I have gleaned.
"The more you learn, the more hungry you are for more."
Whenever I am introduced to a concept I have already learned, I notice that I absorb it in an entirely different way. I dig into the plethora of information about that concept online and try to answer some questions I have had using that concept.
For instance, this week's material introduced HTTP (the protocol behind the web). When I came across this, I studied it more intensely than I would have studied it if I had been learning it for the first time. It became a more research-based study where I am trying to answer several questions that had unconsciously built up when I was dealing with HTTP requests and responses in practice.
Whenever I approach learning with this mindset, it never fails me. I learned and understood a whole lot more using this approach.
Still, on the topic of the courses offered this term, we are also offering Programming 2, an extension of the course Programming 1 offered last term. While Programming 1 showed us interesting ways to eat and appropriately savor meat, Programming 2 is about showing us how to chew bones to develop stronger teeth.
Seriously, I am eager to show you everything we will be learning about this term in this article, but I won't; I will present it each week.
The two other courses we are offering are:
Communicating for Success
If you know how much fun I had with "Optimizing your Learning" last term, you can double that effect and anticipate how "Communicating for Success" will go this term. One thing I feared with the course last term (i.e., Optimizing your Learning) was the bulky materials. Not that I don't enjoy reading the materials, but I over-enjoyed reading the materials, which causes me to approach them slowly to enjoy the relishing feeling, thus affecting the other courses' material.
Product Management and Design
This is a course that I have been anticipating since we closed the last term. I understand the positive impact this course would have on me since I will be using the knowledge and skills gained throughout my career. But I haven't had the time to sit with the course materials yet because I am engulfed with several extremes (I wonder if that is the right word in this context).
Squad Cup Updates
Last term, I started journaling my journey as a Kiboan. This motivation was aroused by the squad challenges organized by the Kibo team. This is something you must have seen mentioned in a previous article, but I haven't explained how it works yet.
As a Kiboan, you are assigned to a squad. Each squad is usually a family of 4-6 students. For each term, there is a squad cup standing at the summit of the mountaintop, and each squad works hard to get to the top first. It is usually heart-burning and competitive, but thrilling. The Kibo team has preinstalled some activities at the start of each term. Each activity has a weight expressed in points, and each squad can perform a maximum of six activities per week. Depending on the activities a squad carries out each week, these weights will be accumulated each week and aggregated at the end of the term.
The squad with the most points got to the top first and hence won the medal (you can assume the type of medal).
In conclusion, my squad won the first squad cup in the history of Kibo last term. Sorry if it appears like I am bragging, but we worked very hard and overtook the squad in the second position by 3 points. You can see how narrow our escape was.
The secret of winning the squad cup is not to chase the flags, but to do the little activities you enjoy doing consistently. That was what brought us success last term.
Wait a Minute!...
I mentioned that I would explain, at least, a concept I learned during the week this term. I will start with this article.
I came across the SQ3R framework while I was going through week 1 online lessons, and I was so shocked that I had been using this framework for a while, unknown to me. Though I don't follow this framework in the exact order, whenever I use it, I always enjoy the reward.
S (Survey)
Think of surveying as a skimming technique where you try to get the gist of the materials. Here, you are looking for organizational features such as headings and subheadings. This helps you understand what the theme of the material is about and whether reading the material would be rewarding.
With this first stage or step, you have a general overview of what you are about to delve into.
I enjoy surveying new materials that I am about to devour to avoid spending a reasonable amount of time on an unreasonable amount of knowledge that won't hit the goalpost.
Q (Question)
"Question me or I will question you!", the material exclaimed.
At this stage, where you already know the theme of the material, it would suffice to derive or extract questions from the headings and subheadings... or organizational features you have taken into account.
With this, you can use the questions as a compass as you tread the sodden grounds of knowledge (or would "the material" suffice here?). They keep you focused and organized, and they help arouse more interest in the content of the material.
Do you know how much you cherish the information you gained after failing an important question in an examination? Your brain automatically triggers the save() function and helps keep this piece of information safe in your cerebellum. It works like magic!
"Magic is about believing in yourself. If you can do it, you can make anything happen." - Johann Wolfgang Von Geothe
Sorry about the above quote; I couldn't help myself.
Once you have these questions prepared, try to answer them using your existing knowledge. It might make you feel stupid and "not smart enough," but you will find it helpful since you will be able to connect your existing knowledge to improve your comprehension when you begin to read the material.
Also make sure you take note of where flaws are present in your current knowledge and how you aim to fill these knowledge gaps.
3R (Read, Recite, Review)
After you have accomplished the pre-reading stages, it is time to climb one step up the ladder. Now, carefully read the material and take notes where necessary to keep key points in your reminder box.
Also, pay close attention to the questions you generated to determine if the answers you provided were correct and as detailed as possible.
After reading the material, try explaining the terms and concepts you have learned to someone else or to yourself. This helps strengthen the neural pathways that have developed from reading the material (especially if the content of the material is new to you). Here, you can confirm if you have truly understood the concepts behind the gathered questions and eradicate all false positives that spring up from the mental illusion.
Finally, review your notes and test yourself to ensure that you have a good understanding of the subject. With this, you solidify your understanding of the material and can quickly consult other materials if something goes wrong.
Conclusion
You must have noticed the tone of my writing at the start of the article. Your guess is not far from the truth. I was very disturbed...
I had promised myself that this term I would be publishing at least one article documenting my journey as a Kiboan. But this past week didn't go as planned. I was dealing with health challenges, a poor internet connection, and a power failure.
I have an attitude where I tend to hide my feelings, especially when I am aware that it would raise concerns about me in others. I normally avoid being the center of attention. For over a month, I have been sick. As usual, I made light of it until it hit me last week due to the severe stress I faced last week. I suddenly began to lose interest in reading and found it hard to comprehend text while reading.
It got to a point where reading became stressful... I knew I had to take medication. I have completed my dosage, but I am still experiencing the symptoms, and it looks like I will still need more rest.
I'm hoping to get better soon...
A poor internet connection has caused me to lose some of the text in the first draft of this article I wrote this morning, and it has dealt a heavy blow to my motivation.
How do we end this article?
"Kibocious!"
That is all I can say now to wrap up! Bye, and do enjoy your week!