I am a sophomore at Westmont College. I am currently enrolled in Intro to Computer Science (CS-010) with Professor Wayne Iba.
CS-10 is a course that shows students how to solve problems using computer programing. Even though it is an introduction course, it challenges the students to think abstractly and design programs that can do a variety of things. This class uses a series of languages that are written in the language of Racket. Racket is an ideally simple yet glorious language used for most beginner programmers. We, the students, learn to use this language to turn simple ideas into fascinating design formulas.
A typical class would consist of going over new material and practicing integrating it into our programs. We often work on our own computers while we listen to Professor Iba teach us about why and how to program the new material we read about in the book "How to Design Programs." Though sometimes there are in class labs where we work with a partner.
Towards the end of the semester we were given a project titled "Evolutionary Algorithms". This projects main goal was for us to develop a system in racket that would simulation the evolution of a population of individuals. The project was split into three parts, each part building off the basics of each other. We first needed to form the notion of an individual that was made up of some genetic material that made it different from other individuals. The fitness function that we designed in part one tells us how likely it is that an individual will survive in its environment. Later on we built populations made up of multiple individuals, then we used mutation in reproduction to change the genetic makeup of an offspring. All in all, we wanted the most fit to survive which mimics the idea of natural selection.
CS-10 is a course that shows students how to solve problems using computer programing. Even though it is an introduction course, it challenges the students to think abstractly and design programs that can do a variety of things. This class uses a series of languages that are written in the language of Racket. Racket is an ideally simple yet glorious language used for most beginner programmers. We, the students, learn to use this language to turn simple ideas into fascinating design formulas.
A typical class would consist of going over new material and practicing integrating it into our programs. We often work on our own computers while we listen to Professor Iba teach us about why and how to program the new material we read about in the book "How to Design Programs." Though sometimes there are in class labs where we work with a partner.
Towards the end of the semester we were given a project titled "Evolutionary Algorithms". This projects main goal was for us to develop a system in racket that would simulation the evolution of a population of individuals. The project was split into three parts, each part building off the basics of each other. We first needed to form the notion of an individual that was made up of some genetic material that made it different from other individuals. The fitness function that we designed in part one tells us how likely it is that an individual will survive in its environment. Later on we built populations made up of multiple individuals, then we used mutation in reproduction to change the genetic makeup of an offspring. All in all, we wanted the most fit to survive which mimics the idea of natural selection.