Blog Entry #5: "D-Day: The Last Presentation"

   

AVR Event Presentation

    So as I mentioned in my previous blogs, there is only three learning evidence (LE) in our subject CSRM; blogs, literature review, and research paper. I really thought that, somehow, the subject was pretty easy. "Blog-blog raman diay, 1000 words literature review, ug research paper raman by group man guro ni, dali raman ni sus mura rakog nag essay essay." But, my perspective changed when our professor stated that the research proposal is individual. We are tasked to create a research proposal, present it in front of the class, become a panel, and rate our classmates' work. I was shocked and overwhelmed since I hate giving up in front of the class, and I am not comfortable rating my classmates' work because I myself cannot critique someone's work. However, we had no choice, so I decided to stick to it.

    After weeks of brainstorming and reading several papers, I came up with a research topic to present. I decided to focus more on agriculture, and I came up with the idea of creating an expert system that utilizes a few-shot learning approach. To be honest, I could be more confident in my topic since it is very hard to find a problem you can solve using computer science subjects and also, you need to have a novelty when proposing a solution. I search for countless hours just to find good supporting literature to enhance my proposal. And so the day has come. I presented my proposal with all my might, and thank God I pulled it through. There might be some issues regarding my topic, but overall, my classmates suggested recommendations for future revision. I really thought that it was all I needed to do for the LE3. However, there are still work to be done, and that is writing a research paper from chapter 1-3 and presenting it in the audio-visual room (AVR) in front of many students and faculties. I was so overwhelmed that many people were watching me while presenting, and the biggest part is our professor invited experts to be our panels. After hearing about all the extra activities we needed, I broke down. I wanted to cry because I was overwhelmed that too many things were required to do in the CSRM and other subjects. I was so tired and had no energy to do some work. So, I decided to take a deep breath, take some days off, and play games. After that, I decided to start my mountain of work. And again, the day has come to present my work.

    I was so nervous about presenting my work I spent hours just trying to understand my topic and practice my presentation. I delivered my presentation flawlessly. However, I was disheartened that one of our panelists commented that my approach was not novel or new. I thought the approach was new since I didn't find any articles that utilize few-shot learning as an inference engine in an expert system. The fact that she commented negatively I considered my proposal a failure. However, I remembered that failure is not the end. I can use that failure as fuel to improve in the future. After the event finished, I was so happy and proud that all of my classmates completed the task and no one left behind. Because of that event, the bond between my classmates strengthened, and we got closer than ever.

    Overall, even though my paper was not chosen to become a full-blown thesis paper, I am still happy with the fact that I tried. I hope that in my future works, I can double my effort and hopefully be recognized by my professors.

    This is my last entry for this blog, and I hope that this blog entry can inspire someone who is just like me to face numerous problems and challenges in college life. I am Cedrick John D. Calib-og from BSCS3, signing off.

Blog Entry # 4: Last Meeting??!

 

    I think I forgot to mention this in my previous blogs, but our professor decided to end or stop meeting us after he finish presenting his PowerPoint slides. I was so happy during that time he said it because I can go home now early, YAY!, but everything was just an illusion. Since, he intentionally does this so that we can focus more on creating or constructing proposals for our future thesis and he clearly stated that research does not happen in classroom which make sense. Even though we are all happy about the announcement, it is still very challenging because we are tasked to formulate a research proposal individually and present it in front of him and my classmates. Even now, I still don’t have any idea to what field or topic I want to focus on. I am so pressured right now that I can think anything that can be my line of topic since most of my classmates have finish listing down their topics.

    I am so skeptical about my ability as a college student that it makes me wonder that if belong here in Computer Science. I do love computers because of its ability to automate various things, reducing workloads, and also for entertainment purposes but;

“Do I really belong here?”.

    I know that it is now too late to shift to another courses, so instead, I will try best perform better in my academics. Maybe, I should take a deep breath and work at my own pace, thinking about the progress of others will not help me. I think I should focus on myself and think about a topic that really excites me just like Internet of Things (IoT), specifically the use of microcontrollers, but IoT is the specialization of IT students, so there is really now Computer Science related about microcontrollers. However, I think I can corporate the use of machine learning with microcontrollers by integrating it within.  There are a lot of research papers regarding these topics so I think with the right amount of reading and understanding, I can create a wonderful research interest which great significant in our society.

    The use of microcontroller is rampant in our society, from remote controls, automated appliances, etc. are made of these tiny controllers equipped with sensors that significantly ease or improve the quality of life of the people.  Nevertheless, as I read more about the topic, there are a lot of issues and challenges that needed to solve in order to actually do this. Since, microcontrollers contain very limited storage which is very detrimental when using machine learning with a lot of resources needed. I know that this will be a challenging topic because of its complexity, and financial requirement because I needed to buy hardware for the project.

    I believed that the use of microcontrollers equipped with machine learning and AI will greatly affect our community and the development of future technologies since there will be a day that we can minimize the energy/electricity consumption rate of the computers running ML and AI by only using microcontrollers with low resources needed.          

    I don’t think that I can write this blog any longer than this since I have more researches and tasks needed to do. I hope that I can formulate a good research proposal, and ultimately, approve by our professor. I know that he is not easy to satisfy, but I will do my best to give him a good presentation about my research proposal.

Blog Entry # 3: Research in Computer Science

 

“Hahayst Monday napud”, it is the most relatable expression that I always hear after a weekend. I know that everyone knows this but Monday is the most hated day in the week. I think it is because reality strikes back again and we need to get up early to go to get school or go to job. Well, I don’t really hate Monday that much because I go to a university for free and I got a chance to learn more about my course which ultimately the key for my future. And also, Monday is CS Research Methodology day, so I should get moving so that my teacher won’t make me sing in front of the class again.

I think I forgot to say this but the schedule of our class in CSRM, short for CS Research Methodology, is 2:30PM to 4:00PM. I can’t deny that some of us including me feel a little drowsy during the discussion, but shockingly, my classmate didn’t help but sleep during the lecture and unfortunately for him, he was caught by my professor. And because of that, he was coined as “THE SLEEPING DRAGON” which is kinda funny, but my teacher let it slide as long as he doesn’t do it again. BUT AGAIN, during the next meeting he did it again. He was told by my teacher, “calmly”, to run from 1^st floor 5^th floor to alleviate his drowsiness. I was petrified during that time because I almost feel asleep too.

Anyways, just like the other meetings, we started off with a little cleaning and a prayer. So for this blog, I will talk about the difference of research application in Computer Science and IT, basic academic writing, and different research topics in Computer Science we can possibly use for our thesis in the future.

Basically the main difference between Computer Science and Information Technology is their spelling. But jokes aside, the following are insights I learned about some differences of CS and IT:

Computer Science

• More on Theoretical
• Inclined more on software development
• CS students requires thesis which is more on research oriented
• Design and Development of Software
• Thesis

Information Technology

• More on Application Technologies and;
• Organizational System Issues
• IT students requires CAPSTONE Project which is development oriented
• Maintaining, organizing, and installing computer systems
• Capstone

Furthermore, he proceeds to discuss the structure of a research paper from introduction down to conclusion, and how to properly write it. Our professor also listed some of possible areas of research we can focus on such as biomedical informatics, computer vision, computer security, etc. I remember also that he shared a post from DOST about “Why Researchers are JOWABLE”. It was funny and timely because it was February that time when we had that discussion. It might be silly and joke to others but it makes sense since researchers are disciplined, thorough, problem solver, etc. “So what are you waiting for? mag-Jowa ng Researcher, Research nga idedefend, ikaw pa kaya?”, *wink*.

He also discussed some tips and tricks in writing academic paper such as utilizing the ACM repository in which we have the access of browsing published academic papers, the use of GANTT chart for time management, criteria for selecting research problem, research aims, the use SMART or the Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound in identifying the objectives of the paper. In addition, he discussed about publish papers and attending conferences.

In conclusion, I learned a lot about research in Computer Science, differences between IT and CS, some tips in creating a research proposal, and some basic skill in writing academic paper. It was fun but I know that there will be some heavy workloads coming to us, so I hope that I will survived this subject and proceed to become a 4^th year student, manifesting. That is all for this blog and I hope that for my next post I can write more about my experience in this subject. Adios!

Blog Entry # 2: Our First Activity

The first week of our discussion in CS Research Methodology was mainly focused on the orientation about the subject and discussing the rules and regulations of the classroom as well as the whole IT building.

In the second week of our class, our professor started to delve deeper into research. Before beginning the course, our teacher reminded us to be mindful and observe cleanliness in our new building since there is an issue where vandalism happened in the girl's comfort room. Our professor made some jokes about the problem, but I know deep in his mind he was disappointed in us. Nevertheless, he just brushed it off and started our discussion. So, we started with a group activity requiring us to form a team and devise a plan for family/friend gatherings, welcome parties, etc. Some of our classmates came up with a plan about making a “pancit,” and some of us planned to have a “samgyupsal party." Still, it was not the answer that our professor wanted to hear. The true essence of the activity was to showcase the step-by-step procedure for making a plan concerning our subject, CS Research Methodology. In short, Sir wants us to share our knowledge about using research in our daily activities. After that, he explains the most straightforward step-by-step process of research:

• One should determine a problem, collect data about the issue, analyze the data, and interpret the data. After interpreting the data, researchers should gather more sources since the more data you have, the better the results will be.
• Analyze and interpret the data again.
• Draw a conclusion.  

We apply these processes in everything we do, from decision-making, finding new knowledge, and even playing simple games, where you must strategize your plan and decisions. After the activity, I realized that research is fundamental to every aspect of our lives. Even though you could improve academically, you still apply the essence of researching. I think our professor delivered the lesson very clearly. He used real-life applications of research to enable us to learn more accurately. Using a real-life example is a good learning style to teach someone because nothing beats experience when learning. In addition, he also shares some of his experience in the field of research. He is undoubtedly very proud of himself when sharing his teaching career and how he shaped students in the palm of his hand (e.g., some CIC Faculties).  

Even though my first impression of our professor was not that good because of what happened on the first day of school and his threatening high expectation of us, I was happy that the class was entertaining and informative. He even taught us some life lessons and shared his experiences in education. I'm not going to lie, but since I was in high school, I have been so discouraged from going to school because of the educational system of the Philippines. I just think that only some things I learned from the classroom during that time will help me in the future. That is why I was so happy with our professor's approach to teaching us because he didn't want us to memorize. Still, instead, he wants us to develop good problem-solving skills, which is vital in the field of Computer Science as well as in real life.

Blog Entry # 1: My First Week in CS Research Methodology

First Day of School
(Pringle Elementary School, 2018)

           When I first entered this university, I knew my path to success would be very thorny. Projects and exams will be much more stressful than before, and there will be a lot of sleepless nights. Still, in my mind, I know that these trials will be the driving force that will shape me to become a true professional in the future.

The implementation of the full-blown face-to-face classes after almost three (3) years of being stuck on online learning brought mixed emotions to me. At first, I was so excited about the fact that I could now experience the learning style of USeP as well as utilize the facilities and classrooms offered free by the university, and meet my classmates personally. But, after meeting our professor in CS Research Methodology, I felt nervous. The very first day of our meeting was disastrous, since half of the class, including me, didn't wear school uniform, so we were asked to go outside the classroom and, one by one, perform a talent so that we could join the class. After that, our professor discussed the importance of honesty and following instructions. He wants to instill in our mind that it is essential to practice honesty in the classroom, especially when learning the CS Research Methodology, since we can't cheat the procedures and results of our research. In addition, our professor also briefed us about the course and the course requirements, which are the learning evidence. Even though we didn't have written exams or quizzes, I was overwhelmed by the fact that we should do three (3) learning evidences, especially the article review and the research plan projects. Furthermore, he also talked about how we should take care of our newly constructed building and treat it as our second home. He also elaborated on his dissatisfaction with the management of the building since he said that the building needs to be fully prepared for the opening of class. Restrooms have no water, uninstalled computers in the computer lab, and arbitrary revisions of the initial plan, etc., are some of the main reasons he pointed out why the building is not ready.

Although my first week of class in CS Research Methodology has not been quite pleasant like how I thought it would be, I still anticipated deep down, this subject will be one of the most challenging areas to pass. But on the other hand, I know that this will gear us in completing the main requirement to pass the course, which is the thesis. I hope that in the near future, I can apply all the knowledge and skill I acquired in this subject to discover new ideas and improve the quality of human life.

References

https://pringle.salkeiz.k12.or.us/news/first-day-of-school/