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.