Introduction

In NUS, CS1101S Programming Methodology is the introductory course to programming for CS freshmen. It uses the Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs textbook, which is adapted to JavaScript (it was recently announced that the adaptation is going public!). The course itself is actually taught by using a subset of JavaScript called Source, written and developed by the teaching team together with some students. I am aware that there are many undesirable things in JS, and Source aims to mitigate that by “providing the good parts”. That way, freshmen can still learn fundamentals of programming without having to learn the intricacies of the actual JS.

The module has been taught by Assoc Prof Martin Henz and Dr Low Kok Lim for several years now. Traditionally, it used to be an optional 5-Modular Credits module, slightly more workload compared to a standard 4-MC module. As of AY18/19 (the year I matriculated), it became a compulsory 4-MC module for CS freshmen.

Avenger is a term used in the module to refer to the tutors, usually undergraduates. A tutorial¹ class in CS1101S usually comprises of 6 to 8 students (only!), and led by an Avenger which serves the role of facilitating discussions. Perhaps they are best described as ‘Discussion Group Facilitators’. But hey, that’s a mouthful, and an ‘Avenger’ does sound way cooler!

In AY19/20 Sem 1 (Fall 2019), I took up the role of an Avenger. I led a discussion group of 6 students (initially it was supposed to be 8 but there was some reshuffling around). It’s been a super busy semester, and I would like to share my experience on being one. If you are a student contemplating on whether to apply on being an Avenger, hope this post can help provide you with some insights!

Actually, during the holiday break prior to the sem, I also worked as an Avenger for SWS3012, which is a 2-week Summer Workshop for visiting international students, taught with condensed CS1101S material. Due to this exposure, Prof Martin asked if I was willing to be an “Avenger Mentor” to mentor the new Avengers once the sem took a full swing. I took up this role. I will briefly talk about these 2 experiences as well.

This post will not be a review of the module, but rather a reflection on my experience as an Avenger, as well as my personal approach to being one.

Since by default, Hexo generates a hello world post, this shall be the true hello world from me.

So, Hello World! My name is Christian and I am currently a Year 2 Computer Science undergraduate at National University of Singapore. Actually, I just sat for the last paper of this semester (Year 2 Sem 1) this morning!

I am still getting used to the Hexo framework, so I shall leave this post as it is first and try to mess around first!

Update (13 Dec 2019): Still did not manage to get used to deployment, but I think I will resume my initial post. I do hope that the actual website will tell me when this post is last updated, but I included the time stamp just in case.

So perhaps let’s start a little bit about my motivation for blogging. I got this idea closer to the end of the semester (which was around 3 weeks ago?) when I was reading about this programmer competency matrix. There, it is said that the highest level for the ‘blog’ category is when one maintains a personal blog of insights and thoughts. It did make me reflect on some things: throughout my ~1.5 years of CS, I have learnt so much and along the way I found things which worked for me and some which didn’t. There were some “aha!” moments, and what better way than to share it with others?

Another reason is also because I do enjoy writing and documenting my thoughts. I used to maintain a personal diary for travel purposes to remember and relive the moment. But making an entry during my travels became quite hard due to the fact that I only have so little time at the end of a day and not to mention the fatigue as well. I stopped eventually. Perhaps blogging which is more on typing would be more sustainable, although the nature of my diary and my blog seems pretty different. Which brings me to my next point:

What kind of content will I be including in my blog? I honestly do not know. I envisioned it to be more of my journey as a CS student. I definitely want to include my experiences with frameworks. I may want to include other non-CS related things as well, for variety purposes. I’m contemplating if I want to include module reviews and all, but I’m not sure. Most likely not, but we’ll see!

The blogging style is something that I have yet to establish as well. I think I want to make it more free-flow where I just pen (or type down, rather) my thoughts. For more serious/educational posts, I may make it more formal. Otherwise, I think I’ll keep it light-hearted.

Enjoy my blog!

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Welcome to Hexo! This is your very first post. Check documentation for more info. If you get any problems when using Hexo, you can find the answer in troubleshooting or you can ask me on GitHub.

Quick Start

Create a new post

1

$ hexo new "My New Post"

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Run server

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$ hexo server

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Generate static files

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$ hexo generate

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Deploy to remote sites

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$ hexo deploy

More info: Deployment

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