Sunday, July 14, 2013

Last Day

Omg! Last Day :(
We'll miss you ladies!

Post Survey: here

Post LilyPad and AppInventor Survey: here

Please stay in touch!
We hope you enjoyed this summer camp!
Keep bloggin'!

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Detectives and Programmers

       Hello Ladies!! Another day another dollar! Well not really....

       Today we began the day eating delicious burritos from Santa Fe Grill. If you were able to finish it all, I applaud you, it was hard!!

       We then started working on project with our open lab time. I see great progress, your projects will be awesome on presentation day!

        And for the amazing event of today..... the CRIME SCENE!! You got to use your detective skills and problem-solving skills to figure out who is the murdered and who is the victim.... Quien sera?? Quien ganara? Solo mañana sabran la respuesta. In other words, you will find out the truth tomorrow. I hope none of you think our crime scene ideas were too gruesome, we really are nice girls >:).


We also got to go to ------. It was so much fun, and very hot! Refreshing too though:)

And for today's national holiday, today is  Embrace Your Geekness Day! Funny this day should fall during a computer science camp:) yayy! A geek is an individual who is highly intelligent (brainy) and technically oriented. They are most often associated with the computer, and computer systems world.
Some people view the term "Geek" with a negative connotation. Are they jealous of your knowledge and skills, perhaps? We certainly think so.

Enjoy Embrace Your Geekness Day to the fullest. Spend plenty of time with your computer working on your project. Talk computer lingo and jargon. If you are a geek, stand tall and proud. Isn't it great to be so brilliant and gifted!


Here are the pictures from your awesome pyramids!!



 


As for the blog prompt of the day:

If you were given the opportunity to spend two hours each week working on a community task 
of your choice, explain where you would volunteer and why, what you would accomplish, and 
how it would benefit your community.

Susi: I would love to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. I wish I had more time to do that, because it would help me learn about what people really need in a community, the essentials and the things that actually help people. I could use this when I become a civil engineer to try to help needy communities as much as possible. I think everyone deserves a roof over their heads and Habitat for Humanity helps little by little. I used to do volunteer hours with National Honors Society in High school and I do miss it! 



Click on the dancing men to take the end of day survey :   (ノ^_^)ノ ヘ(^_^ヘ) 

Friday, July 12, 2013

TGIF!! FriDay DinoDay!

Hello beautiful ladies!!

I hope you guys enjoyed the movie last night! As you may already know, I love minions!! This minion was probably working on his Alice project when he got distracted by a banana. If you look closely it kind of looks like that other minion has Alice open on his screen...


Today you guys got to sleep in...sweet!! I hope that you are well rested and energized to finish the camp strong! We started the day having open Alice time, I'm sure it is very needed. Here are the project requirements for Alice:


  • World must contain at least 10 objects, including at least 1 object from each class
  • 2 characters must move to at least 3 new places/positions
  • At least 4 camera changes with different positions and angles
  • At least 2 events
  • Write/modify at least 4 methods
  • Animation/Game play must last at least 2 minutes

I am positive that all of you want to have awesome projects for presentation day :)! Keep in mind that having lots of methods versus just code in "MyFirstMethod" will save you lots of confusion and hassle.


Next we learned about BLOOD SPATTER ANALYSIS. It is amazing how useful a little drop can be in a crime scene, right? You will all be blood spatter analyst yourselves tomorrow, when we set up a crime scene for you to decipher (your notes will be very useful!).

I hope all of you worked diligently during Open Lab Time. Yes? Yes? Ok Yes :)! Now who enjoyed Jurassic park! It was AMAZING!! The dinosaurs used in the movie are not green screens, they are actually robots programmed to move and what not. Let's not forget that the little girl saves everyone by fixing the computer. Oh, the power of computer science. And the awesome phrase"WOMAN INHERITS THE EARTH"!



So everyday is a holiday! Did you know that? It really is an official thing. Our national holiday today is Different Colored Eyes Day!

Different Colored Eyes Day has two reasons to celebrate.  First of all, it celebrates diversity of eye color. Wouldn't the world be boring, if everyone had the same color of eyes?

Secondly, it recognizes an eye condition called Heterochromia. People who have this trait,  have two different colors of eyes. One eye may be brown, while the other is blue.  Famous people who have Heterochromia include David Bowie, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Walken.


We shall have a great rest of camp, I know it. Just keep working hard and putting your best effort :).

Your blog prompt for today is What current fashion in clothing do you particularly like or dislike? Explain.


Susi: I love summer dresses with the flower prints! When I was in middle school I recall that flower prints in anything were not very "in". I love to wear them because I feel fresh and pretty :).

Noor: I love long tunics. I've always loved the oriental designed ones. I get some from Santa Fe, actually. haha. In a little Indian Boutique in Downtown. I love them! They can be casual or dressy! I dislike crop tops. It's really unflattering and it's just confusing to me why people would want to look like they can't afford a full shirt. :P

Linday: I really like my pastels, so I'm glad that they're really in this summer. Usually I pair my pastels with a really bright color that pops! The fashion that I dislike this summer is cut out dresses. I don't like it when I'm shopping and find a really cute dress just to find out that the stomach, lower back or belly button is cut out or see through! Yuck!!!


To take the end of day survey, click HEEEEEEEEREEEE!!!


Thursday, July 11, 2013

Thursday


Hello! Jambo! Salam! Hola! Aloha! 


So ready for another awesome day? I am!  After that we came inside to work on LilyPad. You have all of today to finish your project. It's the last day where you will have time dedicated for LilyPad. You will only have Open Lab time after today.

After Lunch we worked on Alice 3.0. Susi taught you guys to add music into your Alice projects. She also let you work on your final projects! 

Then we did an...interesting activity. Hope it wasn't too uncomfortable! We love seeing you guys problem solve. 

We also started Forensics! Fingerprinting! I hope y'all didn't feel like criminals! haha :)
It's my first time teaching it. Hope you found out who's fingerprint is on what! 

Blog Prompt: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Describe your career, family, or any other things you want to happen.

Noor: I see myself finishing my Ph.D. in Computer Science with an emphasis in Biology. I want to help developing countries increase their medical technologies and teach others. I enjoy teaching and working with students so I wouldn't mine being a professor. :) I see myself married and living in my own home. I see myself traveling around the world and explore every nook and cranny. Honestly, I do see myself with a few kids. I hope to adopt. I hope new phones are made to where I can just think of something to text and it would do it right away, cause i'm not a fan of txting. I'm excited for the future, but you never know the next curveball you'll be thrown, so I'm living life to it's fullest.

Linday: In 10 years I want to have completed school for sure. I am aiming for a Ph.D. but as we know things happen, so we'll see what happens for me down the road! :D All I know if for sure I want to work with neuroprosthetics in the future. That will probably place me either at the University of Washington, MIT or in California. I will most likely be married to a wonderful guy and since I will be 30 years old I'll probably have at least one kid (I only want to have 2 in the end) and he/she'll probably be at least 2 years old. I also plan on living in a house, or at least somewhere with a yard so that I can have a dog and I hope I'll have a job at a lab somewhere! 

Susi: I hope that in ten years I will be the first woman President. Just kidding! I want to have my engineering license and hopefully be designing sustainable buildings that are enviromentally friendy and zero emission! I do see myself married with a family:) i love kids! I hope to have travelled nonstop:)! I want to see every "corner" of the world. I love to travel and immerse myself in new cultures and new viewpoints on life. I hope I live somewhere near the beach, I ask for a lot :p. 



Click here for End of Day Survey!
Hearts,
~Noor

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Halfway Mark! (Wednesday)

Hello Chicas!

Hope you're enjoying Camp! It goes by so fast! We are halfway done with Camp! :(

But we have got to learn so much and there is still more learning to do! 

We started today learning new things on Alice 3.0 with Susi. 
Your project requirements for Alice are:



  • World must contain at least 10 objects, including at least 1 object from each class 
  • 2 characters must move to at least 3 new positions.
  • at least 4 camera changes with different positions and angles.
  • At least 2 evens
  • Write/Modify at least 4 methods.
  • Animation/Game play must last at least 2 minutes


After Alice we continuing LilyPad Arduino with me! We programmed and practiced sewing a button and LED. Then we worked on sound. I hope you guys have your designs ready cause we start today! I can't wait to see all your amazing projects! :)

Remember the requirements for LilyPad



 

  • Have design approved by me (Noor).
  • At least 2 LEDS. Can have 3.
  • 1 speaker.
  • 1 button.


After lunch, I let you work on your LilyPad until 3, then it was NXT time! You will only have today and Open lab time to work on your projects. 
Remember to build and program! :)
We took a break to do the blanket activity. Don't you just love using your problem solving skills? 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog Prompt:
Write about your first name—why you were given it, what associations or stories are attached to it, what you think or know it means. Do the same for your last name. Given the chance, what name would you give yourself?
My name in Arabic.

Noor: My name means light in Arabic. My mother loved the name because it had a special meaning to our religion. My parents said they wanted to give me a "light" (haha pun!) name because I was blonde and fair skinned. I love my name but people always misspell or mispronounce it. It's horrible. I've been called Noir, Noah, Nora, Norma, Norm, No, the list is endless! My last name is Muhyi. It means "Giver of Life" in Arabic. It's been pronounced Mooshi, Mushu, Moohehe, Muyee, and Musushi. I'm really proud of my last name. It's a really well-known last name in Iraq. My grandfather opened a university in Iraq in the 80's and it's still there! If I had to change my name, I'd change it to Noora. It's close and most people can pronounce it :P I really like my Arabic name and it's meaning. :)


Linday: I was named after an amazing woman named Linda, but my parents wanted me to be different, and they thought that the name Lindy (which used to be used for men's and women's names) was really pretty. So they mixed the names and named me Linday. My middle name is also from being named after someone (my mom's best friend) and is Denise. Which I think is really really pretty. Then my last name is German, and actually has an interesting story. During World War II my family came to America from Selters, Germany, which is the town from where Seltzer water originated! Originally my family had the last name of Seltzers, but because that sounded like a really really German name, and after WWII America was very anti German, they took the name of the town, Selters and used it instead, because Selters can be confused for a European name. So my entire name is Linday Denise Selters...which means Pretty Spanish Dancer who is the god of Wine and the inventor of Seltzer water!!! lol But I wouldn't change it for the world!


SusiMy first name is Susana, and my parents picked it because they really liked it, it is not too common either. It's a funny story because my mom originally wanted to name me Monica, but my dad refused because to him it sounded like "mono", which means monkey in Spanish (no offense to the Monicas of the world). My last name is Bali, and since my dad is from La Havana, Cuba, it is uncommon here. It originally came from a group of Jews "menonitas" who fled to Cuba for safety, then the family branched out in Cuba . In India, the meaning of the name Bali is "mighty warrior", in Hindu mythology, it is the name of the monkey king who can weaken enemies with a wish (oh the irony). I really like my name and I would not change it! I don't like it when people call me Susan though....                    
               
            Click here for End of the Day Survey!

Love ya,
~Noor

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Hunger Games Day!!!

I hope all of you got most of your apps done! They look like they're coming along good :D Does LilyPad look like fun to you guys? Lego NXT was always my favorite but Arduino is a close second!

Isn't it weird that it's already the 4th day of camp? I hope you have been having a blast after camp with dinner and activities! Today is Hunger Games and I'm really really excited for it, I think we'll have a lot of fun!


What was your favorite activity today? Numbers or Partners? I like partners the best because you really have to think on your feet. 



                         





Time for NXT stuff!!!


Click here for Inch Worm tutorial! 
The person to build and program the fastest gets a prize!

NXT Projects:




Okay...drumroll please...the blog prompt for today issssssssssssssss:

Imagine you opened your own restaurant. Tell the name of your restaurant. Explain what the restaurant looks like, who works there, and what you serve.


Linday: My restaurant would be called My Little Corner and it would be a small little restaurant with books galore, records and movies. We would loan out all of our materials, or you could read/listen/watch them in the store. It would be a really comfy looking place with sofas, chairs, rugs and of course a few really cozy tables. I would probably hire college and high school kids since its really hard for them to find jobs and I would serve coffee, desserts, soups and salads. Nothing too extreme maybe some sandwiches too. Basically like a mix between a Starbucks and a library.



Noor: My restaurnat would be called "The Taste of Iraq." It would feature my mother's amazing Iraqi cuisine. The atmosphere would be calm and homey. There would be traditional Arab seating and Western seating. Arabic music would be playing in the background. I'd hire college students and relatives. I'd serve Dolma (stuffed vegetables), Arabic bread, rice, stews, sweets, and our famous Iraqi Kababs. :)

Susi: My restaurant would be called "Lunas de Bali", it means Bali's moons in Spanish:). I pick this name because my last name is Bali, which is also the name of a tropical island, and my dad's name is Rafael Espinoza Luna, and Luna means moon in spanish:). So this restaurant would be a coffee shop/library, kind of serving the same things as starbucks, but way more sweets and bread, Mexican bread of course, it's the most delicious! Books would cover the entire store! As well as comfy couches and little reading corners all around. Lots of bookshelves filled with an amazing variety of literature would be available to customers. Customers could also check out the books just like in a library; the more books you check out, the more points you can accumulate to get promotions and free coffee and snacks. If it seems like I have thought about this way too much, it's because I have! It is my mom's dream to have something like this:), I hope someday we can.
Note: I had not read Linday's blog before I wrote this, crazy!! 


End of day survey (hey that rhymes!) Click ME!!!!

SEE YOU TONIGHT! 

Monday, July 8, 2013

Monday

Wow today has been a busy day, App inventor, Alice, aaaaand NXT! Whew! I hope you girls are having a lot of fun with it :D






First we got into App Inventor, it seems like your projects are really coming along! I'm really happy with the apps you decided to make!







Our morning activity started out with the Human Knot...Wow you girls sure got close and comfortable didn't you! :P


Then in the afternoon we learned more about each other by doing 2 truths and a lie! Mine was: (1) (2) (3)




Not to mention you guys did great learning Alice and Lego NXT! I hope you have fun with playing around with animating your objects and programming your robots :)


Click here for the software tutorial.
Click here for the Flipping Gymnast.





Enough of me blabbering!!! Time for your Blog Prompt!!!
(wow that's a lot of exclamation points...I must be excited :P)

List 10 of your favorite things!

  • Favorite Candy
  • Favorite Musician
  • Favorite Flower
  • Favorite Restaurant 
  • Favorite Snack
  • Favorite Drink
  • Favorite Color
  • And 3 more you would like to add!

Linday (Mine! :D): 
  • Skittles (Dark Side!!!)
  • Kelly Clarkson
  • Red Roses
  • Starbucks
  • Strawberries
  • Mochas!
  • Turquoise 
  • Favorite Pet: Beagle
  • Favorite Subject in school: Math 
  • Favorite TV show: Once upon a Time is tied with HIMYM and Avatar!


Susi:
  • Ferrero Rocher Chocolates
  • Everything! Especially rock en español and techno and salsa! 
  • Alcatrases 
  • Olive Garden 
  • Chips Chips Chips Chips!
  • Hot Tea
  • ORANGE
  • Favorite Sport and Team: Soccer, Manchester United!! I love Chicharito 
  • I love to dance:) 

Noor: 
  • Haribo Gummy Bears
  • Lana del Rey
  • Forget-me-nots
  • Kimchi House
  • Watermelon
  • Iced Tea (Sweet!)
  • Purple and Mint Green
  • Favorite TV Shows: Merlin, Once Upon a Time, and Game of Thrones.
  • Favorite book series: Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind
  • Favorite animal: Elephant

Crystal:
  • Red vines
  • Tiara Thomas
  • Hibiscus and Hydrangeas
  • Golden Corral 
  • Popcorn
  • Sprite
  • Blue
  • Favorite Pet: Siberian Husky 
  • Favorite TV Show: The Voice 
  • Favorite Holiday: Christmas

Rose:


  • M & M Peanuts
  • Josh Groban
  • Roses-all colors
  • Red Robin
  • Popcorn
  • Iced Coffee
  • Blue is my favorite color
  • I love cats.
  • I love reading- I am reading "Zoo".
  • I love scary movies.  

  • Click here for the End of Day Survey!!! :D

    And that's it for today! Have a wonderful evening tonight :D  
    ~Linday


    Saturday, July 6, 2013

    First day! Woop Woop!

    Hello! Welcome to the YWiC Residential Camp! I hope you're enjoying the first day!
    Take a look at your instructors when we were in Camp! Aren't we cute? :)

    From left to right: Linday ('09), Noor ('10), Susi ('11)

    Today we started with an outdoor activity. As computer scientists we tend to stay indoors and in our caves. But we also like to go outside and stretch our muscles and get some Vitamin D! Today we did the "I have..." grouping game. We wanted the campers to see their similarities and differences based on statements. If the statement applied to them they would go in the center, if not they would stay outside the center. We all have programmed before, which is awesome! I also found out my fellow instructors love Once Upon a Time! :)

    We started the day with Core Concepts. You must know the basics! We learned about events, classes, variables, parameters, loops, and much more!

    The students started making posters on assigned core concepts and were asked to present them. Best poster will win a prize! After lunch they played Jeopardy! The girls were allowed to pick their own group names and compete for a prize!

    We took a break and walked to Starbucks. I got an iced coffee. Yum! I hope you enjoyed your mini field trip!

    The girls also learned AppInventor with Linday. She taught them to make their own Magic 8 Ball and began their own tutorial. They'll work more on it tomorrow.

    ~~~
    Blog Prompt:  Tell us about your self! Where are you from? What are your thoughts on camp so far?

    Noor: My name is Noor Muhyi. I am a sophomore studying CS and Bio. I'm from Northern California. I've lived here in Las Cruces with my family since I was 8. I'm 18 now, so 10 years here! I enjoy working for YWiC and I can't wait to get to know all of you. If you ever want to ask me anything, ask away! :) I'm excited for camp!

    Linday: Hello! I'm Linday Selters, pronounced Lindy ;P and I am a Junior in Computer Science! I'm mainly working towards the neuroscience portion of the field to work with next generation prosthetics :D I am originally from Waco, TX but I have lived in Las Cruces since highschool so I guess you could call this heat zone my home :) I have been looking forward to this camp for weeks and I really hope that we all have a blast together!!! 

    Susi: My name is Susana Bali, otherwise known as Susi. I am a sophomore majoring in civil engineering:). I moved to Las Cruces 9 months ago, before I lived in Mexico City, Virginia, Lousiana, Juarez, and finally , New Mexico! My passions are dance and art, I also love to read and watch movies! It is my first year teaching camp and so far I love it! I am super happy to work with you guys. 


    Click here for the End of the Day Survey!


    Have a great day,
    ~Noor

    Friday, July 5, 2013

    Welcome and Pre-Surveys!

    "The City of Crosses"

    Hello Ladies! Welcome to Las Cruces!



    Every day, Linday, Susi, or I will write a blog for you. We will write about what we did, what we learned, any thing interesting, etc. 
    I hope you're enjoying the campus so far! 

    Please click here to take the YWiC Pre-Survey!
    Please click here for the AppInventor and LilyPad Pre-Survey!


    Thanks! :)
    ~Noor