User:Rthomas

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Personal Information

  • Incoming junior | Computer Science/Math majors at Marquette
  • Working with Dr. Dennis Brylow on the concepts of Computer Science Education and Embedded Systems
  • Crossword puzzle enthusiast && newspaper peruser | Proponent of 24-hour time | Iron chef in training | frisbee thrower | chess player | sports watcher | distance runner | Python user

Log

Week 1 (May 31 - June 3)

Read and annotated the following papers:

  • Initialization in Scratch: Seeking Knowledge Transfer. University of Chicago/UC Santa Barbara.
  • MUzECS: Embedded Blocks for Exploring Computer Science. Marquette University.
  • Hands-On Networking Labs with Embedded Routers. Marquette University.

Discussed preliminary project ideas with other researchers and mentor.

Created a new and improved model for implementing Chrome Browser IDE for MUzECS:

MUzECSChrome.png

Attended Dr. Kim Factor's research talk on how to be a good researcher.

Researched Code.org's MUzECS alternative, including:

  • The Arduino LilyPad platform - analyzing and comparing to the Arduino Leonardo and Uno, the platforms on which MUzECS currently operates
  • The Johnny-Five (J5) framework/platform for robotics and IOT devices
  • Code.org's AppLab interface for creating programs in a block-based IDE

Week 2 (June 6-10)

Cracked open the source code for the MUzECS Chrome Application.

Began testing on a prototype Circuit Playground Arduino board. Was unable to get a serial connection with this board, so we are ordering a new one in hopes that it works better.

Successfully programmed several components of the Arduino Leonardo using the Johnny-Five JavaScript framework. Exploring the implications of this.

Created a model for JavaScript development targeting Arduino Leonardo and other embedded systems:

JavaScriptIDE.png

Week 3 (June 13-17)

Got a new, working Circuit Playground board and successfully programmed all components of the board in low-level Python.

Explored more possibilities for programming Leonardo distance sensor in JavaScript.

Created a new model for block-based programming of Arduino, where a translator program (perevod) handles the platform specifics for a unified block-based IDE.

Attended Dr. Dennis Brylow's talk on how to write a research paper and give a research talk.

Attended Dr. George Corliss's talk on how to use the LaTeX typesetting system.

Wrote the introduction to the MUzECS browser research paper using LaTeX, and wrote a few scripts to optimize the compilation process.

Wrote a proof-of-concept Python implementation of the MUzECS "Chip Tunes" assignment, proving that the first MUzECS assignment can be done on the Circuit Playground board.

Week 4 (June 20-24)