7p7 Circuit Playground Express

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• So for my final project, I was running out of time and needed to come up with something fast. I decided to make a light show using the Circuit Playground Express and a few YouTube tutorials. It actually turned out pretty cool. I messed around with the colors and patterns, and made the lights flash in different ways. It was fun to see it all come together, and even though it wasn’t what I originally planned, I’m proud of how it turned out.

• While I was working on this, I got way better at writing code. I also figured out that it's super helpful to see if a tutorial actually shows you how to use the code, not just talk about it. The ones with demos made everything way easier to understand, so now I always look for that first.

• At first, I didn’t really know how to make the lights do what I wanted, but I kept testing different codes until it worked. It was kind of like solving a puzzle, and I actually liked figuring it out. I also learned that watching example videos helped a lot, especially when they showed how the code worked in real life. That made it easier for me to try my own ideas. 

• One challenge I overcame on this project was having to come up with a brand-new idea in just two days. I found out from a classmate that my original project wasn’t going to work, so I had to switch fast. I decided to try different light sequences and tested a bunch of them until I found one I liked. Watching tutorials helped a lot too, especially the ones that showed how the lights actually worked 

• If I had the chance to do this again, I would definitely change the way I look at tutorials. I learned that I should actually watch the whole tutorial first before jumping in, instead of just skipping around. I spent like three days stuck on something just because I didn’t understand it right away. Watching the full video would’ve saved me a lot of time 

• Hastings High School Career and Technical Education Program offers Agriculture, Business Management, Computer Programming, Construction Trades, Culinary Arts, Digital Multimedia, Engineering Design, Finance, Insurance, Marketing.  My project connects to the Computer Programing CTE program at Hastings High School.  

• My project connects to careers like a Program Analyst because I learned how to build and develop plans into real things. I had to think through the steps, test my ideas, and make changes when stuff didn’t work. That’s kind of like what a Program Analyst does—they solve problems and help turn plans into working programs.