ICT
NCSS GROK CHALLENGE FEBRUARY 2022
The participating students have spent the last five weeks working through Python challenges. The competition started on Monday 14 February and finally finished on Sunday 20 March at 9pm. Again, the students have shown perseverance and determination to complete the challenge.
If you are interested in programming or would like to challenge yourself, stay tuned for updates and keep checking the Compass newsfeed!
Below are some testimonies from the Year 7 NCSS participants:
Mary Ho
ICT Learning Area Manager
“I have enjoyed the NCSS challenge. I learned how to code with python and use things like def, if, else, elif, encrypt. I enjoyed doing the turtle lessons and drawing shapes and changing the backgrounds. I found the def lessons hard and used functions like “encrypt”, “in” and “replace”. I kept on looking at it and trying different outcomes and if I got really stuck I would message the online tutors in the program.”
Hamish Marsden
Year 7N Student
“Summary
For the past five weeks I have been completing the weekly NCSS Challenges and now that I have finished them all, I can finally reflect on the challenges and the growth that I experienced. For someone who has always wanted to learn coding, this challenge was perfect for me.
Learning
I loved learning new things and as I was a beginner, the lessons were designed in a way that I could understand most of them clearly. I found the drawing challenges the most fun because those were the times where I was most creative.
Challenges
The challenging part was when I made errors, there was no indication what the problem was and how I could fix it. I dealt with those challenges by asking for help from the tutors. I found them really helpful as they responded quickly and gave me good tips/advice.
Overall, I enjoyed the new experience of learning Python and I would recommend trying the NCSS challenge to anyone who is interested.”
Sara Kumar
Year 7G Student
Some more testimonies:
What are your thoughts about the challenge?
I thought it was great because I learnt a lot about Python and I enjoyed the creations that I made.
What did you like about the challenge?
I like the last part of the challenge where I learnt about functions and how they work.
What didn't you like about it?
Some of the questions I did not understand because it was not explained properly.
What did you find easy and fun to do?
I found that the turtle import was really easy to do.
What did you find difficult?
To write a function but now I know how to write it.
How did you overcome the difficulties?
I just read all over the notes again.
Krithik Venkatesh Prem
Year 7C Student
I took part in the grok beginners python course, and I enjoyed it very much. The problems were diverse and entertaining, and the coding I learned was more interesting than I expected! I have a much better understanding of python coding now, as well as many new skills.
I particularly enjoyed the problems about user input and variables, as I was very interested in making variables and using them in my code. I found the Turtle questions difficult though, as I always got stuck on making the right shape in the right place. Sometimes to work out hard questions I would play around with the code and change parts, which was a good test.
I would recommend this course to anyone, even if you have never considered coding before. You don’t need any skill whatsoever at the start but will find yourself pretty knowledgeable at the end!
Clem Hull
Year 7O Student