Lessons learned from last night:
1) Details are VERY important - especially case, punctuation, and syntax:
2) Computers are dumb - they rely on our SPECIFIC instructions, and programs will only do what we tell them to do:
3) Programs are processed linearly:
- Michael G.

My top lessons learned were::
1. The computer does exactly what you tell it to.
2. How the Information Processing Cycle works
3. It's a good idea to leave notes using // or /*
4. You don't like blackboard
- Tim S.

1. Read ahead, work ahead - and take notes. This will help me be familiar with the material during the lecture or lab.
2. Curly brackets must be labelled. Closed curly brackets must be typed immediately after the open curly brackets (in pairs) and then the command information can be written between them.
3. What I learn in this course I will need to remember until it becomes second nature. Just like addition, subtraction, and order of operations in mathematics have become.
- Jacki

3 lessons learned:
1. Customer/user specifications need to be read carefully and completed to the word.
2. Come to class prepared (Get NEIU Card, read emails, etc.)
3. Our class seems to be a pretty cool team, and should be utilized.
- Michael A.

Top three lessons:
1. Double check work
2. Make sure completed assignment is neatly labeled and organized
3. Take extra time to save project in correct place, including the correct folder and if necessary on a USB drive.
4. Never freak out (you can do it - just ask for help)
-Greg H.

I think my top 3 takeaways from last night's class are pretty varied:
1) I need to improve my note taking skills. Having done my undergrad and grad work thus far in Liberal Arts classes, most of them have been discussion based. In other words, very few notes. So, my skills at getting notes down efficiently while also listening to a lecture are not as sharp as they need to be. I will be working on my short hand quite a bit!
2) Terminology and language is important. This is especially true because terminology changes between disciplines (and I suspect even a bit between computer languages). For example, I took a short course in HTML/CSS this past spring. We talked about "CSS classes", while I sensed there is some similarity in the meaning in Java, I know it is also very different. So, as I review the notes, I will need to be careful for these terms that I think I know but carry a different meaning in this field.
3) Pay attention to detail! Having taught freshmen in high school for the past 8 years, I have learned to put a lot of attention to subtle details to get the best learning result. This same attention to detail will serve me in programming, especially in thinking about step-by-step arguments and instructions. Meeting specifications is critical, so the type of obsessiveness I've put into my lesson planning over the past several years, and in art, and in all other areas, will be important in reviewing codes, and addressing standards.
- Joe G.

Three take away lessons:
1. Sometimes people may come off as frustrated and hard on you, but that is only because they believe you can do better. (I have to read The Last Lecture. People have been telling me about it for years, ever since I worked for Disney, as I understand the author did as well)
2. We came up with way more input and output devices then I could have come up with on my own.
3. Do not rush on the easy programs. It will take less time in the long run to do it once, correctly.
- Chris K.

My top 3 take away from the first day.
1. Make sure and double check punctuations, upper and lower case are accurate.
2. Take good short notes from the book and class lectures.
3. Organize works neatly (multiple pages stapled) prior to submission.
- Mohamed M.

The 1st class was definitely a good intro to the course. I would say my top 3 lessons I took away were:
1)The necessity to break down every little step of a procedure, and to analyze an action down to its bare bones.
2)Pay close attention to what I am inputting as as to avoid errors. Always close brackets at the start, make sure cases match and try to avoid careless mistakes.
3)When many errors occur, start at the top and take them one at a time. Don't get overwhelmed by what may seem like an impossible task ahead to correct. Fixing one may fix many.
- Yehuda G.

The 3 lessons I learned from the first day of class are:
1)Check your e-mail daily and follow up with class; do your assignments before class to have a better understanding of the materials, by book and by professor's lecture.
2)Be on time and ready to start. Don't miss a single class.
3)In order to write code in Java, you have to be very specific, and you have to write in very details because if you make one mistake computer will going to show you more then 1 error. Remember computers are dumb, They only do what you tell them to do; therefore check you work twice before compiling it and run it.
- Sadeka B.

My top three lessons from last weeks class:
1 CHECK MY EMAIL/CHECK THE CLASS WEBSITE
2 PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS/TAKE NOTES
3 DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE FLOWCHART
- Emmanuel R.