✎ MY WEEKLY BLOGS

Week 1 — A New Chapter Begins

Hiiiiii!!!

Our first week of ICT was pretty chill because we mostly had our orientation and some introductory discussions. We were assigned our laptops, and I got Laptop #20! We were also given assigned seats, although Zai and I eventually moved closer to the front. We even took a picture with Sir for this blog!

During the discussion, Sir asked us what we could still remember from our previous ICT lessons, especially from Grade 8 when we learned about creating websites and using HTML. When it was my turn, I got nervous because I honestly couldn’t remember much about coding. I ended up mentioning something from Grade 7 and Grade 9 because that was what I remembered most hihihi. That moment made me realize that I had forgotten more than I thought. I used to think that once you learned something, you would automatically remember it, but apparently, that’s not always the case.

Instead of worrying about what I couldn’t remember, I decided that I wanted to take ICT more seriously this time. I think I learn better when I actually practice instead of simply listening and hoping I remember everything later.

We also had a funny moment when we found out that Sir is a Peralta too. He jokingly told me, “Kahit ’wag ka na pumasok,” because I also have a Peralta surname HAHAHAHA. Sir, I almost took that seriously. 😭

Week 1 was simple, but it made me curious about what was coming next. Our seniors had already told us that ICT was difficult and scary, so naturally, I was a little worried. But I’m also excited to see whether I can actually improve this time.

Hopefully, I’ll survive this subject. And lastly, I will miss C++ Huhuhu.

Still alive, still coding! ✦

Week 2 — The Beginning of Something New

Hiiiiii!!!

This week, we finally started our first actual coding lesson: CSS Basics (CSS1). I was a little nervous because we were no longer just having orientations. We were already expected to follow the discussion, understand the code, and answer questions while working. Sir Richard would ask us questions while we were coding, which was challenging for me because multitasking is definitely not my strongest skill. 😭

At first, I felt like I needed to remember everything immediately. But as we practiced, I realized that I didn’t have to understand every single thing perfectly on the first try. CSS is used to control the appearance of a webpage, while HTML provides the basic structure. We started learning the basic pattern of writing CSS rules, such as:

Selector { property: value; }

Instead of just memorizing that pattern, what helped me most was actually seeing the changes happen on the webpage. When I changed something in the code and saw the page change, the lesson became easier to understand. That’s when I started noticing something about how I learn.

I understand coding better when I can see the result of what I’m doing.Reading the code alone can feel confusing, but seeing the effect makes it easier for me to connect the code with its purpose.

I’m still adjusting to the way ICT requires both listening and doing at the same time. But I think I’m slowly getting used to it.

Maybe coding isn’t as scary as everyone said.

…Okay, maybe it still is. 😭

Still alive, still coding! ✦

Week 3 — Learning Through Every Try

Hiii!!

Week 3 was our first real test of how much we had understood CSS because we had both a CSS quiz and a hands-on quiz. Before the quiz, my classmates and I reviewed together outside the classroom. I thought I understood the lessons pretty well, but I ended up getting an 8. 😭

Then came the hands-on quiz.

We were allowed to look at the sample codes as a guide, but I still struggled because I couldn’t get some of the elements to appear. To make things worse, I forgot to write my scoresheet huhu. 😭

Thankfully, we were given a chance to retake it. This time, I was more careful. I remembered my scoresheet and focused more on actually checking my code instead of rushing. I got 50/58, which gave me a final score of 29 after averaging both attempts.

Although my first attempt wasn’t good, the experience actually taught me something important about how I learn. I realized that understanding a code while looking at an example is different from being able to write and troubleshoot it myself. When something didn’t work, I had to stop and figure out what I had done wrong. That process was frustrating, but it also helped me remember the lesson better than simply reading it.

I think trial and error is becoming a big part of my learning process in ICT. Sometimes I make mistakes because I don’t understand something yet. Other times, I make mistakes because I rush. Either way, I learn something from having to fix them. So even though the scores weren’t perfect, I’m trying not to see them as proof that I’m bad at coding. Instead, I’m treating them as reminders of what I still need to practice.

Sometimes, you really do have to mess up first before you figure things out.

Still alive, still coding! ✦

Week 5 — One Code at a Time

Hiiiii!!

Monday started with our Summative Test, which covered the lessons we had learned so far. I found it pretty challenging, but I got a 20, so I’m actually lowkey proud of myself. 😭 Even though I still felt like I could have done better, the score encouraged me to keep studying instead of giving up.

As we continued with CSS Part 2, we learned more about selectors, including class selectors, ID selectors, and contextual selectors. We also learned about the

Week 6 — Learning Beyond the Classroom

Hiiiiii!!!

Week 6 was a little different because July 13 was suspended due to the typhoon, so instead of having our usual class, I spent the day fixing and updating my blogs. It was actually a good opportunity to work on something related to ICT while also catching up on my own work.

When classes continued, we had another CSS2 quiz. Unfortunately, I got an 8 again.😭 I honestly felt a little discouraged because I wanted to see more improvement. After getting the same score again, I started thinking that maybe I needed to change how I was studying instead of simply reviewing the same way.

That experience reminded me that sometimes studying something repeatedly isn’t enough. I need to understand which parts I’m struggling with and actually practice those parts.

We also started preparing for our second hands-on quiz, HOQ2. However, I was excused from July 16–19 because of a church event. Since I missed some classes, one of my classmates helped me catch up. He explained the hover effect and the span hover effect and also sent me the practice HOQ so I could try the codes myself. That experience was actually helpful because it showed me another way of learning. (Thank you, Emman!)

Sometimes I understand something better when another person explains it in a simpler way. It also reminded me that learning ICT doesn’t always have to happen through the teacher or through my own studying. Classmates can also help each other understand difficult concepts.

I tried to search what my classmate taught me, MDN explains that the :hover pseudo-class can change the styling of an element when a pointing device, such as a mouse, is placed over it. (MDN Web Docs⁠ ) Seeing that concept reflected in the code helped connect what my classmate taught me with how CSS works.

Looking back at these six weeks, I think I’m starting to understand my own learning style better.

I’ve had low quiz scores, confusing codes, forgotten scoresheets, and moments when I felt like CSS was personally attacking me. But I know I’m still learning.

Six weeks in, and I’m still here. 😭

Still alive, still coding! ✦

Week 7 — Learning from my mistakes

Hiiiiii!!!

This week, we were still preparing for our second hands-on quiz. We continued practicing our codes, and I was slowly becoming more familiar with the things we had been learning in CSS1 and CSS2.

During our pre third hands-on quiz, though, I got a little confused because there was an additional box that I couldn’t make appear. I kept trying to figure out what was wrong, but I couldn’t get it to show up. Thankfully, I was seated beside one of our classmates who is really good at ICT and coding that time. I asked him what I was doing wrong, and he taught me that I needed to adjust the placement of another box in my code. That actually helped me understand something I often forget when coding: sometimes the problem isn’t that the code itself is wrong. It can also be about where something is placed.

After that, we finally had our literal hands-on quiz. Unfortunately, I got a really low score: 6/73. 😭 At first, I started using External CSS, even though we were supposed to be using Embedded CSS at that point. I only found out about it later, so I had less time to change my work and embed everything properly. I also accidentally clicked something that caused some of my elements not to appear immediately, which made me lose even more time. It was honestly stressful because I knew what I was supposed to do, but I didn’t have enough time to fix everything.

Since we were going to have a retake, I asked my classmate for help again. He sent me an example of the code, and I tried doing it myself. This time, I was able to get it working. I also noticed that I was becoming more comfortable asking for help when I was stuck. Before, I would sometimes just stare at my code and hope I would suddenly understand it. 😭 Now, I’m learning that asking someone who understands the problem can help me see what I’m missing.

I still made a lot of mistakes this week, but at least I learned from them.

Sometimes, getting stuck is part of figuring out how to move forward.

Still alive, still coding! ✦

Week 8 — One mistake, Then another ✦

Hiiiii!!

This week was our CSS HOQ retake, and I really wanted to improve after my previous score. Since I had learned how to use Embedded CSS from my classmate, I started doing the retake using Embedded CSS. I thought I was finally applying what I had learned correctly.

Except…This time, we were supposed to use External CSS.

😭😭😭

So once again, I made the wrong choice at the beginning. Because I had already spent time working with Embedded CSS, I ran out of time trying to change everything to External CSS. Most of my work ended up being Embedded even though the instructions required the full thing to be External. It was frustrating because I felt like I had actually learned from my previous mistake, only to make a different version of the same problem. But I also realized something important: knowing how to code something isn’t enough if I don’t carefully check the instructions first.

I was so focused on remembering what I had practiced before that I didn’t pay enough attention to what was required for this particular quiz. MDN explains that external stylesheets place CSS in a separate .css file, while internal stylesheets are placed inside the HTML document. (MDN Web Docs⁠ ) Looking back, this made me realize that I needed to pay attention not only to how to write the CSS, but also to which method the activity actually required.

We also had our Summative Test, where I got 19/25. I was actually okay with the result, especially since I only had a short time to review beforehand. Aside from the quizzes, we were also introduced to the website project that we would be creating. I decided to start working on mine early instead of waiting until the deadline. I know myself well enough to know that if I leave everything until the last minute, I’ll probably be sitting in front of my laptop at midnight questioning every decision I’ve ever made. 😭

Starting early also gave me more time to experiment and figure out what I wanted my website to look like. This week taught me that learning from mistakes doesn’t always mean I’ll never make the same kind of mistake again. Sometimes, I’ll still mess up. The important thing is that I notice why I messed up and try to make a better decision next time.

Hopefully, next time I’ll read the instructions first. Hopefully. 😭

Still alive, still coding! ✦

Week 9 — Turning lessons into something real

Hiiiii!!

This week, our class was suspended, so instead of having our usual classroom activities, I focused on coding my website. We also had an online class about the layout of the website. Sir explained the criteria and the things that we needed to include in our websites. I made sure to listen carefully because I knew that the information would be useful when working on my own website. Instead of just listening for the sake of the class, I was already thinking about how I could apply the requirements to what I was creating.

Before, I was mostly practicing individual pieces of code. Now, I had to think about how those pieces could work together in an actual website.It made me realize that the things we learned in CSS1 and CSS2 weren’t just random codes that we had to memorize for quizzes. I could actually use them when designing and organizing my own webpage. MDN describes CSS as a way to style webpages and explains how CSS rules are applied to HTML. (MDN Web Docs⁠ ) That helped me understand why the things we had been practicing were useful beyond our quizzes and classroom exercises.

I also started thinking more seriously about my blog score. Since some of my quiz scores had been lower than I wanted, I thought that my blog was one area where I could really show what I had learned and hopefully make up for those scores. That motivated me to put more effort into it. For me, this week was a reminder that the best way to understand something is sometimes to actually use it for something of my own. Instead of just asking, “What does this code do?” I was starting to ask, “How can I use this to make my website better?”

And I think that’s progress.

Still alive, still coding! ✦

Week 10 — Learning by watching others

Hiiii!!

This week, some of my classmates presented their websites to the class. While they were presenting, I paid attention not only to their websites but also to the suggestions and comments that Sir gave them. I realized that listening to feedback on someone else’s work can also help me improve my own. Sometimes, when you’re working on your own project, you become too used to looking at it and don’t notice the things that could still be improved. By listening to Sir’s comments about their websites, I started thinking about my own website and the things I could change before our second progress presentation.

I also continued working on my blog and started fixing and organizing it so that I could focus on finalization later. This was also a good opportunity for me to apply what I had learned from CSS1 and CSS2. Instead of just practicing CSS through separate activities, I was now using those concepts while working on an actual project. That helped me understand the lessons in a more practical way.

I noticed that some things that confused me during our earlier activities made more sense once I used them in my own website. It was like the lessons were finally starting to connect. I’m still not an expert at coding, obviously. 😭 But I’m becoming more comfortable experimenting with the code and making changes when something doesn’t look or work the way I want.

Watching my classmates present also reminded me that learning doesn’t only come from my own mistakes. Sometimes, you can learn by watching someone else make something, listening to the feedback they receive, and applying that feedback to your own work.

Now, I’m just hoping my website survives the second progress presentation.

Still alive, still coding! ✦

Week 11 — Finalizing my blog

Hiiiiii!

This week, we had an online class where we discussed the blog rubric and how the blog score sheet would work. This was especially important for me because I was already finalizing my blog for submission. Instead of just rushing to finish it, I listened carefully to the discussion about the rubric and criteria so I could check whether my blog actually met the requirements.

I started going through my entries again and looking for things that I could improve. I also tried to make my blog more organized and visually appealing while making sure that the content still focused on my experiences and reflections in ICT. The rubric discussion made me realize that creating a blog isn’t just about writing down everything that happened. It’s also about thinking about who is going to read it, what I want them to understand, and how I can make my experiences interesting to them. That made me look at my previous entries differently. Instead of simply asking, “Did I write everything that happened?” I started asking, “Did I explain what I learned from it?” “Did I show how I learned? “Can someone reading this understand my experience?”

After making my final changes, I submitted my blog. Finally. 😭

Now that my blog is submitted, I’m also ready to check the blogs of my other classmates. Looking back at these past weeks, I can see that my ICT journey hasn’t exactly been perfect. I’ve had low quiz scores, mistakes during hands-on activities, confusing code, and moments when I had absolutely no idea why something wasn’t working. But I’ve also learned how to troubleshoot, ask for help, practice on my own, listen to feedback, and apply what I’ve learned to an actual website.

I’m still learning, but I think I’ve become more comfortable with the fact that making mistakes doesn’t mean I’m not learning. Sometimes, the mistake is exactly what teaches me what to do next.

And honestly?

I think that’s one of the biggest things ICT has taught me so far.

Keep trying. Keep fixing. Keep learning.

Still alive, still coding! ✦