Final AE510 Blog Post

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the course, based on the title and description provided when I registered for the class, it was not at all what I expected.  I thought the focus would be more specifically on BIM and buildings designed with BIM.  Though that would be an interesting course, I believe this course expanded my idea of what is possible in our industry despite the somewhat slower pace at which it progresses compared to other industries.

What I found to be the most interesting was the beginning AI material.  I suspect this was strategically placed in the beginning to grab our attention, which was very successful.  I agree with Barry, Jeanine and Kayleigh regarding staying up to date on the new advances in technology.  I find that I sometimes tend not to do this, and this class was a good reminder of why I should and how helpful it can be.

Although I was reluctant at first, I did like the blog aspect of the class.  It allowed us to see what the other students thought regarding topics and allowed us to learn from each other.  Too often students stay quiet in class and are unable to benefit from each other’s work and ideas, only to find out too late that we had some of the same concerns or more often that our contributions aren’t as uninteresting as we think they may be.

I agree with some of the other students that said that Dr. Song’s lecture could have replaced the discussion on databases that took place the week before, as it did cover a lot of the same material.  But, that being said I found this class to be very helpful in terms of understanding what a relational database actually is and what it entails.  Most of us (myself included prior to this class) utilize them (on the front end anyway) almost every day, but have no idea of how it actually works or what goes on “behind the scenes.”

I agree with Mitchell, in that I have always enjoyed Professor Mitchell’s courses and this one was no exception.  I hope that he continues with courses like this one that are designed to open up our minds and let us decide what it is that we want to learn and take away from it.