Mentor Assessment #1

Date: March 9, 2018

Topic: Software Development

Preview:

This mentor assessment discusses my learning during my most recent video call with
my mentor on March 9, 2018. I was able to further my understanding in the concept of and
ways of working on Machine Learning. Additionally, I was introduced to Google APIs that
assist with Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Furthermore, continuing working with
my mentor on my Original Work allowed me to explore Data Analysis as we continued
working with Google Sheets and BigQuery.

Machine Learning:

As Mr. Truty and I discussed my Original Work- we became engrossed in a fascinating

discussion regarding the process of Machine Learning. I learned that in any project- there are
now four ways of going about this:

1. Coding it all out:

I learned that prior to Machine Learning services allowing more programmers to

work with Machine Learning, it used to require pHDs to code it out. This process is
tedious and requires and immense amount of mathematical and computer science
knowledge.

2. Machine Learning Software and Libraries:

An example of this is Tensor Flow. This software allows building statistical models
and analyzing the effects of data using Machine Learning. However, it takes a
generous amount of programming knowledge to work with such software.

3. Machine Learning Engines:

These resources are often the simplest to utilize when conducting an experiment. An
example is the Google Machine Learning Engine. The Google engine works by
hosting Tensor Flow. Therefore, the huge amount of programming knowledge is
taken care of. Furthermore, these engines are often used to solve classic
recommendation engine problems.

4. Pre-trained Models:

Pre-trained models are the easiest to work with as they simply require submitting
additional data and interpreting the pre-existing model’s analysis of the data. At
first, these seemed quite bland to me. However, after Mr. Truty shared his screen
and worked with the Galaxy Demo using the Cloud Vision API, I was awe-struck.
 The Galaxy Demo clusters images using the Cloud Vision API. I learned that this
makes it a classifier as it groups objects into like groups. I was intrigued by the
patterns and Mr. Truty explained that this is done through vectorizing the image.
After an image is chosen, classifiers are ranked by the probability that the image falls
under that
classification. I found it
amazing that the
system is able to be so
precise. This is based
on guesses based off of
given data samples.

The above steps are also in order of decreasing difficulty. I came to understand that a
significant movement in Machine Learning is to make it more accessible to people with small
amounts of computational knowledge. Mr. Truty told me about Fei-Fei Li- the director of the
Stanford AI Lab- who aims to “democratize AI” and make it simpler for everyone. A significant
aspect of her work has been the idea of a basic training data set, which has contributed to the
Pre-trained Models and serves as an introduction to Machine Learning.

Data Analysis using Google Sheets and BigQuery

Mr. Truty gave me feedback on the work I did in Sheets. I asked him the purpose and
types of some variables and he told me that we could look into the purpose of some of the more
obscure variables in the public data set descriptions in BigQuery. Looking at the descriptions on
BigQuery for the same fields was interesting as I was able to “check my work”. I realized that I
was pretty close and had the right idea when creating the Data Dictionary. However, I should
not have tried to write in almost complete sentences. This is because a Data Dictionary should
be apt for quick reference. Furthermore, I noted that the real data had a NULLABLE column. I
asked Mr. Truty about it and he explained that NULLABLE variables do not require a value in a
program- they can be left as NULL. I additionally found it
interesting that the descriptors had a bracket specifying if
the data related to teams, games, or opponents.
Furthermore, Mr. Truty introduced me to the explore option on Google Sheets that makes more
obscure functions easier to use. Additionally, he liked my graphs and charts; however, he
explained that it is important to choose easily comparable values in a pivot chart to make the
chart more significant.

Following this, I observed Mr. Truty coding in SQL to manage the large datasets
available on BigQuery. While working, Mr. Truty rhetorically asked if the entire dataset should
be exported and utilized to conduct experimentation and I thought that the answer was “yes”.
From my perspective, the more data, the better. Furthermore, after struggling so much to find
sufficient data for a simple experiment, I felt that there is no such thing as too much. However, I
was surprised when Mr. Truty exported only a small section of the data. This taught me that it
is better to analyze small amounts of data at a time for clarity and time management. Systems
such as Google Sheets and BigQuery would take a tremendous amount of time to process the
entire dataset for each command, so it is better to focus in on applicable data or refine the
experiment to a smaller subject.

Reflections:

Overall, I found my Mentor Meeting to have been an extraordinary learning experience.

Going through the Machine Learning methods was completely new information for me and I
enjoyed going through them. The highlight of this visit was examining the Galaxy Demo- not
only was I able to get an introduction to the Cloud Visual API, but I was also able to look at
examples of Machine Learning from a classification standpoint. Furthermore, I found it
amazing that there are so many provisions on Google Sheets and BigQuery to make analyzing
large sets of data simpler. When Mr. Truty exported only a small part of the data, I really
wanted to take all of it; however, I realized that it is unreasonable to look at that much data in
one chart. Through working with data, I need to develop an understanding of what data will be
most useful and how much data is actually necessary. Furthermore, this will be even more
important when I have to work on larger projects that may require for me to pay when
processing.

At the conclusion of this Mentor Meeting, Mr. Truty asked me to look into Cloud Data
Studio and identify how to calculate the distance between two locations- given their name- from
a spreadsheet programmatically. This question confused me a little so Mr. Truty gave me a hint-
Google Maps APIs. I will have to research to identify the correct one and then research to
identify how to use the API with Google Sheets. Following this, Mr. Truty asked me to view a
documentary regarding Big Data- which I find apt as the technology industry is shifting
towards Big Data- and read an article about Machine Learning. I look forward to doing this
homework as I am sure it will further my understanding of Data Programming and will further
my progress towards completing my Original Work.
 I am extremely glad that I have the opportunity in ISM to explore Data Programming.
This field is new to me and is different from what I am used to, so I am learning substantial
information each mentor visit. I am eager to apply this knowledge into my Original Work and
in the future through college and beyond when I continue to work in Software Development.