Computational Thinking
October 2023- CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
CMT119- Individual Project
My first ever software project- a static website that marked the beginning of my transition from Mathematics into Computer Science. Simple in scope, but foundational in how I think about building things.
The Problem-
The aim of this project was to create a static website consisting of three pages: Introduction to Computational Thinking (explaining the concept and its relevance to problem-solving and my career), Biography (highlighting the achievements of Joan Clarke, a significant figure in computer science) and a Reflection (discussing my personal learning journey throughout the module).
My Approach I chose Joan Clarke as my biography subject — a pioneering cryptanalyst whose contributions to computer science were long overlooked. Beyond the content, I focused on building the site to a professional standard from the start: semantic HTML for accessibility and readability, clear CSS rules for maintainability, and responsive design so the site worked across different screen sizes and devices. The site was hosted on Cardiff University's project server.
I applied core computational thinking principles throughout — decomposing the project into manageable pages, recognising patterns in how HTML elements behave, and abstracting reusable CSS styling rules.
Challenges-
Coming from a Mathematics background with no prior web development experience, everything here was new. The biggest challenge was understanding how HTML structure and CSS styling interact — particularly getting responsive layouts to behave consistently across screen sizes. Debugging display issues with no prior experience meant learning to read browser developer tools from scratch, which turned out to be one of the most valuable skills I took from this project.
Key Takeaways-
Decomposing a project into small, manageable tasks before writing a single line of code makes everything easier — a habit I've carried into every project since
Semantic HTML isn't just good practice, it directly improves accessibility — something I've prioritised in every interface I've built since, including the Nutri App
This project gave me the foundation that made everything else in the MSc possible
