Wekk 5: Clear

       This weeks assignments and topics were more interesting than some of the previous. We learned about Excel and it's many uses. I'm pretty familiar with excel, but I always seen to forget the command aspects that it has to offer. The commands in excel are super powerful but so underutilized in todays business. 
    
      For an explanation to a new user about what we learned in this segment would be as follows. Imagine you had rows and rows of data, but no way to calculate it. Excel offers the ability to manipulate the data to give such outputs as averages, summations and even amounts of days. To do this, you would need to learn some simple commands and have a basic understanding of math. If you can do this, the skills you have would be highly desired by businesses just about anywhere.
    
      I find for my self, the largest piece of information that I learned was getting a refresher on the commands. I learned them once in CGS when I was a freshman, so it's nice to learn it again, because I never get a chance to actually use them. On top of this, the commands offered in excel are very powerful for computing large amounts of data. I could see this being very important in many different fields of jobs. Of instance, I was interning at a law office over the summer and I had to use it, good thing I was somewhat familiar with it.
    
      A website that I found an easy reference is this (http://www.vtaskstudio.com/help/action_excel.htm) excel command site. It easily lists the commands and also shows you how to use them. Also, by showing this website, it further proves the easiness of this program. Excel is fairly basic, but in the right hands, could accomplish what ten people would have to do. 

Week 4: Muddy week

    So I guess for me I have just been struggling with following directions correctly. I'm just getting what "to do's" down. I didn't get full credit on the last few posts, and hope to change that here. The lectures this week weren't very hard, in fact they were quite the opposite, and I struggled to pay attention during the lectures. In a descriptive way to tell you what I learned, it would have to be some names and how they applied, which I will explain.


    For instance, I always knew that when something got upgraded, patched and fixed, they number associated with the name would change to 1.2.3 to 1.2.4 but never actually knew what to call each fix. Now I know the associated term with number, in this case, it would have been a patch. Another thing I learned is horizontal vs vertical software. I always knew the difference between the two, but never the actual name. Also, I was pleased to see that my reading paid of when during the quiz they used the alternate names of packaged and custom.


    All and the main muddiness in this week was not really of this week but in the previous weeks that I precoded to screw up. I guess I was really unaware that I was supposed to really go in depth about what I learned and I hope I did this week. I also felt that this weeks subject really could have been condensed and was, in my opinion quite dry in comparison to the previous week. That's just my opinion, maybe some people really found this interesting! Lastly, to explain to other people on how to do this better is just to read the directions over every time you make a blog post and make sure you fully understand the syllabus, because it's easy to skip things over in an online class.

Week 3: Clear

    Well, as the week ensues I find myself making another post on my blog. This week was a relatively good week for this class. The class lectures this week were based on the basic hardware and software of computers. The lectures, also, were basic. The concept that we needed to learn is what are the parts of a computer that makes it run i.e. the CPU, memory, hard drive and other components. On top of that, we needed to learn from the videos some understanding of how a computer starts up and preforms basic functions.


    Coming from a technologically savey background, these lectures were very easy for me to grasp. I have built maybe ten or so computer,s with my dad, from scratch. Also, I was very familiar with the basic functions on computers starting, formatting and commands. I found the stuff most interesting to be little odds and ends I didn't know, such as the concept of defragmentation and names of components such as legacy ports.


    I feel that knowing computers today is highly essential to success. Most people neglect the operations of computers and if things don't go exactly according to plan they collapse. Also, the idea of teaching people the basic components first, and more complicated things later is ideal for teaching. By teaching people what things are, initially, then they can learn their many complicated functions. 


    Here is a link to a website (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/345529/6_hottest_IT_skills_for_2010) that lists the 6 most sought after computer jobs. These jobs are highly specific, yet very sought after. People in these departments stand to make a lot of money by taking advantage of the simple supply and demand that takes place in this market.


    P.S. I figure with the idea of crystal clear being the basis of todays post, I went with some blue font to compliment the scenery behind the crystal.

Week 2: Muddy

    Well, now we are in our second week of school. ISM has given us a light load of a few readings. The concepts in the three readings are not at all muddy, but rather I've been discovering new things that are requirements to get full credit. In doing the course work, initially early in the week, I began to fear that I might not have seen all of the concepts that we will be quizzed on.

    Later in the week, I went around the website looking for information on what was due and decided to do everything before the quiz. So here I am, doing the blog post, procrastinating the quiz that I want to get full credit on. For better information on the topic, I basically didn't fine a better site because I don't think one exists. I basically read through the syllabus a few times and through the PDF's concerning the things due.

    Lastly, I also had some confusion with the syllabus and due dates. I was concerned that I had a few more things due this week than realized and maybe a second quiz; but I was wrong. So my link to further understanding is the syllabus (https://elearning.courses.ufl.edu/webct/urw/lc955889.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct) I read a few times over. Also, in an explanation to someone, I would say look at the syllabus due dates and read the required materials posted. That's it, and the subject is actually laid out well. I guess I have just had to many bad experience with missing things in past online classes.

Week 1: Clear

    Well school has started and as an attempt to keep my Fridays opened I pick up ISM. Seems like a decent class, but I have never been a fan of on line classes. For the most part, week one has been pretty clear. The basic concept that the program has instilled this week is to read the syllabus and find out about the course so that we don't miss any of the dates.

    After failing the quiz once thinking I could assume I know the answers, I read the required material and got a 20/20 on the first quiz. I guess that the importance of this lesson and it's application in the business world is that taking the time to prepare before you start something will end up saving you time in the long run.

    In summation, the course was very clear in telling me what I had to get an A on the quiz. Contrary, I feel that there may be some muddiness in knowing what is needed for future stuff and am a little nervous I will miss something before I take a quiz. Lastly, seeing how this is the first week and there isn't much to link this to I have a link (www.faqs.org/faqs/)to a web site that has frequently asked questions about the internet.

PS: In an attempt to have proper grammar, I can't figure out how to indent paragraphs. I guess I will just use 5 or so spaces