Connections

As much as I use my computer, I've never really taken a close look at how it works or how my data is stored. Hence, I found the content of our class to be very useful. I tend to be a very hands-on kinda gal, so any chance I get to get dirty and scrounge around a bit makes me very happy, and this is what I felt like the class gave me the chance to do.

When I think about what exactly I want to do with my degree, I think the most useful information I gained from this class was the data recovery sessions, including the recovery plans for both organizations and my pc. I am extremely negligent when it comes to protecting my data, even to the point of letting my virus protection slide, simply because I don't feel like paying the money or because I am tired of the software turning my fast pc into a dog. I now realize, although it's simple common sense to most, that I just cannot afford to do this. I did discover in my research, however, that I don't have to rely solely on Norton or McAfee, and that's reassuring. I also found the disaster recovery information extremely helpful and applicable not just to large corporations but to my small school as well. Even if I don't have to include every aspect, a well-designed plan will help me think about where and how information is stored in the event of a disaster.

The section of the course I found most challenging was the whole Linux activity. Although I was able to see how this OS functions, I felt like a complete ninny and know I didn't utilize the program to its fullest. From what the literature claimed, I should have been able to do much more than I did when I burned the image to disk and ran it from my laptop. Instead, I felt like an outsider simply observing, rather than a user. I think several would agree that exploring Linux was moving into unfamiliar territory and so some sort of demo would have been helpful. I had searched for something on Youtube but didn't find exactly what I was looking for. I needed more so that I could go to the image disk and perhaps feel more comfortable with its capabilities, particularly the Internet browser.

Similar to the Linux activity, I also would have like to dig deeper in our "under the hood" activity. I like opening up my machine and checking everything out, but I would have also liked to have learned basic maintenance for my machine. I didn't even realize until someone else pointed it out, that simply touching the motherboard with static electricity could kill my machine. Yikes! I'm glad I did find that out, however. Turns out I had several Dells in my lab with optical drive breakdowns so had machines opened up when my students walked in. Thankfully, I was able to tell them not to touch the "innards" for that very reason. Good, useful information to take with me. Similar knowledge would be helpful as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed the course and the work. I feel like the Powerpoints I created are presentations I can take with me in my portfolio for future use as well as references for others at my school.