Saturday, October 17, 2015

Week 8 came out of nowhere!!

WOW!!!

So before I knew it, here I am half way through my first semester back to school. There are such a massive amount of projects and tasks to keep me busy I had almost forgot that I should take some time out to blog about it.

While I do enjoy the social media side of interacting, I've found I spend a lot of my time outside of class either discussing topics with my peers or sharing what I've been doing with friends and family.
There's still something to be said about being able to have a face to face conversation with someone verses online.

Let's see, I think it would be nice to share a little review from each of my current classes. That sounds like fun, right?

First up...
ITNET 101 - Intro to Networks
This class started off a little fuzzy. After the first week we lost our instructor because he had to cover for another teacher that decided to retire and funny enough I got the same instructor that I have for my Cisco class so that was a bonus. Then, because of the instructor switch, apparently no one could get access to one of the main learning tools online for the netlabs (which by the way are SUPER fun to do) so we ended up being behind 3 weeks worth of material (from labs) before anyone had access. All and all though, the intro course has been extremely helpful. Most of the material is pretty self explanatory if you've ever used a computer but I am very happy about the amount of detail it goes into the inner workings of network functions. Also, I can't say it enough...the netlabs are awesome!!

Next...
ITNET 110 - Microsoft Windows 7 Desktop Management
So this has been by far the most challenging of my courses. I think primarily because I've been using Windows 7 since beta and have come to learn the lazy mans way of using the system. Our instructor has a great way of explaining some of the more technical theories around how windows actually works which has been a huge help. Also, like the other courses the additional learning material offered online as part of the course is super helpful. What I've come to learn more and more about the Windows system itself is that, the variations in the file systems and policy settings, there are so many ways to secure the system and still have it function enough to work in a business environment. Which at first I honestly didn't think could be done without just unplugging the Ethernet cable :)

Then...
IT 107 - Social Networking and Business
I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect with this class at first, but I love the instructors lectures more and more each week. He's very passionate and extremely involved in using social media and online tools to explain how to create a professional persona. It's not a traditional class with quizzes and tests. There isn't a mid-term or final exam, rather there are objectives and interactions that are required you be a part of. It's really one of those classes where you literally get out of it what you put into it. It's also the class that's responsible for the past couple months of my online activity. So, just in case there's any complaints I can give you my instructors name :)

Finally...
ITNET 131 - Cisco 1
This is the class I knew I wanted to take as soon as I saw the program it was listed for. Personally, these past few years I've been building a nice little network since I bought a house. It's been like a little play land for setting up wireless devices, setting up my network with all the computer linked together and running cables through the walls so I could plug in any devices I wanted to, in any part of the house. So, working with the top notch Cisco equipment has been awesome. One of the more interesting things is that the basis of how to work with Cisco gear from an education standpoint lines up with the intro to networks class so when I work through a chapter in that class it covers all the required cisco material, except for the hardware aspect, but that means I get more time to work with the gear. I actually decided to purchase a couple old 2960 switches so I can play with them at home as much as I want.

Well, that's were I am thus far. There's still much more to learn but I am already excited about finishing up this semester, setting my sights on my certifications and getting next semesters classes lined up. This was a lengthier blog so thanks for reading and I'll be sure to keep some more updates coming after midterms.


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