Steven Nix
Portfolio Essay
40369
4-2-10
Meaningful Topics I Learned In CISB 11
Whether we like it or not computers make a definite impact on our world. We even use them sometimes without even realizing what it is we are doing. I think that this course should be a requirement for all majors, because even if it has no direct relation to our career choice, which these days is almost impossible anyway, it will absolutely help us in our everyday lives. With computers becoming an almost necessity in our everyday lives I am glad that I took this course to help explain the different parts of a computer, how networks are run, safety issues with computers, and the different tricks I learned when using Word, Excel, and PowerPoint this semester.
One thing that I’ve always struggled with is, knowing what the different hardware in the computer is. Whenever something goes wrong with my computer I don’t want anybody who’s not an expert to touch anything, because I never knew what the different parts were. Now I would feel perfectly comfortable poking around myself to see if the problem is something that I could fix. Also, now that I have the knowledge of what the different hardware is and what it does, I feel much more confident when making future computer purchases to know what the best deals are for what your getting in the computer.
Another topic I was never enlightened on was how a network actually works. I always envisioned them to be huge connections of computer, which is partially true, but never knew that my two computers at home could also be deemed a network. It has become clearer to me how these connections between computers make it somewhat easy for computer hackers, and the necessity for computer safety. One of the best discussion topics that we had this semester were the ones about safety and what rules, if any, need to be asserted into computers. I believe that as we progress this will be a rising job market in society.
Finally, one of my favorite aspects of this class was getting the familiarity with such software as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I know feel more comfortable with these programs which will only help me later as I continue my education. The little keyboard tricks and shortcuts within all of these programs have become common use which will make working with them easier than ever before. I had never used PowerPoint before or Excel and know I feel like I can do so and be efficient and successful with this task. Using these programs, as well as being proficient and creative with them will be a much needed skill for my Bachelors and Masters degrees that I hope to get, and knowing that I can be confident when choosing the computer that will get me through these degrees, I hope my journey will be much easier because of this class.
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