Practicum 1 Day 3: Nov 28, 2013

Today at Lifetime Learning Center we had a bit of a slow day dealing with only minor issues. I spent most of the day dealing with minor computer issues around the offices of our co-workers. I also spent some time helping another co-worker pick and order a few laptops for Lifetime Learning.

Once I arrived there wasn't much to do since the last couple of days we were able to fix and complete any of the problems and tasks that occurred. So I was mainly looking around and asking people if they needed any help and if not then I told them if they needed any help then to give me a howler.

Then to finish off the day Diana and David asked myself and another co-worker to help decide on which computer(s) to order from a donation center for the benefit of Lifetime Learning Center. There were surprisingly low prices for the computers. We decided to order 10 laptops and a network printer and it only ended up costing about $25! There were free shipping for ordering 10 or more laptops and myself and another co-worker decided that we don't need to order the upgraded laptops which comes with Microsoft Office and Windows 7. Which would cost $65 per laptop, we decided to get the lower model with Windows XP and no Office and that we could get Win 7 and Office on the laptops for free. So it turned out to be a good deal.

Myself and another co-worker (Bryce) decided that we could split the work with 5 laptops each to work on to get Win 7 and Office.

I can't wait for this order to come in, because I want more work to do.


Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Practicum 1 Day 2: Nov 27, 2013

Today was my second day on my practicum. I am really starting to get used to being around everyone that works there and talking to them and greeting them when I first see them that day. I am also starting to like getting to do specific work done for David; my boss.

Today I continued to work with the audio files that I worked on from yesterday but this time I decided to use Camtasia instead since Audacity was clearly not working. I was able to edit each of the 4 audio clips to the amount of being able to hear what was going on in each clip. I edited the length of each one as well because some of the clips had long pauses in between each one and ended early before the clip actually finished. I then went onto rendering each clip into an MP3 file/format. I was then asked to copy the clips and put them onto David's laptop which didn't take long at all.

I talked to David about Camtasia and that it is much easier and user friendly to use and edit clips than what I found Audacity to be and he agreed. I then asked him if he wanted to have me download Camtasia to his laptop which he totally agreed on. So I was able to get him the full version of Camtasia for free from the internet.

Near the end of class myself, David and another co-worker worked on trying to get this one computer working that was having troubles booting up we had a few theories on what might be the issue. David told us that he is going to see about getting some spare parts from a place that he knows about then we may be able to get the computer working again.

I felt that today was a lot more successful than the previous day and that I think that things will get better and more work will be completed.


Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Practicum 1 Day 1: Nov 26, 2013

Today was my first day working on my first practicum. I was really nervous about going cause I didn't know what to expect. My practicum is at Lifetime Learning Center in Mission BC, which is basically a learning school for adults and different meetings are held there.

I started the job by meeting a few people then talking to David for a bit about what I may be working on. My first task "Totally un IT related) was to remove/carry out boxes from David's car and into the room that he mainly works in. Believe me that was pretty tough with there only being me unloading the boxes and with there me so many boxes and them being pretty heavy. I was then introduced to some of the co-workers around Lifetime Learning Offices.

After I was assigned an IT related task of having to work on David's desktop computer a Windows XP OS. I had to figure out how to get Audacity working on his computer again, for some reason stopped working and was corrupted. I uninstalled the program and then reinstalled it and I was able to get it working again. I was then put up to the task of having to sort through some audio files and then convert them to a WAV file so that they would be compatible for Audacity to be able to open it and play it. I had to edit the sound files so I would be able to hear what was going on. The first one I was able to be able to hear fairly quickly but the next 4 were very hard to understand in fact you couldn't understand it at all because they were just a static sound the whole time.

I was able to get in a good 6 hours done on my first day of the job. Tomorrow I am hoping that I can get these files working through a different program; Camtasia using my own laptop. I am quite familiar with Camtasia and I think that I will be able to Succeed!

Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Display Comparison

Display Comparison:

LCD:

·       Very poor in direct sunlight without reflective design (battery powered devices);
uneven backlighting in older models;
low temperatures can cause dimming or blackout.

·       Display motion blur on models with slow response time, and the elimination technique (strobing backlight) can cause eye-strain.

·       60 or 75 fps typically;
internally, display usually refreshed at 200 Hz.

CRT:

·       Some compensate for ambient light.

·       No ghosting or smearing artifacts;
slightly blurry;
halo may appear around objects with high contrast to background.

·       Magnetic fields may cause distortion or shimmer,
earth's magnetic fields may cause distortion.

LED:

·       Poor in bright ambient light.
white color dimmer than LCDs of same brightness.

·       Vivid and wide gamut,
blue OLED degrades faster than other colors so manufacturers may overdrive the blue LEDs to compensate, causing oversaturated colors
organic materials decay over time.

·       UV exposure can damage,
water can damage organic materials.

Device Shopping List

Device Shopping List:

Device	Price	Includes	Recommendation
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32GB Smartphone	$299.99	-Charger - Stylus Pen -Quick Start Guide -Earphones -USB Charge/Data Cable	-Plenty of storage. --The 5.7" Super AMOLED screen, 1920x1080 Full HD resolution. - Use Multi-Window to browse two separate websites at the same time or open two documents simultaneously.

IT Operating Systems Introduction

THIS is my video which talks about what an Operating System is and all the different types that there are.

Nov 20, 2013

Today was our last day in class. It definitely went by pretty quickly and I gotta say that I learned a lot within a very short time. I am very glad that I took this course and tried it out. Starting next Tuesday I will be starting my 1st Practicum. I will be posting on my blog a journal about what I have done that specific day. I will be working from Tuesday till Friday every week until December 19th.

Other than that not much else happened today. We continued to work on our Study Notes and we had to make a Weekly Schedule for our 2 practicums, to make sure that we will get 120 hours of Work Experience. We also started to make our 30 flash cards we made 10 today and we had to ask one of our questions to the class as they answered it. I found THIS article which talks about how to make good study/flash cards, I highly recommend checking it out if you are unsure about how to make some.

We ended off the day with LAN Halo, myself and others were unable to play because we were doing some important catch up to raise our marks for the course, and to be eligible to be able to be sent out for our practicums.

Please stay tuned because I will be posting daily Blogs/Journals about my day of my practicums.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Nov 05, 2013

So today in class was a different type of day, we started our studying for WHMIS. We spent a good 4 hours on studying a preparing for the WHMIS certification test. We focused on what WHMIS stands for and all the different information. After we finished the review we started the test, it took me a good hour to complete it. I felt really good about it and hoping that I will be able to pass and get me WHMIS certificate.

If you still need more information on what WHMIS is about HERE is a great site to learn and study from on what WHMIS is all about. WHMIS stands for Working Hazardous Material Information System. You can also learn about WHMIS training and what this certificate can benefit you for.

After class myself and my IDS group worked on our IDS project and we managed to get some filming done.


Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Oct 17, 2013

Today in class we worked on Microsoft Access I found it way easier than Microsoft Access. We worked on many assignments such as tours and graphs and financial reports.

I felt that it was easier to insert data into a spreadsheet than it was to insert data into a database.

Here is a beginners guide on how to use Microsoft Excel. In this I found it extremely helpful. And I now think that I have a handle on Excel more than what I did before.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Sept 27, 2013

Today in class was definitely the most boring and hardest class yet. We had to work on Microsoft Access for the whole class. We worked on basic things like tables for the database which is the main part of a database. I have never worked with Access before.

Instead of working on our draft proposals we worked on Access for the entire day.

I found THIS guide on how to use Microsoft Access. So you will find basically everything you need with this guide.

Sept 19, 2013

Today in Class we took a break from our A+ and IC3 Studies to perfect our Cover Letters, Resumes and Initial Contact techniques with future employers and practicum employers.

For most of the day we just focused on working on our Resumes and our Cover letters. I found THIS article which shows you how to make and put together a good Resume. I found that this helped me a lot which I was then able to put together a really good Resume.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,



Brandon.F

Sept 17, 2013

Today in class we had to do an assignment on making a recycle depot and what type of computer parts that people are allowed to bring into the depot. I learned that there is quite a lot of parts that you can bring into and get recycled. Here is a link that shows you what you can take down and get recycled at a recycling depot that includes computer parts.

We had a competition on who could install a motherboard the fastest. I found it very fun and it was a great experience for me to get some hands on on hardware.


Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Sept 16, 2013

Today in class we we started BIOS and CMOS. We went over that BIOS stands for Basic Input Output Services. In a computer there are such things as floppy drive, optical drive, CPU, Ram, etc.
Here is some basic information about CMOS. You learn what a CMOS is and what it is used for.

  We also got into some more hand-on experience by accessing the BIOS. I was able to figure out how to use the BIOS and there were lots of different options to fool around with.

We finished off the day with a slide share project to teach us how to improve our presentation skills.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Nov 19, 2013

Today in class we started our 3rd and final IC3 Exam; Living online. I just barely failed it getting 567/1000 and 620/1000 being a pass. This was definitely the hardest Exam yet I studied quite a bit last night. I got back the results I know what I need to study for the retest. I will be re doing 2 Exams on Friday hoping to pass and to get my IC3 Certificate. Next will I will be studying for the A+ Exams which will take place in January.

After that we worked on getting a Risk II LAN party going with 9 computers and we were finally able to do it! We only played for about 20 mins and I didn't do so great taking some risks in the game did not pay off. I would love to get a different game going in the future with a LAN party would be a great time! I found THIS ARTICLE which talks about networking using LAN.

At the end of the day I was able to land my 2nd possible practicum. I will be getting the practicum papers signed tomorrow after school.


Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Nov 18, 2013

Today in class we started our second IC3 Exam; Key Applications. I was very nervous about what I would have gotten but I was able to pass and got  767/1000 which is about 77%!  I didn't spend as much time studying for this Exam as what I would have wanted. Tomorrow is our 3rd and Final Exam about Living Online and I am currently studying like crazy for it because I heard that it is the hardest Exam yet. I am determined to pass it and then do my retest Exam of Computing Fundamentals and then to finally get my IC3 Certificate.

After the Exam we spent time studying for our CompTIA+ and we did 2 practice Exams and I scored 68% and 62% just under the minimal to pass the actual Exam in January. I will being preparing for that exam much as well.

We continued to figure out how to get our 3 computers hooked up with the network so we can setup and Risk II game but we had some troubles with our drivers and our connector cord that someone did a bad job in class making. I hope we can finish this tomorrow and start a game!

Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Nov 15, 2013

Today in class we had our first Exam an IC3 on Computing and Fundamentals. I was really nervous about the exam. I felt good taking it but had some trouble at the end do I need to study more so I can pass the exam the next time I take it.

After that we spent more time studying and preparing for future exams. Which I will be doing for the next week studying for my last couple of Exams on the IC3 material.

After lunch we spent the rest of the class figuring out on how to connect 2 computers to a host 3 groups of it. And then having to host a Risk II game through a LAN party. We were able to get most of the computers connected to the game. My group had some trouble with our ethernet connector ports. We are expected to get everything finished and being able to play a game on Monday.


Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Nov 14, 2013

Today in class we spent the whole time studying and practicing for tomorrow's Computing Fundamentals Exam. I spent most of my studying by taking the practice quiz's on the IC3 website. I really took my time with doing all the quiz's and got very good results at the end once I finished each quiz. I plan on taking these quiz's again tonight to understand the questions more and get a feel on what the best answer I can put down as.

Near the end of class we were assigned tasks such as troubleshooting and setting up a wireless network using a D-Link Router. We also have 2 other Exams on more IC3 material next week and I will be studying more material this weekend for it and as well as next week.

If you haven't heard of THIS site already then I highly recommend checking it out, it is a great site to practice and take and study for the Exam.



Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Nov 13, 2013

Today in class we were really starting to get ready for our IC3 Exam on Computer Fundamentals, that we will be taking on this Friday; November 15th. We started reviewing and gathering our notes together to study for this exam.

We spent most of the day practicing for our Key Applications Test. We worked on things like getting a home theater working on a Millennium Computer, re-imaging a hard drive onto the computer and partitioning the computer. I really love doing hands on work since it seems like I understand things more when we do hands on type of work.

I find that THIS is a great way to prepare for the IC3 Exam since it has practice exams for you to take.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,


 Sincerely,



Brandon.F

Nov 12, 2013

Today we started the day with presentations of our IT Posters and preparing our speech on what we were going to say. I felt that I should take another day to prepare my speech after such good presentations today. My poster talked about what a PCI port is and what PCI/PCIe cards are.

For the rest of the day we worked on trying to put together an FTP server along with some practice of HTML coding. I found creating an FTP server fairly hard to follow. The programs we used to build up our server are as follows: Abyssws, Core FTP Lite, Ability FTP Server. I want to try to figure out how to use these programs myself. Be sure to try this out yourself and contact me if you get anything going. I found THIS may be a different method on how to build up an FTP server.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

How to Monetize your youtube videos

1. Go to the  Monetization Settings page in the YouTube Content Manager.
2. In the Content Owner Defaults box, select the ad formats to allow by default for your channels, then click Save.
3. To apply different defaults to a channel that you manage:
   1. Choose the channel name from the list in the Per Channel Defaults box.
   2. Select the Override Content Owner default ad formats check box.
   3. Select the ad formats to allow on that channel by default.
   4. Click Save.
   Repeat step 3 for each channel that needs defaults different from the ones you set at step 2.
4. Click the user generated content tab at the top of the page.
5. Select the ad formats to apply to user-uploaded videos that you claim as matching your assets, then click Save.

To set the permissible ad formats for an individual video:

1. Locate the video in the Video Manager.
2. Click the Edit button to display the video details.
3. On the Monetization tab, make sure the assigned usage policy is Monetize.
4. Select which ad formats to enable for the video.
   To learn more about the available options, click the ? icon next to each ad format.
5. Click Save changes at the bottom right.

Nov 08, 2013

Today in class we spent most of the day planning out our IDS Panel Exam. We took the time practicing in front of the class answering questions and such. We talked about what we are going to need with us in our portfolio. We finished up our IDS Power Point on what we did to contribute to this specific project.

At the end of class I was just finishing up my audio file for my 1 minute clip for the 5 minute group project video for class. I was later able to include the last bit to the video clip.


Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Nov 07, 2013

Today in class we were assigned a task to make a 1 minute video about the different subjects that we have been learning about in the IT course so far. So we worked on it for most of the day. I picked to do a little introduction about the different Operating Systems and what an Operating System is. We were all separated into groups so basically 2 groups and we will have to combine all of our 1 minute videos all into one big video. The video that the instructor likes the most will then be posted to the Riverside College YouTube channel.

I found THIS which talks about what an Operating System is if you are still unsure.

At the end of class my IDS group worked on our project I worked on getting Adobe Contributor working with the Riverside College Website. My other two partners were filming one of the courses in the school. I was able to figure out how to edit each page fairly easily but I am still unsure about how to edit the links on the top of the Home Page. I hope I will soon be able to get that opportunity.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Nov 06, 2013

Today we started A+ material and straight away we got into the hardware with our Compaq Windows XP computers. I found it fairly fun trying to fix several of the Win XP compaqs that needed to be fixed. I was able to fool around with a Windows Millenium OS on an older style compaq. We didnotes on Virtualization today. We also had to download the VMware-Workshop which is a virtual OS running in a window.

We started a project today on the different components of a computer tower. We have to make a poster on the component. I picked to do my poster was PCI ports. I was able to get all my info finished in class and later printed it off at home.

I also have Windows 7 running on my Windows 8 machine in a window just like how we use VMware-Workshop to run Windows XP in it. Here is what I use to run windows 7.


Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Virtual Setup

This idea of virtualization would not be good for this company. These servers would function properly and would need direct access to the hardware. Would definitely not work running 3 servers off of the same type of connection.

Nov 04, 2013

Today in class we finished up our IC3 studies with our last practice exam on Certiport. And we sure left the hardest test for last. I will have to do plenty of studying of IC3 to be able to pass the Exam in the incoming weeks.

We started a bit of CompTIA studies today. We talked about Security for most of the day, dealing with the BIOS on our compaq computers and setting up passwords for them so they do not get hacked. We were asked to gather a list of 5 policies that we would use on Windows 7; Local Security Policies. Here is what I came up with:

You can add these types of snap-ins:

1. Enforce Password History.
2. Maximum Password Age.
3. Minimum Password Age.
4. Password must be met.
5. Store passwords using reversible encyption.

After class had finished myself and my partners were able to start filming today for our IDS Project. We were able to put in enough time to film the one course that we were able to film today. I think it went fairly well and I look forward to continuing with filming in the incoming days.


Thanks for taking the time to read this,


Sincerely,


Brandon.F

Local Security Policy

You can add these types of snap-ins:

1. Enforce Password History.
2. Maximum Password Age.
3. Minimum Password Age.
4. Password must be met.
5. Store passwords using reversible encyption.

Nov 01, 2013

Today in class was our last day of our IC3 Studies. I am glad that it is over but not completely as I will be studying it like crazy to improve my grade and for the IC3 Exam coming up this November. I am excited to move onto CompTIA+ next Monday.

Today we talked about Finding Information on The Internet. We did several different exercises today on searching different information using different browsers. I found it interesting trying to figure out and tinker around with some of the other web browsers. We got into a debate on the Pros and Cons of Desktops computers and Ultra-books. Our side came out on top surprisingly because of the fact that I thought that it was easier to win the debate pointing out the advantages of having a desktop over a laptop. We were given some notes on Ergonomics for a short time in class.

I found THIS when given a task today about the top OS.

Here is one of the tasks that we had to do today:

Creative Commons Info

Licenses That I would apply for:

1.     Attribution-NoDerivs
CC BY-ND

This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to you.

2.     Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms.

List of Companies in Mission/Abbotsford:

1.     The Source: http://www.thesource.ca/sitelets/jobs/

2.     Bargain Bytes: http://www.bargainbytes.ca/Home.page

3.     Best Buy: https://www-ssl.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/stores/store-locator.aspx?StoreId=992

4.     Future Shop: http://www.futureshop.ca/en-ca/home.aspx

5.     Stardust Computers And Services: http://www.stardustcomputers.ca/

Thanks for taking the time to read this,



Sincerely,


Brandon.F