Sunday, October 20, 2024

First Half Summary and Accolades

Much have been accomplished in the first half of IS101-3004, Fall 2024!

At the time of this blog post, seventeen (17) are still actively participating. Eight (8) students have presented their individual topics using their slideshows.







































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Steven wisely sent in his PowerPoint slideshow on The Importance of Communication in Business that he created for his COM101 class a few hours after I solicited the class for those who would like to be the first to present.

Ashton stepped up to fill an empty spot with The History of McLaren. The young high schooler impressed me with his artistic independence of creating his own slide design instead of using a template from PowerPoint.

Danny came down to the wire in reviewing the polished version of My Top Five Concerts but the straightforwardness of his topic and slideshow made that a non-issue. The young man also included honorable mentions of other concerts he attended.

The trio of first presenters will receive bonus credit :-)

Jenae needed time to focus and trim her topic: Character Roles. At the time of this blog post, this is one of three slideshows that I spent the most amount of time polishing. The other two are not part of this set of eight (8) presentations.

Karylle illustrated how she has dealt with being tired, drained, and burned out: Healing Through Nature. I loved this young lady's brilliant combination of using a clip art, her own photos, and a award winning photo from a Smithsonian Magazine contest.

Joshua educated us on what he went through at the beginning of his career with the U.S. Army: Future Soldier Training Program. Thank you for serving in our military and concluding advice to the audience: do something (e.g. join the military) for yourself instead for someone else's benefit.

Kimberly followed the example earlier by using her COM101 slideshow, Birth Control: Free and More Accessible, as a starting point for her IS101 slideshow presentation. This is pragmatic path for her classmates who have yet to do their slideshow presentation for IS101. 

Cody shared his knowledge from his job to help us choose Which Supplements? when someone wants to bulk up or improve their health. The photo of a man is his title slide is not of the studious young man but a stock image from a Google search.

I look forward to seeing the remaining students' A5 Slideshow Presentations in the second half the semester. As the first half of the class shared their individual experiences, interests, and passions, here are mine:
































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After students completed Chapter 1 Online Essentials and Chapter 2 Computer Essentials, I gave my Lecture 1: Hardware, Troubleshoot, End-User Cyber Security.

After finishing Chapter 3 Common Office Features and as students were wrapped up Chapter 4 Microsoft Word and preparing for the MO-110 Word certification exam, I gave my Lecture 2: Phase 2.

Phase 2 replaced my A3 Tailored Cover Letter and Resume that I used in past semester. What did not change is that A3 Tailored Cover Letter and Resume and A4 Homepage, Website, Online Publishing will continue to be available as bonus assignments toward the end of the semester.

After the first group students took the MO-110 Word certification exam, I gave my L3 The Internet. This double length presentation will serve as the materials for the next five bonus quizzes.

Students: be sure to utilize the webpage version of L3 which contains actives links mentioned in the bonus quiz study guides.






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At the time of this blogpost, fourteen (14) students have passed the MO-110 Word certification exam. I know the challenges facing each of the remaining three students and I have seen their indomitable spirit. I will help each of three as they prepare for MO-110.

Note: I paused blogging activities since the publication of this post three and a half weeks ago so my students can better focus on Phase 2 of IS101.

Students,

When you want someone else (e.g. potential employer) to verify a Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certificate that you have earned,

(Step 1) Find and record your unique certificate code by logging into your Certiport account and go to [My Transcript] to view/download each of your certificate in PDF format. Your unique code is listed on that PDF.

(Step 2) Send your unique certificate code and this URL: https://www.certiport.com/portal/pages/credentialverification.aspx to that someone else.

(Step 3) You can test this process and see what that someone else goes through by inputting your own unique code after visiting the URL to verify your MOS certificate(s).

In your comment, please be sure to address these three sets of questions and add whatever else you would like to say:

(A) In addition to adding your MOS certificate(s) to your resume, will you be ready to implement the three steps above if and when job hunting?

(B) What is your experience in using Microsoft Excel before IS101? Did the 18 min 55 sec Excel Primer video from the Digital Literacy Program Director help alleviate any anxiety you may have had with learning Microsoft Excel?

(C) Please read this one-page article:

Cinema Chain Sees Bad Movie Script Play Out As It Loses Millions In Email Scam

and provide your thoughts on whether the two Pathé chief officers should or should not have been fired. I am eager to hear your rationale.

Monday, September 16, 2024

Heart & Mindset, MOS Certifications, Ghost Postings, AI & Facial Recognition

Just had the third class session this past Saturday :-)

Bonus Quiz 1 - Syllabus is closed. Almost all students have cleaned up and completed their A1 Accounts Setup and Professional Communication, the beginning of A2 Blog, and the first three Threaded DiscussionsBonus Quizzes 2 and 3 are awaiting remaining students to take them before this coming Saturday. Kendra, Jenae, and Karylle distinguished themselves with their excellent performance while the remaining six seventh of the class occupy the entire spectrum of coursework progress and academic efficacy as they work through the first three chapters in LabSim.

The twenty one students -- all real humans with no ghost students -- on the class roster reflect diverse backgrounds and walks of life: from freshly out of high school to seasoned professionals looking to improve their career prospects, from born and raised in Las Vegas to the newly arrived (from a neighboring state to from other side of the globe), and from suffering a fresh heartbreak to continuously adapting to life after surviving a near-fatal automobile accident!

The first of three videos below is not only for the student who is continuously adapting to life but for all students -- all people actually:

(1) Neil deGrasse Tyson's Ultimate Advice for Students & Young People - HOW TO SUCCEED IN LIFE
By Motivation2Study, July 26, 2020

Two students who have been on this planet the longest verbalized their desire to earn Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certificates to bolster their resume and marketability for the workplace. They won't qualify to compete in the annual competition by Certiport but several of their younger classmates will.

(2) Microsoft Office Specialist in the Workforce
By Certiport, February 20, 2024

Three students -- likely more -- are looking for their next/better employment. My previous blog post mentioned 'ghost students' but have you heard of 'ghost jobs'?

(3) What the Rise of Fake Job Listings Say about the Job Market
By CNBC, August 22, 2024








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Even if a job posting maybe 'ghost', one should still do one's best to prepare and stand out in the application and interview processes. At the very top of A3 Tailored Cover and Resume is

Artificial Intelligence: The Robots Are Now Hiring (a 10-minute video and a half-page article)
By Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2018

The first task (the only A3 task that is required for IS101-3004, Fall 2024) forms the first half of Threaded Discussion 4 by asking students to share a job hunting/interviewing experience. I will anonymize everyone's experiences and use them as a future discussion later in the semester.

I wonder how many students will reach out to me to take their Bonus Quizzes 2 and 3 before this coming Saturday? I wonder how many students will prepare for Bonus Quiz 4 to be given this coming Saturday 7 am in our classroom?

Students,

In your comment to this blog post, please

 (1) Share your thoughts on one, two, or all three videos above tri-level image.

 (2) 'The Robots Are Now Hiring' is an excellent example of using artificial intelligence (AI) in workplace or daily life. Share an example of your own. Your example must be unique, meaning if another student who commented before you used that example of AI, you must re-comment with another example that has not been used.

 (3) Share anything else that comes to your mind from reading this blog post ^_^

Thursday, August 22, 2024

26th Year Begins! Ghost Students? Curriculum Norming :-)

After a quarter of a century teaching part-time for higher education, mostly at College of Southern Nevada (CSN) and almost exclusively IS101 Introduction to Information Systems, the twenty sixth (26) year commences.

Toward the end of last semester, I learned about 'ghost students' and realized I had one on my roster. It seems CSN is not alone in experiencing this:


To mitigate this, CSN implemented a new policy this semester where (for an in-person course) a student must attend the at least one class session during the first week and (for an online course) a student must complete at least one assignment during the first week. I wonder if/how many ghost students may be on my roster this semester.

Since yesterday morning, I have been individually reaching out to each of the twenty two (22) students. Over half of the students have replied to me and over half of them have participated in a quick WebEx meeting with me. I am excited to meet the rest before our first class session :-)

Another source of excitement is that this is the first semester in years, there is no change in IS101 curriculum or rubric from the Digital Literacy program director. This leaves me more time and energy to implement my own tweaks and updates ^_^

Though the first classroom meeting is nine days from now, the Fall 2024 semester officially begins in four days. Let the second quarter of a century begin!