Week 5: Clear

Having not used Excel much, this topic has taught me an abundance of useful and practical lessons. The overview of using Microsoft Excel was more than I had known before taking this course. The Workbook Structure showed me the basics of using the application. It talked about simple naviagation of spreadsheets and the data it contains, in addition to shortcuts that increase effiency and productivity.

I think it's essential that everyone have somewhat of a clue on how to use Excel, especially if that person is going into the business field. A few of the things that I learned include: Colums are lettered and rows are numbered. 2007 Excel supports 16,384 columns to be exact, as well as 65,536 rows. This was amazing to me because the previous version of Excel, the 2003 edition, had no where close to this quantity. Each cell consists of the column letter plus the row number. A few keyboard shortcuts are : Cntrl+ arrow keys to reach a boundary of data, Cntrl+ Home takes you to the top left corner of the spreadsheet, Cntrl+ Page up or down takes you through the differend layers of spreadsheets. These are but a few things I learned in this week's topic.

Week 4: Clear

Application software presents programs that humans use on their computer to get things done. It is the software we interact with directly. Examples are Microsoft Word, Google Chrome, and Photoshop. The OS software differs from this in that it interacts with the computer's hardware to make the computer function. In other words, it is an indirect interaction. Examples include Windows XP & Vista, Mac OSX, and Snow Leopard. In addition, utility software maintains the computing environment. Examples are file management, spam-blocker, firewalls, and anti-virus. I think being able to differentiate between these three software types are crucial in the business world. Moreover, one of the easiest concepts to gain a grasp on is Horizontal vs. Vertical Applications.

Horizontal Applications are software programs that are used across different industries for many different uses by a multitude of people. They are general use programs that *span across* numerous industries (thus the name "horizontal" application). Examples include word processing, web browsing, and music software. Whereas Vertical Applications are programs that are designed to meet the specific needs of a business market. It meets the needs of a single industry. Usually pertains to enterprise class software which is what you would rely on to run a business. Examples include CRM (customer relations management) software, which keeps track of a customer's connection to a company in terms of his or her history, and Point-to-Sale software, which keeps track of inventory and supplies needed. Applications are vital when it comes to running a business. Thus knowing what kind of application is needed, can be done using a "needs analysis," can greatly benefit one's company in regards to efficiency and productivity.

Week 3: Clear

After watching all the lectures, I learned so much about computers that I felt like I should have known before. Now I have a general idea of what certain components look like, they're function, and how it adds to the fluidity of the operating system. But what got my attention was the short little video on Ergonomics. I think that this is a crucial bit of information to anyone who uses a computer for a long period of time.

I learned that Musculoskeletal Disorders account for one third of all work related illnesses which was a shock to me. It can be easily prevented by having a neutral body posture, which is when your body is in natural allignment, using the larger muscle groups (i.e hands over fingers), and maintaing neural posisiton of your wrist. These three simple steps can lead to a productive experience in the office environment or to anyone at home.

Week 2: Muddy

I'm going to be completely honest. I am not the most technology-suave person. Even typing is sometimes a hassle for me because I'm not very fast so it takes me a while to get things done. Moreover, the topic at hand this week, "The Personal Computer," seems really interesting.

 As I mentioned before, I'm not all that good with technology, but going in depth on opertings systems and the types of hardware needed should bring me closer to understanding a computer. In addition, businesses are all about money. Therefore having the knowledge of what kind of hardware, or what kind of requirements are needed to fulfill a certain job, is invaluable to a business. Not only will they become more productive, but also more efficient.

Week 1: Clear

To start things off, the topics being discussed in the first week of this class gave me a much better understanding of using the World Wide Web in general. In all actuality, I found the lesson on what constitues a copyright the most clear. Before reading up on it, I did not know the basis for which one can use copyrighted material. Only one of the following must apply when one uses a copyrighted work: 1. user is also copyright owner, 2. copyright owner has given permission to the user in the form of writing, 3. material is in the public domain.

One thing that was a treat for me was the Disney Copyright video. Not only was it witty in terms of the collective characters used, but for the purpose it was used for. During the video I was thinking to myself, "Doesn't this count as copyright ingringement." This was because they were using clips from another company's movies. However, I understood why this was not the case when the video was coming to a closure. This is due to the fact that the video was being used for *educational* purposes. Thus, I truly enjoyed the video and the lesson.

Link to "Disney Copyright video": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo