Human Spirit and Growth

After four months of hard work, IS101-3022, Fall 2020 is winding down.

Yesterday, the CIT Department saved the day by giving me three Certiport exam voucher codes when our Certiport exam inventory expired on 12/18/2020. Stephanie claimed the first voucher code and joined Adrian in earning her MOS Outlook (MO-400) certificate, mirroring his score.

Today, a past student used the second exam voucher code and Linda secured her MOS Excel (MO-200) certificate with the third. Adrian was sidelined by an emergency. With his preparatory work, I believe he has a strong chance of conquering MOS Word Expert (MO-101) in January. In parallel, I await my own battle with MOS Access Expert (MO-500).

Until then, I look forward to continue helping Linda in finishing IS101-3022 strong and work with each of her classmates to publish their homepage, convert their slideshows to webpages, and assemble their website.

With the heavy lifting behind us, I would like share this penultimate blog post that I wrote month ago:

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"They want to understand what understanding is. And maybe that is truly what it means to be human."

Robots/software conducting interview evaluations, Skynet but good, unconventional databases for extreme opposition research: the nascent technology of artificial intelligence (AI) gave my students and I much food for thought and a stomachache for some! Hopefully this poignant documentary film of human spirit and growth will soothe that ache and warm one's heart and eyes (as it did for me) ^_^

Newsflash: "Artificial intelligence researchers have solved the game of Go a decade earlier than expected. The computer named AlphaGo, was able to beat the European human champion."

The then European champion Fan Hui joined Google's DeepMind team, developer of the computer program AlphaGo, to further hone and test its abilities against the world Go champion Lee Sedol.

Go, the longest continuously played board game, contains "more possibilities than there are atoms in the universe". "The game of Go is the holy grail of artificial intelligence." said one of the team leads that has been working on this for the past twenty years.

A computer program defeating the top human professional player at a game is not news. In 1997, IBM's Deep Blue defeated the then world Chess champion Garry Kasparov. However, Deep Blue was programmed by expert human chess players whereas AlphaGo learned on its own via machine learning and reinforcement learning. AlphaGo's programmers have no idea what moves AlphaGo may come up with.

In 2016, AlphaGo and Lee Sedol met for a set of five (5) games of Go with over 60 to 80 million people around the world watching.

Game 1: AlphaGo won. Lee Sedol was surprised.

Game 2: AlphaGo won. Lee Sedol was speechless.

Game 3: AlphaGo won. Melancholy set in for the world.

This is where you, my students, join in -- with 30 minutes of the movie remaining. Please watch until the end credit rolls.

If you watch the entire 90-minute movie, I think your mind and heart will be moved :-)

Was there a challenge in your life (academic, professional, personal) that you overcame or grew from?

Will you share your story of human spirit and growth with the world in the comment section of this post?

Final Gathering and Heading Into Deep Space

Today was an optional final class session. I am pleased that majority of students was able to attend :-) This afforded me the opportunity to walk through the answers and rationale of the final bonus quizzes, illustrate the difference between our first class session and this one, further entice students to pursue Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications beyond MOS Associate, and re-iterate everyone's support for Bridget and Linda in their efforts to join their six classmates in finishing IS101-3022 strong.

After class, I tried to proctor a re-take of MOS Word (MO-100) for a past student but encountered error messages about CSN's exam session inventory license in Certiport. Another faculty confirmed the same when she tried to proctor my MOS Access Expert (MO-500) exam.

I expect this issue to be resolved Monday. My students and I will catch the last two days of exam sessions I scheduled for Tuesday, 12/22 and Wednesday, 12/23, each day at 12 pm, 1 pm, 2 pm, and 3 pm.

As of this blog post, I have seen preparatory work from Stephanie and Adrian on their pursuit of MOS Outlook (MO-400) and MOS Word Expert (MO-101) respectively. Anthony and Nnamdi both indicated that they want to pursue MOS certifications beyond MOS Associate. Tukta declined but I wish she will reconsider. Matthew was uncertain whether he would be able to devote the time and energy in the this pursuit as he took on additional military logistical support responsibilities in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. Thank you Matthew!

I wish everyone success next Tuesday and Wednesday as the space shuttle 'Section 3022' travels into uncharted territories for IS101 ^_^

3 More MOS Associates and Overtime

Today is the deadline for me to submit students' final grades. Before the day ended, a trio of students passed Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) PowerPoint (MO-300) and earned the coveted MOS Associate distinction :-) I am so proud of them!

As I help two students in their semester extension to join their six classmates, I see at least one of the six has already taken advantage of the free MOS testing opportunities and the GMetrix preparation materials in pursuit of MOS Outlook (MO-400).

I hope others will prepare for and challenge MOS Word Expert (MO-101) and MOS Excel Expert (MO-201). I deployed Cengage project materials and included my A8 Workbook Investigation and A9 Mail Merge Query Options to help those who hunger for the MOS Expert distinction.

This Saturday after class, I will challenge MOS Access Expert (MO-500) myself. I will do the Microsoft Access Cengage projects after I check on my two students and prepare for this Saturday's class ^_^

Two More MOS Associates and MOS Outlook

The end of this weekend marks the end of instructions for Fall 2020 semester IS101-3022 but I have until end of day Wednesday, 12/16 to turn in students' grades.

Yesterday (Saturday) morning, two more students followed Matthew's lead from last Saturday in earning their coveted Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Associate distinction. Anthony is my only student that falls within the MOS Championship's age requirement. Even if MOS Championship does not send the young man an invitation to represent Nevada to compete in the MOS World Championship, I am still proud of him :-)

Adrian made me proud by conquering MOS Outlook (MO-400) based on his own experience as IS101 does not have lessons and projects for Microsoft Outlook. The next morning (Sunday) the future HR professional came back to claim his MOS PowerPoint (MO-300) despite having already earned the MOS Associate distinction.

For Stephanie and Bridget, I believe MOS Outlook will greatly help strengthen their resumes. I hope Adrian's example inspired them -- and the rest of Adrian's classmates -- to take on MO-400 after they earn their MOS PowerPoint!

During class, students took Bonus Quiz 8 OLE, IPOS Perspective, Bloom’s Taxonomy, the most telling event of my IS101. Linda gave her presentation on her hometown, San Lorenzo, Chihuahua, Mexico and shared not only the history of her hometown but happy photos of her family. I gave my customary student recognition presentation. I concluded the class by walking through the wonderful opportunities and free preparation materials for students to earn more MOS certifications, including three Expert level badges!

For the rest of the weekend, I continued to help students in finishing their PowerPoint projects and polished homepages for Adrian and Linda.

Three more students will take on MO-300 to earn their MOS PowerPoint this Wednesday, 12/16 before I turn in students' grades. Two other students will have the opportunity to use the days after 12/16 to finish their PowerPoint and/or Excel projects. I am pleased to hear the other students express their support by agreeing to attend the optional class session this coming Saturday and continue their blog activities until the last student crosses the finish line ^_^

Story of Electronics

Everyone have a story.

Each student has a story.

This course, IS101-3022 Live-Remote, Fall 2020, has a story.

Computing devices have a story too: https://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-electronics/.

I wonder what each of my student thinks of this 7:46 min video:

First MOS Associate Earned and 7 Becomes 8

Badges, badges, badges this weekend!

Before class yesterday (Saturday), the seventh student took on MOS Excel (MO-200) and won ^_^

In class, I reviewed answers to bonus quizzes, demonstrated step-by-step the correct way to fulfill A7 Mail Merge, walked through a calendar for the home stretch and overtime of IS101-3022, and showcased two homepage designs.

During that time, the eighth student reached out to me after a long absence. After class, I connected with the student and reassured her that she has the potential to finish strong even after the official end of the semester.

This morning (Sunday), Matthew completed all PowerPoint-related coursework and lead the charge against MOS PowerPoint (MO-300). Also at the same exam session is the seventh student returning to face MOS Word (MO-100) and a student from another professor's class re-taking MO-200. It was a rare occurrence proctoring three different certification exams in the same session. All three succeeded -- doing a happy dance -- and the leading student of IS101-3022 became the first to earn the coveted MOS Associate distinction :-)

Afterwards, Matthew and I discussed the optional assignments (OA) and what is beyond MOS Associate. OA9 Object Linking & Embedding Query Option is a direct continuation of A7 Mail Merge and the least amount of work of the three OAs. I will elaborate on what is beyond MOS Associate after more students have earned their MOS Associate distinction.

I wish my students success in their final push.

Facial Recognition

Earlier in the semester, my students worked on A3 Tailored Cover Letter and Resume where I shared a video: Artificial Intelligence: The Robots Are Now Hiring. A follow-up to that is this video Facial Recognition: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO). The video may be from seven months ago and the topic is at least a few years old but the implications are just beginning to be vetted.

Note 1: View discretion is advised as the 21-min video contains strong languages and John Oliver's brand of humor. If you are under the age of 18 and cannot obtain your parent's permission, let me know and I will give you an alternate assignment in place of watching this video.

Note 2: When I tried to search for this video through Blogger's YouTube video search/insert function, Blogger (owned by Google) would not return it -- along with almost all of John Oliver's videos -- as a search result. Hence, I inserted a screen capture of his video and pointed you to the URL. If that doesn't work, visit https://youtube.com and search for the title his video.

The five statements that stood out for me are:

 (1) Driver license photos from residents of these states (includes Nevada)

 (2) 'Skynet but good'

 (3) Only 8 out of 42 matches were verifiably correct

 (4) "...argues that it has a First Amendment right to harvest data from social media."

 (5) "...'unconventional databases' for 'extreme opposition research'..."

These funny lines stood out for me as well: 'loser fish', 'your brain autocompleted the rest', and 'accidentally made tennis interesting for a day'.

Students, please share your professional thoughts on what you learned from his video in your comment to this blog post.

Mat Honan's Epic Hack

What would you do if you lost access to your devices such as computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone?

What would you do if you lost data such as family photos, financial information, sensitive documents on your devices?

What would you do to get them back?

What would you do to prevent this from happening?

What would you do if someone else gained unauthorized access to your accounts and began sending/publishing information as you?

This rare gem of a first-hand walkthrough by a technology journalist from 2012 gave me and my students much food for thought!

How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking

By Mat Honan 08.06.2012 08:01 PM

https://www.wired.com/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/

In the space of one hour, my entire digital life was destroyed. First my Google account was taken over, then deleted. Next my Twitter account was compromised, and used as a platform to broadcast racist and homophobic messages. Here's the story of exactly how my hackers created havoc by exploiting Apple and Amazon security flaws.

My students answered those questions in Discussion Thread 10. I hope they will share some of their answers in the comment section of this blog post :-)

Into Outer Space

The space shuttle 'Section 3022' has broken through Earth's atmosphere, entered outer space, and ready for warp travel!

This 26-second video clip of the USS Phoenix entering outer space and deploying its twin warp nacelles does more justice for the journey ahead for my students :-)

For the past fourteen weeks, my students and I have worked diligently through the coursework of IS101-3022, Fall 2020.

Students completed their twin apex assignments A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer and A7 Mail Merge this past week. I will review A7 in class this coming week.

The full set of PowerPoint projects and MOS-300 await them.

The trio of optional assignments will truly distinguish the good, the excellent, and the exceptional.

Two required class sessions remain with an overtime class session afterward.

I am proud of the seven students and will help each prioritize his/her time and energy to climb the highest that he/she is willing to achieve.

Let this final month of 2020 commence and each student reach his/her finish line with a big bang ^_^

Thankful, IS101 > COVID-19

1. Seven students of IS101-3022, Fall 2020 are still actively participating in the coursework.


2. Six students of IS101-3022, Fall 2020 have passed both MOS Word (MO-100) and MOS Excel (MO-200) with the seventh preparing to take both next weekend.


3. The top student from IS101-3025, Spring 2020 passed MOS Excel (MO-200) and MOS PowerPoint (MO-300) thus earning the coveted MOS Associate distinction 😊


4. Two students from IS101-3025, Spring 2020 indicated that they would like the opportunity to re-challenge MOS Word (MO-100) and earn their certificates.

Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)

A7 Mail Merge, centers around Object Linking & Embedding (OLE) but more importantly, it represents the second -- and higher -- apex of IS101-3022!

	Source could be any type of object: image, video, audio, another document.
	By pointing to the source object, the destination will see whatever change made to the source object but if the link is ever broken (i.e. connectivity issue, source file name or folder structure changed), the destination would have lost the source object.
	By storing an actual copy, the destination is guaranteed to always have the source object but it is only a snapshot at the time of making the copy (i.e. if the source objects changes, the destination would not see it).

This assignment is about cultivating a sense of independence in the digital world. Will a student take the initiative to read and think through each step of the Mail Merge wizard instead of blindly click [Next] or [Ok]? Will a student explore a functionality they have never used before? Will a student look at the business scenario as outlined in A7 and determine what needs to be done/produced instead of relying on step-by-step instructions?

A7 Mail Merge is the building block for OA9 Mail Merge Query Options.

A6 Spreadsheet Analysis opens the door to OA8 Workbook Analysis.

A5 Slideshow Presentation serves as a practice for OA10 Improved Slideshow Presentation.

I wonder how many students will attempt the optional assignments ^_^

5 MOS Excel Certificates Earned :-)

Today, five students challenged the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Excel 2019 Certification Exam, MO-200, and all five succeeded! I am so proud of this quintet ^_^

Matthew kicked off the class by guiding us through his military career.

I unveiled the visual report card for IS101-3022 to brighten everyone's outlook toward the end of the semester and beyond :-)

I then individually reviewed each student's A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer to conclude the class session.

Afterward, I began streamlining and polishing Matthew's A4 Homepage. I will share it with him and help him upload it to his AwardSpace account for publication to the World Wide Web.

This weekend, most students will be busy fixing their A6 Spreadsheet Analysis and taking Bonus Quiz 6 Microsoft Excel 2019 and Spreadsheet Analysis and Bonus Quiz 7 Apex of Excel.

This coming Wednesday, I will proctor two more students in MO-200 and one student in MOS Word 2019, MO-100. I wish them success!

Critical Thinking

A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer is the first of the two apex assignments in IS101-3022, Fall 2020.

The lion's share of the assignment entices students to put into practice what they learned from the Excel lessons and projects while the trailer portion challenges students to quantitative and qualitative analyze a story from both perspectives.

The hitch between the cab and the trailer is http://testtube.nfb.ca/ (quantitative = exponential, qualitative = growth). The link above leads to the original Test Tube with David Suzuki website in Adobe Flash. Adobe will end support for its Flash Player software in less than month.

I wonder how many of my students will install Flash to watch the 3:26 minute video in its original format? How do they compare this with the YouTube video that they watched via A6?

Note: the Adobe Flash website does have a long load time and a question at the beginning.

First Slideshow Published

Earlier this week, I walked through A4 Online Publishing to AwardSpace using my five fictitious students' slideshow navigation designs with the youngest student in the class. Anthony made me proud by not only coming up with his own slideshow navigation design but successfully uploaded the resulting webpages to his AwardSpace account for publication on the World Wide Web.

During class today, Nnamdi presented his slideshow and educated the class on Stock Market. He graciously offered his time and energy to answer questions beyond his presentation.

After class, I spent good part of the day manipulating HTML tags in Notepad and using Microsoft Word as a poor man's webpage editor to create the theater stage visual for Bridget's homepage. I will share the result with her :-)

http://anthony-mendoza.atwebpages.com/SlideShow(01).htm

I hope Anthony's slideshow navigation design and my five fictitious students' navigation designs will inspire more students with their creative process ^_^

Thank You Veterans

This semester, Fall 2020, one student is serving in our military.

Having just completed a month-long military training course on top of his normal duties, Matthew earned a promotion. As he adjusts to his new responsibilities for Uncle Sam, I hope Veteran's Day provides him an opportunity to focus more on IS101-3022 and other classes :-) Thank you to all who proudly serve in our armed forces and reserves ^_^

Putting the Fun in FUNctions

In today's class, two more students presented their A5 Slideshow Presentation.

Stephanie showcased the beautiful Egyptian Mau cat breed and her own Egyptian Mau Luna :-)

Adrian backed his call-to-action message: Don't Text and Drive, with statistics, persuasive imageries, legal consequences, and simple habits.

The CIT Department's Digital Literacy program director created an interactive spreadsheet, Fun with FUNctions, to help students practice Excel functions that have been known to appear on the MOS Excel certification exam (MO-200). I am pleased to see how quickly my students catch on to new functions such as MID, LEN, LOWER, UPPER, RIGHT, LEFT, CONCAT, and TEXTJOIN. This will not only help them with MO-200 but the upcoming A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer -- one of the two apex assignments in IS101-3022, each worth half a letter grade!

Nnamdi is the second student to upload his A4 Homepage to the World Wide Web:

http://nnamdidrew.atwebpages.com/Homepage.htm

My walkthrough of design ideas have inspired Bridget and Tukta. I look forward to seeing draft of their homepages ^_^

Democracy

I voted in-person on the final day of early voting, October 30, 2020 :-) I did this so I can experience how a polling site functions to prepare myself for November 3, 2020 when I co-lead a small team to staff a polling site: #79 on this list. Wednesday will be a long day at a far away site in a restricted land but I am proud to play a role in democracy ^_^

Leaving Earth's Atmosphere

The space shuttle 'Section 3022' is about to leave Earth's atmosphere :-)

Today, Friday, 10/31/2020, 11:59 PM is the deadline for students to withdraw from a class in the Fall 2020 semester. After this, students will not be able to drop a class or change it from 'credit' to 'audit'. Whatever a students achieve -- or does not achieve -- will be used to determine the course grade which goes onto a student's official transcript.

Another boundary that the students of IS101-3022 will cross is the line between procedural-centric and analytical-centric. In tomorrow's class, students will take the second half of Bonus Quiz 4C and I will give my presentation and walkthrough on Key Excel and Analysis Concepts. Bonus Quiz 5 and A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer will allow students to flex their analytical muscles. I also look forward to further help some students with their A4 Homepage and A5 Slideshow ^_^

MOS Associate and NV Champion(s)

Today, one of the remaining two students faced the MOS Word certification exam and passed with a score of 809 :-)

At the same test session was also the top and breakout student from my IS101-3025, Spring 2020 semester challenging the MOS PowerPoint certification exam, MO-300. He dominated MO-300 with a score of 953 and earned the coveted MOS Associate distinction!

A top student from my IS101-3026, Fall 2019 semester also passed MO-300 at the end of his semester with a lower score. Earlier this year, this top student was notified that he qualified to represent the state Nevada in competing for the opportunity to represent the United States in 2021 MOS World Championship. He accepted the invitation and free trip to Orlando, Florida for August 1-4, 2021 to complete. I am so proud him ^_^

(55-second promo)

Hmm, I wonder if my top and breakout student from Spring 2020 will qualify for the the same opportunity...

Come to think of it, the leading student of IS101-3022, Fall 2020 at the time of this blog post is in the age range (16 to 22 per Microsoft Corporation) eligible to qualify for the same opportunity. Excellent Smithers, excellent...

First Homepage and Trio of Student Presentations

The second half of Fall 2020 kicked off with bang as a trio of students presented their A5 Slideshow Presentation and the first student homepage uploaded to the World Wide Web :-)

Tukta shared her biography, how she came to the U.S., her hobbies, and her career goal with the class.

Bridget brought her husband to any answer questions on whether Die Hard (1988) is a Christmas movie. Their daughter made a surprise appearance ^_^

Anthony dazzled the class with his vibrant and educational presentation on Lowriders. I did not know Japan play such a pivotal role in the lowrider scene.

The leader of the class also produced the most content filled initial draft of a homepage. I was happy to help him polish it and elated that he agreed to be the first to upload his homepage to the World Wide Web:

http://anthony-mendoza.atwebpages.com/Homepage.htm

I hope his homepage inspire design ideas for his classmates and I look forward to help him and his fellow presenters to perform the online publishing portion (creating webpages from their slideshow) of A4 Homepage, Website, Online Publishing.

Next week, I will give a double-feature presentation and walkthrough on Key Microsoft Excel and Analysis Concepts. The week after that will be the next round of student presentations.

Excel = F.E.A.R. (Not What You Think)

I received this from the Digital Literacy program director of the CIT Department earlier this week:

View in Full Screen mode for a better experience		"Many of our students are very anxious about Excel. We all know that. I'm sure all of us address this in different ways, but especially with our distance learning, the issue may be more intense. As a starting point for Excel, I always give my students a primer that is aimed at reducing F.E.A.R....false expectations appearing real. Many of the students are much more confident to jump into Excel once they get a short 'pep talk' about what Excel is. If you have a live session, you can do this in your lecture. For online, I use a video. You can also use a video even if you have a web remote course. You can create your own primer video if you would like, or feel free to use mine. The students routinely comment how the primer video reduces any fear of Excel and they start the unit with greater confidence. This can also be considered part of narrowing transactional distance. Communicating with students and constant dialogue really helps to foster persistence."
With my absence for today's class session, Saturday, 10/17/2020, I will not be able to give my short 'pep talk' but the program director does a much a better job :-) His 20-min video is an excellent primer for Microsoft Excel but not a substitute for the Cengage lessons and projects! What is your impression (e.g. Cengage, primer video, your prior experience) of Microsoft Excel so far?

More MOS; Excellent Smithers, Excellent!

Today, five more students challenged the MOS Word certification exam (MO-100) and four succeeded! The four passing scores are 890, 809, 836, and 727. A seventh is scheduled for two Sundays from now. An eighth is scheduled for two Mondays from now. When the remaining two students catch up with their coursework, they can join one of their classmate's exam session. Beyond MO-200 and MO-300, I was elated to see MO-101, MO-201, MO-400, MO-500 on the list when I proctored my students today. I passed their counterparts in the Office 2016 version of MOS certifications, I look forward to conquering the Office 2019 version :-) I wonder if any of my students have such ambitions...

1st MOS Word certificate and 1st MOS Excel certificate

This morning, one of the four leading students from IS101-3022, Fall 2020 lead the charge to engage the MOS Word certification exam (MO-100) and came out triumphant, 945 is the score to beat!

Midpoint of the day, the breakout student from IS101-3025, Spring 2020 eagerly challenged the MOS Excel certification exam (MO-200) and proved that COVID-19 will not deny what is his :-)

The two victors also confirmed that the pathway to the MOS PowerPoint certification exam (MO-300) is clear. Should a test taker conquer all three, he/she will earn the coveted MOS Associate certificate and Microsoft Corporation will actually mail a physical copy of this one to him/her.

Tomorrow, a majority of the IS101-3022, Fall 2020 student population will also take on MOS Word (MO-100). May their success lead them to pursue all four badges ^_^

The Internet and World Wide Web

This coming week, my students will challenge the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Word certification exam (MO-100). Judging from the activities I see in GMetrix, they are hard at work preparing themselves. May their diligent hard work result in success in MO-100 :-)

As we approach the semester midpoint, we will also start working on A4 Homepage, Website, Online Publishing which would not be possible without these three men's vision and leadership:

The Internet
	T C P / I P		Robert (“Bob”) Elliot Kahn 2004 Joint Winner of A.M. Turing Award	Vinton (“Vint”) Gray Cerf 2004 Joint Winner of A.M. Turing Award
			Vinton G. Cerf and Robert E. Kahn led the design and implementation of the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) that are the basis for the current internet. They formulated fundamental design principles of networking, specified TCP/IP to meet these requirements, prototyped TCP/IP, and coordinated several early TCP/IP implementations. Since then, they have continued to provide leadership in the networking research community and in the emerging industries of the internet and telecommunications.
The World Wide Web
	H T T P & H T M L		Sir Tim Berners-Lee 2016 Winner of A.M. Turing Award
			HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) specified the interactions through which Web browsers could request and receive HTML pages from Web servers. HTML was, in computer science terms, stateless – users did not log into websites and each request for a Web page or other file was treated separately. This made it a file transfer protocol, which was easy to design and implement because existing Internet standards and software, most importantly TCP/IP (for which Vinton Cerf and Robert E. Kahn won the 2004 Turing award), provided the infrastructure needed to pipe data across the network from one program to another. Berners-Lee later called this use of Internet protocols “politically incorrect” as European officials at the time were supporting a transition to the rival ISO network protocols. A few years later it was the success of the Web that put the final nail in their coffin. The success of the Web drove a massive expansion in Internet access and infrastructure – indeed most Internet users of the late-1990s experienced the Internet primarily through the Web and did not clearly separate the two. Berners-Lee has been widely honored for this work, winning a remarkable array of international prizes. Sir Tim, as he been known since the Queen knighted him in 2004, has been recognized as one of the public faces of British science and technology. In 2012 he appeared with a NeXT computer during the elaborate opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games.

Note: the photos and excerpts above are from the A.M. Turing Award website. Clicking on each man's name will take you to his profile page on the A.M. Turing Award website where you can see his full size photo, biography, and achievements.

In today's class, I gave a lecture/presentation on The Internet. The content and related materials will not only supplement the final four Technology For Success (TFS) lessons but also constitute Bonus Quiz 4A, 4B, and 4C of which half of 4A is due end of Sunday, 10/11 and the other half due the following Sunday, 10/18.

This week is also the beginning of the Microsoft Excel portion of IS101-3022. Quite a busy week ahead of us! I wish all students will earn their MOS Word certificate ^_^

Reaching the Upper Atmospher

Captain's Log: Ten Four Twenty Twenty

Passing the Week 6 of 16 mark in Fall semester of 2020.

Third semester of using Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) as the industry certification component of IS101 curriculum.

Second semester of combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

First semester of fully live-remote.

Majority of the students are keeping pace or ahead of the semester timetable :-)

The space shuttle 'Section 3022' is reaching the first milestone: MOS Word certification exam (MO-100).

Stephanie, Anthony, Matthew, and Adrian are leading the charge in using the GMetrix skill reviews and practice exams (in Test mode) to reinforce and sharpen their mastery of Microsoft Word.

Following physical distancing to thwart the spread of COVID-19, Certiport enacted live-remote certification testing Mondays through Thursdays, 6 AM PST to 2 PM PST.

The optimal date range to take the MOS Word certification exam is Thursday, 10/8 and Monday, 10/12 through Wednesday, 10/14 while Word is still fresh in the students' minds and before we engage the Excel coursework.

Stephanie and Adrian's proactive stance and confidence enabled them to contact me and choose their respective date & time to challenge MO-100 in that optimal date range. Bravo ^_^

Artificial Intelligence

Continuing from the previous blog post, the second article I directed the students to read as part of A3 Tailored Cover Letter and Resume is

Artificial Intelligence: The Robots Are Now Hiring (a half-page article introducing a 10-min video)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/artificial-intelligence-the-robots-are-now-hiring-moving-upstream-1537435820

The article and the video proved eye-opening for many students. Using algorithms in software to simulate intelligence is nothing new and quite common.

A few years ago, I emailed a company's customer support with some questions. The email responses I received made little sense. I deduced that they were (maybe still are) using software to response to questions based on keywords/phrases in my email. But when the question is not simple or straightforward, the software make a best guess and respond accordingly. After a few rounds of exchange, a human finally responded and interpreted and answered my questions correctly.

I wonder what other examples of artificial intelligence have my students come across :-)

Students, your example must unique!

Job Hunting Tips and Reminders

A3 Tailored Cover Letter and Résumé easily stands out as one of the most practical assignment from my IS101 arsenal of assignments to challenge and build up my students :-)

The end result may be the two visible artifacts tailored to a specific job posting but the assignment starts with a job hunter's understanding his/her strengths and weaknesses in the job hunting experience and a current trend in the candidate vetting methods by the employer/recruiter. The first article I directed my students to read and respond to is

7 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Your Job Search (a two-page article)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/17/7-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-your-job-search/

For the ten students, these are their responses to the 13 job hunting tips and reminders:

In discussion thread DT04, students shared their job hunting and interviewing experiences with me and their classmates. For this blog post, each student will (a) choose a tip/reminder to comment on how he/she practiced or will practice that tip/reminder and (b) how he/she is doing with A3 Tailored Cover Letter and Resume or how the assignment is impacting their job hunting mindset.

Soaring into the Autumn Sky

With three full weeks behind us in the Fall 2020 semester, the dozen students in IS101-3022 are occupying the full spectrum of progress and performance. Majority are keeping up with the coursework listed in the semester time table. A few are leading the group while a few are falling dangerously behind! This past week, I introduced my students to a set of email Inbox rules I designed them help them combat the onslaught of emails that fill up their CSN Student Email account's Inbox. Seven (7) students took Bonus Quiz 2 Self-Reliance, Self-Responsibility, and Self-Starting with Adrian earning the highest score :-) Bridget kicked off A3 Tailored Cover Letter and Resume by sharing a job hunting experience and answers to thirteen questions. More importantly, the entry-level Law Coordinator job posting – with multiple openings – she just landed is also helping out a classmate in her pursuit of a Paralegal career. Congratulations Bridget ^_^ Stephanie lead the replying to DT03 Windows 10 and Listing of Requirements from Job Posting. By her reply, I say she has comparable qualifications as Bridget and if Stephanie actually applies, I hope she lands the job as well.
I just virtually met with Matthew to for a Q&A session to vet the fitness of the job posting he chose to use for A3 and help him formatting and polishing his resume. That virtual meeting was open to the entire class as will be future virtual meetings unless the student requests it to be one-on-one or with a specified audience. We also quality controlled the email Inbox rules Matthew created. I directed the hardworking young man to create an additional rule to specifically trap and show IS101 meeting invites from Canvas in a new 'IS101 Meetings' folder. I will share this with the class this week via an email. I will also continue to individually meet with each student to do the same as what I did for Matthew and/or help the student to catch up.

Inbox Management

Work, school, personal; contents of email inboxes have a way of expanding daily, hourly, or by each minute! To help my students manage their CSN Student Email inbox, I began working on a set of Inbox Rules to guide and encourage students in automatically move/file their IS101-related emails. Anthony was the first student this past weekend to share with me what he has done. I will use this week to fine-tune the rule set and share with my students this coming Saturday :-) The young man also propelled himself to the front of the class as he is now working on Week 3's projects when most students are on Week 2's coursework. Go Anthony go ^_^

Blast Off

Like a space shuttle's launch, an enormous amount preparation goes into the event. When the launch is successful, it makes all the work worthwhile :-) Same goes for proactively launching a class with students prepared on the first class session instead of wide-eyed and trying to drink from a fire hydrant. IS101-3022, Fall 2020 started with a full roster of 18, with different students joining and dropping off the roster all the way up to and including this past weekend. Of the fourteen students who remained on the roster after our inaugural class session this past Saturday, eleven attended class and participated. The forty-eight hours afterwards saw ten of the eleven working hard and producing results. Two students have completed their coursework for Week 1 ahead of schedule with Matt already working on Week 2. Go Matt go!
Bonus Quiz 2 and A3 Tailored Cover Letter and Resume have been published in Canvas. To see samples of A4 Homepage: Table's Borders NOT Visible: http://albertwu.atwebpages.com/2020-2-IS101-3022/Homepage.htm Table's Borders Visible: http://albertwu.atwebpages.com/2020-2-IS101-3022/Homepage (Borders Visible).htm

What's in Your Portfolio?

Several years ago, I watched a science documentary television series: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. I recently came a cross this inspiring 11 min 13 sec video of an interview with the series' host: My three favorite moments/statements from the video in chronological order: "What's in your portfolio?" "It wasn't passed in 2014. It was passed in 1975 to Neil Tyson, future astronomer." "I become irrelevant."

*****To my IS101-3022 students: be sure to watch the video (try full screen) before commenting on this post.*****
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Tomorrow morning, Saturday, 8/29 is our first live-remote class session using BigBlueButton for virtual meeting. This past week was a flurry of communications and activities! Majority of students are proactive and started their IS101 journey strong :-)

Each of the three moments/statements resonate with me as an educator but the one – modified for IS101 – that I want to ask my students is the first one.

1. For first-time college students and those returning to higher education after a long absence: will you cultivate your skills in prioritizing your time, energy, and resources to meet the new academic obligations in your life?
2. To expedite building your repertoire and earning grades, will you take full advantage of the live and virtual interaction during our designated class times?
3. Will you use all that you will learn from and achieve in IS101 to build a proud digital portfolio (e.g. blog and website)?

All Notified and a Head Start

In past semesters, I would send out my individualized introduction emails with the Syllabus and Bonus Quiz 1 attached on the first day of the semester. To help students prepare for the live-remote modality, I began this effort the weekend before the start of Fall 2020. So far, I have met virtually with Adrian, Anthony, and Matthew. Kudos to Adrian and Anthony for reaching out to me first :-) I will meet with Bridget and John tomorrow evening. I look forward to replies from the other students on the IS101-3022 roster ^_^

Live-Remote IS101-3022 > COVID-19

Two weeks before semester's start, all in-person IS101 courses were converted to live-remote as were a significant portion of the Fall 2020 courses in College of Southern Nevada (CSN). This represents a new learning modality for many people. Live-remote simply means that we will meet via virtual meeting on Saturdays 10 AM to 12:50 PM instead of physically in the classroom during that time. COVID-19 may have denied us the use of our prized classroom, C114, where all desktop computers have dual monitors, but my students can and will adapt!

In Spring 2020, IS101-3025 was abruptly transitioned from in-person to live-remote on March 18. The disruption to everyone's life varied but majority of the students finished their semester strong :-) Some will come back this semester for the opportunity to claim their Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification. I look forward to seeing them again even if only virtually.

Fall 2020 would be the third semester of IS101 using the MOS certification as its course curriculum's industry certification component. This semester would be my twenty third (23rd) year of teaching in higher education, mostly at CSN and almost exclusively IS101 and IT-related courses. The second half of Spring 2020 prepared me for teaching remotely. I wonder how will my Fall 2020 students adapt to live-remote and how high will they soar in digital literacy.

One student, Adrian, reached out to me last week after receiving the notification of in-person to live-remote conversion from the Computer & Information Technology (CIT) Department Chair. The future information technology professional has already achieved a perfect score on Bonus Quiz 1 and is working on A1 Accounts Setup and Professional Communication. I will remotely meet with Adrian tomorrow morning to test our virtual meeting capabilities.

Ingredients for success:

Before the semester begins, I will individually reach out to other students to give them a head start on IS101-3022, Fall 2020 ^_^