IS101 Blog Post: Third Week of May

I entered this class anticipating that I would learn basic computer skills. However, my experience in IS101 went far beyond my expectations and proved to be both memorable and highly beneficial. I was able to apply many of the Excel techniques I learned in this class to my accounting course, including using the Control and Shift keys to select specific cells and utilizing simple formulas such as the SUM function. I'm certain that I'll be using Excel in many different ways in the future. Although I earned A's in two different English classes and thought I was already familiar with Microsoft Word, this course introduced me to many features I had never used before, including document protection and inspection, references, review tools, and mail merge, just to name a few. After passing all my Microsoft Exams with decent scores, I was actually unaware going into this class that we would all have the opportunity to receive official badges and online certifications, which was really cool, especially for those who went above and beyond to conquer the "expert" exams.

This class was actually the first time I ever used Microsoft PowerPoint for anything, let alone using it for a presentation, which I'm glad to have overcame given my slight fear of public speaking. In that regard, the chapter that resonated with me was 6.9.2 Transitions, which essentially makes a professional PowerPoint presentation look more polished by forming creative and/or appropriate transitions when navigating between slides. A simple tip I learned from the LabSim assignments was to utilize the "Apply To All" button in the Transitions tab of the PowerPoint ribbon, to keep the slideshow presentation consistent. Timing can also be adjusted through editing the duration of the transition and the "Preview" button let's you see how it all ties together.

Not only did I learn all the required material for Microsoft Office, I learned a lot about my classmates, their goals, interests, and achievements. Honestly, I was expecting to dive into this class with a low-key profile at the back of the class, not knowing about anyone and vice versa. I later found out as we continued throughout the semester that I began remembering almost everyone's name and face, which is kind of rare for me, especially in a class where we only see each other once a week. Professor Wu really impressed me with this course, especially having the time and patience to help us remotely and/or in-person throughout every week, including the week before the semester even began. As I graduate next week on May 18th with my Associate of Science degree, I'm truly thankful to have taken this course and hope the rest of my classmates have a bright and successful future.

    

IS101 Blog Post: First Week of May

The beginning of Phase 2 was not too bad because it reminded me a lot of Phase 1, especially the LabSim assignments. There were some things I remembered doing in Word that I applied in Excel, such as the document inspection and properties. However, as we went deeper into Excel, it began getting more and more technical as there was so much attention to detail. Attention to detail, I admit, is something that I need to work on more, because I tend to look things over too fast.

As the Phase continued, I found that the A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer wasn't too bad. However, the individual details of the Excel project were frustrating for me, because there were so many trial-and-error moments that felt like no matter what I did, something was wrong. Even though the functions were all correct, it had to look presentable in a professional workplace, so I understood why I had to keep correcting my mistakes. Eventually, I finished it with flying colors and was also glad to have finished the MO-210 exam with a pretty good grade as well.

It was great to use the features that Excel had to offer when correcting your work, especially the features found in Chapter 5.7.7 - Excel Error Messages. If there was something wrong with the numbers in the cell, Excel would give a green triangle at the corner of the cell and would tell you what was wrong with it, such as an inconsistent formula or an invalid name error. You can also choose to ignore the error message if you know for sure that the contents in the cells are exactly how you want them. This is like "spell-check" from Word, but for Excel.

I will definitely be applying what I learned in Phase 2 in my future career, whether it is business or in the medical field, because Excel is a very useful tool used for many jobs that require lists for inventory, planning, names, fields, numbers, statistics, graphs, and many others. I could also apply what I learned to personal things, such as doing taxes or doing projects for school. Phase 3 is already going by very fast, and honestly, trying to keep up with all my classes and life during the final weeks of the semester has been a little challenging, but so far, I'm enjoying the creativity and actualizing part of the phase. I'll be graduating soon, so I'm ready to finish the last stretch the best I can for this semester.