IT150 @ Carlow

I think we can all agree that IT150 is not a blow-off course.  Even though everyone was forewarned that this class would be a lot of work, I don’t think anyone really understood the extent of how hard this class would be, or else most people would have opted out of it.  Within the first week of class we were given assignments that, much to everyone’s surprise, took hours to complete.  Those of us who waited until the last minute to complete these assignments quickly learned that this would not work for this type of class.  As time passed it became common for the majority of the class to be in the lab an hour before class, getting extra help or trying to complete the assignments due for that day.  Although the homework led to a lot of late nights, eventually I learned how to manage my time to complete them.  This helped with my time management skills.

Once we started the Google AdWords project, it became clear that this class was going to be extremely hard.  Not only did we have to do the regular assignments, but now we also had to do the work for the AdWords campaign.  One good thing about the Google project is that it does look good on resumes, but at times the tasks did become complex.

For any students considering IT150, I will share some information that may have helped me had I been aware in the beginning of the semester.  It is imparative that all of the assignments are at least half way completed the night before they are due, or else you will be up until morning trying to figure them out.  It is always a good idea to read the text carefully, not only does this help with the quizzes, but it often times relates to either the project or the homework in some way.  I do think this class is interesting, but I probably would not recommend it for a person who has absolutely no interst in technology, or a person with extremely basic computer skills because this could create problems.

Overall, this class forced me to work harder, and manage my time more wisely, and anything that allows me to do that is worth taking, in my opinion.

Gabrielle Ilochi

When I first signed up for this class, I honestly was not sure what it would entail. I did, however, think that it would be one of my easier classes for the semester. This was not the case.

Being told on the first day that this was not going to be an easy class kind of scared me and almost made me want to drop it. Then I decided that I would go through with it and continue in the class knowing that it would be a lot of work. IT 150 was definitely a lot of work.

The assignments keep coming non-stop and the Google Online Market Challenge hovers in the background with its own assignments. Now, looking back on the semester, I realize that every assignment taught me something new or built upon skills I already had.

The Google Online Marketing Challenge introduced me to a whole new concept that I had no knowledge about. The project was difficult at times and took a lot of work to understand the logistics of online marketing and how it worked. Once you figure it out though, it’s actually sort of fun to watch and see who is visiting your client’s website and the number of clicks. Completing this advertising challenge has even helped me with interviews and given me a “real life” experience to reference.

Some assignments were difficult and there were times when I had no idea what I was doing, but Rachel was always willing to help. She was available to assist students all the time and answered email questions very promptly. Having an instructor that was dedicated to the class made it easier to keep up with the work and learn.

I had yet to realize all the new skills I have acquired in this course until we did the assignment about our resumes.  The “Enterprise Me” lecture really got me thinking about how important it is to stay informed and read up on people in my desired career area.  The lecture got me thinking and I am going to try to read up on accounting more often and try to subscribe to an online newsletter to stay informed.  I think that the lecture was a good way to get the class to start thinking about careers and how to make you marketable after college.

Overall, this class was a lot of work and taught me many new things that will follow me into my future career.

I really had no idea what to think about this class when I signed up for it to fulfill the IT requirement.  I was prepared for it last semester, but due to a scheduling conflict, I had to push it back a semester.  To be honest, I’m glad I did, because I ended up having way too much work last semester and I might’ve died.  This semester was a little more leisurely, although this class has sure given me a workout.

The main thing to remember about this class, folks, is: NONE OF IT IS REALLY HARD.  IT’S JUST TIME-CONSUMING.

I don’t have a lot of free-time this semester, but at least I’m not frying my brain.  Typing 3 pages where I don’t have to be linguistically correct or self-censoring of my thoughts is easier than writing 3 pages on literary criticism where writing “I don’t get this” would mean a failure.

I do think I’ve grown in this class.  The laid-back attitude has helped me come out of my shell – I usually sit in a corner and hide, trying not to speak and trying not to be noticed.  But Rachel has such a nice personality and relaxed way of speaking, it’s hard to stay quiet.  Rachel’s idea of group projects in the hopes of replacing bad memories of group projects worked really well, for the fact that my group took me in out of the goodness of their hearts.  THey have been THE BEST group I’ve worked with, ever, period.  They actually listen to me, and respect my opinions, and ask me what I want to do in the projects.

The Google project itself is really daunting, and it has baffled me at points, but it had definitely given me an experience that will affect my future carreer.  Not many people our age get to have these kinds of experiences, which puts us at a great advantage overall.

Our project focused on the Uniersity of ABC transferring over from their program XYZ to DFG. Initially the universities administration was unsure if they would continue implementing XYZ or abandon the whole idea. We stepped in to identify the department at University of ABC that was most affected by this challenge. We concluded that the admissions office at ABC was not only affected by the out datedness of XYZ but by the problems that they were facing with implementing DFG. This process was projected to take 2-3 years. We wanted to better the admissions process while was traABC trannsferring XYZ to DFG.

Read the rest of this entry »

Amy -

I guess you could say that I am glad that this group project is about over.  It wasn’t all that bad, but then again it is really difficult to do a group project when everyone has their own schedule that they are working against.  We can’t always be available at the same time.  I am not sure why it is expected in almost every class that I have taken.  I would think that you would do something like this in the freshman year and then after that forget about the idea of a group project.

Read the rest of this entry »