IT Blog

  evaluate the success of your senior project. 9/10, only because I passed both of the practice CompTIA exams (Core 1, and Core 2) but none of the testing centers at OC are open for testing until April, so I can't take the test until then. I could probably pass the actual exam now.  reflect on what was most effective and what was most challenging. What was most effective was crunching most of the assigned work for the week into a day, leaving me the rest of the week to review it.  What was most challenging was working and doing this at the same time while trying to stay fit. 

  Develop a plan and implement basic steps in establishing an effective networking/job search strategy. Currently, my strategy is LinkedIn.  I use LinkedIn to find connections and people in my soon to be job field.  Whenever I see that my connections make more connections, I look into the connections they made and pick from there the most promising people to reach out to.  I call this the Infinite Spider Web. Right not this may not be as feasible since I am moving to Phoenix in two and a half months, so the connections I make here may or may not transfer well to Arizona. 

  What is your professional networking strategy? using Linked In, keeping in contact with people I've briefly met in the professional world, and keeping an updated resume.  LinkedIn is a really professional networking tool used by millions of people a day.  Whether it's looking for a job or looking for employees, linkedin keeps networking easy/.  What are your and job search / refinement plans? Currently, I'm looking at IT jobs in Arizona for when I move down in August.  Right now, for refinement, I'm going for my Masters in Emergency Management and Homeland Security:Cybersecurity and Policy, so that should help me refine my skills a little bit more.  Identify clearly the first step, to be done in the next 2 weeks. You will revisit this in your week 8 Journal Entry. My first step will be to contact three potential employers in Arizona to see if I can land a job in IT before I move down. 

 I'm not sure I completely understand this journal entry on implementing the project...Currently the senior project consists of self studying for my CompTIA Security certifications as well as my Network + Certification, along with my PC pro certification.  I'm implementing this by studying and then scheduling a day to take my CompTIA Security+ certification at the end of may. 

  what are your personal professional IT strengths (technical and soft skills)? My personal strengths are using google to help me find clear answers, and networking.  I'm pretty okay at networking, however I haven't been able to practice it as much as I would like to.  Security is also very fun for me.   what are your professional IT goals? Be  CLEAR  (Links to an external site.) , and include at least 1 immediate goal (0-1 year) and 2 long term goals (5-10 years out). My professional IT goals. 1 Immediate goal: Graduate and start my masters program in Emergency Management with a focus in Cybersecurity and Policy.  2 Long term goals. Find an IT job with a bit tech company or on a federal level and start working on actual workplace skills Work for FEMA or some other federal agency on improving the nation's cybersecurity infrastructure.  How well do your strengths and goals align? They align okay.  Networking and cybersecurity have a ...

  what is your project? describe it as if you had an elevator ride to do it in My project is essentially getting two certifications.  The first one is going to be the CompTIA A+ security certification, and the other one is going to be the Network + Certification.  Currently, I'm on track with Network+, while A+ I'm a little behind.  Regardless I think I'm doing pretty well all things considered.  what do you know about it? I know that with A+ that is going to be the harder one to get out of the two.  A+ Focuses on security features and protecting computers from having their information stolen.  This is a sought after certification that employers look at.  Network+ focuses on mshing computers together to create networks, and focuses on being an administrator for these networks as well.  what will you need to learn to accomplish it? I will need to learn Linux for both, first responder skills, networking skills, how to detect scamming attempts, ...

For this class, I expect to finish the quarter with my bachelors degree and two certifications.  Due to it being a senior project class and the class being entirely led and paced by myself, I should have an easier time making due dates for myself.  For the most part I will be self studying, taking practice tests, and doing research on each of the certification requirements so I can fulfill them before the quarter ends.  This class is also going to be good in the sense that it will re-teach me how to properly study and get me ready for my masters program in the fall. 

Discuss the benefits and challenges of collaboration Collaboration is a fantastic thing to do to tackle large projects.  Collaboration allows people to put their knowledge together and think of a solution that otherwise couldn't have come to light without collaborating.  It allows knowledge to be shared among peers and is what is responsible for most of today's creations.  Modern vehicles couldn't be designed without the help of many people working on a project.  Artificial Intelligence would be extremely difficult to have created without collaborating with others.   Some challenges that come up with collaboration is that many times, people just don't agree with each other and this can stalemate the project.  If people continue having disagreeing ideas or viewpoints, eventually this causes turmoil in the group, and productivity decreases until a compromise is met or the person causing the discord in the group is let go.  Collaboration all...

Currently, I am near the end of my research journey.  I have submitting most of my deliverables.  All that is left is the presentations and peer reviewings of each others publications.  Some issues that I hit were motivation for the final push and trying to maintain a clear vision for my research paper.  Keeping it narrowed down was the toughest part.  This week I was able to finish the research paper, powerpoint, and publications.  Next week I intend to present my findings to my class and wrap up the school year with a great GPA. 

One surprise that I have encountered specific to my research question is that not as many people are excited for online learning as I had hoped.  I was happy because it meant I could save gas driving between college and it was a new adventure for me.  So far online learning has helped, but I can see the downsides to it, such as having a possibly undervalued education experience as well as not having a quiet place to study.  Also the inability to access some school resources is a bit of a struggle as well, however I've made it work.  I'm still determined to finish my research and come up with a viable solution to access to learning for those who can't get it. 

Currently I'm all caught up in my research journey.  I haven't started making the presentation yet but I'll work on that this week.  Some issues that I hit was lack of motivation to keep on going. We're so close to the end of the quarter and I feel like I'm all done, even though I'm not.  This week I worked on the paper a bit more.  Next week, since it's the final week, I should have everything done.  The sources that I'm using for my research are always changing, due to the ever changing nature of the pandemic, so sometimes information that I write may not be there the next day, or it may have changed. 

Some pre-held opinions that matched my interpretation of the research material would be that online school would be a viable solution in the future.  Before COVID-19, many classes offered at colleges or universities were not online because the university said that it wouldn't be possible.  Now that we are in a pandemic, all those classes that students were told couldn't be taken online, are now online.  This shows that universities are trying to take as much money from you as possible by making it seem necessary to spend that much money to attend a class, in which most of the material can be found on wikipedia or youtube.  Even if things go back to normal, universities should still offer the entry level classes online so students don't have to spend so much money if they don't want to.  This would allow more access to education across the world to more demographics.  Some divergent options that I came across are the fact that a lot of students prefer go...

Currently I'm caught up in my research journey.  I have five pages completed of my research paper.  I feel pretty accomplished at the moment.  I made more progress than I thought I would this week to be honest.  Next week I'm going to most likely finish the paper, or at least a rough final. 

In this collaboration, I've gained some insight in how to approach my research paper!  I've found some new citation creators and overall had a good experience.  New research methods have come to light as well.  We talked about Space X and Starlink and fast internet across the globe. 

MEMORANDUM TO:                    Richard Becker FROM:              Jean-Michael Dapena RE:                    Research Findings DATE:               MAY 22, 2020 This memorandum is to share a brief summary of research articles for a paper on COVID-19 and how it's affecting students and schools, and what should be done to remedy the situation for the time being. Background In the beginning of 2020, someone in an unsanitary chinese food market in the Wuhan Province of China.  They contracted a novel coronavirus called COVID-19, which quickly spread across the world and became a pandemic.  This has affected college students all across the world, as most of them have had to move back with their parents and do distance learning. How it can be helped.  Since universities are affected by...

Welcome back to my progress report!  Currently, in my research journey, I'm probably where I need to be.  Working on the rough draft of this paper seems rather easy enough.  I have a bunch of ideas and facts as to where to go with this paper.  Hopefully it will live up to my mental expectations.  I'm glad I chose a new topic because information is constantly available as I need it.  The downside is that information is also changing, because this virus is so new we constantly have new theories and new information about it. Next week I'm hoping to finish the rough draft and maybe start writing the final copy and work on my presentation.

Currently, the sources that I have found for my paper all support each other.  I'm still not sure how exactly I'm going to tackle the topic, but I have a few ideas.  I want to include my distance learning plan that I had mentioned in lab. Here's the plan. Since universities are affected by COVID-19 and everyone's learning has changed drastically, I believe it's the sole duty of the university/colleges to provide the necessary learning tools for their students.  Since barely any universities are lowering their tuition significantly, they have money to spare.  For students who don't already have a laptop at home, the university either provide the laptop as a rental, or give the students a significant chunk of their money back so they may purchase one for themselves.  The university IT department should provide the students with a list of specifications and suggested laptops for use at school if they choose to purchase their own.  Rented laptops will be ren...

Currently, I'm working on writing parts of the paper here and there.  Currently, all I have is the thesis and introduction for my paper.  Not enjoying this one bit.  It's hard to find a quiet place to study lately but I'm working through it. I made less progress than I expected this week but I'm not too worried.  Next week I intend to have at least two pages done for my paper.

Yorio, Kara. “Chain Connected to a Book, Symbolizing Learning Is Slow.” School Library Journal, School Library Journal, 14 May 2020, www.slj.com/binaries/content/gallery/Jlibrary/2020/03/copyright-chains-800px.jpg/copyright-chains-800px.jpg/Jlibrary%3Athreehundred. I plan on using this image as maybe an eye grabber for my paper.  My topic doesn't really have images, other that potential graphs. (I haven't found a usable graph yet.  Currently I'm stressed and a little behind on some work, trying to find a quiet place to study, etc etc. 

News articles are fantastic ways to gain information.  The strengths of these are that there are plenty of news articles everywhere to be found related to most or some of your desired topic.  The limitations of this would be political bias in most cases.  Depending on who wrote the article, such as CNN or Breibhart, you need to be careful that it isn't full of political bias and propaganda.  Many times Discussion boards can be good sources of information too, however, many times anyone can hop in on the discussion and provide false information.  3 areas that are incomplete in my research or lacking      -How long the virus has affected us           -We have only been in isolation for a little bit, and since the virus is projected to last two years as a pandemic we still have no idea how exactly this will be affecting schools, work, etc etc      - College relief plans         ...