Write a blog entry discussing something you've learned in this class about computers and information technology and how it relates to your life. It might be something interesting or scary that you didn't know existed before, an interest you have cultivated, or a greater awareness of all of the places where computers touch your life.
I'm not looking for a "this class opened my eyes!thankyouthankyou!" sort of thing, but for you to think about where you were at the beginning of the semester and where you are now, and how your awareness of or attitude towards some aspect of information technology might've changed.
This class has given me a better understanding of how computers and the internet work. The networking labs helped me understand the way information travels to and from computer to computer. Programming in Python has demystified the way programs run. Before I never really thought about things, it was always clicking a button and watching magic happen. Now, I know how commands and programs work. Also, working with Dreamweaver has explained a lot to me. Putting a page together step by step has given me a new perspective when I look at thing online now. Before, fooling around with font and colors and background pictures on myspace xanga or face book was all the html I knew. Then I learned that what I was really doing was both html and CSS, I never knew there was a difference. When we talked about Web 2.0 it gave a name to all the popular sites I’ve been hearing about. I never really though that site like face book or myspace were that different from normal sites.
One big thing I’ve gained a better understanding about in this class is the RFID. I never really thought about what made all these devices in everyday life function. I’ve been to Hong Kong once a year for every year since I’ve been a child, and when I returned one summer, I noticed that EVERYONE had something called an Octopus card. Within a few months of circulation it became such a large part of everyone’s life. When I was there I also used it, and yes, it was very convenient, I could scan in and out of MTR stations, busses, etc. I didn’t think that there could be a small transponder inside a plastic card. The mystery of how anti-theft clothing tags and auto tolling booths is now gone.
Although I don’t want to say this class open my eyes, in a way it did. I really do look at many things differently now. I’m not claiming to be an expert, but now I have more of an idea about how the internet works. DNS, HTTP, CSS, HTML, all of those terms meant nothing to me before, now I know what they stand for and their purposes. Net Neutrality is another huge issue I probably wouldn’t even have paid attention to if it weren’t for this class. The sad thing is that this issue affects me a lot. The even sadder thing is that this issue affects many people, but it’s not well common knowledge yet.
One little story I’d like to mention is that I actually got into a discussion with my friends father about computers. We talked about how computers used to required MANY light bulb like devices to function, and I actually kind of knew what he was talking about. I didn’t really know that computers used to be used only for scientific purposes. The first computers I remember seeing as a child were huge, but still able to fit on a desktop, they were in black with green text and they had huge black floppy disks and my parents used them for work. Then I remembered seeing the apple computers with small square, black and white screens. I never knew that a computer the size of a few rooms put together existed.
The sound lab also helped me see sound differently. Since I’ve work with photography for a long time I knew about pixels, RGB etc etc, but when we deconstructed the sound wave I learn a lot. Samples and rates, and fidelity, they all do relate to pictures and now I understand sound more.
I'm not looking for a "this class opened my eyes!thankyouthankyou!" sort of thing, but for you to think about where you were at the beginning of the semester and where you are now, and how your awareness of or attitude towards some aspect of information technology might've changed.
This class has given me a better understanding of how computers and the internet work. The networking labs helped me understand the way information travels to and from computer to computer. Programming in Python has demystified the way programs run. Before I never really thought about things, it was always clicking a button and watching magic happen. Now, I know how commands and programs work. Also, working with Dreamweaver has explained a lot to me. Putting a page together step by step has given me a new perspective when I look at thing online now. Before, fooling around with font and colors and background pictures on myspace xanga or face book was all the html I knew. Then I learned that what I was really doing was both html and CSS, I never knew there was a difference. When we talked about Web 2.0 it gave a name to all the popular sites I’ve been hearing about. I never really though that site like face book or myspace were that different from normal sites.
One big thing I’ve gained a better understanding about in this class is the RFID. I never really thought about what made all these devices in everyday life function. I’ve been to Hong Kong once a year for every year since I’ve been a child, and when I returned one summer, I noticed that EVERYONE had something called an Octopus card. Within a few months of circulation it became such a large part of everyone’s life. When I was there I also used it, and yes, it was very convenient, I could scan in and out of MTR stations, busses, etc. I didn’t think that there could be a small transponder inside a plastic card. The mystery of how anti-theft clothing tags and auto tolling booths is now gone.
Although I don’t want to say this class open my eyes, in a way it did. I really do look at many things differently now. I’m not claiming to be an expert, but now I have more of an idea about how the internet works. DNS, HTTP, CSS, HTML, all of those terms meant nothing to me before, now I know what they stand for and their purposes. Net Neutrality is another huge issue I probably wouldn’t even have paid attention to if it weren’t for this class. The sad thing is that this issue affects me a lot. The even sadder thing is that this issue affects many people, but it’s not well common knowledge yet.
One little story I’d like to mention is that I actually got into a discussion with my friends father about computers. We talked about how computers used to required MANY light bulb like devices to function, and I actually kind of knew what he was talking about. I didn’t really know that computers used to be used only for scientific purposes. The first computers I remember seeing as a child were huge, but still able to fit on a desktop, they were in black with green text and they had huge black floppy disks and my parents used them for work. Then I remembered seeing the apple computers with small square, black and white screens. I never knew that a computer the size of a few rooms put together existed.
The sound lab also helped me see sound differently. Since I’ve work with photography for a long time I knew about pixels, RGB etc etc, but when we deconstructed the sound wave I learn a lot. Samples and rates, and fidelity, they all do relate to pictures and now I understand sound more.
posted by tctse at 9:29 PM
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