IT101

Prior to registering for IT101, I was apprehensive. I was just filling a pre-requisite and was mostly uninterested in the class. It thought it was going to be a lot of memorizing and dry course information. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I was proved incorrect. The course was very relevant, interesting, and practical.

    The first and possibly most important skill we learned in this class is how to effectively use Microsoft Excel. I would be very surprised if any reputable company would hire anyone without skills and knowledge in Excel. It is such a widely understood software, it is almost taken for granted that students know how to use Excel. Also, not only did we learn many of the simple functions Excel offers, we learned some of the less common functions like conditional formatting and icon sets. These features are fairly easy to use, but can make a spreadsheet significantly more aesthetically pleasing.

    In addition to learning Excel, I think learning how to use Microsoft Expression Web is a very good skill to have. I consider students more marketable if they are experienced in web design. They can possibly help with a company's website and even create their own. Having the ability to create and modify a website is relatively rare and this class has informed its student on how to do so.

    Thirdly, I was very interested in learning about mashups and Microsoft Popfly. I think there is a lot of potential in the Web 2.0 as a business platform and by giving us some general knowledge in the software and industry, students of this class are equipped with the abilities to create a possibly marketable program. It was also a pretty cool surprise that the creators of Microsoft Popfly came to class…

    All in all, I have learned a lot of extremely useful information in IT101. I was unsure of how I would like the course material before the class started, but soon found that I was very interested in it. I learned many things that I can carry with me through the rest of my education and through my career as a professional. I was not sure this class should have been a pre-requisite prior to taking it, but now I see why it is. The class was great and I would recommend it to anyone interested or uninterested in information technology.