Story of Electronics, Heading Into Overtime, Reaching for the Stars

Yesterday's was our final classroom session of IS101-3002, Spring 2024. This past week saw students doing their best to reach the finish line in their courses, not just IS101. This weekend saw many students reaching the door step of the finish line.

Alonso (El Zo) and Haridev (Dev) both showed up early to practice their A10 Improved Slideshow Presentation. Glenda, punctual as always, arrived an hour before the official class start time to take on the capstone Bonus Quiz 14. Madi came in early to seek help on Impromptu Bonus 1. Majority of the class joined the aforementioned early birds to catch/clean-up their IS101 coursework and to take the MO-310 PowerPoint certification exam. Before the class session ended, El Zo, Sathya, Justin, Anthony, Jonathan, Srikalyani (Sri), Shelby, Hunter, and Brandon became the fifth through the thirteenth Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Associates ^_^

Dev kicked off our final classroom gathering by regaling us with a story: Trash to Art: Monumental Mammoth. El Zo then took us on a journey through the Extraterrestrial Highway. Both gentlemen worked diligently and passionately on their A10. I am especially proud of them for keeping their slideshow file size under 10 MB and streamlining their presentation to fit into the allotted 5-minute time window. I followed with my walkthrough of student highlights and distinctions in the semester up to that moment. All of it and future highlights and achievements will be the centerpiece of my final blog post this coming week after I submit students' grades Wednesday. In the evening, I met Dev at the classroom where he earned the top score for Bonus Quiz 14.

Today, the official final day of the Spring 2024 semester, three students met me at the classroom bright and early. Keina qualified for, passed MO-310 and became the fourteenth MOS Associate. Kaleah (Eden) qualified for and conquered MO-210 Excel certification exam. Justin, taking full advantage of my offer to proctor MOS certification exams beyond MOS Associate, converted his work in Chapter 8 of LabSim and his own experience of using Outlook to knock out the MO-400 Outlook certification exam. The ambitious young man has his eyes set on MO-500 Access (Chapter 7 in LabSim and Microsoft's Support website), MO-111 Word Expert, and MO-211 Excel Expert, aiming for not just a MOS Expert, but a MOS Homerun. In the evening, I returned to the classroom where Dev finished his Impromptu Bonus 1 and Jonathan took on Bonus Quizzes 12 & 13. Before leaving the classroom, Dev indicated he wants to use Chapter 7 to learn Microsoft Access to help himself better manage inventory at his workplace. Before leaving the classroom yesterday, Kiet expressed interest in further MOS certifications. I hope more of their classmates will join Justin, Dev, and Kiet in reaching for the stars.

A few students have outstanding tasks to complete before this coming Wednesday. All students have the final discussion, D16 to do -- published in Canvas earlier today. Five students have already published their blog post as one part of D16:

• Madi: Farewell to Officeville: A Journey of Growth and Accomplishment

• Jonathan Melo: Donzo

• Don Smilo: Transition Complete?

• Brandon Vo: Farewell, IS101

• Glenda: My Journey in IS101-3002

Madi and Dev certainly have a flare for storytelling :-)

I wonder what my students will think of this 7:46 min video: https://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-electronics/

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*****The Monumental Mammoth Project: Story Retold by Haridev (Dev) Basudev*****

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The Monumental Mammoth Project sponsored by Protectors of Tule Springs: https://protectorsoftulesprings.org/monumental-mammoth-project/

    Artist Tahoe Mack: https://www.tahoemariemack.com/

    Artist Dana Albany: https://www.danaalbanyart.com/

    Artist Lou Varella Rico: https://luisvarelarico.com/

*****The Extraterrestrial Highway by Alonso (El Zo) Montes*****

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Nevada State Route 375 (a.k.a. the Extraterrestrial Highway): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_State_Route_375

    Tourist Attraction E.T. Fresh Jerky: https://etfreshjerky.com/

    Tourist Attraction Alien Research Center: https://www.alienresearchcenter.com/

    Tourist Attraction Little A'Le'Inn: http://www.littlealeinn.com/

Students,

Please save your final/goodbye thoughts for IS101-3002, Spring 2024 for my next/final blog post.

For this blog post, 

 (1) What are your thoughts from watching the 7:46 min video: https://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-electronics/?

 (2) What are some improvements you experienced from the A10 vs. the earlier A5 Slideshow Presentation?

 (3) Will you reach for the stars with more MOS certifications? More bonus quizzes/assignments?

Reaching the Summit, 3 More MOS Associates, Impromptu Bonus

The past two weeks have seen students working hard and accomplish goals to arrive at the final stretch of the Spring 2024 semester :-)

The class session before yesterday's saw Shelby sharing her Favorite Book Author with the class. In yesterday's class session, Keina illustrated HVAC Common Issues and Justin walked us through on How to Build a Computer.

In the past two weeks, Glenda, Haridev (Dev), and Sathya took Bonus Quizzes 12 & 13 (given back-to-back in one sitting). Glenda, Madi, and Dev took and passed MO-310 PowerPoint certification exam becoming the second, third, and fourth Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Associate, joining Kiet ^_^ Of the sixteen students, twelve students are on their way to finishing IS101-3002 strong with the aforementioned four leading the way. May the remaining four catch-up before this coming Saturday, our final class session together!

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Students,

(1) How will/are/have you handled the final week of the semester with all of your classes this semester, not just IS101?

(2) Impromptu Bonus 1: Please send an email to me with the subject line of Impromptu Bonus 1 – <Full Name>

In the email body, include these four answers:

 (A) The formula in cell C17

 (B) The formula in cell R19

 (C) The alternate formula (one that is not shown in the formula bar) for cell S17

 (D) The formula in cell S19

Mat Honan's Epic Hack, 3 Phases, Automation

The past two weeks contained the ascension from Phase 2 to Phase 3 IS101-3002, Spring 2024 for most students in the class.

The two top performers each took a different path. One focused on preparing for and taking the MO-210 Excel certification exam first while the other focused finishing Bonus Quiz 11 on-time. Both Haridev (Dev) and Glenda passed the Excel certification exam along with seven others, joining Kiet who defeated MO-210 more than a month ago.

Rarely has a student taken all eleven bonus quizzes and for as long as I can remember, no student has ever earned a perfect score on BQ11. Glenda and Dev both achieved this feat this semester. I am extremely proud of them :-) I look forward to see how they perform on the upcoming BQ12 & 13 (given together) and the final BQ14 on our final class session.

Half of BQ11 is based on another rare gem of an article I encountered in my past years. Not only is it rare for someone to walkthrough being a victim of a social engineering scam and this article was written by a reporter who skillfully regaled us with every nuance of the scam and his emotions, but Mat Honan's story illustrated that we as individuals are not the only vulnerable targets but entities that holds our data are too!

Two class sessions ago, Brandon played tour guide for us on My [His] Journey Through Tennis. Illness has prevented the athletic young man from presenting the week prior, but his creative slideshow was finally seen by the class. In yesterday's class session, Kaleah (Eden) took us down our individual memory lanes as the avid collector showcased My [His/Her/Theirs] Console Collection. At least one of the Sony and Nintendo gaming consoles resonated with an audience member. Mine was Playstation 1, but the other, Nintendo Entertainment System, was not shown.

In the past two weeks, many students have completed their A6 Spreadsheet with Trailer and A7 Mail Merge using Object Linking & Embedding (OLE) is starting to trickle in. The former is the apex of Phase 2: Determined and Analytical and the latter is giving students the opportunity to transition into Phase 3 Creative and Independent. This coming Saturday, I will walk through A6 with the class to help them prepare for BQ12 & 13 which can raise their course grade by half a letter grade.

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Students,

(1) Instead of step-by-step instructions or a topic covered by LabSim, A7 simulates a business scenario outside of the classroom. How was your experience in analyzing A7's requirements and using the Mail Merge wizard and files given to you to fulfill the requirements?

(2) Choose one from these two -- or do both ^_^

(a) Mat Honan's Epic Hack article may have been published in 2012, but the lessons and consequences still applies today! I extracted the article's content for a cleaning reading experience free of ads and distractions into a PDF attached to Discussion 11 in Canvas. Please read it and share your thoughts in your comment on how you would change your cybersecurity hygiene in better protecting yourself.

(b) John Oliver's 2019 video on Automation looked into the past on how automation shaped our lives and how automation and artificial intelligence may shape our lives going forward. What are your thoughts on what he presented? Do you think the 2013 report mentioned in the video is on target? How do you think you may be affected by automation or artificial intelligence?

Straight vs. Weighted Average, Visualization, Beyond Formulas & Functions

Yesterday's class session was the most interactive yet!

As usual, Haridev (Dev) and Glenda showed up 7 AM to test their metal against a bonus quiz. This week, Dev took the pole position in scoring on Bonus Quiz 10. After I gave the class an overview on what's to come in next few weeks, Hunter educated the class on What is an Ethernet Cable? I used the remaining classroom session for the second half of lecture/demonstration 4: Key Excel and Spreadsheet Analysis Concepts which includes my favorite signature walkthrough that engages and challenges students more than before. The closing topic of L4 was my signature decision tree that helps translate one's numbers and calculations into something that the audience find much easier to comprehend.

A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer definitely give students a new opportunity to demonstrate what their Microsoft Excel knowledge and skills. Up until now, students are accustomed to step-by-step instructions and the simulation grading engine of LabSim. The Spreadsheet Analysis portion of A6 allow students to show their individuality while with Trailer takes students from the quantitative to the qualitative!

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Hunter gave us an underneath the hood/cover view to an ethernet cable's connecting ends and different types of ethernet cables. I like his closing slide showing himself working with an ethernet cable doing what it does best: connecting devices and transmitting data.

My 'Household', 'Portfolio', 'Stock', 'Clinic' scenarios placed the nine students in attendance center and front stage in thinking and re-thinking through each scenario to answer the question. Justin, Dev, and Madi, courageously voiced their thinking and re-thinking :-)

Afterwards, I solicited feedbacks from the nine students. Anthony and Madi bravely shared their discomfort with mathematics. I replied: "These scenarios are more logic than mathematics" -- they involve only simple operations such as addition, subtraction, division, and order of operations. When to use a weighted average vs. a straight average, correctly and fully understanding what the question is asking for, do you even have the necessary raw numbers to do the calculation, are all logic in nature, not mathematics or even Microsoft Excel.

Numbers and "mathematics" often intimidate or overwhelm people, especially when presented in large quantity. One way to mitigate that is to use charts and graphs to visually represent the information. But this can also be place where one's logic falters unintentionally or intentionally. The lower right corner image below illustrates the faltering/misleading representation vs. the logical on-point representation.

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Looking beyond IS101 and much into the past, a brilliant piece of creative storytelling always stood out in my mind and have been part of my A6's with Trailer since I laid eyes on it. The context of that brilliance is this: during the 2008 recession, then Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Chancellor James E. Rogers illustrating the importance of what higher education faculty do in defense from looming budget cuts.

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Students,

If you have yet to complete A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer, be sure to complete it and send it in before commenting on this blog post.

(1) What was your experience in doing the Spreadsheet Analysis portion of A6?

(2) What was your experience in doing the with Trailer portion of A6?

Please watch this 24 min 27 sec video: Pig Butchering Scams: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).

(3) In this video, a bank's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), fell for a social engineering scam and lost more than double what the CEO and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) lost in the article mentioned in my last week's blog post. Have you experienced or seen a social engineering scam? How was it played out?

Last Day to Withdraw, First MOS Associate, Fun with Functions and More Fun

This past Friday was the final day withdraw from a 16-week course for Spring 2024. Though no student exercised this option, not all eighteen students are keeping up with their IS101 coursework. I hope those handful of students will rectify that soonest able.

On the other end of the spectrum: this Saturday morning as Glenda and Haridev (Dev) are batting Bonus Quiz 9 with Glenda taking the pole position, Kiet was conquering MO-310 PowerPoint certification exam, becoming the first Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Associate in IS101-3002, Spring 2024! I am so proud of this ambitious young man :-)

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Alonso (El Zo) gave us An Introduction to Residential Air Filters and Joshua shared his favorite music band Red Hot Chili Pepper with the class. I concluded the class with the first half of my lecture/demonstration 4: Key Excel and Spreadsheet Analysis Concepts. The second half contains one of my favorite walkthroughs for IS101, I can't wait until next week.

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Students' "More Fun with Functions" workbooks with 100% are slowing trickling in. The Digital Literacy program director would be proud. Dev and Srikalyani (Sri) have even sent in A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer ahead of schedule, making me very proud ^_^

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Students,

(1) How was/is your experience with "More Fun with Functions" compare with that with "Fun with FUNctions"? Did it get more easier? More Fun?

(2) Please read this short article:

Cinema Chain Sees Bad Movie Script Play Out As It Loses Millions In Email Scam

By Martijn Grooten

Nov 12, 2018, 3:12 pm EST

https://www.forbes.com/sites/martijngrooten/2018/11/12/cinema-chain-sees-bad-movie-script-play-out-as-it-loses-millions-in-email-scam

***I extracted the article content into a PDF attached to D10 in Canvas for a clean reading experience for you***

 (i) Do you think Pathé's Chief Executive Office (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) should have been fired/dismissed?

 (ii) Do you think their firing/dismissal was fair?

 (iii) If you were the CEO or CFO, would you expect to keep your job or be fired/dismissed?

Spring Recess, Second Half Begins, Two Top Performers

Half of the past two weeks was Spring Recess. Some students used this opportunity to rest and recharge while some worked to jump ahead in their IS101 coursework (many in Excel and one in PowerPoint)!

This past Saturday was the first class session upon returning from Spring Recess. Both Haridev (Dev) and Glenda made me extremely proud as they both fully and correctly comprehended one of my signature topics: How to properly dissect an Uniformed Resource Locator (URL) and its components :-) Both shared the top spot on Bonus Quiz 8. I especially like Dev's learning and output from one of the articles from the second third of my lecture /presentation L3: The Internet: Ultimate Guide to Owning ccTLD: metal.m.an -- using the Country Code Top-Level Domain of Netherlands Antilles (.an) as welding is his trade and metal is his medium.

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Srikalyani (Sri) and Sathya captivated everyone's attention in the first hour of the class with their slideshow presentations: My Favorite Place and Ramadan respectively. I definitely agree with Sri's closing statement: "Combination of busy life and peaceful scenic beauty of mountain view" and like Sathya's closing photograph from Sri Lanka with all of her college classmates representing multiple religions. I finished the class session with the final third of my lecture/presentation L3: The Internet. 

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The remaining students who are actively participating in IS101 have now taken and passed their MO-110 Word certification exam ^_^ Each Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification exams is out of 1,000 points and the passing score is 700. Kiet has jumped quite far ahead in his LabSim coursework and qualified to take MO-310 PowerPoint but illness sidelined the studious student.

Before Spring Recess, we ventured into Chapter 5 Microsoft Excel. As I have my signature topics, presentations, and assignments, the program director of the Digital Literacy program in the Computer and Information Technology (CIT) Department has his too: YouTube videos and Fun with Functions... workbooks.

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Students,

(1) Did watching the 18 min 55 sec Excel Primer video help you alleviate any anxiety or misconception with Microsoft Excel?

(2) Did you gain a sense of independence from doing the 'Fun with FUNctions' workbook?

(3) With a MOS certification exam under your belt -- two for Kiet -- how do you feel about preparing for your next one?

First MOS Exam, Mid-Semester Highlights, Internet

The past two weeks surpassed the two weeks prior both in terms of excitement and achievement!

Twelve students took the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) MO-110 Word certification exam, joining Kiet who took his MO-110 three weeks ago. All thirteen students passed with Brandon scoring the highest and Justin second highest so far. Five students have yet to take the MO-110. They may yet overtake Brandon on MO-110 but no one will be able to challenge Kiet's feat on the next exam -- I will elaborate at the end of this blog post.

Haridev (Dev) and Anthony took advantage of the extension on Bonus Quiz 6 but Glenda remained on top. Sathya joined Glenda and Dev in taking Bonus Quiz 7 with Dev earning the first perfect score on a bonus quiz! A perfect score on a bonus quiz is definitely one of the two top highlights from the first half of the semester :-)

I walked through two-thirds of my Lecture 3: The Internet and will finish the final third when we return from Spring Recess. L3 will fuel BQ8 through BQ11. Jonathan presented his Favorite Movie: Pulp Fiction while Anthony shared My [His] Experiences in Japan with the class. The first two-third contains one of my signature topics: How to properly dissect a Uniformed Resource Resource (URL).

Looking back beyond the past two weeks, other highlights in the first half of the semester are Madison (Madi) and Dev earning bonus credit for being the first group of presenters; Dev earned highest score on BQ2 through BQ5 with Glenda sharing the top honor with Dev on BQ4 while Justin and Brandon doing the same on BQ2; and sixteen of the eighteen students sent in their Bonus Quiz 1 - Syllabus, fourteen of which kept working on it until they reached 100%.

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I can see Jonathan's reasons for why Pulp Fiction is his favorite movie based on his three reasons: the storyline, the music, and the suspense & comedy that can only come from director Quentin Tarantino. Anthony's wonderful experience in Japan involved three places: Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, and Okinawa; food such as ramen, sushi, sake; and site seeing cherry blossom trees and temples.

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Looking much much further back in time and far beyond of IS101, these three men made the Internet as we know it today possible:

Robert "Bob" Kahn and Vinton "Vint" Cerf led the design and implementation of the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) that are the basis for the current Internet. Sir Tim Berners-Lee initiated the development of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) that make up the World Wide Web (WWW). Each man's A.M. Turing Award came decades after their leadership changed the world. I will walk through each man's contribution as part of the final third of L3.

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Students,

Please answer these three questions/topics in your comment:

(1) As listed in the study guide for Bonus Quiz 8,(see [Week 8A: 3/9/2024] in Canvas) the steps to dissect a URL is also listed in the first image above. Will you practice it?

(2) Another topic from the first two-third of L3 that will make an appearance in BQ8 is country code Top-Level-Domain (ccTLD) hack: https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/country-code-top-level-domains/

(3) The top honor in the first half of the semester belongs to Kiet as he has qualified for, took, and passed the MO-210 Excel certification exam this past Saturday, weeks ahead of schedule. How did you perform in the first half of our semester? How will you perform in the second half?

Second Quarter Kicks Off with Student Presentations and Early MOS Success

The past two weeks have been exciting!

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*****Two Saturdays ago*****

Haridev (Dev), Glenda, Brandon, and Justin showed up early to take on Bonus Quiz 5 and kick off the second quarter of IS101-3002, Spring 2024. Dev scored a near-perfect and continued his streak of leading his classmates in BQ performances.

After walking through the answers and rationale of BQ5 with the class, I yielded center stage to Madi who brought us to see why Rochelle Park, NJ is her Special Place -- it's where she grew up, spent time with her huge family, and visiting establishments such as Rochelle Park Shopping Center and Rochelle Park Diner and Grill.

Dev followed and educated us on Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW). Starting with General Welding Process, to the Development of GTAW, to GTAW Welding Process, and concluding with recognition of Margaret “Hap” Brenneke, the lead GTAW welder for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) who worked on the Saturn V rocket.

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After walking through each of the polishing process for Madi's and Dev's slideshow from their draft slideshow to the final version, I gave the remainder of the classroom session time for students to work their coursework.

*****Last Saturday*****

A migraine kept Dev from the classroom, leaving Glenda the lone challenger to Bonus Quiz 6. Glenda matched Dev's performance on BQ5. I deferred the review of BQ6 and walked through a roadmap for the second quarter of IS101-3002, Spring 2024 and how to prepare for the MO-110 Word certification exam this coming Saturday.

Glenda educated the class on 3 Year to Finish My [Her] Program. In her presentation, the wife and mom to fur babies listed 3 W's: obligations as a Wife and mom, Work (both paid and volunteer), and Wealth (depleted funds) and 2 D's: Determination (I can) and Dedication (I will). I bet my money on 2 D's will triumph over 3 W's and Glenda will earn her Associate of Applied Science in Health Health Information Technology.

Kiet followed by sharing his passion for Basketball. I learned that Dr. James Naismith invented the game in 1891 and saw it included in The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament in 1939. Kiet concluded his presentation with a friendly challenge to the audience with "Game?" I offered the polite young man the opportunity to take the MO-110 later that evening after the morning class session ended.

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Kiet and I returned to the classroom and Kiet became the first student from IS101-3002, Spring 2024 to pass MO-110 and earned the first Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certificate. I am so proud of this young man ^_^ This week, I re-opened Bonus Quiz 6 and Dev eagerly signed up to take it tomorrow evening. I hope more students will join Dev and Kiet :-)

Students,

Please watch these two artificial intelligence (AI) videos and answer three questions/topics in your comment:

I Challenged My AI Clone to Replace Me for 24 Hours | WSJ

On April 28, 2023 (7 min 33 sec) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t52Bi-ZUZjA

Bad science: AI used to target kids with disinformation on YouTube - BBC World Service

On September 14, 2023 (10 min 10 sec) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojjn9T_fuUw

(1) What are your thoughts from watching the two videos above?

(2) What did you think of the student slideshow presentations thus far?

(3) How are you starting out the second quarter of IS101-3002, Spring 2024?

Front Runners of First Quarter

The past four weeks have been busy and more furious than the past few semesters. Four students emerged as front runners.

Always early to the classroom, always on target with LabSim, and always prepared & participating in the weekly bonus quizzes is Haridev (Dev). The Allentown, PA native has already earned his master and bachelor degrees, now seeking to add pedigree to his trade of welding. I thank this veteran for his military services in the U.S. Air Force and Army. Dev continued his streak of leading in the bonus quizzes with BQ3 and BQ4 as Glenda shared the pole position with Dev on BQ4. I wonder how BQ5 will play out this coming Saturday.

Part of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts, Madison (Madi) is always eager to start her IS101-3002 coursework early and the first in seeking feedback on assignments & discussion threads and publishing her blog posts. The pioneering young lady completes half of the classroom's front row with Dev. Like her classmate next to her, Madi's father also served in our military; his service is definitely appreciated. 

Glenda often plays leapfrog in terms of coursework with Madi and keeping Dev company during the bonus quizzes. The gainfully employed wife, mother, and volunteer still finds time and energy to be a full-time college student. I know Glenda will achieve her goal of earning her Associate of Applied Science in Health Information Technology.

Many students play leapfrog with Madi and Glenda in their LabSim progress but the one that emerges as the clear leader is Kiet. The polite young man is so far ahead that he has already qualified to take the MO-110 Word certification exam! Perhaps one impetus for his proactive stance is his anticipation of missing some classes to fulfill his military duties on those weekends. I appreciate his military service, maturity, and capability in working ahead with his coursework.

There are other students who have or are serving in our military: Jonathan, Anthony, Keina, Michael (Mike), and Francisco (Tony). I thank them and hope they will join Kiet at the front of the pack.

Up until the end of the first week of semester for student to enroll in a course, twenty-nine (29) names cycled through the twenty (20) spots on my IS101-3002, Spring 2024 class roster. At the conclusion of the first quarter, one student never replied to me or attended class while another withdrew from the class due to personal reason. The eighteen students occupy the entire spectrum of course progress. As there are front runners, there are also those in danger of failing. I hope they will catch up in the next two weeks before taking the MO-110 Word certification exam.

I am especially excited for this coming Saturday. In the past two weeks, I gave PowerPoint presentations in the classroom. Beginning this coming classroom session, Madi and Dev will kick off students presentations!

Following up my previous blog post's topic of artificial intelligence (AI), this 27 min 52 sec video from last year is extremely timely and apropos. Viewer discretion is advised as the video contains strong languages and John Oliver's brand of humor. If you are under the age of 18 and cannot obtain your parent's permission, let me know and I will give you an alternate assignment in place of watching this video.

Be sure to view the video in full screen mode

Students,

Please address these three questions/topics in your comment:

(1) How do you think you performed in the first quarter of IS101-3002, Spring 2024?

(2) What are you throughs on any, some, or all of these points from John Oliver's video?

 a. Unexplainable how AI algorithms arrive at their results (i.e. "the problem with AI right now isn't that it's smart, but it's that it's stupid in ways we cannot predict")

 b. Unintended lessons (e.g. rulers are malignant)

 c. Bias-in-bias-out (e.g. pale male data, women = bad & men named 'Jared' who play high school lacrosse = good, TayTweets: from National Puppy Day to Nazi-leaning)

 d. Over-correcting (e.g. solves the problem of being racist by erasing minority)

 e. Would self regulation work for companies developing or using AI?

(3) Have you used AI yourself?

Weathering the Storm and Artificial Intelligence

It has been a roller coaster of past two weeks!

Wife gotten deathly ill. She gave some of her crud to me. Took me out of action for a good part of the past week. After caring for her and multiple medical appointments, the diagnosis is viral pneumonia. I'm doing much better, but with pre-existing medical conditions, she's still recovering. I'm exiting the eye of the storm.

The same can be said about my students in IS101-3002, Spring 2024 as they work through the jitters of a new course, new professor, new semester, new country even! Here are some stats:

• 17 names on the roster of 20 launched successfully

• 14 students persisted and reached 100% on Bonus Quiz 1 – Syllabus

Of the 20 names on the roster now, these <variable> are represented:

• U.S. military branches: Marines, Army, Air Force

• Ancestral roots: Vietnam, Laos, Sri Lanka, India

• Academic pursuits:

• 6 Computer and Information Technology degrees

• 5 Business-related degrees or certificates

• 4 Computer Science degrees

• 5 others degrees:

• Construction Management

• Air Conditioning Technology

• Health Information Technology

• Electrical Biomedical Equipment

• Welding Technology - Advanced Level

The 17 students occupy the entire spectrum of progress, some have much to catch-up/clean-up, some are quite ahead of the semester timetable in Canvas. This past Saturday, 7 took Bonus Quiz 2 – Self-Reliance and Self-Responsibility with Haridev (Dev), Justin, and Brandon scoring the highest :-)

This coming week, I will continue to help students clean-up A1 Accounts Setup and Professional Communication, A2 Blog, Posts, Articles, Videos, Comments, and D01 Managing Many Accounts and Self-Responsibility.

In this Saturday's class, I will walk through D02 Email Inbox Rule(s) and Blog Setup and/or D03 Your Connectivity and Connection after Bonus Quiz 3 – Jump Ahead & Special Characters in File Name. I hope Dev, Justin, Brandon will repeat their performance and their classmates will endeavor to join them. The "jump ahead" portion is based on the final page of the instructions for A3 Tailored Cover Letter and Resume. On the first page, is

Artificial Intelligence: The Robots Are Now Hiring (a 10-minute video and a half-page article)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/artificial-intelligence-the-robots-are-now-hiring-moving-upstream-1537435820

After clicking on the video, choose the [Full Screen] icon in the lower righter corner

Students:

Using algorithms in software to simulate intelligence is nothing new and quite common.

A few years ago, I emailed a company's customer support with some questions. The email responses I received made little sense. I deduced that they were (maybe still are) using software to respond to questions based on keywords/phrases in my email. But when the question is not simple or straightforward, the software make a best guess and respond accordingly. After a few rounds of exchange, a human finally responded and interpreted and answered my questions correctly.

I wonder what other examples of artificial intelligence (AI) have you come across.

Please elaborate in your comment to this blog post ^_^

Your example of AI in use must be unique, meaning if another student or I have used it, you will need to find a different example to use.

Early Bird Gets the Worm and How to Succeed!

Almost a month before the start of Spring 2024, the start time of the classroom sessions of IS101-3002 was updated from 9 am to 8 am but I plan to be in the classroom 7 am on each Saturday during the semester. As I reached out to each student on the class roster a few days before Christmas to inform them of the 8 am class time start time, Madison (Madi) replied. Two days later, Brandon followed suit. After Christmas and the new year, more students replied to my follow-up outreach.

Now, majority of the students on the class roster have responded and some already distinguished themselves by working on Bonus Quiz 1 - Syllabus or even finished it. Srikalyani, Jonathan, Sathya, and Hunter are in various stages of reaching 100% of BQ1. Anthony and Kiet reached 100% on BQ1 on the same evening a week ago. Madi may have sent in her first attempt on BQ1 the day after the two but not only did the young lady also reach 100% but also asked for help to get a head start on A1 Accounts Setup and Professional Communication, A2 Blog Posts, Articles, Videos, Comments, and LabSim :-)

As I write this inaugural blog post, Keina also reached 100% on BQ1 and more students replied to my outreach. In a few hours, the semester officially begins. Our first classroom meeting is on Saturday, 1/20, 8 am but I will be in the classroom 7 am. I wonder how many students will join Anthony, Kiet, Madi, and Keina...

I look forward to hearing from more students; learning about their backgrounds, how/why they chose to enroll in IS101-3002, Spring 2024; and meet them in-person this Saturday ^_^

Students, what do you think of this 11 min 13 sec video from Motivation2Study:

Click on the video to view and let me know if you don't know how to watch it in full screen