Mood:  celebratory

I am ecstatic that the semester is over and all 16 students have done well.  On the final day of class, two students presented their optional bonus presentation.  Jeannette shared her First Cruise with us - cheap booze, cheap shopping, cheap booze, did she mention cheap booze?  Vernita also lifted our moods with her take on Aging.

Jeannette had strong reservations about doing the bonus presentation, I am very proud of her for conquering her fear of speaking in front of the class.  Vernita's passion about her presentation topic rivaled her first presentation on Vacation Times.  Though I did not see the level of improvements in their presentations I expected, both will receive 100% of the credit (5 out of 5 points) for their efforts.

This has been a great semester.  Half of the sixteen students earned enough - several earned a lot more - points to fall in the "A*" range while the other half fell in the "B*" range.  Three students broke the triple-digit barrier: Laurie, Sue, and Blanca.

Seeing her sunshine attitude and fast-learning ability, I knew Blanca would be one of the top performers from the first class of the semester.  From the first class to the final class, Sue has ALWAYS finished her work on time, completely and meticulously.  This is a reflection of not only her solid academic stamina but also her maturity in balancing life's competing priorities and always finding time and energy to complete the tasks at hand.  The same thing can be said for Laurie.

But Laurie had an above-and-beyond passion and determination to learn and master everything in IS101.  I cannot remember if there was ever a student who submitted an A3 Cover Letter and Resume Publishing 100% correct with a tailored cover letter and a professional grade resume on the very first email submission.

Also, there has never been anyone who scored 7 out of 5 on ANY of my quizzes.  Laurie did this three times this semester.  With the bonus points from the quizzes and her always completing the comprehensive sections of the textbook, my star pupil earned enough points to reach the "A" mark two weeks before the semester ended.  Kudos Ms. Morrison :)

Below is the ranking of everyone's total score and class grade identified by your student number:

113.0 (A ) Laurie
104.0 (A ) Sue
100.0 (A ) Blanca
 98.5 (A ) 00688318
 96.5 (A ) 00530966
 95.5 (A ) 00689753
 94.0 (A ) 00200599
 93.5 (A ) 00552148
 91.5 (A-) 00499129
 89.5 (B+) 00596378
 89.0 (B+) 00628488
 88.5 (B+) 00524374
 85.5 (B ) 00691135
 83.0 (B-) 00667212
 82.5 (B-) 00400058
 80.0 (B-) 00597686

Well done on finishing the semester everyone :)

Mood:  caffeinated

This past Friday was the beginning of the end.  Some of the students have kept up with the class work and Quiz 7 for them this Friday is a mere formality.  Most of the students just need a little help wrapping up some of their assignments.  A selected few have fallen behind and are in the process of catching up.

Two major activities took place this past Friday and today.  The first activity is the Department Assessment Exam.  Out of the fourteen students who have taken it so far, three students did not meet the minimum requirements of 41 out of 50.  I know one of the three was stymied by the language barrier.  I am disappointed in the other two who either did not manage their time and energy well to prepare for this multiple choice exam or simply didn't place it as a high priority.

The second activity was the students filling out the class evaluation.  I am very proud of and pleased with my students this semester and I am sure they feel the same about themselves and the class.

Three students presented their bonus slideshow presentations.  Robert T. showed us the beauty of Mt. Charleston, Sean dazzled us with his adventures at Madame Tussauds' wax museum of celebrities and Veronica touched our hearts again, this time with the Homeless.

Both Robert T. and Sean's slideshow presentations were good.  However, they were lesser in quality than their respective prior presentations.  Larger photos of Mt. Charleston would serve well as the backgrounds instead of smaller individual images on a blue background.  A final slide with details such as location, hours and entrance fees would have completed the showcase of Madame Tussauds' wax museum.  Veronica's heartwarming presentation on the Homeless not only generated much discussion, but showed us a simple yet effective way to close a presentation.  Her final slide consisted of the images used in her earlier slides and included vital statistics to give a sense of scale to the human sufferings.

I cannot wait to see the final set of presentations on Dec. 14 :)

Mood:  quizzical

To help some students to catch up on late assignments and to reward the many others for completing their assignments on time, I have revamped the agenda/timetable for the last two weeks of class by trimming down on Microsoft Access.  This past Friday, I spoke with each student individually to assist him/her with A6 Mail Merge and help see his/her standing in the class.

Most students are either on track or ahead, I am concerned about the selected few who have missing class before and after the Thanksgiving Holiday.  Curious to see if they will be able to devote the time and energy to catch up before Dec. 7.  If they do not, they will not have time to catch up after Dec. 7 as it will be Final Exam week.

Karen and Andy presented their bonus presentation this past Friday.  Karen showed us her First Hiking Trip with her family at the Red Rocks.  Andy took us out of this world and educated us on The Moon.  The two students showed improvement in both their slideshow and their presentation and will receive 5 out of 5 points for their work.  Can't wait until next Friday to see more bonus presentations...

Mood:  bright

On Nov. 9, we had three presentations.  Jeanette reminded us of the importance of Customer Service in any business: great customer services = customer retention = revenue.  More importantly, she explained the four steps to provide great customer services: 1. listen 2. acknowledge customer's needs 3. positive attitude 4. validate.

Brent followed with a bonus presentation which he did for his management class.  I truly enjoyed the presentation not only because of the content - management styles and The Six Hats - but the fact that he applied his slideshow presentation skills outside of the IS101 setting.  I was also pleased to see that he improved upon the effects' timing since his first presentation.

Belinda also did a bonus presentation.  I did not think it would be possible for her to make a stronger impact than her Thailand, the Land of Smiles presentation.  But she did.  This time, the proud mother shared with us the altruistic nature and tragic circumstance of her son Starbuck.  I know the entire class was moved by Starbuck's story.  Thank you Belinda for sharing with us something that is so deeply personal to you.  I hope anyone who hears about Starbuck's story will celebrate his accomplishments instead of feeling pity for him.

Jeanette will receive (5 out of 5 points) for A4 Slideshow Presentation.  Both Brent and Belinda will receive (5.5 out of 5 points) for their bonus slideshow presentation as they both presented ahead of schedule and set excellent examples for the rest of the class.

Mood:  hug me

I am thankful for having my family and friends.  I am thankful for having a good working environment and people.  I am thankful for having excellent students this semester :)

This past Friday, I demonstrated Object Linking and Embedding/A6 Mail Merge.  This assignment is the apex of this class.  I hope the students will demonstrate independence in completing this assignment.  When we return from the Thanksgiving Holiday break, I will give students an opportunity to earn bonus points with A6 and help students wrap up their Angelfire Homepage and A3 Cover Letter and Resume Publishing.

Mood:  special

This semester confirmed what I have seen in the previous semester: students find Excel challenging.  In the past, I explained and demonstrated key Excel concepts and skills prior to having the students do the Dozer textbook exercises.  This semester, I had the students do the Dozer exercises first.  It seemed to have made no difference.

Though I am sure many students find Excel challenging because they have never used it or do not use it on a regular basis, I also believe the time of the semester play a factor as well.  I noticed both in students and myself that after the midpoint of the semester, we become tired or overwhelmed with midterms, settling into routines, or even things outside of school.

Next semester, I will allocate more time for the Excel exercises and cutting back on the Access exercises.  For this semester, I am eliminating A7 Entity Relationship Diagram which is based on the Access exercises.  I am also eliminating Quiz 7 Microsoft Access and incorporating a small piece of it into the Bonus Quiz - which is now a required Quiz.  I will explain this in more detail to the class on Nov. 30.

On Nov. 2, 7 more students presented their A4 Slideshow Presentations.

Vernita took the lead and educated the class on Vacation Times.  We learned that Americans don't take as much vacations as Europeans.  Her message of we should focus on the more important things in life instead of working too much hit home with me.  After this semester is over, I will definitely spend a lot more quality time with my family and friends.  Thank you Vernita!

Robert T. made a sleek slideshow on what Marketing is all about: brevity.  The marketing major student taught us that Marketing consists of Socializing, Coordinating and Networking.  Tim brought smiles to the class with photos of his daughter's first birthday.  On a more somber note, Veronica presented us with poignant images and key statistics on our war against Iraq.

Garland shared with us his loyalty to the greatest athlete of all time - Michael Jordan.  Learning from the presenters on Oct. 19, Garland distributed handouts of his slideshow and made a visually dazzling slideshow displaying Mr. Jordan's prowess and accomplishments.  Bo wrapped up with his beautiful slideshow and articulate presentation on both the lethality - and the beauty - Wolves.  I did not know that wolves can hear up to a mile on a quiet day and can run up to 35 miles per hour.

All 7 presenters will receive 100% of the credit (5 out of 5 points) for this assignment.  Well done :)

Mood:  happy

I am extremely proud of the nine students who stepped up to the plate and presented their slideshow presentations ahead of schedule on October 19.  Each presenter distinguished him/herself in his/her own ways.

Blanca touched our hearts with the charitable activities of the Desert Sage Auxiliary Assistance League of Las Vegas, showing us that even large faceless corporations will open their pocket book for good causes.  Brent bewildered some of us with the disturbing characters from Family Guy.  A dog that is more human than most people and a boy prodigy that constantly plots to take over the world and murder his mother prompted Karen to say "I'm blocking this TV show for my kids".

The cautious mom gave us a visual treat when she demonstrated some Chicago Style Steppin.  Karen's passion for her hobby was paralleled by Andy's love for YZFR Yamaha bikes.  Although the custom animation effects and timing in Brent, Karen and Andy's slideshows did not follow their respective presenter's lead completely, they helped us see what works and what does not work.

Andy's ambitious natured prompted him to apologize to the class afterwards for not giving the very best slideshow presentation that he could due to time constraints.  I have no doubt his future slideshow presentations will be much stronger.

Sean's artistic talents shined brightly through his visually stunning slideshow about his four favorite movies.  The collage of images, formatting and animation effects in his slideshow worked in concert to showcase the epic sagas of The Count of Monte Cristo, The Gladiator, The Green Mile and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Another slideshow that stood out from the rest was the Lighthouses of Maine by Laurie.  The meticulous animation effects and timing used in the text listing in one of her slide and the animated graphic and humorous effects in her closing slide elevated people's interests in her already captivating stories.

One can even leave a strong impression long after the slideshow presentation has ended.  Though I am not a New Jersey Devils fan - or even a hockey fan - I have no trouble seeing the colorful slideshow or recalling the details of the New Jersey Devils' Championships with the handout Sue distributed to the audience.  Handing out something tangible for the audience to take with them after the presentation is so simple yet seldom is it practiced.  Well done on thinking beyond the presentation, Sue!

Once in a while, the presenter, the essence of the subject matter, and the slideshow work so well together that the audience become entranced and lose track time.  Belinda's infectious smile invited the audience to listen and focus on her.  Her laid back temperament exemplified Thailand, the Land of Smiles.  The tidbit of facts, beautiful photos, and vibrant colors in her slideshow painted an effervescent image of the exotic Asian country.  I think I will visit there in the next few years :)

Even rarer is in addition to when the three elements work in unison - the presenter is highly professional, the presentation is well rehearsed, and the slideshow is neatly polished - that the presenter does things that are above and beyond.  Such is the case from Ed with his presentation on Renewable Energy Sources.  From the moment the former actor turned accountant took the stage, his clear and strong voice project commanded attention from the audience.  To my surprise, he gave a brief and succinct summary on his topic and clarified that he will stay within the 3-minute time table - and he did!  As his presentation progressed, I was initially alarmed at his use of automated timing effects.  But soon, I realized he definitely rehearsed the timing as the images complimented his words flawlessly.  The only suggestion I would make is change the timing in such a way that the last slide stays on the screen instead the slideshow automatically ends.

Though no handout was distributed, Ed's message on the last slide stuck with me: Renewable Energy, Not Coal.  Not only did Ed educate me on the various renewable energy sources, he also persuaded me to be more environmentally responsible.  One interesting note: when I solicited feedback on everyone's presentation from the students, Karen mentioned that because Ed is quite handsome, it was easy to listen to him.  Mental note, need to become more handsome so people will listen to me....

All presenters will receive 100% credit (5 out of 5) for this assignment, with the exception of Sue and Belinda who will each receive 5.5 out of 5 and Ed will receive 6 out of 5.

Well done 9 presenters :)

Mood:  a-ok

The midpoint of the semester is the perfect time for reflection and visioning the future.  I am extremely proud of the group of students that landed in my IS101 section this semester.  They have kept up with the ambitious schedule I laid out for them in the syllabus and their spirits remain strong.  Seven students completed their PowerPoint projects ahead of schedule, six are exactly where they should be and the remaining five have some catching up to do.

This semester has been unusually tough for me.  I was ecstatic to have been offered to teach a statistics course for UNLV.  Along with IS101 at CSN and two major projects happening at work, my mind and body are in dire need of rest.  An indicator of one's character is how one behaves during times of difficulty.  I choose to meet my challenges head on and take care of my students the best I can.

The second half the semester will be eye-opening to many students.  Most people that use computers on a regular basis are almost always familiar with using email, world wide web and Microsoft Word.  PowerPoint always sparks students' creativity and come up as a favorite assignment time and time again.  Many past students found Excel and Access the most valuable - since they knew very little about them - and challenging, but I know my students with meet those challenges head on and I will be here to help them!

Mood:  bright

This past Friday, two students stood out.

It has been a long time - so long since I can even remember - that a student has produced such a tailored and succinct cover letter that it would for sure result in an interview.  The cover letter was just the right length - three short and to-the-point paragraphs - but more importantly, she used industry vocabulary and referenced specific details from the job posting.  It was clearly evident that she read and analyzed the job posting and spoke directly to the requirements of the posting.  The resume was professional grade to boot!

With a Master of Science in Education and background as a teacher and project manager, her attention to details and impeccable presentation came as no surprise.  If I were looking to fill an open position, I would definitely give Laurie a call.  Well done Ms. Morrison :)

Where as Laurie distinguished herself in perfection, another student stood out in passion and aggressive instinct.  Though with some room for improvement, Robert Torres' cover letter and resume echoed a man with a fierce heart and a lot to say.  I will help him polish his cover letter and resume - as I will for everyone else.

The young budding Marketing Coordinator also made an impression on me after class when I was busy helping another student with uploading to Angelfire, Robert took the initiative in assisting Belinda with submitting her resume.  Thank you Robert :)

Both Robert and Laurie will receive a 10% bonus for this assignment once they show me their job postings and Robert revises his cover letter and resume.

Three other students made an impression on me as well.  Sue wrote an eloquent and succinct Summary of Qualifications paragraph to open her resume.  Blanca chose a visually stunning resume template from Microsoft Word that made her resume stand out from the rest.  Ed handed in his cover letter, resume and the job posting in a nicely clipped together colored hardcopy package.

Writing a cover letter and resume tailored to a particular job posting is not a one-step process.  It takes several revisions and a second pair of eyes to objectively review them.  Please analyze your job posting and revise your cover letter and resume accordingly before Oct. 12.