However, at this point, I still felt very confident that I would have no problem getting a good grade out of this class. The ideas didn't seem too terribly complicated. I figured if I just listened and took good notes I shouldn't have any problems.
I figured out how to log on to the email system at the Clic Lab (which before this class I didn't even know it existed!) And, although I was never able to log on to UHUNIX from home, I still felt pretty confident when I arrived to class the following week.
He told us look at KEVIN BOGAN'S homepage and check his FAQ FILE or frequently asked questions.
That day I took a couple more pages of notes (again in foreign computer language). My confidence was slowly diminishing. The first day of class Dr. James had us fill out some forms about our experience on computers and he also had us put on that form what grade we expected in his class. Confidently, I put an A. I usually get good grades and didn't feel like I had any kind of technophobia. Now, reflecting back on that moment, it seems really silly. I had no idea how much time and energy I was going to have to put into this class. I remember Dr. James saying "Well, we have a lot of confident people in this class." I would like to see what people would put down now after a few weeks of this "torture." I wonder how many people would be as confident as that first day.
I think a lot of the confusion comes from sitting in class and hearing this "foreign language" spoken to you. Dr. James talks about setting this up and that up and up loading and down loading and ftping, etc. Trying to absorb all of it is one thing, but the other thing is trying to figure out what he is talking about. Once we began working in the lab, slowly, everything started coming together. The hands on experience is the best. Dr. James should consider, except for the first day, holding the whole class period in the lab. Somehow being next to the computer makes everything clearer.
This doesn't mean that there still is no confusion. Oh, there is confusion; it just isn't complete confusion as before. Dr. James' laid out the plan for the semister and the titles of the files we were to build. I think this would have been a good thing to have in the very begining of class. The first day to have been given a list of the files and what each file should contain would have been helpful. However, at this point, the thought of personalized files sounds fun, but maybe in the beginning it would have been too overwelming. I don't know, I was already overwelmed, what's a little bit more.
For more class structure from the beginning, possibly a drawn out computer tree, would have helped. I don't know I guess I'm feeling like I get it okay at this point; it's just that the first few weeks were such HELL!
The search engines like LYCOS were very helpful in finding information. Also, since my WIB file which I am managing pretains to how to find information on the World Wide Web, I am sure I will become an expert on searching for information!
I wonder if from the beginning, if I could have seen a plan laid out for the semester and a definition for each file and what is expected for them, if I wouldn't have been so frustrated and confused. But, this may be a bad thing to do; I think the whole class (well the majority of it) was pretty lost at first. Maybe more information would have been a disaster. I guess Dr. James will just have to use his best judgment in determining what is enough and what is too much information.
At this point, I think most of the class has gotten the concepts down and now it is just the work load we have to deal with. I know I have spent an enormous amount of time working in the computer lab and I am not alone. Everytime I am working in the lab I see at least five or six others from my class. Many of them were frustrated and now they seem to be getting it better. I think it helps a lot working together. We all ask each other how to do things and how to get things. There is defintely a lot of team work in this class!
I would like to spend more time "playing" on the Internet, but there just isn't enough time. Hopefully, after the midterm grading is complete, we can spend more time looking around on the Internet. I guess I could stop sleeping and that would free up a couple of hours.