Suzanne Calling

An appeal to those more Tech Savvy I’m having Internet problems at work, and I’m at a loss on how to fix the issue. We have inbound DSL service from our local provider that comes into a modem in our telecomm room. The modem is attached to a switch, which has five outputs, three are in use: one to our offices, one to our elementary classroom building, and one to our upper grades building. The first two are situated within 50 feet of the switch and are fine. The upper grade building has internet delivered via Cat5 cable in an uninsulated PVC conduit about 100 feet to my classroom. It terminates in a wall jack from the exterior wall to the building. This plug is located in my classroom. I normally have a dual band router connected to it, which provides internet for up to 12 laptops in the classroom. Across the hall, two classrooms also pull some signal. Obviously, the school is getting signal from our provider if the other two buildings have connectivity. However, the upp...

I am in the thick of editing the USF Poly Student Roundtable we did last week, as well as editing the preliminary camera work for my second Digital Video assignment, a cooking demonstration I've mentioned recently. Thankfully, these days, this doesn't mean my floor is littered with teeny tiny pieces of magnetic reel tape, or that I've used a roll of the ubiquitous white splicing tape, v block and razor blade. Instead, my tools are the SD cards from three cameras and Final Cut. I think I'm glad technology has brought us to this, because I'm not searching the floor for a 2" piece of video that I cut in error!

I've mentioned before, one of my classes has a group project that is 50% of the grade. I've also mentioned that one group member is pulling less than her weight. If not for the other group member's expertise and talent, we'd be up a tree. She's out of the country this week. In the old days, we'd be incommunicado this week, and the problems that member #3 is creating would be all on me. However, we just spent an hour IMing back and forth on the University chat client to iron out the rest of the project. When member #3 can't even follow basic instructions (edit these scripts into a PDF file for the end users, but she leaves in all the directions for the instructional designers), the workload will be greater and the stress lower by doing it this way. Another good thing: The courseware we're creating this project in only works on PCs (the output will work on anything). The screen capture software I use is only available on Macs, but the output also wo...

In tonight's web programming class, the TA put some important coding on the board. He asked us to come up to the board to see what he had written, so that he could explain it step by step. I walked up, digital recorder in hand, as I'd asked the first day of class to record. Also in hand: my iPhone. I figured I would take pictures of the code and then transfer it over to a Word doc tomorrow. So, as TA spoke, I got several pictures of the white board, including the changes he made through the process of explaining Arrays. The book suggests putting Array codes in line, but the TA prefers putting them in the header, because it makes for cleaner HTML coding. I have to say that I like his way better, because it will make it easier to debug. When we were done, I go to return to my seat and the professor asks "When you get a chance, would you post those to the discussion board?" So, the idea to take the pictures, instead of being an annoyance, was viewed as a positive, ...

While my employment does not require my budding skills as an instructional technologist, the fact that I know how to use these programs does come in handy. For instance, I'm in the process of making something in Photoshop that we'll use with the client base, and the combination of Uncle Sam's 'I want YOU' and one of our staff on a sign with an appropriate message is making all of us giggle. In meetings, we've talked about issues that crop up, and I suggest a way to work with it (basically, creating simple training materials for the clients) and one of the team wants to run with this. She asked today what programs could be used for this purpose and I ticked off the six I've used, that I've got two available on my laptop and that we can access two of the others without too much effort, through the employer server. I could see the ideas churning and hope that this means we'll be making web content soon. :) At the same time, I'm being trained on ...

This Outlook thing has really been interesting. For work, our email is all done through Outlook. The good part is that I can't access it from home. The bad part is that I can't access it from home, too. We currently use a proprietary scheduling product, but we are pretty sure we'll be losing it in the near future. So, the hunt is on to find a program that will do scheduling for us, similar to the one we already use, but with the added ability for people to 'check in' on a laptop when they arrive for appointments. Others are working on finding alternatives, perhaps even paying to have something built, but I'm sure there's something already available that does what we need. I'm just not familiar enough with the Outlook product base and add-ons to say 'Hey, this does what we need.' They're paying me, but I'm learning useful things that have practical applications outside the job...

Since I've owned a computer (1991), I've enjoyed creating forms for whatever employer needed them. Heck, at one time, I had a great bartering deal going with the espresso cart in the mall when I lived in Maryland. I had one of the best home graphic design packages on my computer, and I made them some really nice menu signs and fold up menus. In return, I had plenty of free biscottis and Earl Grey tea gratis. Anyway, forms and signs are my thing. I enjoy creating them. Most retailers give their stores bare bones computers with very structured tools without productivity software like Office, so if there's a need for something, you have to create it yourself. Excel is a pretty good program for basic things, and now that I know how to navigate Photoshop, it's another good tool. As I was getting the information about this morning's staff meeting (that I don't have to attend at this stage of the game), I was told "we need forms for this, that and the other...

Last spring and summer semesters, I took online courses in which the professors (both from the St. Pete campus) created podcasts of their lectures, which were posted to Blackboard for students to view throughout the semester. At the time, I ended up uploading them to iTunes and then to my iPod. Several times, I plugged it in to my car stereo and listened to lectures as I drove here and there. While the boys attended scout meetings, I was able to watch a lecture or three and it was great to have that resource, whether I had the laptop with me or not. Even better, by downloading these podcasts, I didn't have to deal with streaming hiccups that can happen with bandwidth. This summer, my friend Jenn decided to take both of these classes. When I realized this, I first offered her my notes. (we became friends over the many study sessions needed to imprint the Psych stats coursework.) The other night, we talked on the phone and she mentioned having Internet issues that meant she'...

Tonight was the last regular session of my Interactive Media class. She promised a stressful semester, because the amount of learning packed into one class will stress out anyone. That was the absolute truth, but I have to agree that along with the heaping helping of stress (some of it having nothing to do with the instructor or assignments), I'm coming out of this class with some very useful skills. Let's backtrack a bit. Back in 2007 or so, my friend Liz suggested that I look into going back to school for Instructional Design. It sounded interesting enough that when I was unemployed and realizing that it was a good time to see about finishing the bachelor's, some research was done. The original plan with it was to find a corporate trainer job, get out there in HR and create training materials to be used online or in a classroom. Kind of bridging the technology skills, the love of training and the real world experience. Then, the return to academia changed my plans ...

I spent six hours yesterday with Flash drawing objects to make this: I used the wrong drawing mode, and I couldn't 'union' the components. Heck, it doesn't even show the fill color unless I deselect everything. Frustrated, I packed it in about 2am, vowing to start fresh in the morning. Then, my concept for this assignment changed completely. Funny how that seems to happen a lot with this class-I struggle with an idea for a while, then right down to crunch time, another idea comes along that makes a ton more sense. Tonight, the project is due, so I decided to look at the uploads of my classmates. Not one utilized a drawing object at all. Instead, the new concept I have seems to fit right in with their submissions. Even better, it's a heck of a lot easier. Plus, the new idea is something that the school's website can use more than the original plan. Guess I should get back to work, but the stress level on this thing dropped dramatically-all because of th...

I will be learning Web Programming this summer. I'd wanted to take Flash, but that professor insisted that I have some experience programming in an object oriented language first. The Web Programming instructor has the same request, but I sent him an email to request a seat. I told him about my first computer that did not have Windows (it was DOS 3.31, thankyouverymuch), about working at Babbages and telling people why they wanted the US Robotics modem instead of the cheap one and how I'm surrounded by computers at home. The piece de resistance may have been when I said "I survived 14 credits last summer, I think 6 this summer will be much better." If I take this now, there's a good chance I take Flash and Web Page Design soon. Maybe I'll redecorate this page in oscillating colors?

A project from the book, from nothing to this mutant lemon: To a fish that could use Botox: To a talking fish: To a talking fish whose word bubble actually is in the right place: To "Hey, this isn't all that bad!" After working on this, and seeing how much is involved, I'm thinking that taking Flash over the summer, while it is still fresh, might be the way to go. The original plan called for Web Programming, but spreading that out over 15 weeks is preferable. We'll see where this all leads...

Yesterday was the first day in my graduate program, the major that I've been waiting nearly two years to begin. Three courses, two in person and one online-and this is considered full time. When you're a geek, like me, you start stalking Blackboard as soon as those courses show up, hoping the professors start putting up content. The first professor sent an email and started building the content the day after Christmas, while the other two followed suit last week. The web class is basically Internet 101, with nine tasks designed to familiarize students with search engines and basic tools. For instance, I'll have to create a simple web page, make a Google map, write a blog (ha!) and manipulate a picture in Photoshop. Nothing too challenging. I took a peek at the discussion boards, which many professors forget to scrub if they reuse templates from semester to semester. By doing so, I saw examples of all nine projects and feel confident that I will do well in the course...

Since GameTeen started at his current school, the Director and I have had many conversations about the goals of the school, her personal goals (she is ABD on her PhD.) and my goals beyond the Master's Degree. She's been great about helping me to refine my purpose and to a lesser extent, I've been doing that for her. My goal with projects in the grad program is, whenever possible, my assignments benefit the school. It will be more meaningful to me to create something that can be used instead of just for credit. We've discussed this and have plans to sit down to create a 'wish list' of things the school needs. Today, she pinged me on Facebook with a question. What she needs is a relational database to catalog and easily retrieve student information. I'm well versed in making flat file databases, but have yet to work with relational. It is something I do need to learn, because I will need to catalog my research data. We conversed for a while, spelling ou...

Today, the tale of a friend's current situation. Some names are changed to protect identities, but I was told that it was okay to share the jerk's name. Back in my day, when a guy was being a selfish pig, a jerk or just yanking a girl's chain, he only had the phone or letters as alternatives to face to face communication. The addition of technology is a beautiful thing in many ways-but a curse in others, like what I'm about to tell. The players: Adam -27 year old guy Betty-27 year old girl Veronica-also a 20-something. Several years ago, through mutual friends, Adam and Betty met and became friends themselves. They shared many common interests-but each was dating other people. They agreed that they would make a very good couple, but the timing is wrong.  Adam later meets and marries Veronica and moves out of state.  Veronica commands Adam to break ties with all female friends, particularly Betty. She feels threatened by Betty, even though Betty is not t...

Last night was a shining example of some of the advances we've made in the past 25 26 years since I entered college. Some highlights: We went from taking tests and waiting 2 to 3 weeks for the professor to grade them all (in blue books) before we got them back to grade stalking the college website because the instructor used Scantrons. Back then, you waited for the college to mail you your grades at the end of the semester (again, a 2 to 3 week wait) to finding out before they are officially submitted. Instead of getting a poster sized paper with 10 point typeface that listed every class the college offered that semester, then waiting in a long line in the gym to register for your classes-then finding out the section was filled now we are able to look at most of NEXT SPRING'S grad school offerings online and knowing exactly how many seats are available. All 2,000 or so offerings each semester are populated 3-6 months early, and you can start planning schedules-you just can...

What do you get when you finally give a nine year old boy the cell phone you've been discussing for months? A kid who wants to call his aunt at 11am to tell her when dinner will be ready. A kid who already had the phone to his ear as we were walking out of scouts tonight, to tell Daddy we'll be home in about a half hour. A kid who tells you that his first text looked like "67w 3203 r429w" because he hasn't figured out how to change the letters yet. (He was trying to text How's it going? to his best friend. Yes, they both have unlimited texting!) A kid who was told to call you if he needed anything when you decided to run to the store. He didn't but he ran out to the car to show me his cellphone PLAYS MUSIC, Mom! (Sony put a walkman feature in his phone) A kid who tells you he wants to find the Phineas and Ferb theme for a ringtone. Unless his Dad figures out how to record his goofy "You need to answer the phone" sound bite. He's over ...

Those who have been readers for a long time may have wondered a few things, like why do the kids have noms de blog, why my last name isn't on here and why sometimes, I can be really, really vague when talking about past situations when there is no need to be. It's really for my comfort, though you could really find these things out if you wanted to discover them. At one time, the URL of the blog was the same as a screen name used in many places. Part of the change was because the name wasn't a good fit anymore, part of it was that I didn't want the blog to be easily discovered by anyone Googling that name. Funny how that played out back then-I wanted to control who had the knowledge that this was my blog. Blogging was not done by many people and was considered a 'geeky' activity, so it remained a hidden pursuit. The Google thing is a big part of it, though. I've mentioned before that computers and the World Wide Web aren't new things in our house...

Porting over my information from one machine to the other is going to be interesting. The fact that I can't launch .exe files makes some transfers tough. I thought I'd get both laptops on the network and just pull from the old to the new. However, the HP can access the network, but is not visible as being on the network! Tomorrow, there will be some playing with that machine to get it recognized. Some things to use or remember that ease the transition: FoxMarks -If you're a Firefox user, this web based app is a dream. It maintains your bookmarks on the web, but you can use it to upload them from one machine, then 'add a second machine' and download all of them at once. As the veteran of a hard drive failure, one where I lost some bookmarks forever, I love this idea. iTunes -Installing this on your new machine is easy, but how do you get all the music back and forth? Well, you can use your iPod to do it. Remember this-you want to deselect your Auto Sync mo...

After visiting a handful of retailers and websites the past week, I finally decided on a purchase. A laptop. Mine is hosed, and well, with starting college this summer, it's probably a good idea to get a newer one (and a second battery for that one, but first things first.) The contenders and what happened- Staples -I bought the HP from them just over four years ago. After a similar search, I found they had the best price for what I wanted. Purchased online while recuperating from leg surgery, it arrived the day I returned to work. This time around, I looked at their offerings after faxing off a document. They had a great sale, but I didn't have the funds that day. A second look and the sales weren't good. Then I found something on their website that said "In Store Only-Special Order." Wouldn't that imply to you that you'd purchase it at a brick and mortar location, and if they didn't have it, they'd order it? That was my assumption, but ...