SUMMARY:
November 1st, 2016 - January 24th, 2017 (WAY TOO LONG!!!)
Task 1: 8 page write-up including cover and sources (none) (First attempt)
Task 2: 11 slide presentation, including a slide for "cover page" and sources (none) (First Attempt)
Task 3: 10 slide presentation, including a slide for "cover page" and sources (two) & 8 page write-up including cover and sources (none, see notes below) (Second attempt)
Total: 23 pages, 6 spreadsheets, 1 gantt chart
January 29th, 2017
Once again, I spent too much time with everything else in life and didn't focus on WGU....which is a good thing and bad thing about the school. Deadlines would be nice...besides the 6 month deadline to complete the courses.
This class wasn't difficult. Task one was submitted on 11/15, accepted 2 days later. Task 2 was submitted on 12/18 and accepted the following day (fastest evaluation yet!). Task 3 wasn't submitted until 1/19 and was kicked back for some revisions, but re-submitted on the 22nd and accepted on the 24th. I just had to add some additional detail and while talking about addressing issues with the technology coordinators, I didn't include the building principals. So literally just added "technology coordinators and principals" anytime just the coordinators were mentioned, boom, done. Also, one reason my first submission was rejected was because I put my sources for the power point on part C, included in the paper, which the directions said to do. However, they said I gave sources with no citations. So I put them in the PowerPoint and then it was accepted, and put "no sources" for C...even though some were used....the evaluators are silly and not reading the instructions.
So 3 months to finish a pretty easy class. Don't be like me, just GET IT DONE, it's not bad!
Sunday, January 29, 2017
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Information Technology Management - MAT2
SUMMARY:
August 10th, 2016 - October 25th, 2016
Task 1: 5 page write-up including cover and sources (none), plus a budget request and cost-benefit analysis spreadsheets. (Second Attempt)
Task 2: 3 Assessment Matrix PDFs (1 spreadsheet per vendor), 12 page paper including cover and sources. (Second Attempt)
Task 3: 1 decision flowchart, 1 gantt chart, 6 pages including cover and sources. (First Attempt)
Total: 23 pages, 6 spreadsheets, 1 gantt chart
August 11th, 2016
Oh joy, financials....this class could be a little rough, but just from the first Skillset, I've learned a lot. I know the class will move on from the finance side of things a little as I keep going through, but it's not too bad so far. I feel that I'll benefit greatly from this class! Goal is to start Task 1 this weekend.
August 16th, 2016
Met my goal by submitting Task 1 on Sunday, the 14th. It was graded today and passed, first attempt. It was actually a really insightful task. Basically you must justify the cost of switching from landline telco service to VoIP. Seeing how to calculate the budgets out and find the savings over a five year period was a great learning experience. It made a lot of sense and was actually very easy. I'm going to start Task 2 tomorrow and hope to submit it on Thursday night. I actually may finish the course this weekend, which will mean the course only took me 1.5 weeks to finish. My fastest course by far...because I'm finally dedicating more time to my courses. Work is about to get super busy so I know I need to do it now before I'm exhausted everyday when I come home.
October 30th, 2016
Due to work, I did nothing from mid-August until the second week of October. I had to do a revision for Task 2 because I failed to realize that you MUST do a vendor matrix for EACH of the three vendors and you also must write about why you scored the way that you did. My first submission focused solely on the winning bid and didn't compare to the other vendors much. Once I was told this by the course mentor, the paper was cake. A lot more writing, but was still easy to justify my decisions.
I submitted task 3 with just 7 days to go of my second semester, pushing it, haha. I got sent back for revisions, but I didn't understand why. I called up the course mentor who looked over the paper and determined that it should have passed! She submitted an appeal for me and the next morning I received notification that it passed and term 2 was complete! So it pays to speak to the course mentor if you're confused and don't clearly see why revisions were requested.
Two classes left and then I get to do my capstone. Almost done!
August 10th, 2016 - October 25th, 2016
Task 1: 5 page write-up including cover and sources (none), plus a budget request and cost-benefit analysis spreadsheets. (Second Attempt)
Task 2: 3 Assessment Matrix PDFs (1 spreadsheet per vendor), 12 page paper including cover and sources. (Second Attempt)
Task 3: 1 decision flowchart, 1 gantt chart, 6 pages including cover and sources. (First Attempt)
Total: 23 pages, 6 spreadsheets, 1 gantt chart
August 11th, 2016
Oh joy, financials....this class could be a little rough, but just from the first Skillset, I've learned a lot. I know the class will move on from the finance side of things a little as I keep going through, but it's not too bad so far. I feel that I'll benefit greatly from this class! Goal is to start Task 1 this weekend.
August 16th, 2016
Met my goal by submitting Task 1 on Sunday, the 14th. It was graded today and passed, first attempt. It was actually a really insightful task. Basically you must justify the cost of switching from landline telco service to VoIP. Seeing how to calculate the budgets out and find the savings over a five year period was a great learning experience. It made a lot of sense and was actually very easy. I'm going to start Task 2 tomorrow and hope to submit it on Thursday night. I actually may finish the course this weekend, which will mean the course only took me 1.5 weeks to finish. My fastest course by far...because I'm finally dedicating more time to my courses. Work is about to get super busy so I know I need to do it now before I'm exhausted everyday when I come home.
October 30th, 2016
Due to work, I did nothing from mid-August until the second week of October. I had to do a revision for Task 2 because I failed to realize that you MUST do a vendor matrix for EACH of the three vendors and you also must write about why you scored the way that you did. My first submission focused solely on the winning bid and didn't compare to the other vendors much. Once I was told this by the course mentor, the paper was cake. A lot more writing, but was still easy to justify my decisions.
I submitted task 3 with just 7 days to go of my second semester, pushing it, haha. I got sent back for revisions, but I didn't understand why. I called up the course mentor who looked over the paper and determined that it should have passed! She submitted an appeal for me and the next morning I received notification that it passed and term 2 was complete! So it pays to speak to the course mentor if you're confused and don't clearly see why revisions were requested.
Two classes left and then I get to do my capstone. Almost done!
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Advanced Networking Technology - SJT2
SUMMARY:
June 28th, 2016 - August 11th, 2016
Task 1: 23 pages including cover page and sources (none) and 1 network diagram
Total: 23 pages
July 7th, 2016
Holy wow, this class is not for a newbie! Prior networking experience is needed! I've really had no issues understanding any of the classes until this one. My experience aligns more with system administration then network administration, so this is going to be one tough class/task! They provide a section to read if you need a refresher, but it's so minimal and pointless compared to what this class covers.
August 11th, 2016
This task is a monster! Maybe that's because I'm more of a systems guy, not a network guy? Thankfully my network admin at work was super helpful in looking at my design and giving me pointers, walking me through how our organization is setup and things I may want to think about when designing this one. I went through 4 revisions of it before he approved it. I spent an insane amount of time on this part. I then spent a couple of days writing the paper, didn't seem bad. My first submission was 13 pages long plus the network diagram submitted as a separate file.
I submitted Task 1 on August 7th and it was returned for revisions on August 9th. I had to get a little more detailed on the last three parts of the paper, Technical Approach, Projector Requirements, and Network Performance. Everything else was good. I ended up writing another 10 pages to cover this....yeah, I got detailed, ha! I submitted it on the 10th and expect it to be graded tomorrow morning. I also expect that it will pass.
I've already moved on to Information Technology Management while waiting for the task to be reviewed.
June 28th, 2016 - August 11th, 2016
Task 1: 23 pages including cover page and sources (none) and 1 network diagram
Total: 23 pages
July 7th, 2016
Holy wow, this class is not for a newbie! Prior networking experience is needed! I've really had no issues understanding any of the classes until this one. My experience aligns more with system administration then network administration, so this is going to be one tough class/task! They provide a section to read if you need a refresher, but it's so minimal and pointless compared to what this class covers.
August 11th, 2016
This task is a monster! Maybe that's because I'm more of a systems guy, not a network guy? Thankfully my network admin at work was super helpful in looking at my design and giving me pointers, walking me through how our organization is setup and things I may want to think about when designing this one. I went through 4 revisions of it before he approved it. I spent an insane amount of time on this part. I then spent a couple of days writing the paper, didn't seem bad. My first submission was 13 pages long plus the network diagram submitted as a separate file.
I submitted Task 1 on August 7th and it was returned for revisions on August 9th. I had to get a little more detailed on the last three parts of the paper, Technical Approach, Projector Requirements, and Network Performance. Everything else was good. I ended up writing another 10 pages to cover this....yeah, I got detailed, ha! I submitted it on the 10th and expect it to be graded tomorrow morning. I also expect that it will pass.
I've already moved on to Information Technology Management while waiting for the task to be reviewed.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Technical Writing - MCT2
SUMMARY:
June 1st, 2016 - July 28th, 20016
Task 1: 8 pages including cover/sources
Task 2: 8 pages including cover/sources. 4 page Usability Test Plan. 3 page revised instructions.
Task 3: 4 page TOC (including cover page), 4 sample pages, 8 slide presentation
Total: 31 pages + 8 slide power point. All tasks accepted on the first attempt!
June 8th, 2016
Task 1 is completed, accepted on first attempt. The task is fairly simple, not bad at all. I chose a 6 page section out of the manual for my Netgear Nighthawk X4 router, focusing on FTP Storage Setup and accessing outside the local network. Not having complete prior knowledge to the processing document helps as you view it from a different angle this way.
June 15th, 2016
Task 2 has been frustrating to get started. I had to send the course mentor a few e-mails because I couldn't find an example of what the Usability Test Plan should look like. Thankfully she was able to help and I completed that tonight and had a novice user test the horrible Google Sheet document they have you test with and then redesign. Tomorrow I'm going to take the results of the test plan and redesign the technical document and write the paper. Hopefully will submit tomorrow, Friday at the latest. If all goes well (it never does), I'll have this class completed this weekend. It would be my fastest completed class at just 2.5 weeks. Realistically, I could see someone completing this class in a week, easily, but I've been busy with other things. #life, ha.
June 19th, 2016
Submitted Task 2 on the 16th and got word this morning that it was accepted, first attempt! Once I figured out how to make the Usability Test Plan, thanks to the course mentor, the task was cake, and fun! I thought my revised document was great, toot toot. Next up, Task 3 and this class is done. Task 3 looks like a monster, but hoping to complete it by Tuesday night and have this class official done by the weekend!
June 27th, 2016
Received and exciting e-mail today from WGU. I'm receiving Excellence Award for my work on Task 2. I'm pretty stoked about this because I thought the task was done really well, my best work yet, and now this lets me know that I was right, yay!
June 28th, 2016
Submitted Task 3 on the 26th and just got word back that it passed, first attempt, woot! The task wasn't even remotely as long or bad as I thought it would be. It was broken into three sections, each submitted as separate documents, all submitted at the same time though. The three files were my Table of Contents, my sample pages, and my presentation power point. The Pearson text books give great examples of what you need to do for the TOB, and the sample pages you already know what to do as you did the same thing in Task 2.
My sample pages were "only" 4 pages long, BUT, I covered 5 sections. The sections included step-by-step instructions and plenty of screenshots to guide the users.
That's a wrap, on to Advanced Networking Technology!
Update: Received an email stating that I receiving another Excellence Award, this time for my work on Task 3! Apparently I'm pretty good at Technical Writing, haha!
June 1st, 2016 - July 28th, 20016
Task 1: 8 pages including cover/sources
Task 2: 8 pages including cover/sources. 4 page Usability Test Plan. 3 page revised instructions.
Task 3: 4 page TOC (including cover page), 4 sample pages, 8 slide presentation
Total: 31 pages + 8 slide power point. All tasks accepted on the first attempt!
June 8th, 2016
Task 1 is completed, accepted on first attempt. The task is fairly simple, not bad at all. I chose a 6 page section out of the manual for my Netgear Nighthawk X4 router, focusing on FTP Storage Setup and accessing outside the local network. Not having complete prior knowledge to the processing document helps as you view it from a different angle this way.
June 15th, 2016
Task 2 has been frustrating to get started. I had to send the course mentor a few e-mails because I couldn't find an example of what the Usability Test Plan should look like. Thankfully she was able to help and I completed that tonight and had a novice user test the horrible Google Sheet document they have you test with and then redesign. Tomorrow I'm going to take the results of the test plan and redesign the technical document and write the paper. Hopefully will submit tomorrow, Friday at the latest. If all goes well (it never does), I'll have this class completed this weekend. It would be my fastest completed class at just 2.5 weeks. Realistically, I could see someone completing this class in a week, easily, but I've been busy with other things. #life, ha.
June 19th, 2016
Submitted Task 2 on the 16th and got word this morning that it was accepted, first attempt! Once I figured out how to make the Usability Test Plan, thanks to the course mentor, the task was cake, and fun! I thought my revised document was great, toot toot. Next up, Task 3 and this class is done. Task 3 looks like a monster, but hoping to complete it by Tuesday night and have this class official done by the weekend!
June 27th, 2016
Received and exciting e-mail today from WGU. I'm receiving Excellence Award for my work on Task 2. I'm pretty stoked about this because I thought the task was done really well, my best work yet, and now this lets me know that I was right, yay!
June 28th, 2016
Submitted Task 3 on the 26th and just got word back that it passed, first attempt, woot! The task wasn't even remotely as long or bad as I thought it would be. It was broken into three sections, each submitted as separate documents, all submitted at the same time though. The three files were my Table of Contents, my sample pages, and my presentation power point. The Pearson text books give great examples of what you need to do for the TOB, and the sample pages you already know what to do as you did the same thing in Task 2.
My sample pages were "only" 4 pages long, BUT, I covered 5 sections. The sections included step-by-step instructions and plenty of screenshots to guide the users.
That's a wrap, on to Advanced Networking Technology!
Update: Received an email stating that I receiving another Excellence Award, this time for my work on Task 3! Apparently I'm pretty good at Technical Writing, haha!
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Disaster Recovery Planning, Prevention and Response - FXT2
SUMMARY:
May 1st, 2016 - June 1st, 2016
Task 1: Power point with 19 slides.
Task 2: 11 pages including cover and sources
Task 3: 10 pages (using template)
Total: 22 pages + 19 slide PowerPoint
May 16th, 2016
Turned in Task 1, a power point and had it returned. I just had to add a bit more presenter notes to each slide, no biggie, accepted on 2nd attempt. Fairly easy task. This course ties right into Risk Management, take the two back to back and get them out of the way. On to task 2! Goal is to complete task 2 this weekend and task 3 by the following weekend. I'm about 2 weeks behind where I'd like to be to allow me to finish the program in two terms. I expect to make up for this time during my next two classes though, Technical Writing and Advanced Networking!
May 25th, 2016
Took a couple of attempts, but thanks to guidance of the graders and the course mentor on one area, I was able to complete Task 2 pretty quick. Task 3 is submitted as well as of last night and I'm hoping that it gets graded by tomorrow and that I pass, if so, this class is a wrap!
June 1st, 2016
After one revision to task 3, the document was resubmitted and passed.
This class ties heavily into Risk Management. I suggest taking Risk Management first, then this class.
May 1st, 2016 - June 1st, 2016
Task 1: Power point with 19 slides.
Task 2: 11 pages including cover and sources
Task 3: 10 pages (using template)
Total: 22 pages + 19 slide PowerPoint
May 16th, 2016
Turned in Task 1, a power point and had it returned. I just had to add a bit more presenter notes to each slide, no biggie, accepted on 2nd attempt. Fairly easy task. This course ties right into Risk Management, take the two back to back and get them out of the way. On to task 2! Goal is to complete task 2 this weekend and task 3 by the following weekend. I'm about 2 weeks behind where I'd like to be to allow me to finish the program in two terms. I expect to make up for this time during my next two classes though, Technical Writing and Advanced Networking!
May 25th, 2016
Took a couple of attempts, but thanks to guidance of the graders and the course mentor on one area, I was able to complete Task 2 pretty quick. Task 3 is submitted as well as of last night and I'm hoping that it gets graded by tomorrow and that I pass, if so, this class is a wrap!
June 1st, 2016
After one revision to task 3, the document was resubmitted and passed.
This class ties heavily into Risk Management. I suggest taking Risk Management first, then this class.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Risk Management - JIT2
SUMMARY:
March 2nd, 2016 - April 6th, 2016
Task 1 Part A: 10 pages including cover page and sources page (none)
Task 1 Part B: 9 pages including cover page and sources page (none)
Task 1 Part C: 3 pages including cover page and sources page (none)
Total: 22 pages, accepted on first attempt!
March 2nd, 2016
Here we go! While waiting for my final paper to be accepted for Cyberlaw, I'm getting a jump start on Risk Management. Today I spent a couple of hours on the course. The pacing guide sets you up to complete the course in 4 weeks. The course mentor is putting on events and stating that with her cohort, it can be completed in about 10 days. That being said, I'm honestly hoping to knock this class out in 14 days. I have the rubric outline of the paper created and ready to go. Looking through the course material, should be able to complete 60% of the class this weekend. The longest part, besides the task, is going to be reading a bunch of chapters. Speaking of the task...there's only 1, however, it's a big one! I guess it's three huge sections to complete, oh joy!
April 6th, 2016
The cohort helped a little with defining what you should include in the task, but wasn't as helpful as I thought it might be. I suppose that's because you have to remember that at WGU, it's 99% all self taught, so the cohort gives some guidance but don't expect clear answers and explanations of content. You may get that by contacting course mentors directly though. While the schedule they give you is completely obtainable if you're an avid reader....I'm not so I took my sweet time.
There is only a single task for JIT2 and it's actually not that bad! It is however long. The task is split into 3 sections, A, B, and C. I made a separate document for each section but submitted them all at the same time. It was accepted on my first attempt.
Term 1 is completed 4 weeks early and I'm already starting on FXT2, Disaster Recovery! Yay!
March 2nd, 2016 - April 6th, 2016
Task 1 Part A: 10 pages including cover page and sources page (none)
Task 1 Part B: 9 pages including cover page and sources page (none)
Task 1 Part C: 3 pages including cover page and sources page (none)
Total: 22 pages, accepted on first attempt!
March 2nd, 2016
Here we go! While waiting for my final paper to be accepted for Cyberlaw, I'm getting a jump start on Risk Management. Today I spent a couple of hours on the course. The pacing guide sets you up to complete the course in 4 weeks. The course mentor is putting on events and stating that with her cohort, it can be completed in about 10 days. That being said, I'm honestly hoping to knock this class out in 14 days. I have the rubric outline of the paper created and ready to go. Looking through the course material, should be able to complete 60% of the class this weekend. The longest part, besides the task, is going to be reading a bunch of chapters. Speaking of the task...there's only 1, however, it's a big one! I guess it's three huge sections to complete, oh joy!
April 6th, 2016
The cohort helped a little with defining what you should include in the task, but wasn't as helpful as I thought it might be. I suppose that's because you have to remember that at WGU, it's 99% all self taught, so the cohort gives some guidance but don't expect clear answers and explanations of content. You may get that by contacting course mentors directly though. While the schedule they give you is completely obtainable if you're an avid reader....I'm not so I took my sweet time.
There is only a single task for JIT2 and it's actually not that bad! It is however long. The task is split into 3 sections, A, B, and C. I made a separate document for each section but submitted them all at the same time. It was accepted on my first attempt.
Term 1 is completed 4 weeks early and I'm already starting on FXT2, Disaster Recovery! Yay!
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Degree Plan
With any luck, this is my degree plan. This will allow me to finish my master degree in just two terms. The first number is the number of weeks I hope it takes me. First two courses are now complete at the time of this posting. Clearly I have to step up my game and stop procrastinating to meet these goals.
TERM 2
TERM 1
Current and Emerging Technology 11/01 - 12/18
Cyberlaw 12/18 - 3/07
2- Risk Management - 3/06 - 3/20
TERM 2
5- Disaster Recovery - 4/6 - 5/22
4- Tech Writing- 5/22 - 6/5
5- Advanced Networking- 6/5 - 7/3
4- IT Management- 7/3 - 7/21
4- Power and Influence- 7/21 - 8/14
4- Tech Globalization- 8/15 - 9/4
4- Capstone Written- 9/5 - 10/2
3- Capstone Oral- 10/3- 10/20
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