These blogs were reflections and assignments that I had to do throughout my graduate experience. If you are interested, you can check them out. Keep in mind that they are reflections and not meant to be taken as captivating reads!
Welcome.
Ryan
Me
Friday, March 23, 2012
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Winding Down
This has been an interesting program. There are many times that I questioned if I should have done the program, since I make the salary raise in the first two weeks of summer doing construction. Then I tell myself that some day I will not have to do construction in the summer and I smile.
I have learned a lot throughout the program and will appreciate the extra time with my own kids next year. When I reflect back on the last year, I understand that I took on too much. Thankfully my wife keeps me floating with all of her hard work. With chess club, cross country coaching, carpentry club, coaching hockey and grad school, there was very little time for anything else. This last year was a tough year. I have heard of teacher burnout and I totally understand why now. These last few days I have spent re-roofing a house and it reminds me of why I became a teacher again. The days are physically tough doing construction but working with the guys is just a tad bit different than working in a profession dominated by women. Now if I can just finish this action research thing, I will be able to relax.
I have learned a lot throughout the program and will appreciate the extra time with my own kids next year. When I reflect back on the last year, I understand that I took on too much. Thankfully my wife keeps me floating with all of her hard work. With chess club, cross country coaching, carpentry club, coaching hockey and grad school, there was very little time for anything else. This last year was a tough year. I have heard of teacher burnout and I totally understand why now. These last few days I have spent re-roofing a house and it reminds me of why I became a teacher again. The days are physically tough doing construction but working with the guys is just a tad bit different than working in a profession dominated by women. Now if I can just finish this action research thing, I will be able to relax.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
How a Computer Works
How a Computer Works
Here are some basics about how a computer works. First off, a computer is basically a machine that can store information in a useful format. How this is done is by converting information from a series of on and off switches into usable code that the computer can read. This is done by some components of the computer. The large processing part of the computer is called the mother board. This is where the CPU chip is stored. The CPU is the central processing unit and it acts like the brain of the computer. That means that it directs the functions of the computer. The information can then be stored in the hard drive which is a series of metallic disks that store magnetic information. Information can also be stored in the RAM which uses a series of magnetic charges to store information. External storage devices can also be purchased to add additional storage or to backup the system. The RAM is only a temporary memory because once the power to the RAM is lost, the information is lost. The amount of RAM that a computer has will determine how fast it will operate. Current computers come with 2 to 4 GB of Ram. Computers can also have multiple CPU’s that are stacked on top of each other for faster operation.
What happens when a computer is turned on is that it goes through a BIOS process where the first instructions are sent to the CPU. This is what takes the computer time to get running. The system must identify, test, and basically let the computer know which devices that it needs to get up and running. The amount of time that this process takes depends on how many software operations you have running on your computer or how many networked computers are using them. This is the booting up process and it can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes depending on your computer speed and age.
Each computer has its own operating system. Operating systems have changed over time and a computer owner will need to upgrade their system to be compatible with new and ever changing software and programs.
Here are some basics about how a computer works. First off, a computer is basically a machine that can store information in a useful format. How this is done is by converting information from a series of on and off switches into usable code that the computer can read. This is done by some components of the computer. The large processing part of the computer is called the mother board. This is where the CPU chip is stored. The CPU is the central processing unit and it acts like the brain of the computer. That means that it directs the functions of the computer. The information can then be stored in the hard drive which is a series of metallic disks that store magnetic information. Information can also be stored in the RAM which uses a series of magnetic charges to store information. External storage devices can also be purchased to add additional storage or to backup the system. The RAM is only a temporary memory because once the power to the RAM is lost, the information is lost. The amount of RAM that a computer has will determine how fast it will operate. Current computers come with 2 to 4 GB of Ram. Computers can also have multiple CPU’s that are stacked on top of each other for faster operation.
What happens when a computer is turned on is that it goes through a BIOS process where the first instructions are sent to the CPU. This is what takes the computer time to get running. The system must identify, test, and basically let the computer know which devices that it needs to get up and running. The amount of time that this process takes depends on how many software operations you have running on your computer or how many networked computers are using them. This is the booting up process and it can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes depending on your computer speed and age.
Each computer has its own operating system. Operating systems have changed over time and a computer owner will need to upgrade their system to be compatible with new and ever changing software and programs.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Windows 7
Operating System:
I decided to do some research on Windows 7. Windows 7 was released to manufacturing in July of 2009. It came out only three years after Vista. This makes sense to me because I have a number of bad things about Vista (though I have never used it). What makes it unique is that it will be compatible with the older versions and with Windows Vista. Some other new features are a new taskbar, the, “Superbar” and a home networking system called the HomeGroup. The moviemaker will not come with Windows 7 which is not a big deal to me since it always fried when I tried to use it anyway. After my interview with my brother in law, I think our school made a good move by skipping Vista. Many companies are in the process upgrading to this system so to keep up with the times, we will all need to upgrade. These are some of the requirements of Windows 7.
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
I decided to do some research on Windows 7. Windows 7 was released to manufacturing in July of 2009. It came out only three years after Vista. This makes sense to me because I have a number of bad things about Vista (though I have never used it). What makes it unique is that it will be compatible with the older versions and with Windows Vista. Some other new features are a new taskbar, the, “Superbar” and a home networking system called the HomeGroup. The moviemaker will not come with Windows 7 which is not a big deal to me since it always fried when I tried to use it anyway. After my interview with my brother in law, I think our school made a good move by skipping Vista. Many companies are in the process upgrading to this system so to keep up with the times, we will all need to upgrade. These are some of the requirements of Windows 7.
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Techie
I talked to my brother in law for the "Interview a Techie" project. He is currently employed at NML in Milaukee. My wife also works at NML as a systems analysist but she does not consider herself a techie. I asked Jason about the opperating system that they use. He explained that they recently changed over to Windows 7 from XP. He explained that for a large corporation, it is not viable to be up with the latest trends so they skipped right past Vista. They have 5000 employees downtown and service 15,000 throughout the country. For them, it is a huge labor process to upgrade. It is also a huge labor process to keep out hackers and remove bugs from the system. Since Windows is an accepterd platform throughout the world, it works well. Although there are some MACs in the company, they are used in the advertising department and mainly used for creative services.
Computer Architecture Activities.
Eric and I watched the Pirates of Silicon Valley last night. I had no idea how devious Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were. I would even say that Steve was a bit if a nut job. The movie was both entertaining and informative. It amazes me that they were able to take something like the Altaire and turn into something that everyone could use. Watching those humble beginnings to what they have become now is quite amazing. After we watched that, we watched the Triumph of the Nerds movie as well. It was nice to watch the movies in that order because it filled in a lot of the gaps. For use as technology leaders, I think that these were very important movies for us to watch. I am still using a PC but I have seen the advantages of each.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Computer Architecture 1
There is hope! Prior to this last class, I was wondering how it was going to be possible to wrap up everything by the end of the program, now I feel there is hope!
On the topic of what was learned this week. The video we watched on computers was very thought provoking. The speed that computers can handle information is amazing to me. I still remember working on a Comodor 64 back in high school. My brother just thought it was the best thing ever. I really didn't care for it at all. I was more interested in games. We have lived an interesting era of being able to watch computers evolve into something completely amazing and transforming.
This week we will be taking apart a computer to learn what everything does. I look forward to it! I intend to take apart an old computer of mine and I will also leave it up in my room for student to view. Why not make it a learning experience for students as well?
On the topic of what was learned this week. The video we watched on computers was very thought provoking. The speed that computers can handle information is amazing to me. I still remember working on a Comodor 64 back in high school. My brother just thought it was the best thing ever. I really didn't care for it at all. I was more interested in games. We have lived an interesting era of being able to watch computers evolve into something completely amazing and transforming.
This week we will be taking apart a computer to learn what everything does. I look forward to it! I intend to take apart an old computer of mine and I will also leave it up in my room for student to view. Why not make it a learning experience for students as well?
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