Learning Objectives – The goal of this lab was to download and run the apache program on a piece of hardware and set up a webserver.

Equipment List – Computer hardware, apache webserver software

Notes, Observations, and Questions – Plenty went wrong. Downloads were fine, but anything after that would not work. Changing text files and attempting to set up the webserver bore no result. Why would it not work even following tutorials where it was successful?

Diagrams, Flowcharts, and Figures – N/A

References – Apache Lounge Installation instruction text file, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg0M5x-BBGw, other tutorials as well.

Conclusions – Could not get it to work. I tried multiple strategies to get the program installed and running, following several different tutorials and asking for help from peers. No matter how closely and carefully I followed instructions or advice, I was unsuccessful at creating a working webserver using Apache. I am disappointed that this was the result.

Learning Objectives – The objective of this lab is to make sure that we can use computer software to edit videos.

Equipment List – a computer, video editing software, clips of video or music

Notes, Observations, and Questions – What software programs can separate audio from video into separate files?

Diagrams, Flowcharts, and Figures – https://youtu.be/sjCjchW9biI

References – instructions and Hitchcock video provided by Bill Genereux. A clip from a youtube video featuring a One Piece (Toei Animation, Fuji Television) intro Kokoro no Chizu by MIZUE, https://youtu.be/lmEnn0JKxOI

Conclusions – There are many different pieces of software that can be used for these kinds of works, as well as many sources to use in these kinds of projects. The process of editing these clips, and video in general with the software I was using (Video Editor for Windows 10) was very user friendly.

Learning Objectives – The learning objectives of this lab were to inspect and identify different hardware devices from the first three layers of the OSI (Open System Interconnection) model and to inspect how these devices work through some tests with a computer to further understand how computer networks work.

Equipment List – A computer.

Notes, Observations, and Questions – The lab introduced devices I had not seen in person before, such as hubs and switches from layers one and two of the model. The class also watched how a switch worked as a whole. The lab also had many activities and instructions to follow to find out how a network actually worked, mostly running tests in the command prompt on a computer and answering follow-up questions.

Diagrams, Flowcharts, and Figures – N/A for this lab.

References – A set of directions and questions provided by Dr. Bill Genereux.

Conclusions – There are many different aspects to networks and the inner workings for them. The OSI model breaks down these aspects to simplify them and creates an easy understanding for networks. Before this lab, I had no idea how the internet worked past what hardware or connections were needed. Now I understand how those connections work and why they are needed to create these networks.

Learning Objectives – The learning objectives for this lab were to look inside a computer and be able to learn what each piece of hardware looked like or what it was called. This lab also worked to learn how different hardware is put into a computer and what all a computer needs to work as well.

Equipment List – A computer with all it’s interior components and possibly a keyboard/mouse/monitor if you would like to try and get the computer working.

Notes, Observations, and Questions – A computer is simple to build as long as all the necessary hardware is available. I would compare putting a computer together to that of building lego sets (snap into place).

Diagrams, Flowcharts, and Figures – N/A for this lab.

References – A list of different hardware to find provided by Dr. Bill Genereux.

Conclusions – As stated in the observations, computers are more simple than they seem to most people. Personally I used to think computers would be difficult to assemble and that a trained professional would be the only one who could do it correctly. This however is not true. While it might be difficult with no knowledge at all, once someone has a basic understanding of the hardware and how a computer should be put together, it is quite simple.

Learning Objectives – The learning objectives for this lab were to observe the inner workings of cables and to learn how to connect the wires in a way that they would support a secure and effective connection.

Equipment List – 5CAT wires, connection test devices, wire strippers, scissors, crimper, patch panel, punch down.

Notes, Observations, and Questions – This activity was easier than I expected, but then became harder than expected. Preparing and actually assembling the different sections of the lab was easy in theory, and we were successful at first. However, when testing to see if the wires carried a successful connection is where we realized we were in for some hard work. We succeeded in creating a connection with the patch panel, however, creating new wires was more difficult. I, personally, had trouble aligning the wires correctly in the end.

Diagrams, Flowcharts, and Figures – N/A or see above pictures

References – Notes and Directions from Dr. Bill Genereux.

Conclusions – This lab was simple in theory, but in practice was a bit harder. The idea and goals of the lab were clear and I did learn something I had not known before. It is useful to know how these connections work so that in a pinch one could fix the problem quickly and with ease.

Learning Objectives – The main objective for this lab is learning how to use WordPress and creating a website with it. The main things that the creator needs to know from WordPress is how to make posts and manage the website so that they can publish new content with ease.

Equipment List – Materials include a computer, internet connection, and a browser to visit the WordPress website.

Notes, Observations, and Questions – WordPress can be a little difficult to work with if you have never used it before. Exploring seems to be the best way of learning how to use the program. Some of the aspects of the editor look to be a bit confusing to me, but again, experimentation is the best solution to questions.

Diagrams, flowcharts, and figures – N/A

References – The laboratory instructions provided by Bill Genereux, the instructor.

Conclusions – This will be a necessary tool in the works associated with the class, Hardware and Network Fundamentals. It is best to learn how to maneuver the site and its inner workings on my own time so that class time is not used up too much.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.