First Week of Spring 2012 Classes

Week in Review: A Reflection of January 22 – January 28

The first week of classes was going well until I became ill and had to miss class on Wednesday. I was very disappointed because I was looking forward to my Communication Technologies class the most this semester.

They covered a lot of material of which I needed to catch up on my own before moving on to the homework. I learned about and tested a tool that allows you to capture not only still screen captures, but also video screen captures. I imagine this comes in handy if you’re creating tutorials for software use.

Unfortunately, I missed the Welcome Back lunch featuring comedian Andy Hendrickson. The event was between my two Wednesday classes, so it would have been a perfect time to catch a show and some lunch.

I was feeling much better by the weekend, and I was able to go ahead with my plans, which included a friend’s baby shower and a birthday party. We celebrated my friend’s birthday at a Japanese restaurant and sat at a Hibachi table. They throw food around the room, do tricks, and light the grill on fire. My friend was surprised at the end of the meal as we all sang to her and she got a special dessert from the kitchen.

I’m hoping this week goes much smoother than last week. I’m looking forward to meeting new classmates, although I’m missing my old classmates. I cannot wait until next month for our first Web Developer Club meeting of the semester. Student Senate meetings will be starting up again soon as well. Oh so many things to look forward to this semester!

First Day of Spring 2012 Classes

You’d think there was a carnival and everyone was a winner last Tuesday at MPTC’s West Bend campus. Just about every student I saw walking up and down the hall was carrying a gray stuffed wolf. I was no exception. Student senate sponsored the Stuff-a-Wolf event where we were able to fill these wolves, which represents our new mascot, Maximus, with stuffing. It took much longer than I expected, and I finished the project just in time before my first class.

It was the second day of the spring semester, but it was my first day back on campus. In class we started with an icebreaker and a funny YouTube video about what not to do in a PowerPoint presentation. We got into groups to brainstorm about things like preparing for presentations and proper presentation etiquette. Homework was assigned at the end of class so I’ll be diving headfirst into that this week.

It was a pretty activity-filled day to start out my week and my semester.

Week in Review: A Reflection of January 15 – January 21

It was the last week before Spring 2012 classes start and I am both excited and nervous. I’ve finished all the courses for the Web Site Coordinator Certificate and now I’m moving on to the Office Assistant Technical Diploma classes. These are all new classes with all new instructors.

If you read both Lee http://mptclee.blogspot.com/ and my blog entries, you can see how different our academic lives are. Each program at MPTC seems to be different from the others. Besides a few general education classes, each program has it’s own set of very industry-specific classes. So in a way I feel like I’m going to a different school although it’s still Moraine Park Technical College.

They didn’t need me this past week at the place where I volunteer, so I had some time to gather my supplies such as notebooks and folders. To save paper and money, I use notebooks from the previous semester as long as I have enough pages left. You can use sticky bookmarkers to mark where the new class notes start or rip out the old pages from last semester. If you need to keep notes from previous classes, you can staple those torn out pages or put them in a binder.

As far as I can tell, I’m all set to begin classes. I just need to make sure to set my alarm this semester, because I’ve got some early morning classes this time around.

My Trip to the Bookstore – Spring 2012

Last semester I had four of them. The semester before that, I had two of them. This semester I have 6 large ones, one small one, and an access code card. I’m talking about textbooks. I knew I would be picking up a lot of books this semester, so I brought my backpack and an extra bag to carry them. If you have a friend that owes you a favor, I highly recommend you bring them along to the bookstore to help with the heavy lifting.

I have an old 1980’s entertainment center, and I use the space that is supposed to be for the TV as an extra shelf for the current semester’s books. I have not yet moved my old textbooks, notebooks, or folders from last semester, so I can’t put the new ones in their designated spot. My TV sits on top of the entertainment center. That probably sounds like it would look odd, but it drives me crazy to have a TV sit too low to the ground, like those old fashion wood panel TV sets.

But getting back to the topic of textbooks, I suggest keeping your books in the same spot so you never have to go around the house tearing apart couch cushions or crawling under your bed (hey, there’s that missing sock!) five minutes before leaving for class. It’s good practice to get organized now because whatever profession you go into you’ll need to keep track of something whether they’d be papers, tools, and/or supplies of some kind.

You can find bookstore hours, textbook/supply lists, and computer software by visiting: http://bookstore.morainepark.edu/

Week in Review: A Reflection of January 8 – January 14

As I have mentioned in my previous blog, last Tuesday was the new student orientation for spring 2012 at the West Bend Moraine Park Technical College campus. Members of the Web Developer Club and I were there to talk to the new students about life in a student club. It was nice to see fellow members and meet potential new members.

Wednesday was a great day for a walk. We needed bread so I figured I would walk to the store, because I had a feeling it was going to be the only time in January I would be able to do so. Sure enough, we get over 4 inches of snow the following day.

After shoveling, I turned on my computer. The bookstore’s online site now has books and supplies posted for the spring semester. I looked up my classes to see what I’ll be needed and how much I’ll need to spend before the semester starts. There isn’t much time left, so I better head over to the bookstore soon.

Much of my Friday was spent at the place where I volunteer. They had a lot of work for me to do, and I accomplished a lot that day. Everyone was wearing their Packer gear for the Packer party at noon. The employees brought all kinds of food including homemade soups and green-and-gold bakery. I had a chance to meet new people and talk to people I’ve only been able to say hi to in the hall.

I went over to a friend’s place on Saturday for movies, video games, and to watch Saturday Night Live. It’s one of my favorite shows. Who knew Daniel Radcliffe could pull off those American accents?

It was another good week, but time is going by faster each time Monday comes around. One more left before classes begin!

Spring 2012 New Student Orientation

Tuesday was the new student orientation of the spring 2012 semester at Moraine Park’s West Bend campus. Four other club members and I came to represent the Web Developer Club. It was nice to see them again after nearly a month being apart. We talked to new students about the benefits of being in a club, and we had some people who are interested in joining our club.

The poster I made listed some of the benefits of joining the Web Developer Club. What all clubs have in common is that they are a place to network with people and make friends. Our club emphasizes learning about web-related topics that may not be covered in class. We’ve had the opportunity to learn from professional guest speakers who are in the field and know what it’s like to work with clients. They were able to give us a few tips before we begin our internship hours. The club is a good place to get leads on those internships or possible jobs. If you’re a student and haven’t looked into joining a club associated with your program yet, you should take a look: http://www.morainepark.edu/services/student-life/student-clubs/

To all those beginning their academic adventure at Moraine Park Technical College this spring I would like to say welcome, good luck, and enjoy every moment because it’ll be graduation time before you know it!

Week in Review: A Reflection of January 1 – January 7

Although some students at Moraine Park Technical College are taking classes during winterim, some students like me have a month-long break until spring classes begin. This time has been going by so quickly!

Most of my time this past week was spent with friends who are also taking a break or visiting the town where I live. The weather has been cooperating with travel so it’s made seeing friends easier.

I’m also continuing my volunteer work at a local office during break. On Friday they surprised me with a Christmas gift to say thank you for volunteering. I really feel appreciated. Everybody in the office signed the card. It was so nice and unexpected. I volunteer there about every other week, but I’ll be going in a little more often during break because they have a lot of extra work for me to do. I guess I won’t have any problem filling up my time between now and January 23.

Winter Break 2011

I spent part of my free time this past week learning how to use an awesome new camera that takes photographs and video. There is a Futuremakers Video Competition for Wisconsin Technical Colleges students, including those from Moraine Park Technical College, I would like to enter. I have finally come up with an idea for a video after weeks of thinking about it. The deadline for submission is February 29. You can check out details at http://www.wearefuturemakers.com/. Now, I just have to expand on my idea, film it, and edit it. Wish me luck!

During winter break I always meet with my friends so we can do a gift exchange. Everybody is so busy earlier in the month we have to wait until after December 25 to do it. I was able to hang out with them again on New Years Eve. We went out to dinner at a local restaurant and stayed indoors (where it’s warm) to watch movies. I was also able to see a few movies in theaters during break such as Sherlock Holmes 2 and New Years Eve.

I was looking at the events schedule on the myMPTC portal and saw that a new student orientation is coming up soon. I’ll be contacting my Web Developer Club members to make sure we have representatives of the club to sit at the club table to recruit new members for the Spring 2012 semester. We’ll be able to answer any questions new students may have about the club and give them the opportunity to get their name on the list for email notification of our next meeting. It won’t be long before the spring semester will be upon us.

Christmas 2011

My family and I had a pretty usual Christmas like we always have. I went to church on Christmas Eve and opened gifts afterwards. I like to give practical gifts, because I know those kinds of gifts won’t end up in the bottom of a closet. After that, I helped my mom make the traditional butterhorns for our extended family. They need to rise overnight before they are baked.

Christmas morning began with a large Christmas breakfast. I was in charge of the pancakes, and my brother was in charge of the scrambled eggs. In the afternoon, we headed up north to my grandma’s house to celebrate with the extended family. We did a Secret Santa gift exchange where all the gifts are placed in the middle of the room. We draw numbers and choose a gift in the order we picked from the hat. From speaking with my fellow Moraine Park Technical College classmates, many people have this tradition with their family. We just started doing this a few years ago now that the grandchildren are older.

I hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday season and enjoying the short break we have before classes begin again!