Midnight Release

Last Thursday I waited in line for five hours. When it started to rain we weren’t troubled, we just opened our umbrellas. This evening was the culmination of ten years of memories. My friends and I saw the final Harry Potter movie, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” at midnight.

I went to a Harry Potter midnight release in November a few years ago. It made things a little complicated for those college students who had class the next day and homework due. People were working on their laptops, reviewing their notebooks and reading textbooks in the lobby before we were allowed to take our seats in the theater. Hopefully they didn’t have any early morning classes. I was fortunate not to have any Friday classes that semester.

Luckily, this year the movie was a summer release meaning there was no homework or classes to worry about for the next day. While waiting in line, we played cards, did trivia with the people near us in line and watched people show up in elaborate costumes.

Despite the short-lived rain, it was probably the most fun and memorable midnight showing I’ve ever been to. The movie theater set up a canopy outside at the front of the line and handed out umbrellas to the people who didn’t fit under the canopy. My friends and I had our pictures taken twice, once while in line and once while sitting in our seats. Both pictures ended up on the theater’s website.

It’s been a good summer so far. I know that it’ll be ending soon when I see new student orientation listed on the Moraine Park Technical College’s online calendar. One more month to go!

Fourth of July

Just about every year I start my Fourth of July celebration at the Fourth of July parade in West Bend. This year it was packed despite the fact it was so very hot outside. One of the floats had a machine that shot mist into the crowd. The kids in the crowd really enjoyed that.

Later in the afternoon, I met up with my friends and went to the park. We brought a cooler along and had a picnic. It’s a good idea to show up early to claim a spot. It’s nearly impossible to move around easily or to find people after dusk. Calling someone’s cell phone and telling them your standing next to a tree isn’t the easiest way to meet up with someone after 8 p.m. at the park. I also brought my new giant checkers set and cloth game board, like the one we had in our fifth grade classroom. I just love it. I’d almost forgotten how to play it’s been so long.

The fireworks show was nice. It wasn’t windy and we picked a great spot so the fireworks were easy to see. They had beautiful golden fountain fireworks that everyone ooed and awed at. Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera died before I could take a picture of them.

It seems that every year the rest of the summer flies by really quickly after the Fourth of July. Soon it will be August 22, and I will be in class at Moraine Park for the fall semester.

My Summer Visit to the MPTC Library

It’s been more than a month since the end of the spring semester and I haven’t spent any time on campus since then until recently. I had a morning free, so I decided to stop at the MPTC library for a few hours.

While walking through the halls, I noticed some construction going on. It looks like the West Bend Moraine Park bookstore is getting a makeover. There was a sign saying it has moved temporarily to a different room.

The campus was a bit livelier than I had expected it to be, though not as busy as it is during the fall and spring semesters. I suppose there are quite a few people taking advantage of summer classes and the library’s computers. The cafeteria was open, too.

I spent my time looking through some Web design books. There is a section in the library where those books are kept so it was easy to browse. I freshened up on some basics and learned a few new things. If I have time, I’ll come back in a few weeks to browse through the books again. Only two months of summer vacation left!

Web Site Coordinator Certificate

Last semester while looking at what classes I’ve completed and what classes I still needed to take, I discovered I was only three classes away from being eligible to receive the Web Site Coordinator Certificate.

I’m already in the IT-Web Designer/Developer program here at Moraine Park. The outcome of the program is a technical diploma. The certificate requires many of the same classes that the technical diploma requires except the certificate requires fewer classes. It gives students a foundation in Web design basics.

I decided to sign up for the certificate because it’s something I’ll be able to put on my resume at the end of the Fall semester. It will be awhile before I earn the technical diploma since I’m only in school part time. Some of my classmates started off in the certificate program, decided they liked the classes and chose to continue on with the technical diploma. I think that’s a good idea to start with the certificate program since it’s a smaller commitment than the longer program.

I wasn’t sure how to enroll in a second program, so I went to Student Services to ask what I should do. They gave me an application like the one I filled out for the IT- Web Designer/Developer program. All I needed to do was fill it out and hand it in. There was no application fee or anything else I needed to do.

Some time later, I received a letter in the mail from MPTC stating I was accepted into the certificate program. I only need to take one additional class that isn’t a requirement for the technical diploma. Of course, I will check with my advisor to make sure I’m not missing anything. I will have a piece of paper in my hands that shows I‘ve accomplished something sooner than I thought!

My Online Textbook

After a brief hiatus to help out with my cousin’s wedding, I am back and still learning even though I’m done with classes for the semester at Moraine Park Technical College.

For some of my classes we use an online textbook and pay for access to tutorials. It’s like having a really, really big textbook that uses video to cover tons of topics relating to technology and computer programs. I am taking advantage of the fact that I have a year subscription. Why not use it during the summer to learn more about something or to learn something new?

I’ve learned how search engines work in class and a little about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The video tutorial site we use for class has an informational tutorial for SEO. For those of you who’ve never heard of SEO, basically, a search engine takes what the visitor is looking for and finds what it thinks is the most relevant websites by searching for the key phrases on Web pages. This topic is so important in Web design. Every company wants to know more about it and how to use keywords effectively. They want their website to be as high up on the search engine results as possible so people can find their site.

Some of the material so far has been review, but some of it is new. I’ve learned more about how to research keywords so I’m reaching my target audience and choosing keywords that are high in search queries but low in usage by competitors’ websites.

I’m about halfway through the tutorial videos. It’s over 2 hours long and is broken down into chapters, just like a book. When I’m done with this one, I may see if there are some tutorials on how to use programs on my computer that I know how to use but would like to be better at using them.

Summer Plans

It’s been a long semester and an even longer winter, but it is finally summer! It’s like nature’s reward for working hard throughout the academic year. Let’s go enjoy some sunshine!

For some this is just a short break before summer classes begin. I won’t be taking any summer classes for my program, but there are some community classes I’m considering taking that are related to art and computers. As I mentioned before, I will be working on building my own personal website. I’ll be putting the work from this year’s classes into an online portfolio. Whether I take a class or not, I’ll still be on campus occasionally. I plan on visiting the Moraine Park Technical College library during the summer to check out books about web design I’ve seen but not had the time to read.

Summer is a good time to keep learning on your own outside of the classroom if you’ve got the time. I recommend looking for internships and volunteer opportunities. You may not be paid in cash, but you’ll be paid in experience. It’s something that looks good on your résumé, too. I do graphic design work for my church. It’s fun and rewarding to use your talents to help out organizations you’re involved in. Plus, they make me feel so appreciated!

I probably won’t be going on any big trips or travel very far, but I’m going to try to plan some of those “staycations” that are so popular right now. There are plenty of things to do right here in Wisconsin. I’ll be visiting the zoo and, maybe, Old World Wisconsin. It also might be time for my first Brewer’s game.

On a parting note, I would like to say congratulations to those who have graduated this past Saturday! You did it!

IVC: Interactive Video Conference

Being in the IT-Web Designer/Developer program, I have become very familiar with IVC - Interactive Video Conference - system. Many of our classes are taught this way.

IVC allows students from different campuses to have class together using video and microphones. I can be at the West Bend campus with classmates while the instructor and other classmates can be at the Fond du Lac campus. We can see and talk to each other through the cameras and microphones. We can also see what the instructor is doing on the computer on a separate projection screen.

The first time I saw a IVC microphone was a few years ago. I thought, what an odd looking mouse? It’s about the same size as one, sits on the table and has a long cord. There are several of them in each room that is IVC capable. If you’re in an IVC class, make sure you turn your microphone on when you want to talk otherwise the students at the other campuses can’t hear you. Similarly, turn it off when you’re done speaking; otherwise people can still hear you! Everybody does one or the other at least once.

I’ve also used IVC for meetings with people on other campuses. It’s really a great way to connect the campuses in real-time. Recently, we had a meeting about our student blogs and I got to meet Kirsten, the student blogger from the Beaver Dam campus (Note: Check out her blog by visiting the Links tab on my blog page). I was able to meet with people from Fond du Lac and Beaver Dam while staying in West Bend. I didn’t have to drive all the way to another campus. That’s a good thing with gas prices being so high.

Even though I understand what IVC is I sometimes forget, along with other abbreviations, what it stands for. Here’s a link to an MPTC page that shows some common abbreviations you may need to know when looking at class schedules:

http://www.morainepark.edu/programs-and-courses/class-schedule/abbreviations-class-schedule/

My JavaScript Final Project

These past few days I have been spending a lot of time working on my final project for my JavaScript class. Web and graphic designers are notorious for being unaware of time passing and the necessity for food and sleep. I had to make sure I took breaks when I was working on it in the library at Moraine Park’s West Bend campus on Wednesday.

It’s an interactive application. My theme for the project is an aid for new artists to help them learn art basics. I’ve created a list of words and their definitions, and I’m working on making a quiz. Using JavaScript, a programming language, I’m writing code that will swap images with other images that show the answer to each question when you hover over the original image.

I still need to add more JavaScript to make it interactive. There is a long list of criteria to follow that goes all the way back to things we learned at the beginning of the semester. Luckily, I can look back through previous assignments to refresh my memory. It’ll be a nice item to add to my online portfolio to show future employers or clients what I can do for them.