Let's start this blog by saying that: "I Do Not Like ACCESS!" Well, that came out too strong and I once felt the same way towards Excel. Now that I have to use Excel for my daily life, I am used to the program and I actually enjoy using it very much. Access confuses me a lot, I can not see the benefit of using Access yet. It is still a very new experience for me to get used to. I also feel like Access is very similar to Excel, so what is the differences between the two? I am trying my best to be open minded when it comes to this program. One website that I found was very helpful was the Microsoft Office website.
Microsoft Access is a database tool that helps you understand your information and provide a easy way to access, enter, and navigate your data. One of the tool that I have problem understanding in Microsoft Access is the "Queries". What is queries? Queries allow the user to ask questions and being able to answer these questions. For example, if you have a data file with all the cell phone numbers you have on your phone. Input the criteria you want, for example female. All the cell phone numbers belong to a female friends will be listed.
Now my second question is when should I use Microsoft Access or Microsoft Excel since they share so many similarities. To decide which is the best program to use, we all need to answer this question first: is the data relational or not? Data that can fit into a single table of worksheet is called nonrelational data or flat. For example, if you are creating a list with data that can fit into a worksheet, then Excel is the right program. If you are creating a more complex list, then Access is a better choice.
The Excel project was a great learning experience for all of us. As we all know, Excel is a very popular application software. Almost all companies use Excel today to manage the company data, numbers, tables and etc. In this Excel project, it is consisted of 1000 subjects with 21 heart rate measurements from time 0:00 to 20:00 for each subject. Using the skills we learned from the lesson videos, we need to format the data according to the instructions that were given to us.
In the Excel project, we learned different types of functions that are needed to become an expert. Well maybe not an expert but having the basic knowledge to perform different tasks. We learned the basic structure of Excel, how to create formulas, the different functions and how to create the pivot tables.
The biggest challenge I had in the Excel project was learning how to use the Pivot Table function. It was a bit challenging for me because it was a new concept. I work with Excel everyday but I never came across using the pivot table. Overall it was not hard to understand as long as you practice using the function. I enjoyed doing this project very much!!!
Moore's law was a very easy concept to understand this week. The Moore's law stated that the performance of a chip will doubles for approximately every 18 months. This means that you can purchase a computer twice as fast with the same price after the 18 months period. How do we know that this concept is true? Well, let's suppose that you bought a computer 18 months ago or 2 years ago and compare it to the computers in the store today. Notice that the computers in the store today may have higher RAM, or better hard drive than the one you have right now. The difference is caused by Moore's law; chip, computer, and technology today improve their performance over time.
Will Moore's law last forever? Some said that Moore's law can not continue to last much longer due to the three interrelated forces, size, heat and power. These three forces can slow down and stop the Moore's law because as the chip get smaller and smaller, the electrons will get tighter. As the electrons get tighter and tighter, more heat will build up and eventually destroying the chip. Scientists and inventors will need to find a way to cool down the heat to solve this problem.
Why is it important for us to learn about the Moore's law? Dr. Means pointed out several good reasons as to why we should consider Moore's law as a very important concept. It is important for us to learn about this concept because the changes that can impact towards our businesses. The rapid pace of the computer's world can impact the way a business needs to be function. As the business managers of the future, there are several questions we need to ask ourselves due to Moore's law. How long will my computer equipments remind useful? How is this going to affect my capital budget? How many maintenance cost? and lastly, how many training cost?
I found a funny video about the Moore's law in YouTube. Enjoy!!
I had a logical flow and sequence for my presentation. I presented a problem, a solution, why the company should use this solution, the benefits of it, other examples and a conclusion for the ending. There are always an answers to every questions that I presented in the PowerPoint. I make sure that there is a attention grabber at the beginning of the presentation. Using a picture of a trash landfill, I was able to grab the attention of my audience. The picture serve as a example of how our world can turn into a trash landfill where there are no resources to use. I also use a question under the same slide to spark some curiosity out from my audience. "Can you imagine a future with no resources but waste?", this question can also serve as a attention grabber and at the same time, it sparks curiosity.
I was very clear and explain to the audience the importance concept of the whole presentation. I make sure the audience know this presentation is use to persuade the CEO of my company to incorporate sustainable development at the very beginning. Everything is based on fact and there were no typos in the presentation. I did notice that there are clutter on one or two of my slides.Some slides were too busy and cause the audience to read instead of listening to my narration. I try to fix that problem by using animation effect on some of the bullet points. After my narration, the bullet point will then appear on the presentation. By using the animation effect, it helps me to say it then show it.
Based on the presentation evaluation rubric, I felt like I did a good job on my presentation project. I'm very shy when it comes to recording my voice over the PowerPoint. The reason why I am not confident with my voice recording is because knowing that I have an accent when I speak. I did overcome my fear and I did my best for the audio recording. I learned to say it then show it from critiquing my classmate's presentation. Instead of using bullet points, one can say it then use a picture to show the main points of the presentation. I also learned to avoid clutter on my slides. In many cases, the-less-the-better.
The YouTube video below is my presentation. Enjoy!
I found the concept of virtualization very difficult to understand this week. At first, I thought virtualization was somehow connected to the concept of cloud-based computing. When I hear the word virtual in virtualization, internet was the first initial thought. I was wrong and so I assumed that virtualization was the same concept as "Boot Camp" or "Dual Boot". Then, Professor Olson indicated later in the video that they were completely different and then it was back to square one for me. Now the question is: "What is Virtualization?"
Virtualization is having to use a single computer system to run multiple virtual versions of operating system, server, storage device, or network resources.
Now the question is: " What is Virtualization again?"
The definition was not very helpful at all. After watching the lecture video and doing some research online, I was able to comprehend the concept. I found an IT blog on the net that provided a very clear explanation as to what virtualization is. The IT blog also uses analogies to explain the concept which makes it easier to understand.
Most of the time, our computers use only a small percentage of their total resources ( CPU, memory, disk, network). By using virtualization, we are able to fully utilize the resources that we have. Multiple operating systems will be allow to run in a single physical computer host; sharing the same resources. Instead of having multiples individual computers using only 25% or less of their total resources, we can have 3 computers, sharing a single physical computer host, running at 80% of their total resources.
I have fun learning about virtualization this week because this topic can relate to my presentation topic. My presentation project for the class is about sustainable development and this concept is very much saying do not waste resources and be green.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a type of enterprise application software built to integrates information from different types of business functions such as finance, HR, purchasing, customer relationship and etc, in an organization. The main purpose of the ERP system is to manage the flow of information and data between all the business functions of an organization and also the connections to outside stockholders. The ERP system system can also be use to measure and improve (analytic applications) the performance of business operations base upon the information it gathers. The ERP system can be very expensive and some companies spend millions of dollar to implement the ERP software.
There are many benefits for an organization to use the ERP system. It is more accurate when it gather information and data when using ERP. These date and information are also easier to access and manage. It is easier to measure and observe the performance of the operations of the organization. It can improves cost control and improves efficiencies through out the company.
It is very important for us to learn about ERP software because the companies that we will work for or our own company will most likely be using an ERP system. In the video lecture, Professor Olson gave us examples of how different types of ERP can have both good and bad effects towards different companies. We need to learn to distinguish what ERP software is best for the company to use to minimize losses.
This is a YouTube video that I found to explain more about the function of ERP software.
Anyone can create a presentation but making your presentation to stick is no easy task.During this week's lesson, we came across the concept of making your presentation to stand out and stick to the audience. Throughout my life, my experience with PowerPoint was not very pleasant at all . PowerPoint, to me, was a pointless presentation filled with bullet points and cluster of images. The word "fun" was the last thing to emerge into my mind when it comes to describing my feeling for PowerPoint. The book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, points out the criteria needed to build a successful presentation.
There are five rules to help your presentation to stick:
1. Story and examples are the building blocks of the presentation
2. Don't preamble, parachute in
3. Let your main points hog the spotlight
4. Tease, don't tell
5. Bring reality to the room
These five rules can help us have a better understanding of how to create a PowerPoint presentation that can stick to the audience. The first rule is "Story and examples are the building blocks of the presentation". Story and examples can help your audience have a better understanding of the ideas you are trying to present. Story and examples can also connect with your audience in a more emotional level. The second rule from the book is "Don't preamble, parachute in". What it means is to not start your presentation with a boring introduction of what you are about to present, but instead be creative and surprise your audience.The third rule is a very important rule because it happens very often to all of our PowerPoints. "Let your main points hog the spotlight", let your main idea shine instead of putting more and more bullet points into another slide. The fourth rule is "Tease, don't tell", we need to tease our audience and make them demand more of our presentation. The last rule is "Bring reality to the room", this rule is easier to said than done. Instead of looking for images to present your main point, try bring reality into your audience. Show them what your main point is about by bringing objects and tools into your presentation.
In Conclusion, it is very important for us apply these rules into our future presentation because we want to be remembered. In today business world, no matter if you are trying to make a speech or making a PowerPoint, we need to make the presentation to stick.
This is a YouTube video from Dan Heath, one of the writer from the book. In this video, he explained the importance of remembering these five rules.
References 1Heath, C., and D. Heath. Made to stick, why some ideas survive and others die.
Random House Inc, 2007. Web.
<https://elearning2.courses.ufl.edu/access/content/group/3daf3da5-cf1c-4806-853a-97219fc6c45a/ISM3004/MakingPresentationsThatStick.pdf>.
