Q1JacobWisnesky

Document Q1JacobWisnesky

1. Your Name

Jacob Wisnesky

2. Your field of study?

Computer Science, Applied Mathematics

3. In which semester of study are you?

7

4. Why are you interested in taking this course?

I need a few more CS hours to graduate. At some point, one has to take into consideration many practical factors and take whatever courses fit into their schedule and meets the CS requirements. That said, this course is structured very differently than most courses I've taken and will hopefully be a positive experience.

5. What courses / work activities / background knowledge do you have which might be relevant to this course?

Courses include the mandatory undergraduate CS Foundation. Work experience includes a bit of tech support, both over the phone and in-person. Tech support gives lots of experience dealing with angry and irate customers, which is a good example of how people's interaction with technology can often be negative. I also have a bit of experience as an Administrator for an online forum.

6. Indicate your own digital literacy / fluency:
6.1. Describe your programming experience (languages, projects)

I have relatively little programming experience, as it isn't something I enjoy and wasn't the reason I chose to study CS. I know a bit of C (enough to have made it to senior year), and some Java. No noteworthy projects to speak of.

6.2. What applications are you familiar with (e.g. Photoshop, Canvas, Dreamweaver,...)?

Not many. My creative abilities don't extend past Microsoft Office, and I still think Notepad is the premier environment for writing code. Though not necessarily an application persay, I do have a bit of experience with Invision Power Board (used for online forums), particularly the Admin Control Panel.

7 Give a brief description of the most important book / article which you have read with respect to the topic of the course.

The topic of the course isn't something I've really given any thought to in the past, so it's difficult to answer this. In 1995, a book named PC Roadkill came out that was full of anecdotes, tales of bizarre and unethical business practices, failed products and marketing campaigns, and examples of how "PC culture" often failed to connect to regular people, among other things. At surface level, it may not seem like the book had anything to do with the subjects in this course (indeed, the book is classified as humor). Yet, at a deeper level, I think a lot of the stories provide insight into many of the social aspects of technology, and underscores a lot of the failures and difficulties in making technology something everyone can embrace. It's made more interesting by the fact it was written in 1995, a time when a lot of technology was just starting to be embraced by the world. The disconnect between "regular people" and the more technology-oriented PC culture was huge then.

8. What do you hope and expect to learn from this course?

Learning of any sort is a worthwhile accomplishment. Thus, I'll be content to walk away with any new knowledge, no matter what it may be. And picking up a few more CS hours in order to graduate would also be nice.