CTP Skill Center

We have a couple of guests at CTT class today. Elizabeth and Greg are taking a hybrid class integrating PRO and some CTT classes. To help them get into the mix of things, Alex asked us to do a project with them which involved the assessment of desktop computers to find out which can be classified as either can’t be fixed, project or classroom computers. Frank and I worked as a team and found a Lenovo that can’t be fixed which intermittently went into BIOS. It was not a dependable performance. Next we worked on a Dell desktop which worked and ran Kali Linux and passed Memtest on Easy2Boot. However, it was only a dual core computer and was good for a project computer.

Today we continued our diagnosing and SSD upgrade of other T430 laptops as classroom laptops. So we did the same procedure that we did on the first upgrade. Afterwards Alex asked us to provision the IP phones because of a server error. There was something peculiar with provisioning the Polycom IP 335. It would not accept the default password ‘456’ to reset to factory defaults. Alex and I even tried entering the MAC address as the password which also did not work.We still need to provision 2 more IP phones for the Scott room.

Today Alex showed us how to look at the device manager and look for missing drivers in a computer. Windows can update the driver for you automatically. However, if it can’t it is always best to look for the driver it requires in the manufacturers’ site which in the case of our classroom computers is Lenovo. Fortunately, the image we use for the classroom computers comes with the Lenovo System Update already installed. One can use the recommended update or choose an update that is required in the list that the software provides after diagnosis. We also discussed what a 32bit and 64bit means which is the memory address that a system can handle.

We continued our lab assignment for the week and Alex reiterated the steps that we missed to complete.

Today we did a review of the information in the Uniform resource Locator (URL) in the web address such as the protocol, domain name, sub-domain, delimiter, default page, etc. We were asked a question of what professional accountability is and how we understood it. This was related to our last assignment where a miscommunication occurred on what the objective and the expected result should have been.

Being accountable and responsible is knowing what you have to do (making notes), having a deadline (make reminders) and acknowledging if you are not able to do something and telling it to your immediate superior.

So our assignment for this week was similar to last week of upgrading a Lenovo T430 with an SSD. However, this time the objective and expectations are clear.

Today at employment services was dedicated for preparing for the upcoming Job Fair on Feb. 27. In this regard, we have three assignments to complete namely an updated resume, 30 second Elevator pitch and a list of 5 companies that we will approach at the job fair. I spent some time updating my resume, creating my elevator pitch and changing the background of my LinkedIn profile.

Afterwards, I was designated as the timekeeper for the mock interview practice for the CTT students wherein they took turns asking questions and changing partners as well.

Today we learned about different physical ports on a computer. These are the actual ports for video, audio and the other peripherals your common in a modern day computer. For example video can use VGA, DVI, HDMI or a Display port. Parallel ports such as DB9 and DB25 has mostly been replaced by either USB or serial ports. Some ports are also in the decline such as Firewire.

We also learned about looking closely at the information in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in the browser address bar which contains the protocol, domain name, sub-domain and other resources. The information use delimiters to separate information known as comma separated values (CSV) and may contain name value pairs for sending and receiving data through the web.

Today we continued the phone circus exercise we did yesterday. I did a few calls as a customer for the IT and delivery department for Berkmart. I also reversed the role as IT support and received several calls and processed the transactions using Square. The exercise got the easier this time around because we practiced it the day before.

We also did some role exercises rotating roles either as customer, employee or coach in a group of three people. Jacob provided the scenarios we worked on. It is not easy as it seems especially when a customer is distressed and you want to make it right. However, there are limits on what an employee can do and sometimes a customer walks away dissatisfied.

We continued the role play in front of the class which added a bit of nervousness on the people in the exercise.

Today the CTT class worked with the PRO class. First we practiced with a partner on how different emotions in answering phone calls can define a mood that can affect the overall tone of a conversation.

Next we took turns being a customer and the one answering a call for a made up store called Berkmart. The CTT students were the IT support desk. Other PRO class students were assigned to either the Delivery or the Information/Complaints desk.

The customer role was pretty straightforward. The support desk role required us to take note of the customer information including the email in order to ring up the Computer Repair Deposit using Square. Square is a Point of Sales (POS) system that uses an Ipad. It sent a receipt via email when the transaction was done. Finally, we watched a video titled “Listening Under Pressure”.

Today we learned the difference between a local account and a domain account. A local account is for the local machine and the domain account is for joining the domain account using active directory which is a database of users and the permissions they have for the domain.

We also learned about the pros and cons of the different Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks (RAID) arrays namely span, mirror, stripe, stripe with parity and hybrid.

Finally, Alex discussed low level format, partitions, formatting and different file systems such as FAT32, NTFS, EXT 3/4, etc.

Today we registered to join a Career Fair to be held in Oakland on February 27. There was a long list of companies and most where service related. I found only 2 technology related job openings sort of closely related to Information Technology technician. We were also given a research assignment for 4 potential companies that one can picture applying for. I did a basic draft but will have to fill in more details.

Aubrey also gave a few of us some useful pointers and advise on how to proceed with the informational interviews.