I
kick started my fantastic work experience by entering the information
technology room of A.I.S. to meet my future boss, and to see the room I will be
working in for the next five days. Mr. Izule, who was our boss and the head of
I.T. in A.I.S. Bali, did not wanted to be called our boss, but as our co-worker.
My second co-worker was my friend Ryan. And over the course of five days, Ryan
and I both had a deeper understanding of the world of I.T.
DAY
1
Day one was an introductory day. In this
day, we got to know our work place, our new co-worker, computer skills, and
each other.
Our
first task was to decide what we wanted to work on for the week. We had to
choose either hardware or software. Since both Ryan and I thought hardware was
a stronger skill point, we went with that. Hardware is simply physical
technology that we can hold in our hands. (e.g. CD ROM, hardrive, or USB drive)
And software is the technical name for programs and features. (e.g. Adobe,
Gamemaker , or Evernote) Since we had chosen hardware to work on, we were given
the simple task of writing down the names of all hardware devices we have heard
of, and finding out how these things work or affect our computer.
At
the end of the day we were told to create our first computer. We put a new CD ROM, hard-drive, and ram into
a computer that only contained a main-board (main running system of all
computers) and circuit cables. We then attached our new hardware into the
computer with screws and then started her up for the first time. And she ran
beautifully!
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| First Fix |
DAY
2
When we entered our work room for the
wonderful crisp morning of day two, we were in for a surprise. Mr. Izule told us
to watch a movie! The movie that we were told to watch was called Pirates of Silicon
Vally, which was a movie about the birth of Apple Inc. and Microsoft Windows. The
movie gave both Ryan and I a deeper understanding of the two technology giants
and how different their operating systems became.
After
the movie, we were told to install Windows XP for our first time to a computer.
First we had to open the setup screen of the computer in the start up, to see
if everything was in pristine order to install Windows. Then we ran the CD
which contained the windows system, and entered the installation process, which
took a total of an hour. While we were waiting, we were learning more about
hardware and software on the internet, as Mr. Izule was very busy with his work.
Then, as the time slipped slowly through our fingers, the computer was
installed with a brand new operating system!
DAY
3
Day
three was the biggest and hardest day we had in this experience. We started
with the installation of school software for two brand new computers that came
straight out of the box and lucky for us, it already had Windows in it!
Next was testing fifteen old computers, one
after the other. It turns out that two of these fifteen can go to the scrap
yard, as we found out that they wouldn’t start up at all. That took up a massive
chunk of time. Two Hours!
When
we had finished testing these computers, we started installing another computer
with Windows XP. This machine was a newer model from the one we did the day before, so our
installation time was cut down by fifteen minutes. This installation worked
after our first three attempts.
 |
| Second Computer |
The
next task we had to complete was to create our own LAN cables that can connect
to the internet. It wasn’t as easy as we thought it was going to be. First we
had to line up the small eight cables in a colour order. If these coloured
cables are placed in the wrong order, than the cable won’t function at all. I then
tested my cable in a cable tester, and thank god that it worked after all the
work I put into making it.
 |
| Steps for creating LAN Cable |
Our final task for the day was to wait for the
I.T. classroom of A.I.S. to become completely empty, so that we can access all
of twenty some computers that fill the classroom. Our mission was to install software
called Evernote and Aku Shaper before four o’clock. We had a time limit because
all the school computers have an automatic shut down time of four o’clock. So we
were under the pump for one and a half hours. And it was also the perfect time
to add one of our two new computers to the I.T. lab.
We
ended up completing the mission just shy of four o’clock, and got to go home
ten minutes earlier than expected.
DAY
4
In
our penultimate day of work we began with the setup of the second computer we
had received the day before. The rest of the day was really waiting for this
new computer to install. We couldn’t do much else but help other people because
Mr. Izule was very busy with his own work, which was too complicated for us. So we
just sat and waited it out until two thirty, which was the time to add the last
edition of new computers to the I.T. Lab.
DAY
5
Today
was our last day. I was sad that we had to end in one week, because I loved
this experienceL. The
boss was nice, because he is very patient with us, and we didn’t have the usual
stresses of working.
Today
we immediately started installing Windows XP onto hard-drives. We only managed to
install two only hard-drives, because of the distractions of many people coming
in and out of the room seeking help with their computers.
Another
job that we were given after the windows process was to test eighteen broken
hard-drives. Our mission was to check if they were actually broken, or they
just had a sticker with broken on it. It turns out that five of the eighteen
were still functioning without any problems.
Our
last mission of the day, and job experience was to burn software to nineteen CD
discs. This task was told by a teacher to be completed before two thirty. And it
was done with only a few minutes left to spare.
All
this experience that I have learnt over the course of five days has really been
a pleasure. I would like to thank Mr. Izule for being such a fantastic and kind work
experience boss/teacher, giving us each a copy of Windows XP on a CD, and for
also giving us each this awesome experience.
