Brewing Success

Here it is, my final blog post for IS101-3205, Spring 2025. As I sip a cup of coffee while typing this, I can honestly say this class has been truly rewarding. Not just because I learned a lot and earned my MOS Associate, but because I gained valuable skills that I know will help me in both my future career and personal life. This IS101 course taught me the importance of following directions closely, checking my work carefully, and going beyond of what was expected. It encouraged me to challenge myself, stay ahead of deadlines, and take pride in the quality of the work I submitted.

One of my favorite tools I learned from the Labsim PowerPoint section was 6.4.1 Themes and Templates. I can easily get lost in the number of designs, themes, and variants to choose from. I appreciate how PowerPoint can turn a plain draft slideshow into a professional-looking presentation within just a few clicks. At the end of this post is a collage from my slideshow presentation this semester.

This class also reminded me how impactful a positive learning environment can be. I’m thankful for Professor Wu’s support, feedback, and for giving us the opportunity to leave a digital footprint. His dedication to our class really made a difference in my experience taking this course. To my classmates, thank you for sharing your creativity, encouragement, and humor along the way. Seeing everyone grow and support one another made this class more enjoyable and inspiring.

As I wrap up this final post, I feel proud of how far I’ve come. I’m leaving this class with more than just improved digital literacy skills. I’m walking away with confidence, better work habits, and a reminder that I’m capable of more than I sometimes give myself credit for. I wish everyone in our class success in reaching their goals in life. Who knows, we might cross paths randomly at a coffee shop in the future.

“Life is like a cup of coffee—it’s all about how you make it, enjoy it, and who you share it with.”

 

Keep Calm and Carry On

I think I did better than I expected in Phase 2. At first, learning all the different formulas and advanced features in Excel felt a little intimidating. In the end, I learned a lot and even passed the MO-210 Excel certification exam with a high score! Working on A4, A5, and A6 was a nice change of pace as it required some critical thinking. I had to read the instructions carefully and kept trying out different formulas until I got certain ones right, which felt very rewarding.

From Chapter 5, section 5.2.3, the Templates and Themes feature is something I’ve actually used outside of class. So far, I’ve only played around with the personal budget and calendar templates. It’s a great tool as it gives you a good starting point for whatever kind of spreadsheet you need, and then you can adjust the colors and themes to your liking.

I picked up a lot from what I have learned from Excel that I can definitely use at work when I’m dealing with spreadsheets. We don’t really use Excel to its full potential, so it’ll be a great opportunity now to tidy things up and make our spreadsheets look more polished.

I’ll be honest, these past few weeks have been a bit rough. Phase 2 turned out to be more challenging than I expected, and my other class has been picking up steam too. Time management has been a struggle since day one, but now as we’re heading towards the end of the semester, I’m taking it as a chance to improve, finish strong, and to drink more coffee.

Lessons, Challenges, and Growth from Phase 1

Here we are in Phase 2, and what a journey it has been so far! I think I did alright during Phase 1. The first week was a little rough as it took me some time to get back into the routine of school, and I ended up completing assignments close to the due date. For future phases, I want to improve my study habits by avoiding late-night homework sessions like I did in Phase 1. To achieve this, I plan to start working on assignments right after getting off work.

The text selection tool is a simple yet helpful feature that I’ve used frequently outside of IS101. I used to highlight single words by clicking and dragging the mouse, but double-clicking a word is a much quicker shortcut. I also recently discovered that triple-clicking any word within a paragraph selects the entire paragraph.

To prepare for the MO-110 Word certification exam, I will review LabSim and focus on topics I struggled with or didn’t fully grasp during the lessons. I also plan to get a good night’s rest so my mind is well-rested for the test!

Let’s see... anything else I’d like to share with the World Wide Web? I think I am going to need some more coffee... 

My First IS101 Blog Post

Hi everyone, my name is Chandler Donovan Zosimo. My favorite things/hobbits include playing video games, drinking coffee, and having time spent with my family. I have been playing video games ever since I was little as it was a big influence in my household growing up. I drink coffee almost everyday and like to visit and explore lots of different coffee shops around Las Vegas

My first impressions of IS101 and of CSN so far feels rewarding. I am learning a lot with this course and the other course I am taking this semester. My professors have been very passionate in helping my class succeed which is rare to find professors that go the extra mile to help. I am happy to be a part of taking this course along with attending this college as it is a great community to be in.

The skill that I used before taking IS101 is from section 1.2.13 (online streaming). I am a fan of using online streaming of applications such as Netflix, Twitch for gaming stream, YouTube, etc. I learned how to use it properly thanks to the easy layout and navigation of each platform and if I was unsure about a feature, I was able to figure it out by a quick Google search or going to their help page.