WEEK 2: Education Technology

In Week 2 we discussed Mac OS X, first with an orientation then with two follow up lessons. The initial orientation, or Lesson One, focused on learning what exactly Mac OS X was, powering a mac both on and off, and various on screen elements. We learned where the Desktop, Menu Bar, Dock, and Finder windows are located, and what they are exactly. Additionally, Lesson One focused on computing basics such as scaling windows, navigating a typical finder window, and using tools like the Dashboard and Expose.

Lesson Two focused on files and folders. We discussed file navigation, creating, and opening folders, and saving and renaming files. We also learned how to create aliases, or shortcuts for Windows users. Our assessment for Lesson Two was to create a folder with a Word document in it and make an alias for that folder.

Lesson Three discusses keyboard shortcuts within the Mac OS X operating system. Keyboard shortcuts allow for increased productivity because they are a faster alternative to navigating menu systems with a mouse.

Through my work in the Telecom department, I've become an experienced Mac and PC user, I was familiar with much of the content of Week 2. However, there were several things I learned that I had previously overlooked in my PC/Mac education. I learned both what aliases were, and how to create them. I also learned how to take screen caps on a Mac, a useful skill that I used in a previous blog post.

I chose the screen capturing link (above) because it represents a useful skill unique to the Mac. Mac OS X allows users the ability to customize the portion of the screen they wish to save and capture. This feature, unique to Mac computers, provides a distinct and time saving advantage to Mac users that PC users do not have. The link above also includes several videos illustrating the customizable screen capture feature in a more informative way than the link provided in the EME 2040 curriculum.