COMPUTER LITERACY
When a problem would arise, he would always show me how to fix it. Now such things are second nature to me. I have fixed boot sector virus infections, worms, and trojans. I have installed different operating systems on a huge range of machines, from pentium MMX laptops to dual-processor (not simply dual core) servers.
I believe that computer knowledge can only be effectively learned through trial and error, as that is how the human mind lets go of its own logic to embrace the logic of a machine. Lets face it. If the computers abided by our form of logic, we would not need computer technicians and programmers. So I think of computers as akin to a different language, that is built on phrases unfamiliar to my own. Like comparing Chinese to English, the two have an underlying pattern, but are completely different in logical structure.
The most significant of my computer literacy has been my work on the internet, composing sites like THIS ONE, and uploading my music onto the internet. Since I compose music, I also had to learn by trial and error a whole other type of program. I feel that after many years of experience with composition programs (I started as a freshman in high-school), I can now make a computer do anything I want it to when it comes to recording and mastering musical compositions or simply in the making of a spread-sheet.
I used spread-sheets a lot when I worked as a security dispatcher and created several unique programs to operate as a shell of sorts for the information stored in our database (which I also created). I started work as a dispatcher with a computer in front of me that was only used for playing video games (it seemed). I managed to totally overhaul the job of a security dispatcher by creating and implementing policies on computer usage, as well as compling information into the computer for retrieval.
When the dust settled, I had created a website on the internet with links that pulled up various maps and telephone number lists as well as incident strategies and personell management protocols. Off the internet was a power-point driven shell that could access databases on the hard-drive with the push of a button. I used powerpoint to create a GUI (graphic user interface) to help a dispatcher spend less time hunting through the windows interface for files and thus more effectively and quickly take care of business. Often, as a security dispatcher, speed was a determining factor in the success of our job. And since I was a dispatcher myself, I wanted to arm myself as best I could for any incident or problem.
In addition to these accomplishments, I KNOW that I will be learning even more computer skills as the years progress. I am confident that any job requiring the use of a computer will be no problem to me as I feel I know computers inside and out. Literally.
