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[Thecard]

The established rule is that we can go no further than three folders deep, with no more than 30 files in a folder. Any more is too confusing and time consuming, apparently.

"Three layers down, folders are going to collapse at the slightest disturbance."

-Inception, more or less.

Brain function in the folder will be about twenty times more. Now when you enter a folder within that folder, the effect is compounded. That's three folders, that's ten hours...
I'm sorry, Maths was never my strong subject. How much time is that?
That's a week the first level down, six months the second level down, third level...
It's ten years! Who'd wanna be stuck in a folder for ten years?
Depends on the folder.

-Still not Inception

[nenjin]

That sounds like the bestest class ever. Pay attention for 15 seconds, then zone out for 5 minutes while other people figure out what to do.

It's two hours of the most tedious hell.

We are learning the very basics of Microsoft Word. We spend the first half-hour listening to the teacher, I spend the next 15 messing with word, then I'm done and stuck doing nothing until I can leave. Either that or the instructions are either incomprehensible or non-existent, in which case the teacher has to come around and help each student individually, which he has had to do at least twice so far this year.

I had completed the test 4 times, all of which couldn't go through the system, before the first hour was up. The test was to sort out a letter into paragraphs at designated points, change the font, bold the title, then add page numbers and insert an image on the title page.

This is basic stuff I learned in grade 6, why am I doing it again when I did a much more complicated computer engineering course in college last year?

Dude. You're being given a gift. The chance to do homework/reading in another class and still get an A! You do all that.....you earn yourself guilt-free You Time after classes!

I mean, websites being down blows and not being able to submit tests blows. But being that you have two hands and a functional knowledge of basic computing....you can dazzle them with copypasta!

[BlackFlyme]

Dude. You're being given a gift. The chance to do homework/reading in another class and still get an A! You do all that.....you earn yourself guilt-free You Time after classes!

I mean, websites being down blows and not being able to submit tests blows. But being that you have two hands and a functional knowledge of basic computing....you can dazzle them with copypasta!

That's a part of the problem, all my homework is through online programs. I'm a week ahead in all my classes right now!

If we were allowed to do things other than school work it would be great, but the computers are for "productive purposes" only. I got in trouble for posting on here earlier today.

[lue]

Required "interesting definition of 'productive purposes'" joke here.

I can understand this being a required course in, say, 1995. But not now. Aside from the (assumedly exceedingly rare) situation where someone interested in computers has somehow never actually come in to contact with one, an inability to use a computer by the time you enter college means you shouldn't be pursuing that career, is my suspicion.

At the very least they should have computer proficiency entrance exams, like they usually do with math. That's probably the best way to handle this, come to think of it.

[Thecard]

Eh, we have to do an online economics class to graduate. I can understand why; our economy is kinda fucked by people who don't understand how this stuff works, but it doesn't really teach us. The people who are getting good grades get them because they already knew this stuff beforehand.

[Frumple]

Yeah... yeah, the things you're not realizing. Like the fact that the computer courses in general are "Windows" courses, with a side of "Microsoft Office" tacked on. Money, honey. Money money money. Forget proficiency exams, these things usually can't even be tested out of, or avoided (even if you're in a relatively unrelated field.).

Also yeah, you still get folks that get by alright-ish that have trouble with really basic computer stuff. The classes do help them a bit.

[nenjin]

I slipped through just before colleges realized they could start charging people to learn to use a computer as a life skill.

I mean, I say that arrogantly because I grew up with computers. Not everyone does. But you can take a course at a community college (that will probably transfer?) for 1/4 of the cost that will teach you the same thing. Or you can just use a computer.

[lue]

Also yeah, you still get folks that get by alright-ish that have trouble with really basic computer stuff. The classes do help them a bit.

That's why I'm hesitant to just flat-out dismiss those courses. I'm incredibly proficient with computers (not to sound egotistical or anything), so I sometimes have to remind myself that, yes, you will meet people who've lived amongst technology their whole lives yet can't so much as change their desktop background. Which is why I think the entrance-exam thing is the best way to do it.

As an analogy, theoretical physics and mathematics doctorate hopefuls would torch the campus if there were no math entrance exams, and you were as a result forced to sit through a "Basic Arithmetic" introduction course.

Yeah... yeah, the things you're not realizing. Like the fact that the computer courses in general are "Windows" courses, with a side of "Microsoft Office" tacked on. Money, honey. Money money money. Forget proficiency courses, these things usually can't even be tested out of, or avoided (even if you're in a relatively unrelated field.).

Of course I know how MS-y those courses are. I wasn't picturing an Ubuntu toolbar . I would probably be half-tempted to bring a fancy-looking vial filled with water, labeled "Antarctic Holy Water", and cleanse my hands at the end of every class .

[Frumple]

But you can take a course at a community college (that will probably transfer?) for 1/4 of the cost that will teach you the same thing.

Heeheehee. What was fun. Mine did transfer from a community college to a university. But when I slipped back into a... well, technically state college now, but functionally equivalent to a community college, but whatever. For some extra stuff. The course I took in community college didn't transfer to the one I'm in now (this is despite the one I'm in now actually being closer to the older one than the university I hit up).

It was... unpleasant. Literally the exact same course. Same everything. Didn't transfer. Whee.

Point being. If you're going that route -- I'd seriously suggest getting at least up to AA (in general education, if nothing else, to clear out pre-reqs) in a local (cheaper) college, but make damn sure wherever you're intending to transfer to (and probably your 2-5th backups) will accept whatever courses you're taking. Because sometimes they don't, and there's no standard or reliable heuristic you can use to know for sure.

[BlackFlyme]

Also yeah, you still get folks that get by alright-ish that have trouble with really basic computer stuff. The classes do help them a bit.

That's why I'm hesitant to just flat-out dismiss those courses. I'm incredibly proficient with computers (not to sound egotistical or anything), so I sometimes have to remind myself that, yes, you will meet people who've lived amongst technology their whole lives yet can't so much as change their desktop background. Which is why I think the entrance-exam thing is the best way to do it.

As an analogy, theoretical physics and mathematics doctorate hopefuls would torch the campus if there were no math entrance exams, and you were as a result forced to sit through a "Basic Arithmetic" introduction course.

True, I've noticed and helped some of the international students who haven't had the fortune of being able to learn much about computer usage growing up. Plus some of the older students who have come back because it's required for them to do so in order to keep their jobs have some difficulty. My mom was a secretary for almost 20 years, and she still has difficulty with computers.

Yeah... yeah, the things you're not realizing. Like the fact that the computer courses in general are "Windows" courses, with a side of "Microsoft Office" tacked on. Money, honey. Money money money. Forget proficiency courses, these things usually can't even be tested out of, or avoided (even if you're in a relatively unrelated field.).

Of course I know how MS-y those courses are. I wasn't picturing an Ubuntu toolbar . I would probably be half-tempted to bring a fancy-looking vial filled with water, labeled "Antarctic Holy Water", and cleanse my hands at the end of every class .

Funny, at my high-school we had Apple computers in some of the more art oriented rooms. Did not enjoy using.

Though I wouldn't mind getting a hold of the editing programs I got to play around with in my multimedia classes. If only they didn't charge so much for them.

[nenjin]

Like I said, community colleges. I can't really picture going to a University to learn basic computer skills as a septuagenarian being likely.

[lue]

Not so much RRAAAAGGGGEEEE as frustration, but it was surprisingly hard to search for a way to figure out the distance an object is from me, if I were to hold up a ruler to measure its apparent height* to my vision, and I knew the actual height of the object. To make this easy my eyes are level with the center of the object.

Took me a few minutes to realize that I need to know how far away that ruler is from my eye and then suddenly I've got a simple case of similar triangles, but man. I should've been able to find that during the googling, instead of a frustration-fueled "Well fine, I'll figure it out myself!".

* No, when I say "apparent height" (or rather, apparent size was the original term I used) I do not mean anything with arc-whatevers. That made searching this question more difficult.

[GlyphGryph]

Thankfully, my introduction to computers course was pretty quick paced - we moved from initial software to basic commands (mkdir, ls, mv, vp, cat, vim, grep) to how to use ssh to connect to remote servers, then scp and introductions to a variety of networking tools all in the first month, and then got to move on to interesting stuff.

[Descan]

SCP?

... Uh.

[GlyphGryph]

As a sophomore in college, I haven't gotten to that class and have to go through a waste-of-time/money Information Technology structure/Microsoft Excel/Access class instead.

This was a Fredhman course I took. It was an introductory course. (I was a sophomore, but that's because I actually started in the College of Engineering and switched majors to a different college, and engineering students basically didn't have to take the vast majority of gen ed requirements)

Honestly it just seems like your college kind of sucks ass.