Jim and Victoria went over Unix (Sparky) and Lotus Notes. Unix is a program that most Computer Science classes use for programming and for the creation of websites. Most Stony Brook University students can create an account using the Account Terminals located in the Main Library SINC Site. Lotus Notes, on the other hand, is used for creating and viewing class schedules for Remote SINC Sites and/or classrooms. Jim showed me how to print and upload class schedules onto Blackboard so regular consultants who work on Monday mornings can have them and post them on the doors. I also made an account using the Account Terminals, and Jim told me to save my “key” for the Lotus Notes Account.

 

This week, we had class in the Fine Arts and eMedia SINC Sites. We played around with Garageband and VueScan. Using the instruments in Fine Arts, I made my own track, which least to say, was deleted, and not very good.

 

You are never alone. You have many people with you no matter where you are. Victoria and Jim went over the TLT Professional Staff, and what they do. They are always there for you and are always willing to lend a hand. Jim had me make my own chart of all the Staff’s faces, names, titles, and a job description. At first, it was really overwhelming, but as the week went by, I realized how helpful it was to know who they were and what they did. Jim said he was going to quiz me on them next week, and what their role in our support system was. The next day, I had a shift in the Main Library SINC Site, and Hilton, another Senior Consultant, encountered an issue on the print line, where students’ print jobs weren’t being sent to the printers. I knew that Mickey takes care of Pharos, and I knew that the footprint would be sent to Tara, and should be assigned to Mickey. However, before we finished the footprint, the issue was resolved (thankfully). It was a good learning experience for me, because I felt empowered when I knew what to do, and who to contact.

This week, we went over a lot of different types of software and the professional staff. Victoria and Jim went over the software catalogs on the Stony Brook DoIT Webpage and explained that if it is supported by Client Support, we as Senior Consultants should be the ones to take care of it, or at least understand the basics of it. As a student and as a regular consultant, I came across the DoIT Webpage very often as it was the first page that would open up whenever I opened a web browser, and I never really paid much attention to it. However, after Jim’s detailed explanation of the page, I realized how beneficial the page actually is. It’s not just a page, it’s more of a huge encyclopedia of what DoIT is all about. It serves as a reference and a tool for the whole community. It baffles me how many students (like me before) overlooked the DoIT web page. Almost every page on the website has a link to a different website that can tell you more about how Stony Brook works and how the DoIT department runs.
In class, Chris, the Instructional Technologist, came in and gave a presentation on how to give powerful presentations. He taught us that in order to give a good presentation, we need to come prepared with documents. He showed us how to create and use a template under the TLT heading and how images make documents much more legible and easier to follow. For homework, we were assigned to create our own document through Google’s “Google Docs” to teach others how to log in to a certain program. I was assigned to document, how to teach someone to log in and use Print From Anywhere via the Email option. We had to make sure we were using proper formatting of certain abbreviations, such as CoLA (Collaborative Learning Areas) is spelled with a lowercase O and isn’t written in all capital letters.

This week marks the beginning of my first official day as an intern! We are assigned to shadow Site Managers and Help Desk Technologists for two hours each, respectively. For the Site Managers, I shadowed Victoria and Jim, and for the Help Desk Technologists, I shadow Jasmine for two hours. Instantly, I felt connected with these three Senior Consultants. They were all so equally friendly and ready to teach me! I never worked with Jim or Jasmine before, so getting to know them, and their quirky little details made me feel like this internship wouldn’t be so terrible after all!
We went over the similarities and differences of Site Managers and a Help Desk Technologists, and gave me a general idea of what I would become at the end of this internship. It gave me a good understanding of what I would like to become, what to expect for and from myself. We went over the general routine of what each Senior Consultant should do, such as opening Velaro at Help Desk, and SBConnect and attendance checks at the Main Library. We went over many different SINC Sites, respective Site managers, and each of the special unique qualities of each site. I realized that although I haven’t officially met most of these Senior Consultants, I’ve seen most of them around and look forward to meeting them this semester!

First days are always filled with jitters and clammy hands. Today would be the first day of the Internship class. When I walked inI saw a lot of familiar faces, but it was only because I remembered seeing them through the webcam on SBConnect. I felt intimidated as I walked in and everyone had already partnered up and were chatting about what the class would be like.
For our first class, we went over the SBYou platform, and how we were going to be using it as a way to chronicle our experiences as an intern. It was refreshing and relieving that we would be using a familiar webspace to journal in, since I was well accustomed with Tumblr, a similar blogging website. Towards the end of class, Rose told us we would need to start shadowing Senior Consultants next week. The clammy hands I had since the beginning of the class didn’t stop being clammy and shaky.

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Today, Nichole came into the classroom and gave an elaborate presentation on the behind-the-scenes of SBYou. Today I learned many things, but  three things that struck out to me was…

1. I learned what a “Kitchen Sink” was. Despite it’s unique name, a kitchen sink is just simply a button that offers you more options to edit your text with. What a weird name for a text-editing button!
2. I learned how to navigate, create posts, and edit my blog here on SBYou.
3. Not necessarily pertaining to SBYou, I learned how to use Yammer! It’s basically a social media network, where the idea is really similar to Facebook, but on a more professional level and with the people around the Stony Brook network.

 

This site is created and used for the elaboration of personal ideas and thoughts during my time as a TLT Intern. Expect weekly updates of my ramblings as I pave my way to a Senior Consultant of TLT! Happy reading!