This is a list of courses I have taken over the past few years at Grand Rapids Community College. For most of them I will post a few comments about the course.
I came back to school this semester and was taking it slow to get myself used to with being in school after a long layoff.
This was a review of how to operate windows although it was on
Windows 7 an operating system I was just starting to work after being on
Windows XP for many years. I also was able to learn a few new things
and some terminology that I was not aware of.
Grade: A
This class had us use flow charting and pseudo coding to create JAVA
based business style applications. I was quite impressed with the
instructor and felt I learned a lot about programming in this class.
Grade: A
This class was brand new to me as it used
Adobe Illustrator and then Adobe Photoshop. I never worked with either
software before entering this class. I learned a great deal about both
and had a lot of fun as well. Final Project Page
Grade: A
Another part time semester and my first foray into professional web design.
My first foray into HTML which happened to be only HTML5 along with
CSS3 and a touch of Javascript. I learned a lot about code validation
and different methods of site layout along with how search engines work.
Grade: A
An indepth overview of Photoshop CS6. The class had a large number
of assignments along with several major projects. I also focused my
attention on non-destructive methods as much as possible
Grade: A
My first look at animation software. I even brought out my Wacomb
Tablet for this class and it helped a lot in the design aspects. I did
touch on the ActionScript language. It was a half semester course so it
was double the speed.
Grade: A
My first true look at Adobe Dreamweaver. It was a seven week course
so it went by pretty fast. I am familiar with the software but I still
spend too much time in the code side as I find it easier to fix problems
looking at code than figuring out the design.
Grade: A
I took EN 101 & 102, PS 110 & 202, along with GE 253. All
were seven weeks long. I had always done good in government classes and
I continued that trend. Geography was more in-depth than I had before;
however, my two English classes is where I finally figured out what was
with my writing and I feel I am a better writer because of these two
classes.
Grades: A-, A, A, A, A
This was my first database class ever. I was rather new to the idea
of databases although I had worked with spreadsheets for a number of
decades. I did learn about relational databases and how to make sure
they are in the proper form. Koets was a little busy during the semester
and grading was slow as a result my ability to learn from my mistakes
was limited.
Grade: B+
This was the class that I learned about php coding and how to create
really nice looking websites. This also gave me a good look at MySQL
database work. I was quite impressed with this class and the amount of
learning we did in this class. Pollak was hired into Ferris State a
couple weeks before class so his ability to grade was limited.
Grade: A
My final Adobe class. I learned a lot about masking and non
destructive means to edit photographs. I even learned some tricks when
it comes to creating buttons for web sites. I was very impressed with
the instructor on her videos she used to explain the chapter concepts.
Grade: A
I took MA 215, EN 249, and AR 111. The first was Statistics which
after the first 3 chapters were all new concepts from my time in High
School stats. Quite fun but also a lot of work. Next was Technical
Writing which was another fun writing class for me. Lastly, I had Intro
to Architecture. That was essentially a humanities that just reminded me
that architecture is not a good field to go into.
Grade: B-, A-, A
Well this was a continuation of CO 116 in that it uses the same
language and book. However, this class went directly into object
oriented programming and graphical user interface. It was a new concept
for me considering my only other experience with OOP was with visual
Basic some twelve years before hand. It ended up being a pretty good
class and I learned quite a bit.
Grade: B+
This was first classroom exposure to command line interface operating
systems. I had worked with MS-DOS before Windows 95 so it was not
entirely new. It was a lot of fun and I learned about many of the base
commands in the Unix enviroment.
Grade: B
This is continuation of CO 132. This was where I learned how to
create small Unix programs that are more scripts than anything else. It
was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. I will say that having some
programming background before coming into this class was essential for
my success.
Grade: A
This was more of a survey of the many means of communications in this
country. It also gave me the first taste of TCP/IP models.
Understanding those models and what levels everything falls under is one
item that I know I need to focus on.
Grade: A
Well this was first taste of Linux as a whole. I had some difficulty
understanding the setup but once I got it, I now understand the LAMP
stack so much more now. The main thing for me is knowing how the
security measures work. We did have some fun with the Heartbleed bug in
one assignment.
Grade: A
This class was another language class for me. I was initially
concerned about going into another language with Java at the same time
but I was able to pull it off. I learned a lot considering the age of
the books; however, we also were given the resources to learn other
means of updating our skill set for JavaScript.
Grade: A
I was hoping for more in the class although after looking at the
requirements to get into this class I can understand the way it was
setup. Needless to say it was overview of what I learned in CO 148 and
CO 146. I was quite happy that we were able to do our own project at the
end and that is when I decided to start on this site.
Grade: A-
Since this was my only non CO class it was an added on class as I was
told from the counseling office that I was not required to take a WE
class. I was told wrongly so I had this added on after the cutoff and
was able to get this class taken care. I did learn a lot about health in
this class so it was beneficial.
Grade: B
I could have tested out of this class and was asked by VanOeveren why
I did not. The reason was simple as taking the course was only twice as
much as taking the exam so I figured why worry if I pass or not and
just get an easy A. I did have fun in the class and learned little given
my previous computer class history but it was nice for a good review.
Grade: A
For me this was not a difficult class given that we worked mostly in
Windows 7 and little in XP and Vista. We used a VirtualMachine in the
labs which made things a little safer of an enviroment. Overall I have
used windows since windows 3.1 save for Vista.
Grade: A
This was a fun, with all caps, class. I loved the research and
writing aspects of this class. It proved to be eye opening and gave me a
ton of knowledge I did not have before this class. After this class I
am taking another look at my future education plans to decide if a more
deliberate focus on security could be done at Grand Valley.
Grade: A
I was really hoping this class would have gone better but I ran into a
time crunch plus my Virtual Machine failed on me. I had to reinstall it
which was not the best given the .iso image I was using. I should have
used a different .iso for the Debian 13 but I was trying to be too easy
on the initial download. Learned my lesson and will not forget it.
Grade: B
For me this was a good class to use for my future Network+ exam. I am
using the course book and other materials I gleaned from this class to
make sure I am good on the exam. It was a bit too quick to make
everything soak in but I am grateful that I have had this class to use
as a base of what I need to know.
Grade: A
After the first week the instructor refused me to answer any
questions. I knew the course material way too well; however, I had built
three computers, upgraded two, and specified one before taking this
class. My knowledge of what was inside a computer was one I learned by
doing so this class was more of a fun class of teaching others what I
know.
Grade: A
Okay this was another class that I was refused to answer any
questions. It followed up on the first part with looking at the software
side of fixing computers. I found some fun commands to work with and
was able to learn how to mess a computer up rather quickly and as a
result I also know how to fix one rather quickly. It was a great class
at the end of the day for me.
Grade: A
Well this was latest programming language to learn. For the
instructor it was quite an experience as he is more of Visual Basic
instructor. Overall the coverage of setting up classes, headers,
methods, and a brief look at pointers was awesome. I will have to say I
am glad I took this class in person versus online.
Grade: A
Well this class was awesome. Although I was not successful in
getting everything completed, I was quite impressed with both the
instructor and the information gleaned. I will have to say that being
sick for half the semester along with other issues coming up I had to
put focus onto other classes. I do have to say Mish is still an awesome
instructor.
Grade: D+
This ended up being my last class with Professor VanderMeer.
Although I was looking forward to the class I found the material similar
to the LAN class versus more into WAN theory. I would have liked to
seen more labs where we worked with servers in the cloud versus the two
or three CISCO labs we ended up doing.
Grade: A
This was a messed up class to be perfectly honest. Schaap was forced
to change the material and books less than a week before the class
started. It was a nightmare to be honest as the class was not even
built properly and frankly I was not thrilled with the resulting labs. I
much would prefer a better setup for the server classes at GRCC.
Grade: A-
This was a fun course and really loved using the materials from Jones
& Barlett to do the lab work. I was able to learn about several
tools that can be used to discover materials. I also learned about the
headers in files when you see the raw text. The methods of hiding
materials and how to discover those materials was awesome.
Grade: A-
I did not have a lot thoughts about the class before I entered. I
was quite surprised about the amount of research that has gone into
ethics. I was not thrilled though with the grading given that a lot of
this is theory and more about how to apply theory to the reported
stories in the books. This is my first of two Philosophy courses I am
taking at GRCC.
Grade: C
This was a retake from my previous time at GRCC back in 2002. I
passed this time as the other time I dropped it. As for the class I was a
bit behind as the development environment had changed a lot since the
last time. I was also able to pick it up pretty fast once I saw the
changes and how they work. I am still not quick with the programming
than say Java or C++ but I can manage if given the time.
Grade: C
This was a fun class for me. The instructor had a great method of
using the class as a way to develop small classes that fit into a larger
program but also made sure they worked 100 percent to get credit. I was
focusing a lot on my visual Basic class so my time for programming
limited my ability to get all the assignments done.
Grade: B-
This class made me take a second look at biometrics as a security
measure. I found the concepts quite interesting. I can only say good
things about Rozema’s teaching methods for an online class. He really
makes you think on other levels and forces you to look at your
classmates posts as well.
Grade: A
This was a fun class and also a struggle. I had so many issues in
trying to setup my virtual machine to run the applications I was
developing. At the end of the day me and another student put in some
real effort for our final project was our Service Learning project as
part of the class. It was to create a mobile application for Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts! Finally we took second place in the Armen Awards for Service Learning!
Grade: B-
Proofs! Yeah I was not expecting that when I took this class. I
thought it was going to something a little different. Needless to say it
took some effort on my part get the C but I was thrilled with the grade
and feel that the second class I should better in as I now know what to
expect. It was a fun class though and I did learn and relearn quite a
bit on this subject.
Grade: C
This was a team taught class as both instructors had plans that they
were doing during the course of the summer. The team teaching was
actually a great method and allowed us to get a nice variety to the
lectures and discussions. The only issue I had was the team presentation
did not go off as I would have liked and I took the midterm and final
tests a bit too lacked.
Grade: B+
The following classes are the start of my transfer work to Ferris State University
Well I had a choice of either Law 1 or Law 2. I chose this as it
dealt with property rights and other business related law issues. I
deeply enjoyed the class and the work given. I did get a bit overloaded a
little into the semester that impacted another of my classes. Had that
not occurred I would have aced every class but at the end of the day I
still managed to do pretty good.
Grade: B
This class I came in a little jaded with my experience with marketing
with my current employer. I was quite surprised as the class really
opened my eyes to the other aspects of marketing and really helped me in
understanding it. I still find marketing a little like the Dilbert
comic strip but I found the class quite good.
Grade: B
What can I say I have ten years of management experience so this was a
breeze for me. I hardly had to stress out about the topics in the book
and in fact I explained how I handle management at my place which I hope
the others in the class find helpful. I do have to say that the four
research topics we had to do were fun and found some interesting things
about people.
Grade: A
This is the class that got me messed up for the semester. Not sure
why I did not catch the layout of the course better but needless to say I
missed a week of assignments when I got overworked at my job. It was
not a lot of hours added but just enough to make me run to the hills
screaming when I found out I missed a week because of a deadline issue. I
would explain more but when you write out questions in a paragraph form
and not line by line it makes it difficult to catch every question.
Grade: D+
This was actually quite fun for me. I do understand economics quite
well as this grade can attest. I found this layout better than others
although I do have to say that some of the topics I felt were merging
with the macroeconomics areas. In any case it was a fun course and I was
able to get a good deal out of the class.
Grade: A-
I took this class as a requirement for GVSU School of Business. I am
not looking to be an accountant but it was a fun class. I did mess up on
the first test which caused me to play catch up for the remainder of
the semester. I was happy that I was able to get the grade I was able to
with the bad start I had.
Grade: C+
This class was only so I can get my MTA agreement. This was the final
class I needed. This did provide a lot of information on healthy maters
that was more in-depth than what I had in my WE 189 class back a couple
years ago. I did enjoy the class learning but overall it was not one I
was focused on.
Grade: C
This was replacement class from when I first semester at GRCC way
back when after I graduated from high school. It uses MAPLE software and
I learned a lot of how the program works again and how it actually
works a lot like a programming language.
Grade: A
This class continued what I learned in BA 256. It was more focused on corporate accounting and taxes. This class was fun although given some issues with
Grade: A-
Grade: A-
Grade: C+
Grade: B-
Grade: D+
Grade: C-