Andrew Keown
Computer Systems & Networks with Mobile Technologies (Network Tech.) Castlebar Campus
Hello. My name is Andrew Keown. I am 18 years old. I am from a place called Snugborough outside Castlebar. I was at a secondary school before I came here to do this course.
I picked the Computer Systems and Networks with Mobile Technologies because I have always enjoyed using computers and have enjoyed using gadgets and decided to try this course.
The facilities in CCFE were good but because of the year we were had having to deal with Covid-19 and its restrictions, we weren’t allowed to certain places and facilities. Normally there was a cafeteria to have your food but what we had to do was eat at our seats in the classroom and there wasn’t a lot of space because there was other equipment left on our desks, but I was still able to have our food.
The computer room we were in for most of the classes was big enough for everyone and I was sitting at the front of the class and where I was, I had space. When I looked behind me there were desks separate and some that were joined together. The people on their own seemed have space to themselves, but some people seemed close, but there was space between them.
The computers that we used had the most recent system called Windows 10 and that worked well. The computers that we used weren't the newest and didn’t work well all the time, but when we had to go online for the course, our own computers worked well. Some people had problems with their computers, and some people didn’t have computers at home and the college provided laptops. Some people that did have to use those laptops said they were good for the schoolwork, but if they wanted to download anything it would be blocked. That’s a good thing because those laptops were mostly for schoolwork anyway.
For the year we had nine modules. I enjoyed Mobile Technologies because we had the chance to make/ create our own app and I learned a lot from that class. ICT Security Policy Management was a good class because I learned a lot about the security side of computers and that is interesting to people that don’t use computers. Programming Design Principles was a class that I found interesting because a lot of people don’t know what the computer must do to get things to work. Computer Systems and Hardware (CSH) was a good class because we learned about the hardware side of computers, and we were able to take apart a computer and learn about it. Operating Systems was a class that we learned about software and programs and how they work. Communications and Work Experience are the classes most people didn’t seem to enjoy, but for me I enjoyed them because we learned skills that we need for the future. The only module that I didn’t enjoy was the Maths for Information Technology. For a lot of people, you need to be good at Maths, and some people just find it difficult than others, but I still learned a lot and it wasn’t too bad.
The best event of the year was at Christmas. We had a Christmas quiz and that was fun. A lot of our group was at home during the quiz, but we were able to take part in the quiz and we enjoyed. During the quiz our group were able to talk to each other online and we enjoyed that.
The online learning was difficult at times because we had to do a lot of work and sometimes in a short space of time. I was able to get the assignments done this year, but the only thing is when I was given an assignment, I would start it and spend a few days at a time to get it finished early and out of the way. Sometimes it wasn’t too bad, but there were times where I found something difficult to understand and it would take me an hour or two just to get something small done and it was exhausting at times. When we had to learn online, we couldn’t get help like we would in the college and that was a challenge.
The staff in the college were nice and helpful. They would help anyone out if you needed help. They were friendly and easy to understand and talk to. My classmates were nice and a made friends with them. At the beginning of the year, we were supposed to be put into groups and go to a few places, but because the year that we had with Covid-19 that wasn’t possible.
Altogether this year hasn’t been good for everyone outside of the college, we still got our work done, even though we had to rush to get it done. But other than that, I had a good year this year and doing the level 5 course. I am thinking about the level 6 course I'll see what happens with that.
I picked the Computer Systems and Networks with Mobile Technologies because I have always enjoyed using computers and have enjoyed using gadgets and decided to try this course.
The facilities in CCFE were good but because of the year we were had having to deal with Covid-19 and its restrictions, we weren’t allowed to certain places and facilities. Normally there was a cafeteria to have your food but what we had to do was eat at our seats in the classroom and there wasn’t a lot of space because there was other equipment left on our desks, but I was still able to have our food.
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The computer room we were in for most of the classes was big enough for everyone and I was sitting at the front of the class and where I was, I had space. When I looked behind me there were desks separate and some that were joined together. The people on their own seemed have space to themselves, but some people seemed close, but there was space between them.
The computers that we used had the most recent system called Windows 10 and that worked well. The computers that we used weren't the newest and didn’t work well all the time, but when we had to go online for the course, our own computers worked well. Some people had problems with their computers, and some people didn’t have computers at home and the college provided laptops. Some people that did have to use those laptops said they were good for the schoolwork, but if they wanted to download anything it would be blocked. That’s a good thing because those laptops were mostly for schoolwork anyway.
For the year we had nine modules. I enjoyed Mobile Technologies because we had the chance to make/ create our own app and I learned a lot from that class. ICT Security Policy Management was a good class because I learned a lot about the security side of computers and that is interesting to people that don’t use computers. Programming Design Principles was a class that I found interesting because a lot of people don’t know what the computer must do to get things to work. Computer Systems and Hardware (CSH) was a good class because we learned about the hardware side of computers, and we were able to take apart a computer and learn about it. Operating Systems was a class that we learned about software and programs and how they work. Communications and Work Experience are the classes most people didn’t seem to enjoy, but for me I enjoyed them because we learned skills that we need for the future. The only module that I didn’t enjoy was the Maths for Information Technology. For a lot of people, you need to be good at Maths, and some people just find it difficult than others, but I still learned a lot and it wasn’t too bad.
The best event of the year was at Christmas. We had a Christmas quiz and that was fun. A lot of our group was at home during the quiz, but we were able to take part in the quiz and we enjoyed. During the quiz our group were able to talk to each other online and we enjoyed that.
The online learning was difficult at times because we had to do a lot of work and sometimes in a short space of time. I was able to get the assignments done this year, but the only thing is when I was given an assignment, I would start it and spend a few days at a time to get it finished early and out of the way. Sometimes it wasn’t too bad, but there were times where I found something difficult to understand and it would take me an hour or two just to get something small done and it was exhausting at times. When we had to learn online, we couldn’t get help like we would in the college and that was a challenge.
The staff in the college were nice and helpful. They would help anyone out if you needed help. They were friendly and easy to understand and talk to. My classmates were nice and a made friends with them. At the beginning of the year, we were supposed to be put into groups and go to a few places, but because the year that we had with Covid-19 that wasn’t possible.
Altogether this year hasn’t been good for everyone outside of the college, we still got our work done, even though we had to rush to get it done. But other than that, I had a good year this year and doing the level 5 course. I am thinking about the level 6 course I'll see what happens with that.
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