Saturday, March 28, 2015

The Immensely Informative, Technology Troublesome Tutorial

Today was the ILC Tutorial Session. This was the first event to happen since I got accepted into the Ivy League Connection program, and I was looking forward to meeting other ILCers and learning more details and logistics about our trips this summer. 

In an effort to be on time for the tutorial and avoid Evil Don, I woke up earlier this morning than I normally do for school. Luckily, I arrived at DeAnza High School with plenty of time to spare before the 8:30 tutorial start time. One of my cohort members and fellow classmates, Jae-An, was also there early so we helped Don set up chairs in the DeAnza computer lab. After this, I went on a little adventure through DeAnza with Helen and Gwennie, two other El Cerrito ILCers, as we searched for the bathroom. We got slightly lost and wandered the halls more than necessary, but found the bathroom eventually. When we returned to the computer lab, more students had arrived so we got situated and began some casual conversations. Getting to know other students in our district and meeting new people is definitely one of the elements of the Ivy League Connection that I’m most looking forward to, and all the other ILCers today were very friendly and easy to talk to.

Everyone was relatively on time, so we were able to start the tutorial at 8:30.  After some brief introductions, we all got a 43-page packet full of information about blogging, taking photos, and other aspects of being an ILCer. We started the tutorial by going through the packet and getting familiar with how to use the blog sites and how to take better photos. I’ve never blogged before, so I tried to pay extra attention to the instructions about blogging and I think I now know enough to be a somewhat successful blogger!

In addition to going over the massive amount of information included in the packet, we also practiced blogging and taking better quality photos. Or should I say, we attempted to practice blogging? Unfortunately we encountered difficulties with the Wi-Fi on the computers, and it took us over half and hour and a few phone calls to sort out the situation. Thankfully, it all worked out and we were able to get introduced to BlogSpot, MediaFire, and the specifics of the technology we will be using as part of the ILC.
The DeAnza computer lab, feat. pesky Wi-Fi

Overall, the tutorial session was extremely informative and enjoyable, despite the Wi-Fi mishap. The four hours flew by much quicker than I was expecting, and I was interested in all the details we covered. Learning more about what to expect from our ILC experience always increases my excitement for the Ivy League program. The tutorial was a helpful first ILC event to attend, and I can’t wait for all the future events!

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