Module 4

For the assignment this week I decided to contact my wife’s uncle. He is a computer programmer for a local school district. He has been working this job for over 10 years, and over time it has become more and more demanding. Now that all of the schools that he works with have a wider access to computers and more per facility he is kept a lot busier. His job requires a lot of knowledge, many things which were above my head when he was explaining them. He is responsible to make that sure all the correct programs are installed on the computers and he also make sure that they all have filters installed so that the kids can’t go onto websites that aren’t allowed. Not only is he responsible for keeping the portable computers working so that every class can use them when needs be, but he assists the teachers when they are having problems with their computers.

In order to stay on top of all the new programs and running systems he is required to take a couple classes each year, to learn all the new improvements, that way he can stay on top of them so he is able to help with the new problems. Through all his experience he has learned the ins and outs of the computers and what kind of memory, processor and such is necessary to run the programs that are needed for the school.

Not only does he make sure that that computers are working properly but he also teaches the kids and teachers how to use them appropriately. At the beginning of the year he teaches classes that show how to do the simple things that are needed to know in order to complete assignments for the year.

There were a lot of things that he talked about with their system for the district, where they have programs that allow the teachers to access the same documents so that they are able to adjust them for their own schedules and assignments but all have the same format. He is also responsible to help keep their emails all linked and working which is how they easily share documents with the other teachers.

Although to him he thinks his job is pretty basic and easy to do, to the average Joe like me it is not so easy. I am like one of the students that he teaches how to do the basics on the computer so that you are able to get your work done. I can’t do a whole lot beyond opening up a word document and typing what I need, and since starting college I have learned to submit an assignment online. I am so grateful that there are people that are able to program computers in order to keep them working for people like me.