Get rid of the nervous feeling

Some people really dislike exams. They jump on the chance of doing anything other than studying. Procrastination happens. There are many reasons, but the simplist is not knowing where to start. The best to find out is to determine to root of the problem. Ask yourself:

What are the types of questions that

<ul>
<li>take the most time for me?</li>
<li>I don't fully understand?</li>
<li>I wish will not be on the exam?</li>
<li>I don't remember learning??? <sup><a href="#p4-sup1">1</a></sup></li>
</ul>

and then add it to the mind map.

Create a mind map

Give yourself a confidence boost by knowing what can be on the exam. Creating a mind map is a great way to list out all the material learned, and how they are linked. Begin by recalling and listing as many conecpts as you can remember. Then complete the list by going though the table of contents.

Make sure you prioritize the topics to study.

Practice quality questions with answers

Practice makes perfect, but performing repetitive tasks is boring and leads to mistakes. It is far better (in a limited time span) to practice exam-level questions and guarentee that your solutions are correct. Which is why you need answers. Otherwise you might always be doing the problem wrong!

Plan out the exam

Do some research before writing the exam. Know the length of time and the number of pages/questions. This gives a rough estimate of the time to spend on each page, and also when to move on. Also, visiting the exam room and imagining yourself writing the exam can help.

Other suggestions

• relax, eat real food, sleep
• sit in the front row to avoid distractions
• scrap paper is a good friend to have
• whiteboards and chalkboards are good substitutes too

I think these points are pretty self explanatory…

Trackpad

• Super sensitive
• Large area

Keyboard

• Caps Lock as ctrl
• Emacs shortcuts

Thin, Light, Battery Life

• Sushi-cutting thin
• It's the MacBook *Air*
• Better than wireless power

Instant On

• (Make sure you have a password though)

Software

• Think: Terminal

There is always room for improvement

• Who needs a fn key?
• Release the Mavericks already...

Over the last week I participated in the Student Computer Consultant (SCC) training with more than 16 other students at the University of Waterloo. The training was in-depth and amazing; over the course of 5 days we had covered topics ranging from troubleshooting common networking issues, to customer service techniques, and learned about the comprehensive systems that power Waterloo’s extensive network and software.

The training was a totally new experience. Upon arriving at Waterloo, there was an immediate sense of confidence and welcoming in the air. Everyone was very friendly and knowledgeable. The campus is huge: imagine every building on campus was just a single room in high school. And of course, there might be hundreds of rooms and lecture halls in each building. The cool thing was that many buildings were all connected. One could travel through several buildings without ever getting rained on!

We had pizza for dinner that first night and we made our first (of several) introductions. It was then did I realize the diversity. Many had drove from Toronto, but there were others from British Colombia and Quebec (their first time dealing with Collector/Express lanes).

The philosophy

What stuck out to me the most was the seemingly unlimited access to resources and help. Ten feet Ethernet cable too short? Here’s a twenty-five. Re-installing Windows? Would you like Windows 7, 8, or XP? All of these resources are available not because we are in a special position, but because we are here to help hundreds if not thousands of students who will need assistance during move-in week and the rest of the school year.

Not only does it equip us with the right tools and devices to provide the best support we can, it also encourages us to take the extra step when helping out students. We know that Waterloo will look out for us, and this really enables us to do the same with our clients. As long as we have a reasonable idea of how to fix a problem, even a hunch, we should still attempt the solution because one will never know unless they try.

The training

Our role - We received a brief history of our positions. It was once called Residence Computing Consultant (RCC) and consisted of over a hundred RCC’s. That was when computers used modems and dial-up Internet. Students often had trouble connecting online because they mistook phone jacks with Ethernet ports, and vice-versa. RCC’s were required to visit each room to help students set-up their computers. Thus, the requirement of such a large staff. Nowadays students understand more about technology, and with the accessibility of wireless Internet, Waterloo is able to implement a help desk model where students come to us for help.

Technical - The technical part of our training had two main sections. One was using the systems at Waterloo to diagnose and fix problems. Some types of problems include: students who are unable to connect to wired/wireless Internet, or students who are unable to login to online Waterloo student resources (eg. Quest). And then of course we provide software support such as (re)installing OS’s and software, removing viruses, and setting up email clients. Did I mention we loan out Ethernet cables, install disc’s, and lots of other hardware (for free :) ?

Customer service - On our last day of training, we received a special workshop from Waterloo’s Organizational & Human Development (OHD). It was a jammed-packed afternoon where we learned about how to be excellent at customer service. One difficulty of customer service in general is the lack of a standard. People don’t know what to expect because companies may vary in their quality of service. There are companies who do a poor job, while others excel at it. This is why many customers often hesitate when faced with issues. The truth that many companies don’t realize is that customer service is a crucial part of their overall business. Retaining satisfied customers can be easier and more rewarding than attracting new, discontent customers who feel like they are not important enough to have their opinions heard.

This was why there was an emphasis on our customer training. We had several activities that demonstrated how diffuclt it can to provide customer support. One was a card game where we were split up into groups of 5. Each group (unknown to us at first) were given a set of different instructions. The only identical instruction we all received was that we had to remain silent; we were only able to use hand gestures. We would play for 5 minutes and the players who won/lost would move up/down a table. Since each table had their own distinct and contradicting rules, some people were confused. This got worse as people starting moving tables, where there could be up to 5 different sets of rules at the same table by the time the 3rd round starts.

Reflection

In brief, there are many aspects to our help desk job. The most basic role we have is supporting students and staff (and anyone else) with their technical (or general) problems. We must always be courteous and respectful of our clients’ devices, and provide help to the best of our abilities. Our goal is to make it easier for others to get back to their job in the shortest amount of time possible.

As with everything in life, there will always be the unexpected, and with electronics it is even more prone to unforeseen malfunctions. I know that this job may be a challenging one at times (multitasking between different technical problems). However it is from the experience that one can learn, improve, and develop new skills. I know that I will be able to gain expertise and accumulate wisdom by serving clients and learning from others. Here’s to an engaging and interesting work term!

My father recently shared a couple of stories with me. One of them goes like this:

In short, one must understand and remember the big picture before zooming into the details. Here are some more examples:

• Get it working first. Then worry about the UI.
• Know what you are working towards. Then have fun.
• Fix it first. Erase after.*

Credit for last example goes to Mr. Shim.

Here are some of my predictions wishes:

Clean

Initially people speculated about how iOS would have a “flat” design under Jony Ive”s supervision. However a more appropriate change is a “clean” design. A clean design means that UI elements and graphics provide obvious information about its functionality. Screen layouts should also be structured in a way to improve a user”s workflow, both average and advanced. By advanced users, I mean users who may use/depend a particular feature of an app more often than a regular user. For example the stand-alone Podcasts app is very frustrating and I wish Apple kept the ability to enjoy podcasts in the Music app (not that the music app has improved much - see this awesome concept). First of all, the navigation bars are always so crowded. Why is there a refresh button when Apple has its slick “pull to refresh” animation? Maybe because they needed to show off the Apple logo so that it matches their iBooks app. Also in the “Now Playing” view, it no longer shows detailed descriptions for an individual episode. And adding old episodes is extremely frustrating because tapping the button displays another tableview that one has to scroll down. Instead, it should scroll to the most recent episode that isn’t downloaded automatically.

Features

Here are the top three features I want to see:

Activator - This already exists as a jailbreak tweak. It allows one to create triggers such as triple Home button press, slide the statusbar, even pressing buttons on a headset. These then trigger a customizable event such as airplane mode, toggle playback, or launch an app. This will give users the option to customize their devices and make it a lot easier and faster to do repetitive tasks.

SpringBoard widgets - The homescreen has only changed slightly with the addition of a search page and folders. It would be really cool if Apple creates widgets that can run on SpringBoard and the lockscreen. Apple can also open it up to developers. Some sample widgets can include easy access to alarms, calendars, or songs. This might mean that apps are no longer arranged in strict grids, but more like the Windows 8 start screen where app icons may be in a few different sizes.

Improved Siri - When Apple first came out with Siri, there was nothing like it. However within months there were new services emerged. In fact Google Now is probably one of the best because it integrates nicely with the Android OS and pre-emptively provides information. Apple’s Siri has already been leapfrogged so there’s a lot it needs to improve. One example is local processing, which is especially beneficial given Apple’s flaky servers.

Other

Here are some other small suggestions:

• Set individual alarm volume
• Hold ".?123" while pressing backspace will delete words at a time
• Podcasts still viewable from Music app if standalone app is installed
• Newstand icon will not be shown if nothing purchased
• Contacts app can be eliminated (same as Contacts tab in Phone app)
• This app switcher would be nice - Auxo

Can’t wait for WWDC 2013!