Second Term Planning

Wow!!!  I did it!  My first term at WGU is over!  While I have amassed enough credits in my life to be considered a “senior”, in the WGU world I have enough transferred and completed credits to be a “sophomore”.   2.5 years to go.  :).

They have updated the student portal, now green=good.  Makes sense, but it’s a change not embraced by those that were used to the old color coding.  So the green solid flags to the left of the course show progress and credits completed.

I started my first term in July and really wanted to complete 21 credits.  That didn’t happen.  I did complete 15 which is more than the 12 required for maintaining my scholarship, financial aid and

OTP (on time progress).  In good news I am prepared to take my first exam next term in the first week.

For my second term, I plan to knock out Critical Thanking and Logic C168 quite quickly.  I have already activated it, read the first 3 modules, completed the related activities, passed the pre-assessment and attended the first live cohort.  Yes, you can do all of this without being enrolled in the class by activating it.  Once a course is activated, you’re stuck with the content and test version, so be careful with tech certs.

A “cohort” is an online webinar that students can participate in live or view recordings afterward.  It is taught by the course instructor and utilizes Adobe Connect, so you’ll need the app on your mobile device or the snap-in installed in your browser.  I got an email when I registered for the cohort that contained a link to the meeting. I copied the link and pasted it into my web browser when it was time.  It’s very much like GoToMeeting.  Attendees on the far left, a chat box and the presentation pane.

The next class will be English Composition C455, the lame gen ed class I’ve been dodging since the beginning of my college career.  I have activated it.  There are 4 papers due in total, I’m planning to knock it out by the end of January.

The remainder of my term will be dedicated to networking.  I decided to put Network and Security Foundations C172 and Networks C480 back to back.  I figure as long as I’m immersed in the subject I may as well knock out the related course and certification.  The exam for C480 is the CompTIA Network+ certification.

If I get through all of this and still have time, I think I can squeeze in either Web Development or Scripting and Programming Foundations which would give me a 17 credit term.  We’ll see how it goes.

Side note: as you can see in the student portal, to the right of each class is an O or P.  This indicates the type of exam required to pass the class. O=Objective Assesment, which is a test.  P=Performance Assesment. which is a paper or presentation of some kind.  I haven’t had a PA yet, all of my courses so far have been OAs. It will be interesting to see how the famed “Task Stream” assignment submission website works.

For now, I’ll be enjoying the holidays and maybe reviewing the C168 material.  Merry Christmas!!!

First Term In The Bag!

C394 - IT Applications - PASSED, and I am done with my first term at WGU!  I completed 15 credits.  I could probably throw my next class in and complete in the next 2 weeks, but I’m going to take a much deserved holiday break from school.  As a busy mom, I wish I could take a break from other things, but life doesn’t work that way.  Ah well, at least one thing I don’t have to think about until Jan 1, 2019!

I can now also say I am CompaTIA A+ Certified.  Yay me!  This last certification exam, CompTIA 902, eluded me on my last attempt at it 17+ years ago.  Feels good to finally have this cert in the bag. The first of many as I work toward completing my degree.

Next term I have Critical Thinking and Logic, English Composition, Network and Security Foundations and Networks queued up.  Hopefully I’ll also be able to squeeze Statistics in as well.  1 term down, 5 to go.  I think there’s celebratory ice cream ahead this evening!

Data Analytics

Here’s a recent WGU Blog post about Data Analytics, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. These topics are so interesting to me.  I’m looking forward to being able to apply my degree to something that makes a difference.

Data Managemnt: The Gateway to Advanced AI