Coursework
MIS 2402 (Data-centric application development) – Data-Centric Application Development gave me my first hands-on coding experience. In this class, I learned the fundamentals of HTML and CSS to create basic webpages and add some style to them. I then moved into learning Javascript. With Javascript, I learned how to add functionality to a website in a variety of different measures such as data validation. I then learned to do these things and more using JQuery methods as well as also using HTML5 controls. Finally, I also learned to embed different API’s into my webpages using JSON to add more functionality to them.
I enjoyed my first coding intensive class, it was challenging, but it taught me how to think through problems logically and find the correct way to write something to make it work the way you want. It gave me a great interest in coding and that is one of my career interests. This class helped me gain an affinity for coding which is something I would like to do as a future career.
MIS 2502 (Data Analytics) – Data Analytics taught me a lot about what it means to meaningfully store, analyze, and visualize data. I learned to draw ERD diagrams and database schema by hand to visualize how a database should look and connect to each other. We then moved into learning the basics of SQL to be able to add data to a database in a meaningful way, as well as to extract the information that you may need from a database. Next, to dive further into data analysis and visualization I learned to use R to analyze data and create visual charts from that data to be able to really see what was going on. Finally, I learned to use excel to clean and normalize data as well as using pivot tables to analyze data and creating visual charts and graphs that will then tell the story of what that data means.
This class taught me the beginnings of working with data and I fell in love with it after taking this course. In the future, I would like to possibly have a job working in data analysis so the things that I learned in this course will help me greatly in that field.
MIS 3406 (Enterprise IT architecture) – Enterprise IT Architecture taught me how to use Microsoft Azure as well as Node.js. In learning Microsoft Azure, I learned to create virtual machines, starting with a Domain Controller. I learned how to edit the IP address and DNS server on these machines to make them all run through the domain controller as well as connect them to my network. I learned to create a variety of different machines that all had different functions, such as workstations, file servers, SQL servers, and a network monitor. Through learning Node.js I was able to put my previous knowledge in Javascript to use with back-end development rather than front-end.
This class relates to my career interests because I enjoy coding and hope to one day find a job as a developer, so learning Node.js added to my skillset. In addition, learning to use Microsoft Azure from a small business standpoint helped me understand the networking that goes on with the IT architecture inside of a business.
MIS 3506 (Digital Solutions Studio) – In Digital Solutions Studio I learned what it means to be a business analyst. We started by learning how to elicit requirements from a client, how to break down current business processes and visualize them with workflow diagrams, and how to understand different business rules. After understanding the concepts of being a business analyst, we began interviewing our client, Virtis, to learn what it was they needed and wanted for their business. After eliciting the requirements from them and taking a look at their current business processes we began to prototype our solution to their business need using JustinMind. In the end, we presented our solutions to the client.
This class taught me a great deal about business processes, business rules, and most of all teamwork and problem-solving. I believe that the most important skills I learned in this class relating to my career interests are teamwork and problem-solving because most jobs will have some form of teamwork involved and it is important to understand how to hold others and yourself accountable to completing the work. Additionally, problem-solving is an important skill for my career interests because the answer to a problem isn’t always right in front of you and easy to grasp, I learned how to research and figure out the best fit solution to a problem in this class.