Week 3: Clear- Basics of Networking

Week 3: Clear

The material covered in Week 3 was clear. In lecture 2.10, Professor Olson began with describing the various types of networks and lots of new terminology.  A network is simply a collection of devices connected together by communication devices and transmission media. First, we have the LAN, which stands for local area network. LAN covers a small, limited geographic area, such as a building or campus. This is one of the most common types of networks that we encounter and can be in two forms, either Ethernet or 802.11, also known as Wifi. For example, the UF campus is in a LAN network (UFW). Second, we have the WAN, also known as a wide area network. The most obvious example of this is the Internet itself. Third, we have the MAN, which stands for metropolitan area network. This is basically just a smaller version of a WAN. For instance, a MAN would cover an area larger than a LAN like Alachua County in its entirety.

The easiest way for me to comprehend this week’s material was to think of the entire computer networking system in the way Professor Olson described it, using the analogy of the postal/mail service. A workstation is simply our laptops or desktops, or a client. Any device that you attach to the network is a node. A server is a computing device that we attach to the network whose primary purpose is to provide services to other devices.

As we stated above, there are two types of local area networks. The first is Ethernet, which requires a cord to be connected from your computer into a jack to receive Internet capabilities. The Ethernet packet consists of the structure, header, and payload trailer. The header is the control info, or more simply put the address label. This gives us who the information is coming from and its destination where it is going to. The payload is the contents inside your package that you are sending. The trailer is the information at the end that signals the Ethernet it is the end of the package. The second form of LAN is 802.11, or as we know it, Wifi. This is  a wireless connection that is available almost anywhere in today’s times. Since it is wireless, there is obviously no physical component of actual wires like Ethernet has. Rather, the physical part contains signaling, radio waves, or possibly an antenna. It is the same as an Ethenet connection, regarding the packet. One difference is that 802.11 has SSID (Service Set Identifier). In other words, this is the public name for the Internet. The University of Florida’s SSID is “UFW.” In the locations on campus where Wifi is available, you connect to “UFW,” which is the identifier of which network.

Below are a few Internet sites that I have found very useful in further explaining the material.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/computer-networking-channel.htm

http://www.beginnersguide.com/computer-networks/

Week 2: Muddy- Binary Numbers & Motherboards

This week, we divulged into unknown territory for me. The concepts and the staggering amount of information we received is overwhelming and definitely muddy. The capacity of knowledge I have on the intricacies of how technology and computers work is limited. My mind was blown a little bit this week by just how many miniscule parts are involved in a computer, but the immensity of their purpose. We started out with the concept of binary numbers. This concept was somewhat clear to me, although I am not proficient in my understanding of it. Computers are binary devices. Every single keystroke, character, letter, and number is transformed into a binary number. The binary number system only has two digits, either a zero or a one. Our traditional number system has 10 digits (0-9). The binary number system uses a two as it base, rather than a 10. (2^2 instead of 10^2). Each key on the keyboard equals a unique binary number, which are stored in “bits” or “bytes.” The website and video listed below gives further information on the unique numbering system.

http://www.binarymath.info/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdFmSlFojIw

*Permission granted for reuse by YouTube Standard License

As we moved further into the course material for this week’s lesson, I began to get more confused and could not really wrap my head around the way certain things worked. For example, when looking at the terminology and diagram on pages 24-25, I felt very confused. I do not understand all of the components of the motherboard. This area of material for this week will require further research and studying to fully comprehend the ways in which it works.

Week 1: Clear- Technology Invasion

ISM3004- WEEK 1 MUDDY/CLEAR BLOG

This first week in class has been an immense amount of information to take in. This is my first semester at the University of Florida and my first experience using Sakai. I am adjusting well and everything has been smooth so far! The course itself is intimidating to me because I am not exactly a connoisseur of technology and computers. My ability to function on a computer is limited to what I consider the basics: Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint, and such.  The capacity of knowledge I hold on how technological devices actually work is minimal, so I am sure to gain a large amount of understanding in this class over the course of the semester.

 However, the material we covered in this first week has been clear to me.  Obviously, technology is literally everywhere in our society. From our daily computer and cell phone use, to red light systems in large cities, to the intricate workings of a new invention, we are constantly bombarded with technology. In Chapter 1, the book describes the boom of technology and the further integration into the business world and everything we use in our daily lives and in the workplace. I am not a business major and honestly am not that familiar with that area. The book used  examples about IT jobs and accounting to demonstrate the vast use of technology in that field. Although I had to do a little research to fully understand what some of the terms meant, a lightbulb went off when I thought about technology in my careers. I am a Health Education & Behavior major. I work two jobs, one as a licensed Paramedic on an ambulance (my primary career) and two as a substitute teacher at a middle school here in Gainesville. “Smart Boards” are now used in middle school classrooms. Basically, any technique of teaching (ie: Powerpoint presentations, pictures, quizzes, Word documents, etc) can all be transmitted from a computer to the projector onto the “Smart Board.” Then, with a special pen or simply your finger, the teacher or students can “write” on the board just like you would on a regular erasable board. Notes, diagrams, arrows, math problems, etc. can be written on this board. There are even different colored “markers” just like a regular board would have.

 As I stated previously, my primary job and career is working as a paramedic. I am employed with Dixie County EMS, which is an hour west of Gainesville. The closest hospitals to us are in Gainesville. Every patient that we transport is a minimum of an hour’s drive to Gainesville for treatment at the emergency room. This poses a significant problem if we have a specific type of patient. Here is a scenario and a little bit of background information.  Rescue 1 gets paged to a 65 year old male, complaining of chest pain. When we arrive on scene, we notice that the patient is presenting poorly and looks like the “textbook” heart attack presentation. A 12 lead EKG is performed. An EKG allows us to look at the electrical activity in the heart. Without going into too much detail, know that certain things change on the EKG which alert us as medical personnel to what we call a STEMI. For layman’s terms, this is basically a massive heart attack. Since we all know the heart is a muscle, time is of critical importance for that patient to get to the cath lab to get the blockage cleared out of their artery. Now, being in Dixie County (remember an hour away from the closest facility), we have a long transport ahead of us, even running lights and sirens. Time is muscle in cardiac patients! In other words, time is not on our side. In this type of scenario, we usually call for a helicopter transport since they can obviously fly faster than we can drive. Sometimes, however, this is not feasible. A number of factors are considered when medical helicopters fly, like (patient weight, weather conditions, or simply availability (already have a patient in their care).  This is where the cool technology comes in. Our cardiac monitors are able to transmit the EKG (what I as the paramedic see in front of me) to the physicians in the emergency department, even though we are an hour away. When a STEMI alert is called by a paramedic (alerting that the patient is having a heart attack), the cath lab team will not be called until a cardiologist is paged to interpret the EKG. We eliminate a lot of wasted time and extra steps by wirelessly transmitting this in the field. 

When the book described the way technology is used in all fields, I immediately thought of these two devices and how technology is present in my career. Being able to link the material directly to my life and things that I take part in makes it much easier for me to comprehend!

Below are two videos further describing what I talked about above.

INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD DEMONSTRATION:

TRANSMITTING 12 LEAD EKG’S:

*Permission granted for reuse by Standard YouTube License.