Week ??? I cant recall ATM but its one of the last

Hello Hoomans,

This is SpaceBot calling out to the techies and the readers and saying "how are you? hope everything is well for you and have a good holiday." We're supposed to write about our experience here at Mission Techies. There's honestly too much to write in paper but I'll start by saying that any path chosen has to lead you somewhere, whether grim or sunny. I'm not gonna say that you have to follow the path correctly or straight  cuz i'm not a tour guide to life. Maybe once I have enough karma points. Choice is a crazy thing; sadly, choices arent free. All choices come with their pre-packaged consequences and you are player 1, you have to maneuver around them. I went thru a time of hardships because i had to choose whether to work full time or study in the techies program. I choose the latter. I had no idea what i wanted to do with my life and I felt that my days were slowly going to waste because of the monotony and stagnancy at the current moment. I tried moving out of my home and becoming emancipated. I lost my current job at the moment, i couldn't eat some nights and it was tough. but i knew id be smarter and would improve my current situation. I am almost done with the techies program and now i feel like i have a grip on life and am excited make my thoughts actions. That being said, what better industry to go with that actually roots from thoughts becoming actions? I love my Techie family, and I hope for them the best.

i didnt get to write my full thought, ran outta time.

Sincerely,
Nelson Q

My Tech Support Experiance Blog

Tech support has been one crazy but learning ride of my life. It has shown me that operating a tech shop was really hectic. I was nervous but excited to start operating the tech shop with the other Mission Techies. I kind of had a good sense on what problems might arise going into this tech shop but some were more challenging than others. Time management was one huge road block that we had to go through. Trying to fix laptops in two hours was not enough time unless it was a simple fix. Figuring out solutions to a difficult task was mostly having to think faster. Knowing all the things that I learned from doing this experience. It will help me with computer problems that will come my way. I learned so much in a month that I can use going into the program YearUp. I am so grateful for the experience and will use it in the IT field I want to go in.

-MichaelSoft

Last week for Tech Support, TLDR Summary;

The Tech shop repair was a success. Even though we're lacking on resource we did our best to over come the challenges. We refurbished over 20 computers for our customers and made them like brand new. Even though we were lacking in tools. We got all the devices that came in back to the customers with a happy face. We did a great cause for the community offering this free service. People with no tech knowledge gets lied to day to day basis and get charged for services that they don't need or know about.

The people who comes in to the tech shop are low income and we even explain to them what we did to their computers so they do not get scammed again if it happens again.

Stay Tune for final week.
IT-Chi

Week 11 Mission Techies Head Quarters

Hey, there everyone haven't spoken to you in a while. How have I been? Good just you know, wrapping up the Tech support that the Mission Techies & I were providing during the month of November.

During this experience I learned so much more than what I thought I could comprehend all at once. From diagnosing different PC's to installing Ubuntu & Windows 7. I got to brush up on my bi-lingual customer service skills & even learned to communicate with other techies through the use of tickets.

This was an amazing experience in with no doubt I would do it again. I really enjoyed myself, helping others makes me smile :) & I like to smile.

Until next time,
xoxo

-Arleth

week 11

So Tech Support is one of the greatest experiences being in the mission techies program. You get to show you customer support skills and show how organized you can be. I liked being able to see what is going wrong and being able to fix it. Also it is a great feeling to be able to help someone in need. there were some challenges but with the team we have there is nothing we could not overcome. everyday someone was the team leader making sure everyone was   on task and updating Leo. we also were broken up into teams or by our self. I think the easiest thing for us to do is a clean sweep on a laptop and installing windows 7 or Ubuntu.

- RAMSPEED  

My Tech Support Experience

 

 

I never imagined myself doing hands on with technology, however everything happens for a reason and today I can gladly say that helping my community is rewarding, seeing people's gratitude and happiness is the best gift for me. I have always being passionate about helping other individuals but being at the Mission Techies made me reaffirm what I truly enjoy.

 

 The tech support started on November the 1st and it ended December the 1st, we had people coming in every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. We gave support in English and Spanish.

 

 We helped 30 people that put their confidence on us, we as everybody else had our challenges but we were able to overcome this difficulties with teamwork. We had computers with Software issues as well as Hardware issues.

 

 Susware <3

10th week

TBWritten

IT- Chi

Week 8 Mission Head Quarters

Hello amigos,

The end of our time here is approaching faster than expected. I feel as if just yesterday was Day one of the Mission Techies classes. I have learned so much during my team here more then just basic IT skills. I have also learned to create a resume, elevator pitch, network, and have gotten many more communication skills. I'm very excited for all that is to come in the following weeks.

Monday, we went to SoundCloud, yaii!!! lol The staff at soundcloud did a career panel for us, in which we were able to do a Q&A. They asked us about our interest and gave us advice on how we could go about pursuing a career in what we were interested. After, we did individual Q&A with the staff of our choice in which we were able to ask them more about their job and what it consist of. I was paired up with Jane she works with the artist on SoundCloud and helps connect them with others so that their music is heard by more people. I was able to get her & Amy's (Office Assistant) email. After, SoundCloud we came back to MEDA and did some more customer service.

Tuesday, we continued doing customer service. Chi and I worked on a laptop that wasn't connecting the internet. We worked on it all day, even tried taking it apart to see if it was an issue with the hardware. Yet it still would not work.

Thursday, was the last day of customer service. We closed most tickets and jumped back into the curriculum.  Leo gave a lesson on coding and that was pretty interesting. I've been learning a lot about the language of computers...I like it. (:

Untill next time
xoxo
-Arleth

week 8

     This week we went to sound cloud witch was so awesome. We had a career panel on the patio. Everyone had took different path in collage and had career way different then what they do now. I had really good advice. After sound cloud we came back to HQ and started coding.

       The next day we continued with tech support and has some struggle with keyboards setting them back into place and wiring. on Thursday we could not get a hold of a consumer to get promotion wipe clean his laptop. So me and Nelson started installing windows 7 into other laptops that were donated to meda. we got a whole case done.   - RamSpeed

 

Week 8: Soundcloud, Tech Support, Coding!

Week 8 has gone by so fast and we are getting close to the finish line. I am gaining so much knowledge from this program and getting so many opportunities to explore potential jobs or internships. We have four more weeks left including this one till we are finished with the program but I see we still have much to learn. 

Soundcloud was an amazing experience. The people there were so laid back and worked so hard. They influenced me to want to work in a place like that one day. I got to meet one of the Soundcloud employees about internships. I wanted to explore possibilities of where I can gain more experience in the field i wanted to go in. 

Tech support is getting finished and we are getting all the last of the computers out. Jennifer and I got one computer to work and got rid of all the viruses it had. The customer came to pick up the laptop and was excited to hear that everything was working. I was feeling great about helping out the community and a family. 

Coding is getting more interesting and more complex. Learning all these commands that it takes to say one phrase one the screen. I was worried that I wouldn't understand all the lingo in coding but its becoming more simple to understand once I look at the notes I wrote down

-MichaelSoft

Week 6

hello humans,

This week the techies and I visited SoundCloud and learned a lot of valuable insight into the techie world. The folks at soundcloud were extremely nice letting us come into their space and watch as they worked. It has also been a frustrating week because we have been doing tech support and Rafael and I had a laptop we disassembled and reassembled twice. The first time we reassembled it the computer wouldnt read the keyboard, which made my stomach sink; the second time was to fix this problem and the tapes that transmit the data werent cooperating and connecting easily. Rafa and I enlisted Arleth and Jennifer and they helped a great deal. Thanks Fam!! We also did more coding in Dr.Java and its becoming more easier to see the pattern and get something on the computer. The weeks are going by fast and soon we'll be graduating from the program! Leo sent us the pamphlet and it looks pretty awesome!! Thanks again Leo!!

Signing off ,
SpaceBot v.7

Week 7 & 8

Week 7: We mainly worked in teams of two for tech support (which was fun). I worked with Michael and Nelson. Afterwards we learned more about coding (its getting complicated). The job fair was pretty cool (they had purple squirrels and free-bees). It gave us a little practice since socializing since we were all out of our comfort zone. It was a good refresher for soft skills.

Week 8: We focused more on tech support and coding. The fun part was the trip to Sound Cloud which was pretty awesome. Wrapped up tech support on Thursday. We're so close to the end and have learned a lot even if I don't display it on here. Looking back I feel as though we've all come a long way since day one. I look forward to next week.

-Tech Rabbit

4 weeks left countdown (8th week)

Week 8th is all tech support week. We had to get all the devices that was brought in given back to the customers. Majority of the week when we got to MEDA was tech support and then last hour or so we did coding with java.

Monday through Thursday was all tech support except on Tuesday we walked to Soundcloud and had a meeting with the guys who worked at Soundcloud and had a really nice chat with them about the company and how we can get our tech careers going.

It was a bit frustrating working tech support considering most of our resources are software online and didn't really have all the hardware devices for replacements but overall it was a pretty successful tech support week because we installed a lot of new systems with Ubuntu and wiped out old computers and made it like new again.

1 Month left
IT-Chi

Numero ocho

We are getting closer to the end! I have gotten so much knowledge this few weeks. I have been learning not only about technology but also how to communicate with other people and how to network, to me that is something very valuable because meeting people is the clue for potential business.

Monday was all about technical support and wrapping up the remaining devices.  I find it awesome that people bring their computers to us to get them fixed. We also kept working on our coding lessons with JAVA, it is interesting because it's learning a new language.

Tuesday was my favorite day out of the week because we had a corporate visit at Soundcloud, so far this site has been the best to me because they were new at doing the tour for other people. I truly enjoyed speaking to the panelists because they were open minded and shared stories that inspired me to keep going to achieve my dreams.

On Thursday we closed out tech support and I was assigned floor supervisor, I had to make sure everything was ready to go and that everything was documented. I also created a spreadsheet with all the invoices. Four more weeks and the program will be done, it saddens me but I am also excited for my next chapter in life.

Susware<3

the 7

this week we mostly did tech support we paired up in teams and had different laptops that needed fixing. me and Michael had two laptops that both had to be rebooted. also one of the laptops had a password so we had to get a hold of the customer to get the password. then we did and hour of code academy. the next day we continued the work in progress and finished. by the end of the day we decided that we where going to switch up our schedule so we can all make it to a job fair. Friday was nerve racking I didn't know what say or what to expect. the day ended very well talked to a few people found out about a some start ups, as well as some internships. we started up the laptop and restarted the laptop because the screen was black. we changed the boot order but still no change. Leo has approved for us to open up the laptop and check the drive.- RAPMSPEED

weeeek siete!

Hello humanoids,

Whooo!... The techies and I have been working really hard this past week on tech support and coding. I think we're getting really good at working as a team; anytime any of us need help you can bet someone is gunna answer the call. Like i said, we did tech support this week and its been fun having to solve the problems and helping folks with their computers. I've done two already, one that was completely fixed and the other one was a fail. Jennifer and I couldn't get it to start, we did what we could and it was disappointing but win some lose some. The folks from USF came in this week and gave us a little impression on how to go up to people at job fairs and sell yourself. The actual job fair was much more interesting, there were a couple start ups there that ive never heard of. one thing i did learn was FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT! honestly, everyone is gunna be vying for the same position and you gotta lie enough so that it makes you sound awesome but dont go overboard and state youve done big things when you have no way to back it up. its a confusing concept but im sure im gunna have a lot of time to practice. there was one guy that called me out in front of jason and susanna. he said "youre nervous humble yourself" which was kind of ironic being at a job fair and everyone is trying to get a job, everyone was boasting left and right. he also ghad a start up but when we asked what it was for, he was kind of vague. after we left the guys table, jason looked at me and we all started laughing at how awkward the whole situation had been.. thatss it for now ! till next time fam!

signing out ,
SpaceBot v.7

Week 7 Mission Techie Head Quarter

Monday, we continued to provide customer service for the mission community. I had been working with Chi on installing Ubuntu on to Edwin's laptop. We were successful in doing so and where able to give him his computer that day. We were also able to diagnose the issue with Leticia's tablet & return it to her. Overall Monday was a very busy today for us here at the mission techies head quarters.

Tuesday, I was sadly unable to attend class because I was working the poles since it was election day but I heard every one here worked on their customers device and even did some coding towards the end of the day.
xox
-Arleth

Week 7th!!

Week 7th arrived and it's starting to give me mixed feelings because I am seeing the end however I can see a lot of difference from when I started to today. MEDA has given me the confidence to be able to walk to a job fair. On Monday we did technical support, I personally was working in a notebook that didn't have operating system, this particular laptop didn't have a CD-ROM so it was a bit of a challenge, I tried installing Ubuntu (different OS than Windows) several times, after not working out I decided to open up the computer and see if maybe the hard drive was loose. I discovered that it had a hard drive failure so I contacted the customer and he decided to purchase a different hard drive because he wants to send the notebook to his family in Venezuela, this makes me feel like I want to work harder for this device because I know how hard it is to purchase things in another country. On Tuesday we kept working on technical support, once we got done we continued with our coding lessons, I personally love coding. Wednesday I met up with Jiwon, he helped me with my resume and with my next challenge in life, I was so grateful to spend time with someone that has a lot of experience and that took his time to help me figure it out my next big step. Friday we went to the job fair for start ups in San Francisco, it was a little bit overwhelming due to seeing a lot of people apply for jobs, I overcame my fears and started talking to people. I am so excited for what is next in my life and I am also so content that I found MEDA because it keeps helping me achieve my goals.


Susware <3

Week 7 Meda

Tech support all week. Arleth and I been working on computers this whole week and we've went from installing operating system to software cleaning for computers. Basically had to reinstall operating systems for administration bypass for our first customer and we had to ticket everything for that computer on our repair shop site. We did virus removal for our second computer since we didn't have the equipment for backing up and factory reset, so we had to manually remove the virus and defragment the hard drive. We haven't  needed to upgrade or install any hardware for our tech support device. However our very first computer with Rodriguez was a success. We installed Ubuntu with his computer and wiped everything. He seem fine with the computer and will learn to use Ubuntu. 

Aside from tech support all week we've also been working on java and coding academy after tech supports. We got from learning java to actual java and still working on it. 

On Friday we went to the job fair we met up and talk with potential hiring companies and learn about what they are looking for and seek any open spots that meets our criteria. We mostly see martketing for hiring and a couple that's looking for developers, mostly software and web developers. Java and HTML. Nonetheless it's a good opportunity to send in our resume and proceed trying. 

That's all for this week

IT-Chi

Week 7: Tech Support Week!

Week seven was a learning process on how to run a tech shop. It was fun and exciting on how to fix another persons computer but had troubles along the way. Rapheal and i worked on a Toshiba laptop that had to be completely wiped out and restored to factory settings. It was a good challenge to learn how to do it. The only challenge was we couldn't install a wireless card on it. I think the wireless chip on it was busted and had to be replaced. Once the tech shop was wrapped up for the day, we started our coding class and did some coding practices.

Tuesday I couldn't make it because of sickness and for the Friday Job Fair I had family obligations.

-MichaelSoft

6th week

This week started a little early since we had the "Get Connected" event at MEDA on Saturday. The event consisted on helping low income families understand the importance of technology and all the great advantages that it has to offer. People had to complete three workshops to be able to participate in a raffle for computers and Google cardboards. I personally had to help connect people to the internet with an amazing deal of only $9.99 monthly, I liked the event mostly because it gave me a sense of how older folks do not know a lot of the features that electronic devices come with.

On Monday we had to do data entry about the event on Saturday, we used Excel and we worked in teams to do it faster. Tuesday was very interesting because we did financial capability were we learned about our budget and everything to get prepared for the future. We also had the opportunity to pull out our credit score. We also started coding with Java and I loved it.

Thursday we had a guest speaker from TechSF were she explained about the programs they have, we also worked on tech support. Alicia and I are currently working on notebook, we are trying to install Ubuntu after realizing there was no way to install Windows without a Cd room.


Susware

Week Six

Hello humans!

This week: On Monday, the techies did data analysis on the Get Connected Event on Saturday. The event was pretty awesome and we had a good group that came in to learn and get help with their devices. One of the funniest things i saw at the event was this little kid that got upset because he didn't receive a Google Cardboard. But he won the ChromeBook.... Hahahaha. Cant blame him, they are pretty cool. So we gathered data and used Excel to organize and chart it. I believe Susanna makes a good leader and because of her we (Arleth and I) finished most of our project.  Tuesday came and we did job training and started becoming financially stable thanks to Leo. We also started coding!!! I've been waiting for eons to start! We're getting the basics and i wrote a lot down just so later on I can look back and review my experience again. I'm gunna learn as much as possible and start taking steps to make my dream of being a software developer to get humanity off Earth and into the stars. We have so much potential and this century is gunna know the waves we made, the steps we took to make this place and anywhere better. We also paired up to start Techies Workshop, where we will be fixing peoples computers and gaining experience messing up. Hahah. This Thursday, the techies and I continued fixing the computers that came in on Saturday. Jennifer and I, after a lot of searching, found an error with our computer and promptly fixed it. It's now waiting for pick up and hopefully the customer is satisfied. We got some pizza as well thanks to Chi and the class. Leo told us he will start bringing people in to show us programs that can help us later on in the future. Bring it on future!

Signing off,
SpaceBot V.7

Week 6

Not very long now until we finish. In a short period of time we've had to learn so much and met so many people in the tech field. It's kind of amazing looking back and how much we've progressed in such a short period of time.

Monday - We had to be paired in teams of two and create a spreadsheet and chart presenting accurate data of the number of people who came to our get connected event.

Tuesday - We had Job Readiness and Financial Capability training which forcefully brought us back to reality when it came to finances and what we realistically want to do with our lives. Oh and we started coding. We also started easing into tech support.

Thursday - We had a presentation from Emerging Mediamakers with Natalie Teter who explained what the program was and what is required to be considered eligible. Afterwards we did tech support and tried to finish fixing the computer (which took forever to update).

We ended the week with blogging, pizza and chocolates. That's all folks! -The Tech Rabbit

So this passed Saturday we had a "Get Connected" event here at MEDA. All the mission techies were here. On Monday we did data entry of all the people who came. Then we did tech support for low income families. then Tuesday we did a financial capability were i learned that i need to be careful with my money. then we did code academy i thought it was great. - Raphael Barba

Mission Techies Head Quarters week 6

Saturday: On Saturday I woke up at 7:30 to come to SF from Oakland in order to volunteer for the get connected event MEDA was hosting that day. I can start by telling you that day flew by. I was so busy throughout the day that I had not even noticed when it was time for the career panel. That morning I had been helping members of the Mission community use their phones to their full potential. I helped various families download apps that will prove to be useful to them through their daily activities. At one Leo came and got all the Techies so that we may view the career panel. Their were four speakers all in different technological positions.  They spoke of how they got to where they are at, and the various ways in which we can find people whom can support us. They also spoke with the parents and encouraged them to encourage their kids to do what makes them happy.

Monday:On monday we were assigned into three groups to enter the data from the Get Connected event. We had to create Excel Spreadsheets, charts, and make a presentation. We are still not done we plan on finishing next week. Then we started Tech support. Leo introduced us to the ticket system.

Tuesday: On Monday we started of by doing Job Readiness Training up until two. Then we did financial capability. Where we all spoke of what we planned to do withing a year. I decided I wanted to go to Hawaii and Leo sent me(us) a spread sheet in which we can create a budget for our goals(mine was Hawaii). Then we started Coding!!! we created an account with code acadamy I gotas as to level 8.

Thursday: Today we had Natalie Teter come and speak to us about a program called Emerging Mediamakers. Is basically a program that helps people learn skills in various different areas of technology. Then once sh left we did Tech support for the rest of the day...that is untill the pizza came.

-xoxo
Arleth

Mission Techies Week 6

We attended the Get Connected event on Saturday. It was awesome helping families get connected with technology! I got to work with kids and their families, one of the kids I helped out won a Google Cardboard. They were so happy! It was my first technology event to volunteer at and I had a blast, time flew by. 

Monday we inputted data from the Get Connected event and practiced tech support. We also started coding! 

Tuesday we had job readiness training and our financial capability workshop. I also met with my mentor, she's awesome. My mentor is a software developer so she helped me out with some of the coding terms and described them in better detail for me to understand. We got together again and went over modulus and how that works, I'm starting to get a better grasp of that. She is so insightful, I really appreciate her guidance. 

Thursday (today) I got a job at TWITTER and I'm still in shock about that. I will be a moderator helping people with their hacked accounts and banning explicit images and information. I will be cross trained in different departments and there is room for growth! The pay is really good too! Twitter's establishment is so fancy and cool! I can't believe I get to work there. I even get my own Twitter badge..wow.

Today (Thursday) Susana and I worked on an Acer Aspire One netbook that has no OS. The hard drive is damaged and we tried a bunch of different things to try and make it work. We are still trying to figure it out (Ubuntu is uploading on to it currently..hopefully). It seems we got one of the most difficult projects, bring it on.

I still can't believe I got a job with Twitter. I know for a fact Mission Techies helped get me that job because I was talking about a bunch of tech related things during my interview, I think that showed my intelligence.

My future is looking so bright. I can't believe how much has changed since I have entered this techie academy.

I <3 my lil tech group. We are like Leo's other children, he always has to tell us to stop eating candy and messing with each other. We all have roles, it's really cute. I always look forward to class at Mission Techies.

TechSF came by today, I think i'm going to do the coding for non coders workshop. I would do the graphic design one but I already know how to do that, though it would be fun.

Well, that's all for now.

Until next time,

RAM -Alicia

Week 6: Get Connected (With Data), Tech Support, Finances, Coding, and More Tech Support!

Week six was full of stuff to do starting with Saturday when we had to help low income with their phones. If they had a problem, question, or wanted to know about apps. We would help them out in any way. We also attended a job panel with Google, Linkedin, and Jones IT. It was interesting to know they were still figuring out at a young age what they wanted to be.

Monday came around and we had to do data for the Get Connected event that we did. We had to make an excel spreadsheet with all the data handed to us. We started our Tech support shop this week and learned how to work the ticket system.

Tuesday we did a finance training course on how to save money and how to have a plan on our finance goals. It took awhile to make my goal but i found out something that i can work with. we also started our coding class and I'm learning so much on what to do.

Thursday we had a presentation on TechSF and bavc. I wouldn't want to do that but sounds like a great opportunity if it was free. Than we finished what we were doing on our Tech Shop missions.

-MichaelSoft

Half Way There! 6/12 Weeks!

On Monday we had to do the input our data for the Get Connected event on Saturday. The Get Connected event was a success. People came and we helped them get connected to the internet. Fixed and teach them about their devices laptop, tablets, and phone. We had a raffle after a job panel program and we had lunch. It all started from 8AM to 3PM. We imputed the data of the attendees such as where they live and how many people came from what zip code. We made charts of those data so we can present them next week.

On Tuesday we did our financial planning for when we got in until break. We had to run our budget on a spread sheet with the formulas already created. We had to figure out our spending and run our credit check through Leo. Code academy after the break is what we started working on. It was simple except our computers are kinda slow. It was a okay way to get started to learn coding and syntax of java. We started working on Tech support last hour of the day. Learn how to start a ticket and customer on our ticket system. We started diagnosing the devices people already brought in and updating the tickets step by step.

On Thursday, We had a guest speaker Natalie Teter from Tech SF speaking with us about their program like what the requirement are to get in as well as what the program does or provide for you such as scholarships and certifications. After she left we went back on tech support started fixing up all the problems by either reinstalling software or operating system to clean up their device problems. We found success of today. Finally we had pizza from Dominos and blog waiting for the Networking event with Jason.


IT-Chi

Halfway to the program.......!!!!!!!

Wow, it's all I can say about you guys being in the program 6 weeks. I remember the orientation back on Thursday September 17 @ 1pm. Some of you were looking @ me like "who's this old man" and what is he going to teach us.....(not sure if you did) but all I can say is that I am pretty happy to be your coach, IT instructor, Job developer and techie!

Keep up the good work as we are now begging to code and to provide tech support services to the community. Make sure that you focus more than ever as we are entering the second half of the program and always remember "Be the Technology Be with U"

Tera Byte Jedi!

Getting close to the middle!

Monday was exciting since we got the opportunity to see a local company. Jones IT is a smaller company but they are growing fast, we got to talk to the CEO Evan Jones were he explained to us how he started his career. We also started working on G5s and we started taking them apart. On Tuesday we work on job readiness with Leo, we keep learning the importance of having a resume and a LinkedIn account. After our break Evan came to MEDA and showed us the server room and talked to us about wireless and how networking works. Thursday we worked on creating an application were you can make your own game, that was my favorite part of the week because I really love coding. I am looking forward to next week to start working with JAVA. Also we got some information for the event "Get Connected" this upcoming saturday.

Susware.

Week V

Hello!

Been going thru the course like a comet this week. On Monday we went to Jones' IT and saw their office and server room. I was impressed with their equipment and rec area. They had one machine that had been modded to hold more than 6000 games. I also noticed that the folks at Jones' IT really liked their liquor and that's not at all bad. You gotta play hard and party harder in this field. I can Dig it. We practiced on some PowerMac G5's although the bolts were stripped and I couldnt get much done. whop... On Tuesday we did a job prep career guide which made me think about what i really wanna do in this industry. Very helpful, thanks again Leo. Then the CEO of Jones IT, Mr. Jones came thru and taught us wireless. Another good lecture and i learned a lot. This Thursday, my peers and I met early to discuss Comp TIA prep and working on  it together to succeed together. Unfortunately, some of my peers and I were late and we held back our study group. Sorry guys!! We tore open a MacBook Pro and assembled it again. It took me longer to close it than it took to open, hahaha. It was seriously fun. But not as fun as making an app thru MIT's AppDeveloper. I started somewhat confused but after a while the pieces started telling me what i should do and it became incredibly easy. I made my game just on time and tried it out on Chi's phone but the character moved too quickly. Guess its back to the drawing board.

Signing out,
SpaceBot V.7

5th Week Meda

Jones IT Corporate visit once as soon as we came back to MEDA on Monday. Took the bus there, first thing we realized was their a street fighter arcade emulator hacked and loaded with games. We met the CEO of Jones IT Evan Jones. He talked to us about how he started his company and what their company does. Basically contractor company for bigger companies as their IT specialist. They manage all the companies' network and data as well as tech. We got valuable information and how to intern with tech companies like them. We came back we started to take apart G5 Power Macs. We didn't get too ahead of the project due to minor factors.

On Tuesday, we did job readiness training our career path and plans on how to get there. After break we met with Evan Jones from Jones IT to learn about wireless. We learn different frequency as well as how wireless communicates. We also went down to the MEDA server room to take a peek at their servers and how it's set up as well as how they function.

On Thursday we came starting to take apart Mac Pros. It was harder than the Vostro laptops but simple enough and similar enough to be done. After ward we started making apps with the app call MIT AI2 App for android. We made a simple test app and then started to do our own game WhackAMole version. We found success in our day and got ready for the all the Get Connected event coming up this Saturday. Stay tune for that!

IT-Chi

Week Five: Jones IT, G5 Hardware, Wireless, Macbook Pros, And App Making(Intro Coding)

Week five was crazy adventurous and tedious.We started out our week with Jones IT. We made a short adventure on the bus and walking. We got an inside view of their work space. We went out on the deck to chat with Mr. Jones. He told us about how his business started, where he had to start, and how everything came about. We had a short tour around the place to see how everything was setup. He showed us the server room which wasn't that big but it had a lot of data. We started working on the G5's and we didn't get so far. The parts wouldn't come out because of the screws

Tuesday we talked about wireless and how it communicates with other computers. It was very interesting topic. We all saw the server room and it was freezing cold but thats to keep everything from over heating.

Thursday CHI BROUGHT US PIZZA!!!!!!!! than we started working on Macbook pros that didn't give me a big headache. We started doing a little bit of coding with building an app and it was very difficult.

-MichaelSoft

Week 5

I've got a migraine.

• Monday: We all went on a field trip to Jones' IT. We toured the facility and even got a peak at the server room. Then took apart G5s (that was a pain).
• Tuesday: Mr. Evan Jones came to talk to MEDA about wireless internet and showed us what our server room. We had sandwiches too. We did a career preparations as well.
• Thursday: We worked on Mac Book Pros and learned the basics of coding through an introduction to developing apps.

We're getting ready for the Get Connected event tomorrow. There's pastries and coffee. Later there will be Pollo Campero and Google. Yay Google! That is all. Time to Panda!

-TheTechRabbit

Mission Techies Headquarters Week 5

Monday, started of great we went on a field trip to Jones IT, where we met the founder and CEO Evan Jones. He gave us a tour of their headquarter and gave us information on his business. He also mentioned an internship program that his organization does during the summer...maybe i'll be an intern at Jones IT the coming summer. After the wonderful tour of Jones IT we came to the Mission Techies Head Quarters and took apart Apple Desktop G5's.

Tuesday, Leo informed us that Olivia will no longer be coming in once a week to help us with our resumes, cover letter, elevator pitch, etc. Now Leo will help us with getting us prepared to apply for jobs. Evan Jones came to visit us and spoke to us about wireless connections and how they worked. It was interesting to listen to how he compared technology with things we use every day ex. freeways.  showed us the server room...that was AMAZING!!!

Thursday, we took apart apple laptops and then put them back together. Then we came in to lab 2 and Leo spoke to us about the Get Connected event that will be happening this Saturday. He gave us more information on what we will be doing. After we did that we learned how to make our own app using a google supported website.

This week was great can't wait for Saturday and then next week when we will start coding.

xoxo
-Arleth

week five

this week we got to visit I.T. Jones. It was awesome we got to meet Edwin from one of the mission techies who now works at I.T. Jones. Also Evan Jones was friendly and open. I think so far he is my biggest I.T. idle because he started by himself and now he has a whole team. Then we took apart some G5's. Tuesday we did our career path PowerPoint then Evan Jones came in and taught about wireless network. Also he showed us the server room here at Meda. Today we learned to take apart MacBook pro and also had and intro to coding. We made a whack a mole app using MIT AI2.- Raphael

Week 5

Was awesome!

We went to Jones IT and met the CEO Evan Jones. He is so down to earth!
There are so many cool things we did this week. We took apart G4's and macbooks. The G4 was a bit more complicated than the macbook in my opinion. I had no problems with the macbook, which shows me that I'm improving because before I have struggled with certain things. Not this time muahahaha.

When Evan came by he took us to the server room. That place was crazy! There were wires everywhere. I wonder how people can keep track of what they all do and how to hang them. Evan also taught us about wireless and different Ghz. He broke it down in examples which really helped us understand.

We made an app today and this Saturday we are doing a workshop! I am so stoked. I will be helping teach how to build the apps that we did today.

We are running out of time because we were so busy today.

Until next time,

RAM aka Alicia

Week 4

The days pass by as a blur. It's miraculous how we've all survived so far...

We didn't have class Monday.

Tuesday we updated our LinkedIn profiles and had a feedback role play lesson from Venetisha and Hailey, our mentors from Frog.

Thursday we had Mr. Jason come in and show off his idea for different events where young adults may get the opportunity to network with people in the field they want to pursue.

Overall it was a short but productive week. I mean yeah I'm tired from overworking myself and I'm constantly starving because I can't find time to eat until after 5pm on a bad day but I like being busy. It's worth it in the end.

I can't wait to see what next week brings!

~The Tech Rabbit~

Week Four: Job Readiness Training, Feedback Lesson, and Software Installation

Week four started off with NO MONDAY CLASS! Bummer that we couldn't come in to learn anything, But it gives us time to study up on some thing.

Tuesday came around and we started right off with Leo giving us an assignment of "what it would be like if the world was without technology." It was a piece of cake to finish that project. We started with out job readiness training updating our LinkedIn profiles. Mine was already perfect but I ended up changing some things that i have not put on there yet. Right after that we got into the Feedback lesson with the people from frog. Venetia and Hallie, they showed us how to give and receive feedback. It was very interesting too see them react a scene that could happen when feedback is given and received. They did a great job in acting the part. We had to install Wifi connection to the laptops so we could use them for the Get Connect event. It failed when we had to have the Admin password to them.

Thursday was full of projects. We had a presentation on USF and talking about opportunities to get connected with other business for jobs. It was very informational. I can't wait to go to that event! We the people from frog so we could act out our own Giving and Receiving feedback. I was paired up with Jenifer and we did a pretty good job on it. We tried doing the laptops again to have wifi capability. We got two laptops with wifi but the other laptops had to wait for another time.

-MichaelSoft

Week 4

Hello from Planet Earth.
Last week the techies and I worked on installing Linux on donated laptops. they work properly, but the only thing is that we can only log in as guests. We split up in teams and hooked up everything just to figure that out the hard way. Leo seemed kind of upset that we wasted some time on that but stuff is sometimes complicated and that's another learning experience. The girls from FROG came back and taught us all an important social technique that I'm sure most of the techies and I will be using to deal with a lot of folks in the IT world. They taught us their method of giving and receiving feedback so that instead of hindering ourselves like the suckers of a tree we can grow in a balanced way together without stepping on any toes. We also had a public speaker come in and talk to us about networking in the IT world. He explained that he and his colleagues were working on a project that hooked up disconnected youth to folks that can offer opportunities in the field. He will takes us to a mixer where we can meet important people who might just help us establish ourselves in tech. All these folks coming in and instilling their ideas unto us almost makes me feel like a guinea pig but instead of getting electrocuted for getting things wrong, we're receiving cheese for following the right path. There was a lot of learning this week and I believe we'll only be getting stronger and smarter. One day, when our first star travelers leave Earth due to the work I hope to aid, I'll be able to talk about and give credit to MEDA. The last generation shot for the moon and landed, ours will shoot for the stars and establish homes there.

Signing off,
SpaceBot V.7

4th week, 1/3 of the program!

Didn't have to come in on Monday!!!

Tuesday Jason came in as a guest speaker for networking as a community. He mention how hard it is to start a network getting to know people and creating connections in this field. He is a human resource major so he wanted to help us with event courses meeting people to build and learn about networking. Afterwards we brushed up by filling in our LinkedIn profile, still haven't finished but hopefully Olivia will help us a little more on it. We also did feedback with Haley and Vanishia from the company Frog. We had to learn the tone and vocabulary to talk to clients for tech support and such or even giving/receiving  feedback as a team. Afterward we had an hour left to set out our donated laptops for the community connecting event. We had to install the drivers for the wireless adapter in order for it to connect wireless. That didn't go well due to the fact that we didn't have admin password and had to reset all the laptops fresh. We were running down on time and had to pack up for Thursday as the next project.

Thursday we came in to finish the project we started on Tuesday. We had to find a way to remove the admin passwords on the laptops therefore we have to reformat every laptop. Due the limitation on the Ubuntu Cd we had to do them couple at a time and only got a few done. We encounter the issue that one out of the three laptop didn't recognize the driver and we had to troubleshoot the cause. We finally end up with a conclusion and had to turn on the wireless card funtion with the laptop key FN+Wireless. After break we had Frog came in again to practice more on feedback. We had scenario to act out to practice and had to learn how to handle with different scenario. We picked up on couple of tips and tricks on what to do and say with different situations. 

Next week we're going to Jones IT on Monday. 

Stay Tune...

It-Chi  ^‿- 

 

 

 

 

 

Week four with the Mission techies

 

 

 

 

 

           Our four week at MEDA was a short week due to the holiday, however we were able to accomplish great projects. On Tuesday we work with our LinkedIn account so it can be ready once we graduate. Later on we had our feedback lesson were we had to identify certain terms and how to receive and provide feedback when working in a team. I founded this interesting because it helps you grow as an individual in a constructive way. At the end of the day we worked in teams for a networking project where we had to connect laptops to the WIFI, due to not having the password we couldn't accomplish this project. On Thursday we  had a guest speaker named Jason where he spoke about his experience and talked to us about a potential networking event for us to connect with more people. We also worked on a project with laptops, we had to install Ubuntu our project was somewhat completed since we only had time to install it in two laptops. At the end of the day we wrapped our feedback project, we had the opportunity to give feedback to each other on different scenarios performed by teams of two. To finalize the day we had a mini pizza party. Looking forward to next week.

 

Susware.

 

 



Week 4 Mission Techies Headquarters

Monday we didn't have a mission techies session due to Colombus day.

Tuesday we worked on our LinkedIn page I am now an expert. Also, some ladies from Frog came and gave us tips on giving and receiving Feedback. Then we had a failed attempt at doing our Networking lesson. We couldn't do as we wanted because of restricted access.

On Thursday Jason came as a USF representative to inform us of a project that his class was assigned. His group choose our small group to assist them on their school project. He will be teaching and giving us tools to network. Later during the day we did a project in  which we had to install Ubuntu into some of the donated computer that we may potentially use at the Get Connected event that will be happening at MEDA.

xoxo
-Arleth

week four

so this week we were not here on Monday soooooooooo our week started on a Tuesday. We updated our link in accounts. Also we worked with two employees from the company frog named Hailey and Venetia. They taught us how to give constructive criticism. then Thursday we had a speaker come in his name is Jason.  he came in to let us know about his networking project and invited us to go. then we tried installing Ubuntu to our laptops but only a few were done because of time.
- Raphael

Week 4 Mission Techies

Week four @ Mission Techies was interesting as usual. We updated our Linkedin with Leo since Olivia was out, my Linkedin looks excellent! I never thought I'd actually be active on that site but now I am gaining connections like crazy.

I had an interview at Bestbuy as a technology specialist. I'm going to call them and see if I got the job, I really hope I did. If not oh well, I have a bunch of other interviews to attend to.

We also had Frog come to MEDA and teach us about giving and receiving feedback. That was great because I believe communication is an important part of team building. They roleplayed different situations, it was actually pretty hilarious.

We also had a homework assignment, to write about the world without technology. That's a scary thought.

Last week we tried to set up Ubuntu but there was a malfunction with the burned cd disk, it didn't work out for my partner and I. I am pretty bummed because I'd like to know how to install software like that. I hope to learn, because we have our tech support soon.

Jason came by to talk about networking, that sounds like something I would LOVE to do. I've always been interested in conferences and mixers. I used to go to psychology mixers and events when I was in college for it. Going to a tech one would be awesome.

Well, that's it for now.

-Ram aka Alicia

Week three

This week was awesome! Monday I we got to take apart a tower, and get to know the components. It was cool I was the fist one to take it all apart and put it back together. I also helped my other techies who didn't know how to take something apart, most of them had trouble taking the fan out and putting it in. Tuesday I learned a lot with Olivia on what a good resume should look like. We also gave our elevator pitches and gave feed back on it. It really helps you realize what you need to work on regarding the pitch and public speaking. Afterword's we had and intro to networking. We got some laptops and connected them to a modem and tested the uploading and downloading speed. Thursday was frustrating I knew it was going to be, when I heard we where taking apart laptops I knew it was going to be a challenge. It was easier taking apart the laptop rather than putting it together. I was able to get the task done and at the end of the day Leo was so kind to let me barrow a laptop and tools so that I may practice the task over the weekend.
- Raphael        

3rd Week Meda

On Monday of our 3rd week we started tearing computers apart! Dell Optiplex 770 got striped down to only the case. It was fun especially when you know they don't work anyways and you're not scared of ruining them or burning out a circuit which I have done before on a working computer. Seeing everyone learning and striping down their computer made me realized how little knowledge even our generation have about hardware nonetheless people who only has basic knowledge of using a computer. It was fun seeing people excited and feeling accomplished after the task was done.

On Tuesdays after job readiness training with Olivia we had to set up a network directly from a drop to our laptops. We had floor supervisor and coordinated what to do as a team in order to set up the network and get it to run. It was a simple task and it went smooth except one thing. We forgot our cable managements! Very important and great thing to learn so we keep that in mind for our next task! Cleanliness and organize.

On Thursday it was stripping laptops the whole day. The laptops were harder than towers for sure. We started taking apart laptops screw by screw and striped it down to also just the case. Definitely people had more trouble with that than the PC but we did it. After break we started to reassemble them back which wasn't the major problem for most people I am sure. It was the screws for me at least... Be organized and keep a good note on which screw goes where because there's a million of them!

Stay tuned for next week...
IT-Chi

Week 3: Hardware-PC, Job Readiness, and MORE HARDWARE - Laptops

Week three started off Monday when we got to take apart PC and put them back together. Well taking them apart was the easy task but putting back together was the challenge. lucky for me i took pictures of all the components and what they were connected too so it would be easier to put back together. I had a lot of fun knowing that i could take apart a PC and put it back together.

Tuesday was a very busy day starting off with our elevator pitches. I think i did okay with the way i carried myself but i have to work on clear speaking and not saying "ummm...". After learning our hour or two of job readiness. we went straight into networking. Learning what a WAN and a LAN was pretty interesting. I looked forward to the more hands on training with connecting Peer to Peer. it was Jenny, Arleth, Nelson, and myself in a group project going into the Peer to Peer activity. I felt our team did an excellent job other than the horrible cable mess on the floor which can be easily fixed with tape.

Thursday was a tough challenge with laptops. The same thing with the PC, we had to take them apart and put them back together. But I was up to the task on hand. I felt like taking apart the laptop a little frustrating when it wouldn't come apart. I felt like if i used the same method with the PC taking pictures would speed things up but my phone was dead. So it was all mental at that point. it took awhile to take apart the laptop but it was done before the break time we have. it took me the whole day before I could put it back together. Overall it was a very productive week and I look forward to continuing to learn more.

-MichaelSoft

Week 3 @ Mission Techies

We did a whole lot in Week 3 at Mission Techies.

We took apart a PC and then we took apart a laptop. Initially I expected the laptop to be easier because it is more compact, but that was not the case. The screws are so small and if the person before you who worked on the laptop damaged the screw so it is stuck you are "screwed". Well..it can be fixed but it is a pain in the butt.

Anyway,

Taking apart the PC was my FAVORITE. I need to get better at laptops because that is what is in demand right now, laptop repair. I really liked holding the CPU, it was like holding a little computer brain in my hand. All of those capabilities and possibilities, so small and compact. It's amazing. Checking out the RAM was cool too, those are a couple of my favorite components to examine. Hard drive is fun too but I think it is so fascinating that items so small can be capable of so much.

I had some difficulty with the laptop which was embarrassing but I got it done (I will never give up on technology). The person who had the laptop before me damaged the top part of some screws so it took me a while to take them out, my tools did not want to fit. The screws were scuffed which was a bummer, I'd like to work with a laptop that does not have those problems to see how good I really can be at this.

I took a laptop home with me this weekend to work on. Someone did not put the screws in right so the laptop could fold properly, they just latched the top part on to make it look like it was repaired. I was pretty upset because the screw was inserted the wrong way and damaged which resulted in it being stuck, I couldn't fix the person's error. I tried for hours to get that one screw out so I could properly fix their mistake but alas, it did not want to budge. Can I please get a laptop that someone hasn't secretly had a mishap with? -__-

We also set up a LAN network. Haha I was stoked when I found that out, I used to have LAN parties and play video games with friends that way. I used to hook up my internet network at home all the time so this wasn't difficult, but it did make me curious as to how other networks are set up. Like..a LAN is nothing compared to a MAN or CAN. Those are HUGE. So it's a small accomplishment, but it fueled my curiosity as to what the other networks are like to set up.

I think I want to study computer networks. I'm discovering things that make me eager to learn more beyond our lessons to the point where I find myself researching hardware when in bed. Or thinking about disassembling pieces of a computer and where everything goes. I just can't stop thinking about technology now, and to be honest I don't know how I went so long without realizing this is my passion.

I decided I want to go to school for computer science, I want to learn about all of this again and more in depth. I want to get better and continue to grow in the technology field. I know that I'm new, but I feel like if I really apply myself and study hard I can be a great techie.

I also met my mentor last week, she is awesome! I am lucky to be paired with someone who thinks so much like me. It was like meeting a long lost friend. She also showed me some of her coding, I hope one day I can understand what it means lol.

Things are going well, I'm just a little nervous for November when we handle other people's computers. I have anxiety so I worry about everything all the time, but I'm trying to have some faith in myself. I did really well with the PC's, I just need to keep practicing laptop repair but I know I can do this!

I want to help people and by offering knowledge and helping them with their computers is a way I can contribute to this world that is fine by me. I think this is an amazing way to give back, repairing computers for low income families. My family is low income and we had so many technology issues, it was sad when we couldn't afford to get anything fixed. I'm so glad Mission Techies helps families like mine.

Oh by the way I have a job interview at BEST BUY and Mission Techie Academy really made me stand out. So did my resume thanks to Olivia (I need to tell her that resume action verbs really helped me).

Until next time,

Ram - Alicia

                                                                  Mission Techies Week 3

 

 

 

 

 

Hardware lessons are getting pretty amazing. I have to admit it was something completely new to me but I had a lot of fun learning about all the components and being able to do hands on.

 

On Monday we worked on our first desktop computer and it was easy as expected, however on Thursday we got our hands dirty with the laptops and when I say dirty I mean really dirty. Experiencing with tools and motherboards is something I never expected but as I practice more I find it more interesting. I had the opportunity to take a laptop home and work with it and it was a great activity for the weekend at home. I just blasted some music and started taking screws apart. My favorite component is the motherboard because it's the brain of the computer and connects everything together, I also love that looks like a bunch of buildings. 

 

On Tuesday we worked with Olivia on job readiness again and I think I am feeling more confident with my elevator pitch, I love when people give me constructive feedback to keep growing as a person and towards a career. Thursday we had a guest speaker named Emerson that gave us information about his background with technology, I like when we are able to chat with other successful folks because it gives me the inspiration to keep going.
 

 

 

Susware. 

Week three in Mission Techies Headquarters

This week during the mission techies course there were a lot of exciting new things that went on  at Mission Techies Head Quarters.

Monday we took apart PC's in order to familiarize ourselves with the inside of a PC. That was fun and not too difficult.

Tuesday we learned how to set up a basic Network (LAN). Leo separated us into two groups and allowed us to figure it out on our own. My project manager was Jennifer. She let us all set up the network to our computer and then directed us to test the speed of the network to find out if it was running properly and if it could access different websites. Setting up a network wasn't to difficult the challenge for us was figuring out where to put the cables so that they would not cause a safety hazard.

Thursday we took apart laptops and let me tell you it is not nearly as easy as it was to take apart the PC's. Do you have any idea as to how many screws I had to Unscrew? Lord, was that a hastle. I used little pieces of papers with labels to where the screws went to keep track of all the little screws. Yet I still managed to misplace one or two. For me the hard part was taking it apart because I had no idea as to how many things where needed to be taken out. I was so excited to put my computer back together once I had identified the components that I had forgot to put the dvd player back in before screwing on the keyboard. I ended up having to go back and take apart the laptop just to insert the dvd player. When I had finally put all the components back in the laptop screwing everything back in was a piece of cake. I really enjoyed myself and can't wait to take apart another laptop.

Until Next Time....

Xoxo
-Arleth

Week 3

I didn't keep track of the days. We've become surgeons of technology and operators of networking. Soon the world will bow down to our rising success to update technology, revive and restore.

Now that I got the dramatic effects out of the way - We worked with setting up the LAN network and I was selected to be the floor supervisor. I will say that I'm very proud of my team. Despite the deadline and stress to figure things out as we went along we all fell into a routine of helping each other out (even with all the shade being thrown at my height).

I like working with hardware but laptops are such a pain. Ugh! But hey I definitely left it better than I found it. Its wires were disconnected, some parts where loose and it had several screws were missing. I need to practice to learn to put it back together faster. I make pretty good time but I still would rather work faster to make sure I have time to double check everything.

I still need to improve and add things to my resume. We'll see how that goes Thursday. I wonder if MAC pros are harder to take apart. Hmm. Ok that's all folks!

- Jenn

Week 2: Inventory, Job Readiness, and Google!

Week two of mission techies was exciting! We started our Monday with hardware and getting to know the history of computers. we got an assignment due about how computers evolved. We than took PC from the tech shop and got to look inside of them. I had a visible aspect of the components inside the PC and getting to know what i was looking at. I wrote everything down just so i know what they were. Writing the notes down were simple but informational. We jumped right into software, getting to know the start up from Windows 7. Knowing how Windows looked back in the days was crazy and I'm so glad i don't have to use that kind of software.

Tuesday was a little different from what we do on a three day basis at Mission Techies. We got to do some job readiness training. We worked on our elevator pitch and also how to network. Learning this will help me in the long run when looking for a job. On the calendar it says we had to do Business Communication but instead we did inventory spread sheets. Leo split us into two teams. Team Maria Vs Team Chi. Team Chi had Me(Michael), Chi(Floor Supervisor), Alicia, and Susana. Team Maria has Maria(Floor Supervisor), Jenny, Nelson, And Raphiel. We had to do most of the work on Thursday since we didn't have enough time.

 Thursday started off with the finishing the inventory sheet and we had to present them in front of the class. Everyone's presentation was great and i like how everyone did the spreadsheet. we went into lecture about hardware and what the components are about. I wrote down all the notes and i study them back at home.

Friday we all had to get up early for Google! We started our day off right getting to know each other and all the alumni Mission Techies. It was a long car ride to Google so Jenny and I just sat all the way in the back downloading music and jamming out. Once we got to the building we all got excited to enter and learn so much about Google. We sat through four employees answering common questions about Google and what they love about their job. It was fascinating getting to know what they do at Google and how they got there. We took a group picture with the android bot! Off to lunch we went and it was FREE BURRITOS! I ate so many burritos and i took some home. Finally we took a tour around the campus of Google and what they have there. It was great to know what its like to be at Google and soon i hope to be working there as well.

-MichaelSoft

Week two of MEDA MissionTechies

On Monday we went over quick lecture of hardware component of a PC on Monday. We skim through all the important component of the computer structure to make the computer functional. We also watched a video of Steve Job's introduction of Macintosh to get a bit of a history idea of how computers evolved since 1984. We went home with an assignment of researching the history of computers.

On Tuesday we had our job readiness training with Olivia. She taught us how to write a correct format resume and the most used way of writing a formal resume (chronological). We also had to write our elevator pitch and gather at least three references for our portfolio. She also taught us how LinkedIn is a great way for employers to look for people to hire as well as other statistics of looking for job methods. After that we had to inventory our lab splitting in to two groups one for each lab.

We learn to document our inventory in to a spreadsheet by physical condition as well as financial condition.

On Thursday we continued with hardware lecture and inventory of laptops in the tech shop that were donated. It was same as Tuesday pretty much.

On Friday we had a google site visit for Somos Google. It was a long drive but it was worth it in the end. We had an orientation with four Hispanic employees at google about their job roles as well as how they get into working at Google. We had two presentations afterwards, one was for Google cardboard and the other was for Google Photos application. After that it was lunch time and we got all the free food we wanted there which was great. When we finished we went on a tour around the Google campuses and drove back to MEDA afterwards. It was a great experience and a fun trip overall to Google.

To be continued next week...

IT-Chi

2nd Wk; into the guts of a Comp..

The second week of the program is going smooth as expected. One thing I feel we Techies can all agree on is that doing inventory sucks...

Too many parts and too many numbers but its all good; later on we'll be able to prove ourselves for being able to do just that. Like I mentioned, we did Inventory and Data Input, worked with some  supervisors and also dismantled a tower. Another thing we can all agree on is that taking parts of out the tower was super fun and as I looked around the room, all the techies had a smile on their face and were helping out their peers next to them. I know by the time we all graduate our minds and bodies are going to be honed cuz Terabyte Sosa keeps our minds racing and the work area is extremely hot especially when we are all in the same area with no ventilation. This week I'm gonna start posting songs that I feel inspire me and maybe y'all will like it, Enjoy!

-SpaceBot_Ver.7 (nelson)

Week II

This week we where split into two teams and each team had a lab to take the inventory of everything in the room. At first it was a little challenging but after the first day we had got the hang of it. Our team's approach was to split the needed data between each other. When all the data was collected we each entered the data on a spreadsheet. We also worked with Olivia on resumes, like what a resume should be like as well as what information should and should not be on your resume. We also worked on your elevator pitch. I also found out a little about my mentor, like he works a Google. Friday we took a trip to Google and learned a more about what goes on at Google, also what kind positions there are and what qualifications are needed. We saw around the area not too much in the offices or any tech stuff, but the food was really good and we got to take some home with us. At the end we all got android bags with Google water bottles and a note pad. 

-Raphael

Week 2 Mission Techies Head Quarters

 Welcome back to Mission Techies Head quarters to get the update on what went on this past week

This week has been very educational. We started our classes with Olivia to help prepare us get ready for job training. We went over the Do's and Don'ts of a resume. She showed us two different examples and then explained the comparison between the two. She also helped us write our elevator speech. Mine was hard for me given I have no real experience besides working at KFC and no real qualifications besides my High School Diploma that I most recently obtained.

Also, Leo taught us how to do Inventory. He split us into two different groups and had us do inventory for all the technology in the lab we where assigned to. I was put in Lab 1 as floor supervisor. It being my first time ever being in charge I was very excited but didn't follow all the rules. I put one of my peers in danger by allowing him to get on a spinning chair to retrieve information from the projector that was hanging on the wall. He didn't get hurt, we got the job done, but Leo wasn't to happy when he found out I let Nelson do that. Me regano...oops! Don't think i'll be put as floor supervisor any time soon.

This past week was really fun. I can't wait for next week, when we start working on hardware.
To stay informed about the awesome adventures of the Mission Techies tune in every Thursday at 5:00pm. I'll keep in touch.,muach :*

-xoxo
Arleth

                                                        

                                                                   Our second week

 

My experience at Mission techies is getting more interesting as the days passes by. Monday the 28th had a lot of new ways for us to realize where exactly do we see ourselves at the end of this journey. I personally have been developing more interest in software. We also did an activity about hardware were we had the task of identifying the components. Tuesday was fun for me because I was excited to work with Olivia about job readiness. I still get nervous just to think about elevated pitch, but I know I am here to learn and to get the best advice that experienced people can offer me. We also did IT inventory and developed a new skill, we started using the spreadsheets to type our tech products and their serial numbers, we also had to add the day they were purchased or donated. I find interesting that a lot of places donate stuff to non-profit organizations like MEDA to give us the opportunity to learn and get involved in the tech industry. Friday was definitely my favorite day of the week because we had the opportunity to go to Google and get advice from professionals and see their work environment. It’s funny because I usually hear bad things about techies but I had the pleasure to chat with some of them and I thought they were helpful and shared great ideas for us to see that everything is possible when you really work hard for your goals. They encouraged us to never give up. This week was absolutely great and I am ready for more.

Week 2 @ Mission Techies

My second week at Mission Techies was amazing. We studied parts of hardware to prepare us for taking apart computers and putting them back together (which we did in week 3 but I'm not blogging about that week, though I'm pumped up from that activity).

We also did inventory which I really enjoyed. I'm starting to notice that I enjoy attention to detail, I overanalyze usually so this is perfect for my fast paced brain! You can't really overanalyze putting together a computer, if anything it helps you remember where each screw goes and where the power supply cords go. Wow, I'm already referring to hardware parts.

Honestly, I was nervous when I first started. I've never really been good at much, most likely because I haven't honestly tried to learn anything that wasn't natural talent. However, I'm starting to get the hang of this, my confidence is going up and I'm showing myself that I have what it takes to become a techie. I just need to continue to apply myself and study.

Reading about hardware is so different than reaching inside a computer and feeling all the parts. It's hard not to write about the activity we just did because I'm so excited about it, but it's in Week 3 so I can't blog about that yet D:

Inventory was interesting because it is so detail oriented, but it was so detailed that my mind could comprehend the complexity of everything. Sometimes things are too simple for me that I disect it in my mind and make it harder than it needs to be, but this was just right.

We went to Google! It was INCREDIBLE. I want to work there so bad! They really celebrate diversity and give students a chance to prove themselves. Ernesto on the Google panel was telling new coders to come up and talk to him. One day I could be up there talking to him! I hope Leo brings us back there like he did with the other Mission Techies from the previous generations. I want a chance at Google so bad, I know so many others do but I would do anything to get a position with them. Even if I had to stay up for days studying hardware and Google interview questions (I hear they're rather abstract and difficult).

Lunch at Google was one of the best parts. My fellow techies and I took home a few burritos, yes a few. I have no regrets.

I really like spending time with my techie group, we're like a nerdy family.

I also met Ana from Mission Techies, she was one of the first generational techies (maybe even the first?). Her video inspired me when Leo came to introduce the program at Job Corps and I freaked out when we were talking and I realized it was her. I really hope to stay in touch with her, maybe all us techies can have a get together with Leo.

Leo is awesome. He pushes me which motivates me and keeps me on my game.

I'm so grateful for this opportunity. Going to Google, learning about the tech world and hearing about all these opportunities that may await when I am finished with this program is crazy!

My life is going to be so much better thanks to this program.

Thank you Mission Techies for bringing hope to my future.

Alicia

Week 2. Day 8.

Tired...but that's old news. We went to Google!!! The burritos were so bomb!!! Don't get me started on the desserts! I personally liked the panels though (besides the food). I can't remember the names of the people who had talked but what caught my attention the most was the cardboard project they had been working on. I was able to get my hands on the glasses and downloaded the app (it was trippy). It's something I personally would not mind working on especially if it branches out to music events and video games.

Earlier in the week we learned the basics of hardware with a dash of software. We took a lecture on the important of job readiness and finished up inventory. We began looking into hardware and how intimidating it seemed until today. We didn't blog last week but hey we're making up for it with not just one but TWO blogs this week (YIPPIE!). Cool beans right? I can't wait to learn to take apart PCs. Maybe then I'll know why my PC is acting up. Soon my precious PC. Soon. Anyway that's all for now folks!

-Jennifer

P.S. We look awesome with our swag bags B)

week two

learning inventory was pretty difficult at first. after getting a hang of it we got it together. we were split into two groups and Arleth as our team leader. we had some mishaps with the projector. then we had partners and had to take inventory of some laptops by now it was pretty easy. our trip to google was fun learned a lot and got a bag.

Week One of Mission Techies

The first week of Mission Techies was very interesting. Some stuff Leo taught us was already to my knowledge, but he put a spin on it and gave me a better understanding of the things I knew so well. When we were putting together our skills chart, I learned more about myself and how my skills have developed over the years. Leo gave us ice breakers during each beginning of class. For example, Leo asked us what technology have I used recently, I said social media and how I updated my status. He asked me how I could make that more of an easier task . so I researched and presented it in class. it was a fun and knowledgeable experiment. That task really helped me think I could do more research on that topic. I'm excited to see what other interesting things I would learn over the next 11 more weeks I have with Mission Techies. This first week was amazing and I'm ready to see what happens next!

-Michael AKA MichaelSoft

My first week at Mission Techies...

Hmm... my first week at MT was pretty awesome. New folks to work with and new things to learn. Awesome! What wasn't awesome was that we were made to present ourselves in front of four random strangers. It wasn't weird considering that I don't know anyone in here, but still nerve wrecking nonetheless. I'm gonna need to learn how to talk to big groups of people without getting stage fright. On the other hand, I'm definitely ready to learn more about the machines that pretty much run our daily lives for us. I'm used to many things but I'm ready to erase what I know and absorb everything I learn.

-Nelson Quezada, Mission Tex

“If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.” ― Winston S. Churchill

Fall program first week

Fall program first week

 

 

 

My first week as a mission techie has been quite an experience. I heard of MEDA as I was browsing the web for opportunities for affordable housing and it lead to the mission techies program. For me was a little bit hard to make the decision to commit to this program due to having a daughter of the age of two without childcare. Leo encourage me to try it and commit for 144hours. After talking to my husband we both decided this is an opportunity that can lead me to a career or a job. The first day was orientation where we learned what the program is about and everything that we will work in the next 12 weeks. Our first day as a Mission techie was on September the 21st at 1:00pm, we did a TABE Assessment and we also had a talk with Leah that works on the Mentorship program. On Tuesday we had to present our Skill chart and give a little bit of background about ourselves, it helped me a lot to realize what type of skill do I have and what do I need to work on. At the presentation we had a few guests from Year Up and Frog that sat down and observed us. We also had to go to out and do an activity with a classmate to do some research at some tech shops. On Thursday we did It Waste Activity where we had to do inventory and give out some products that do not work anymore for an event. We talked about operational procedures and we started writing on the blog. I find the program very interesting and I am glad I was able to work out my situation to be part of this great opportunity that was presented to me at the right time. I am looking forward for any adventures that this can lead to.

 

 

 

Susana Ramirez.

My first week

So showing up to mission felt a little like home. Although walking into a building that smells like fish was not what was I expecting, but it also was not a disappointment. It was amazing that it was three floors, and everyone here is nice and friendly. I am excited to come back next week, this week was just learning about what mission techies have to offer an the rules and regulations, as well as knowing your way around the facilities and who you will be working with. We have a great group for the fall, and I cant wait to see the projects we will work on also I feel with what I know before coming to the techies I can offer Leo something in return to help him out in the future. Just a little something in return for giving back so much to the community. I really like what Leo is doing here in the Mission I really do hope it will spread out and become more. well that's all I really have to post oh, hey Leo since I know you are going to read this here is a little joke for you. Have you heard of the movie constipation? "No" That's because it has not came out yet. Lmao!!!!

Raphael

Week 1. Day 3. We Survived

It's Thursday!

Back at ranch (Techies HQ) it's the first week of the fall class and we got to know each other through a series of ice breakers, class activities and presentations. We all got to share the good, the bad, and the ugly with one another though I can't say it wasn't nerve wracking. We didn't know what to expect from this class but we weren't disappointed. We had fun getting to know one another and knowing how we function both in a relaxed environment and under pressure. Leo is cool (even if he doesn't let us do a class burrito run). We got the lecture on the basics of soft skills and safety and it's assumed that this info will be carried out in our future careers in technology. It's nice being able to work within a small class with a cool environment. We're all eager to get our hands dirty with taking apart the pcs already. Really looking forward to coding and finding out what's wrong with my own pc at home.

Jennifer

Week 1 from Mission Techie Head Quarters

This week at the Mission Techies head quarters I was introduced to many new amazing people. I will be working with this group for 12 weeks and am very excited to get to now and learn from all of them. Leo has explained to us what we should expect to learn during our time in the Mission Techies program.

We have already gone on a treasure hunt and even got to present our Skill Charts to representatives of Frog and Year Up. Through these activities I have gotten to know my peers better and have been able to see what it is they bring to the table.

I am super excited to be working with this amazing group! Can't wait for all the wonderful experiences that I know this program will provide and all the laughs I know I will have with the Mission Techies.

I will be sure to keep you posted on all things that happen at the Mission Techies Head Quarters.

Until Next Time,
Arleth

First Week of Mission Techies by Alicia

My first week as a techie has been fun! I knew this would be a great opportunity for me but I didn't expect it to also be entertaining. Class is never dull and I have a great group of people to work with.

 

We gave presentations in front of a couple reputable companies on our skill charts. I didn't realize how nervous I was until I stood in front of the class. Everyone was supportive of each other and clapped for each presentation. We are a team at Mission Techies and I am enjoying getting to know everyone.

 

Leo is great, he is funny and extremely intelligent. I am looking forward to gaining knowledge from him. I am a little worried that I won't be good at this, but I think that is normal when you do something for the first time. I believe in myself though, so I have a feeling I will do well. I actively participate in class and feel like I am really learning something.

 

I am stoked to go to Google next Friday! I want to work for Google one day and have heard amazing things about their corporate office. I am also excited to eventually understand techie terminology too! There are so many things to look forward to.

This week was fun.

-Alicia