I had a 2.5 hour theory class. On a Friday afternoon. Who plans this stuff?
And this is the same class where we are watching a movie from 1961 made for the US Military about DC motors and generators. Granted the theory or applications are the same as +50 years ago, but in all that time someone must have made something more current. It's almost as bad as the grade 11 science "Miracle of Life" birth control they make you watch.
Overall, we've started to move past the review stage and into the new content stage. From the course outlines, a lot of what we'll be covering I've had some exposure to through work. It's something I've either installed, or seen or talked about. The school part just gets more technical. The only thing I haven't really come across is instrumentation, but the concepts there are fairly straightforward. For example: a flow sensor measures how much water is moving, and if not enough water is moving, it communicates to a controller that the valve needs to be opened more. The controller then tells the valve to open more, and the valve opens more. That's about all I've deduced about this class so far.
My downfall is going to be electronics (I say downfall, but my mark in this class will still be at least in the 70's). I've figured out that there is time during the break to build the circuit and do whatever math needed for the lab prior to class. This means class time is spent hooking it up and testing it. Once you're done the lab, you can go. This is going to give me an earlier day on Wednesdays.
I can take the circuit schematic and understand how to build it. I even understand the calculations involved. However, I don't fully have the comprehension to troubleshoot what would happen if one of the components is changed, reversed or removed. Tougher still is the lab quizzes that we have to do online after class. Some of the questions are easy to answer, you just have to have done your work from the lab and the answers are there. Others are comprehension questions, and without the actual circuits to play around with, it's a little tougher for me to get the right answer. Frankly, I just don't speak electronics.
Hopefully next week, (apart from electronics of course) we start to delve into the meatier material.
And this is the same class where we are watching a movie from 1961 made for the US Military about DC motors and generators. Granted the theory or applications are the same as +50 years ago, but in all that time someone must have made something more current. It's almost as bad as the grade 11 science "Miracle of Life" birth control they make you watch.
I'd grabbed a drink and a snack from the bookstore to get me through the afternoon. The lady who cashed me out straight up asked, "so, are there any hot guys in your class?" I laughed. After a while, they all look the same, especially with the abundance of lumberjack styled beards that have been cropping up of late. When you've worked with a bunch of guys, after a while they all look the same, smell the same, there's no need to differentiate one from the next.
Yesterday my theory teacher (when I handed in my test) asked if it was my first day in class. Now we have theory with the same teacher 3 times a week. So by now, this is my 5th class with him. I'm one of only three girls. In the sausage fest that is school, who doesn't notice the women?
It was tough getting through that test. Not because the test was hard, it was all review. I've been feeling under the weather this week. Likely a cause from exposure to so many people in an enclosed environment (aka school). For the sake of being proactive, my attempts to counter the cold symptoms interfered with my test taking. Large bottles of water, cups of tea and bowls of soup hit the saturation level for my bladder. I went to the bathroom before class, again during the break we got before the test started, and it still hit me mid-test. I had to pee so badly! It was all I could do to make it through to the end of the test. I'll find out next week how I did.
Overall, we've started to move past the review stage and into the new content stage. From the course outlines, a lot of what we'll be covering I've had some exposure to through work. It's something I've either installed, or seen or talked about. The school part just gets more technical. The only thing I haven't really come across is instrumentation, but the concepts there are fairly straightforward. For example: a flow sensor measures how much water is moving, and if not enough water is moving, it communicates to a controller that the valve needs to be opened more. The controller then tells the valve to open more, and the valve opens more. That's about all I've deduced about this class so far.
My downfall is going to be electronics (I say downfall, but my mark in this class will still be at least in the 70's). I've figured out that there is time during the break to build the circuit and do whatever math needed for the lab prior to class. This means class time is spent hooking it up and testing it. Once you're done the lab, you can go. This is going to give me an earlier day on Wednesdays.
I can take the circuit schematic and understand how to build it. I even understand the calculations involved. However, I don't fully have the comprehension to troubleshoot what would happen if one of the components is changed, reversed or removed. Tougher still is the lab quizzes that we have to do online after class. Some of the questions are easy to answer, you just have to have done your work from the lab and the answers are there. Others are comprehension questions, and without the actual circuits to play around with, it's a little tougher for me to get the right answer. Frankly, I just don't speak electronics.
Hopefully next week, (apart from electronics of course) we start to delve into the meatier material.
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