Lesson 8 Blog

In my educational technology class we have covered many of the basic programs and software’s that are available on computers at home and school. Many of the programs we learned about especially Microsoft Word Programs are an example of programs that I use on an everyday basis. I used many of these programs in high school, college, and especially in this graduate course. I was able to blog and reflect as well as review others blogs to learn different teaching styles and methods that can be enhanced with the use of technology in the classroom. I am not a teacher yet, so this is a great way for me to get some pointers from fellow peers who are teachers and have used technology effectively in the classroom. I have learned that it is not only beneficial to the students, but for the teacher as well. Recently we have been learning about different types of viruses that one can get on their computers. We learned not only the types but we also learned how viruses are designed to invade a person’s hardware and cause damage. Two types of viruses that I have heard about and come across before this class are “Trojan Horse” and “Computer Worms”. The computer worm is a software program that is designed to copy itself from one computer to another. A Trojan horse is a malicious program that can disguise itself as something it's not, such as a downloadable game. Once the user downloads the program, the Trojan horse is activated and can invade the user's files. I have unfortunately had problems with “Trojan Horse” virus in the past. I have lost two laptops to downloading games, and or music downloading software that started off by slowing the performance speed of my computer down and ultimately causing my computer to crash. I have learned now to become more careful with what I download, as well as remind myself to use my back up drive in the instance that my computer may crash at any time. This helps me to back up documents and pictures that may not be replicable.  As far as using anti-virus software, I used Norton Anti-Virus while I attended EKU. They required students who used the EKU network to have these program installed. I did not encounter any virus problems while I used this program. I do know however that when it comes anti-virus software’s it is best if you do your research and read reviews on the project to make sure you are purchasing a software that is legit. Unfortunately some anti-virus software’s can create more problems for you then you began with.