Sunday, August 31, 2025

Return to....., AI Killed Fun With Functions, How Will You Achieve, Succeed, and Prosper?

Kicking off my twenty seventh year of teaching part-time in higher education, mostly at College of Southern Nevada (CSN), the most significant change this semester is this:

The Digital Literacy program has been disbanded and rolled under the Software program in the Computer Information Technology (CIT) Department.

Adapting to the aftermath of this change: (i) shortened the time window for my early outreach to the students before the semester officially began, (ii) delayed the drafting and publishing of this inaugural blog post, and (iii) gave me an opportunity help a new fellow adjunct faculty. As I walk through the coursework for the newcomer, my mind returns to the fundamentals :-)

All but two students who enrolled in IS101-3210, Fall 2025 before the semester began meeting with me via WebEx. Fifteen (15) students sent in their Bonus Quiz 1 – Syllabus. Earl, A'Marian, Andrew, Oliver, Audrey, Justin, and Andrea continuously fixed their BQ1 until they reached 100%, leaving a positive first impression on me. Nineteen (19) students attended the first classroom session yesterday morning. In less than a minute is the deadline for students to enroll in a class for the 16-week session.

As with previous semesters, our 16-week IS101 Introduction to Information Systems journey together will be marked by three phases:




Click on the image for a larger/clearer view

+++++Phase 1: Forming, Norming, Storming+++++
The first two or three weeks (grey section) are where students get their sea legs by setting up their accounts for organization and success, adapt/reacclimate to college schoolwork, and complete the essential skills for living online & computing concepts and common Microsoft Office skills.

The following several weeks (blue section) often elicit exclamations such as "I didn't know Microsoft Word can do this" and "So this is the way to do this properly".

Above average students continue their momentum from BQ1 and show up to the classroom early to challenge BQ2 through BQ6 and/or elevate their course grade at the end of the semester.

For almost all students, passing the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) MO-110 Word certification exam and earning their first digital literacy badge bring a sense of accomplishment and foreshadow future MOS Associates.


+++++Phase 2: Performing (Determined and Analytical)+++++
The next several weeks (green section) will force the cogs in their brain into overdrive, rotate students' thought process and perspective on their axis, and take students to the apex of IS101.

Microsoft Excel is often the most challenging software application for students as it is the least familiar compared to Word and PowerPoint. A pleasant surprise or rude awakening or both is/are instore for those believe they know Excel because they can use SUM or AVERAGE as CONCAT, TEXTJOIN, UNIQUE, COUNTIF, VLOOKUP/HLOOKUP, pivot tables, and others are introduced.

Majority of my signature lectures, demonstrations, and walkthroughs permeate this phase. One of my signature topic/skill contribute significantly to BQ7 through BQ11.

The middle phase culminates in the MO-210 Excel certification Capstone Assignment 1 (a.k.a. A6 Spreadsheet Analysis with Trailer). A6 will require students to pay attention to details as they apply what they learned in Chapter 5 Microsoft Excel, practice quality control for their own work output, and orient their perspectives when viewing and responding to a business scenario. Capstone Assignment 1 also makes up the base for BQ12 & BQ13 which can raise a student's course grade by half a letter grade.


+++++Phase 3: Performing (Creative)+++++
Capstone Assignment 2 kicks off the final and shortest phase (orange section) of the course. Chapter 6 Microsoft PowerPoint is the least taxing, most fun, and a wonderful way to conclude the required portion of the coursework. By this phase, all students would each have had his/her/their opportunity to do A3 Slideshow Presentation. MO-310 PowerPoint will give students the opportunity who passed the two earlier exams to become MOS Associates.


+++++Beyond IS101: Out-Performing (Actualizing)+++++
Above average students will create their own phase (black section) to go beyond what's required by outperforming/actualizing their digital literacy potentials by:

(a) Doing bonus assignments A8 Improved Slideshow Presentation, A9 Query Options and IF Statement, and A10 Workbook Investigation.

(b) Taking bonus quizzes BQ12 & BQ13 (taken together as a pair) BQ14, BQ15 and more impromptu bonus challenges. 

(c) Challenging more MOS certification exams MO-400 Outlook, MO-500 Access, MO-111 Word Expert, and MO-211 Excel Expert. A select few stand out by earning the MOS Expert distinction. An even fewer stand out by hitting a MOS Homerun by passing ALL available seven (7) MOS certification exams.

**************************************************

The Digital Literacy program may be no more but IS101 Introduction to Information Systems the course is still humming along.

The most meaningful change at the course level is that at least one artificial intelligence (AI) tool on the market has evolved to the point that it can immediately produce all the answers for the Fun with Functions workbook created by the then Digital Literacy program director Dr. Mark Taormino. Many IS101 faculty chose to continue to using the self-grading workbook this semester but my two signature capstone assignments easily fill the void. Let's see an AI tool do my capstone assignments!

Along the vein of ensuring human-talent doing the work instead of a human using AI tool(s) and passing the work off as his/her/their talent:




Click on the image for a larger/clearer view

This article & video arrested my attention back in 2018:

Artificial Intelligence: The Robots Are Now Hiring
See how new data-science tools are determining who gets hired, in this episode of Moving Upstream
By Hilke Schellmann and Jason Bellini of Wall Street Journal | September 20, 2018

A week before the Fall 2025 semester officially began, I came across this article also from WSJ:

AI is Forcing the Return of the In-Person Job Interview
More companies are returning to face-to-face meetings to counter cheating by candidates—and more ominous digital threats
By Ray A. Smith of Wall Street Journal | August 12, 2025

It's one thing to use AI to help do one's work to show one's talent, but how about using AI to change one's appearance, digitally at least?

This video from two and half a year ago came to my attention earlier this year:

This viral TikTok filter is creating unrealistic beauty expectations
A new viral TikTok filter, which has been used more than 8.5 million times, is stirring conversation on whether it is creating unrealistic beauty expectations. NBC’s Valerie Castro got the un-filtered view from people on the streets of New York.
By Valerie Castro of NBC News | March 1, 2023

Two months ago, I laughed hard from this video: (it made me think and question everything)

AI Slop: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
John Oliver explains why you’ve been seeing more AI-generated content online, the harm it can do, and – sadly – why it is threatening his marriage. Do you hear us, cabbage Hulk? Stay the hell away from John’s cabbage wife.
By LastWeekTonight with John Oliver | June 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpg1RmzAbc (29 min 4 sec video -- see note below)
Note: Video contains strong and adult language. If you are under the age of 18, ask your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) for permission. If you are unable or unwilling to ask for permission, then skip this video.

Earlier this month at the CSN Part-Time Faculty conference, I attended AI workshops by Dr. Mary Ann Hughes Butts of CSN's AI Task Force. I learned much. With her permission, I will use a small portion from her AI Red Flags presentation as a later lecture/demonstration/walkthrough in IS101-3210 on how to discern whether an image is natural or generated by AI. I hope my students will share their experience with the AI Task Force: https://news.csn.edu/share-your-a-i-experience/

**************************************************

Technology can be used for good and bad. 

Also from attending the Part-Time Faculty conference earlier this month, I learned that this semester, Fall 2025, student enrollment increased by 7% while we lost over $7 millions due to scams from the Spring 2025 semester.

CSN loses $7.4M in ‘Ghost Students’ scheme
An external audit showed CSN accumulated a debt of $7.43 million tied to the “ghost students” scheme. The debt included tuition, fees, and write-offs. CSN also had to pay back the U.S. Department of Education for the federal loans it awarded the fake students.
By: Joshua Peguero of 8 News Now | March 6, 2025

Nevada is certain not alone in dealing with ghost students. As the federal-level agencies step up their efforts in combating this type of scam, one result is the later disbursement of financial aid.

How scammers are siphoning college financial aid with stolen student identities
Ali Rogin speaks with Fortune editor Amanda Gerut to learn more about this growing scam.
By PBS NewsHour | August 24, 2025

The evening before Fall 2025 began, the State of Nevada suffered a cyber attack. The outage of systems at the state-level did affect operations at the county and city -levels.

Ransomware attack cripples Nevada services; officials confirm state data was taken
Nevada officials said at a Wednesday press conference in Carson City that the state became the target of a “sophisticated, ransomware-based” cyberattack detected early Sunday, prompting teams to isolate and take some systems offline to contain the threat.
By Jeffrey Meehan of Reno Gazette Journal | August 28, 2025

This reminded me of another John Oliver video I saw from four years ago:

Ransomware: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
John Oliver discusses ransomware attacks, why they’re on the rise, and what can be done about them.
By LastWeekTonight with John Oliver | August 15, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqD-ATqw3js (22 min 6 sec video -- see note below)
Note: Video contains strong and adult language. If you are under the age of 18, ask your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) for permission. If you are unable or unwilling to ask for permission, then skip this video.





Click on the image for a larger/clearer view

Alright, enough with the bad news from bad actors.

Students,

Looking ahead to our semester together, one key highlight is your opportunity to bolster your résumé by earning certifications from the company that makes the most commonly used business productivity software application suite.

Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) in the Workforce
By Certiport, February 20, 2024

Here is a video I have used to kick off each semester for the past few years:

Neil deGrasse Tyson's Ultimate Advice for Students & Young People – HOW TO SUCCEED IN LIFE
By Motivation2Study, July 26, 2020

Be sure to read the articles, listen to the audio clip, and watch the videos I included in this blog post ^_^

In your comment to this blog post, please share your thoughts on:

(A) At least one of the videos you watched from above.

(B) Your digital literacy level now -- for reflection at the end of the semester of your digital literacy level then.

(C) How would Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications benefit you? Do you have any ambition to pursue the expert-level MOS certifications (beyond the scope of IS101)?

(D) How will you achieve, succeed, and prosper in IS101-3210, Fall 2025 and beyond?
at 13 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)