Four weeks ago, I returned to school at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in its online division. I graduated from Mercer University more than 20 years ago, so I was a bit nervous about going back to school. I wondered: Would I be able to focus and comprehend as well as I did in the ’80s? Or would I be the dimmest bulb in the chandelier (Dumber than dumb)?

I’m majoring in graphic design and wanted to take a computer literacy class before delving into my major. In addition to learning the parts of a computer and its functions, the course covers the following software: Adobe Acrobat Professional, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office Professional (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook).

I entered my third week with a 99.21 percent average. And then there was Microsoft Office Excel! I had no problems comprehending how to enter numerical values or data into the rows and columns of the spreadsheet, merging cells, referencing cells, etc. But for the life of me, I could not manipulate the data and come up with the right formula for Assignment Three. So if I couldn’t figure out that assignment, then I wouldn’t have the correct data to build a graph in Assignment Four.

When used properly, the Excel program can simplify life. My assignment was to figure out federal and state taxes, and net pay for superheroes that had one or more dependents. Had I been able to figure out the formula for the first superhero, Wonder Woman, then Excel would have used that formula to calculate the net pay of the remaining heroes.

In some instances, I’m more of a visual learner, so I spent hours looking at Excel tutorials on the internet. I attended a live online tutorial at the school. I figured out the formulas, except for the following one that would have netted the federal tax: Federal tax = (GROSS PAY minus (DEPENDENTS multiplied by 38.46))multiplied by 20%.

I spent a week working diligently to come up with that formula. I could figure out the right amount on a calculator, but couldn’t convert the figures into a formula. Each time I submitted my formula, the professor would send me an email with encouraging statements and then the bomber: “But your formula is not right. Try again.” Finally, two CPAs helped me. Unfortunately, their formulas didn’t work, either.

I was so frustrated that I forgot to participate in one of four class discussions last week. Finally, with a lot of help from the professor, I came up with the formula for federal tax. But since I couldn’t figure it out before the assignment deadline, I lost points. My overall grade average has dropped to 96.08 percent.

This week, we’re learning PowerPoint and Adobe Photoshop in the CS5 Suite. This is my first time using PowerPoint. I did an awesome 10-slide presentation. I checked the assignment box, and the professor’s comments were: “Extremely impressive on Von Glitschka (the subject of my slide presentation). The imagery was absolutely stunning. Fabulous slide backgrounds and wonderful graphics. The PowerPoint features that you selected had been perfect for the presentation. Way to go on adding your new effects! Excellent work!”

Barring any other stumbling blocks, I should be able to pull my overall grade-point average back into the high ’90s.

My experiences during the first two weeks were a bit more relaxed. They were fast-paced, but informative and fun. In many ways, online classes are much like the independent studies I took at Mercer. Back then, students could study independently only during their junior and senior years if their overall grade average was “B” or better. I did that during my final two years at the university.

The first day of class at Mercer, I was given a syllabus outlining my assignments and their due dates, and a schedule telling me when to return to the campus for exams. Independent studies weren’t meant to be taken lightly. For example, my history class required me to read five books, write 10 papers (seven-page minimum with footnotes and references) and three exams within 10 weeks.

At that time, I was taking two other classes, working full time, raising a child and maintaining my home. Where did I get the energy?

I figured online classes would be a breeze since I’m no longer working and my child is now an adult. I’d have plenty of time to handle the classes. Wrong! We have four to five assignments each week as well as reading posted lectures, attending live online tutorials, reading the electronic book and outside sources, and reading and critiquing at least two classmates’ assignments.

The first day of class, each student wrote a brief autobiography and posted it on our classroom site. I thought that was a unique of getting to know classmates who lived in various states.

Then we turned to our first “official” textbook/lecture assignment. Each week, the first assignment is always discussion questions focusing on the upcoming lesson. Some of the questions for the first week’s assignments included: Do you think “not shutting down properly” can harm your computer hardware, the installed software, or data on your computer? Why or why not? Make a list of the hardware components that make up the computer you are using for this class. There are different ways to gather this information from your computer. Be specific and include the following criteria:

• The brand and name of the CPU
• CPU speed
• The amount of RAM
• The number of hard drives and their size
• The type/model of graphics card
• The number of USB ports
• The brand and model of printer or scanner
• The brand and model or any other input devices (other than a standard keyboard)

I’ve used computers for more than 20 years and whenever they needed servicing, I’d call the tech staff at work. At home, I’d leave my computer problems in my son’s capable hands since he has a degree in computer science. In other words, as long as the computer was functioning, why would I care about the amount of RAM or CPU speed?

Now that I know the terminology and the functions of many parts of my computer, it’s nice to be able to talk about what is working or not working as opposed to saying, “the thingamajig has stopped working.”

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