Category: CS

Create a challenge that showcases a software/tool/function/etc. that you find useful and would like to pass on to others! Your challenge should include a concise tutorial of how to complete the challenge, along with what the goal of the challenge is. The tutorial should not be a general “guide” but rather tailored to the specific area you are focusing on. Challenges should be able to be completed in about an hour.

Possible topic areas include:

• Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, or Publisher)
• Linux (Terminal commands, Linux specific software, Utilising a Linux OS)
• AT Software (Kurzweil, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Read and Write Gold, Inspiration)
• Programming (Scripting, web programming, language concepts)
• Any other area you’d like to focus on (See me for approval first!)

This one is a bit more open ended than our usual challenges, and as such, if you’re questioning your idea, please don’t hesitate to talk through it with me first, rather than finish it only for it to not meet the requirements.

Challenge guide HERE

Challenge sample file HERE

First CS challenge of the new semester and, surprise, surprise… it’s time for Excel! Just a fairly basic challenge to get you warmed up (don’t worry, I’ll make the next one tougher).

Create a table filled with at least 4 rows (items) by 4 columns (months) of “sales” data (either taken from somewhere or made up). Show the total sales by item and total sales by month, as well as average sales per item and average sales per month (does not have to all be in the same table). These should all be calculated by excel formulas using absolute cell references. Once complete, create a bar graph showing the item sales by month. How you format the data is up to you (i.e. you don’t have to follow my exact tables below). Post your submission in a reply as an excel file.

Full document HERE

Create a document of at least 4 pages, not including cover page and table of contents (you can use the lorem ipsum generator below to create dummy text for this purpose). Your document should have at least 6 headers (including a few sub-headers). Add a table of contents that automatically fills in the page number and headers/sub-headers. Add page numbers that start at the page after your table of contents i.e. your cover page and table of contents should not be included in your page numbering. See my attached file as a general guideline.

Full document HERE

Nice challenge. Always good to practice helpful skills for the job, by the way this is definitely among the 3 most asked questions related to software assistance.

Follow the tutorial in the attached tutorial.pdf file. Using an online LaTeX editor like overleaf or a LaTeX editor of your choice (we have several installed on the LabNet machines) complete the attached submission_template.tex file, showcasing the completed Exercises 1, 2, and 3. This one is a bit more challenging than the last few challenges, so if you have any questions ask me or Evan. My submission.pdf file below is an example of a completed submission.

Henrique_CS challenge

This was fairly challenging and I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know existed in Latex. Indeed it is a really useful software to know more about.

Little bit simpler challenge this week, as we return to the basics of the almighty Linux Terminal! Either in Terminal on Linux or through PuTTY, screenshot a session of you completing the following:

1.       Opening the manual of a command (add a separate screenshot showing you have a manual open for this step);

2.       Creating a directory;

3.       Navigating to the directory;

4.       Listing contents of the directory;

5.       Creating a .txt file;

6.       Adding some text to the .txt file using Vi (add a separate screenshot showing you have Vi open for this step);

7.       Outputting the text of the .txt file to the terminal.

You can include multiple steps on 1 screenshot (e.g. steps 2 -5 can all be in one screenshot), but attach as many screenshots as needed. Include these as image files.

This tutorial (section 1 to 6) should have all information needed to complete steps 1 – 7: https://ryanstutorials.net/linuxtutorial/

I don’t think I learned a whole lot from this challenge as we had some something really similar in the past. However, I think it was a good refresher for using Vi, a tool which I’m still not entirely comfortable with.

Following the attached tutorial document, create your own Microsoft Access database file with tables for Customers, Products, and Orders (with the same fields and formulas as the tutorial, for example date should be auto generated using “=Now()”). Create at least 5 records in each table, showing a completed “Orders Query” in your file that displays customerId, first name, last name, product name, and price.

Quick note on section 3 – if you get an error when trying to create the data relationships, make sure your other tables are closed and saved.

 

Create your own “The Commons” PowerPoint template (following the “Creating a Template” instructions below) of at least 5 unique slide layouts. Your template should have images and background(s). Use your template to create a 8 slide slideshow showcasing the Commons services with pictures and information (pictures, etc. can be found on our webpage). Attach both the PowerPoint you create (.pptx) and your template file (.potx) in your reply.

Creating a Template – https://support.office.com/en-us/artic…f8169c8aca

Complete file HERE

For this challenge, I think I made good use of the image editing tools available on PowerPoint. Firstly, I used the “set transparent color” tool to remove the background on each picture, and then I inserted the edited picture as a fill in a polygon so that I could also change the transparency settings.  I also tried using soft edges effect on Dilbert’s image and I think it turned out really nice.

Little bit simpler challenge this week, as we return to the basics of the almighty Linux Terminal! Either in Terminal on Linux or through PuTTY, screenshot a session of you completing the following:

1.       Opening the manual of a command (add a separate screenshot showing you have a manual open for this step);

2.       Creating a directory;

3.       Navigating to the directory;

4.       Listing contents of the directory;

5.       Creating a .txt file;

6.       Adding some text to the .txt file using Vi (add a separate screenshot showing you have Vi open for this step);

7.       Outputting the text of the .txt file to the terminal.

You can include multiple steps on 1 screenshot (e.g. steps 2 -5 can all be in one screenshot), but attach as many screenshots as needed. Include these as image files.

This tutorial (section 1 to 6) should have all information needed to complete steps 1 – 7: https://ryanstutorials.net/linuxtutorial/

This challenge was fairly simple as I already knew how to do it, however, I can see its utility for Linux first time users. Either way it served me as a refresher.

 

 

Python is becoming the programming language of choice for many courses at MUN, so we’re going to take this week to go over some of the basics of the language! Following the tutorial on Sololearn (found at https://www.sololearn.com/Play/Python ) complete at least the first 2 sections (Basic Concepts and Control Structures, if you have time, complete Functions and Modules as well).

For those of you already familiar with Python, you can click the “Take A Shortcut” button to be tested on your proficiency and get credit for all the sections previous to the test. Feel free to utilize this if you feel comfortable enough with the language already.

I was positively surprised by this challenge. The first part is really simple if you have previous experience with the syntax, however, it takes a lot more to finish the course. By the end of it, I learned several useful tools that I didn’t even know existed in Python, like regular expressions.

For this week, we’re continuing the Linux tutorials provided on the website https://ryanstutorials.net/linuxtutorial/ . Go through the “Permissions” section and the “Scripting” section of the tutorial. After reading through those sections, create the following scripts using Vim:

1.       A script that outputs the contents of the current directory;

2.       A script with a variable ‘name’ that outputs “Hello ‘name’” (‘name’ being the string that you put in the variable in the script);

3.       A script that takes command line arguments and outputs them back to the command line.

This was a really nice challenge. After this I think I’ll dedicate myself on learning more about Linux and all its tools and functionalities.