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Author: Timothy Grant

Timothy Grant / Author

tgrant@antiochcollege.edu

I have a strong passion for working with computers and technology. I believe that this is due to my love of video games as a child. Whenever a piece of technology didn't work, being able to fix it meant being able to play more games. I still associate being able to help people with their computer needs with joy and I truly enjoy what I am doing in the field and at home every day. This passion led me to work as the IT specialist for the Tandana Foundation in Ecuador for my third coop. This means that I was responsible for setting up local networks and making sure everyone's devices worked as they should whenever work needed to be done with technology. This also meant that I was the go-to person for technology questions/concerns and troubleshooting. After that, I taught basic computer skills to scholarship students in Otavalo.  Now I am working and studying in Yellow Springs, OH as an IT specialist for Antioch College. In my free time after work, I study for the CompTIA A+ and Server+ certifications that I plan to take very soon. I also have a number of personal projects going on at home that includes exploring the various distributions of Linux and modding my personal computer.

Technology, Energy & Systems Design, The Work We Do
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Global Studies & Engagement, Latin America, Technology, Energy & Systems Design
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Find Me



SKILLS & INTERESTS

My passion lies in Information Technology. I love to work with computers both at home and on the job.

My Work

Accomplishments

I like to work on modifying my personal computer at home. A lot of my learning comes from experimentation at home, studying for certifications, and talking to friends online and in person. 

Gallery I

Gallery II


 

Computers are my Sandbox: Grant ’18 at Antioch College’s IT Department in Yellow Springs, Ohio

Nov 12, 2019
 

For my co-op this summer, I work with the IT department at Antioch College. I have worked in IT for a little over two years. During the past two years, I have worked with the Antioch department part time mainly handling Helpdesk tickets and troubleshooting printers. This quarter, I am doing more system administration and Server Technician work. I have learned a lot already in the one month of co-op I have had so far.

In the first week of co-op, the worst case scenario happened; the server malfunctioned and we couldn’t get into it. The server being down left the entire campus without internet for a while. Needless to say, we were receiving a lot of calls about it and we needed to get the server working again. Long story short, I was able to boot the computer in safe mode and fix it, or at least temporarily. That was a huge win for me and amplified my desire to continue learning and working with the servers.

In addition to the system admin and server work, I am also doing some sales work for the department. I have a bunch of old equipment that I am selling to the highest bidder. So far the equipment list includes 12 printers, 30 IP phones, and one iMac. There has been a bidder for the IP phones via Craigslist. I didn’t think that finding a buyer for them would actually happen as planned but there is a buyer that we are talking to now.

(These are pictures of the iMac and the old hardware that I am recycling soon.)

In my free time, I have been studying for my IT certification test and modifying my personal computer. I recently switched the CPU and motherboard and repainted the chassis. I am continuing to work on the computer when I have time and I plan to use it, in part, as a sandbox to test out the things I am learning online and at work.

(This is the finished product of the computer I painted.)

 

 


 

Grant ’18 at The Tandana Foundation in Otavalo, Ecuador

Dec 03, 2016
 

My time in Ecuador at The Tandana Foundation has been fun. I have experienced a lot. If it has been anything, it has been a wide variety of experiences and tasks, the most predominant of which is teaching computer classes at the local Quichinche and Tangali schools. At the schools, I really got to practice my Spanish speaking skills and gain a deeper appreciation for the power that computers have as instruments of learning. Everywhere I went the passion for computers and learning how to use them was shared by nearly everyone. It’s amazing how much you value something when you don’t have it and how much you take it for granted when you do.

I thought that I would be running around the town fixing computers and assisting people with the machines. I was dismayed a bit to learn that the majority of my job would be teaching children as I don’t like kids much. I was further brought down to see myself as the substitute teacher in the classroom that has no real power over the grades of the kids and to have everyone know it. However, over time I got to know the students more and some of the students and I became friends.

I learned to appreciate the difficulty of the job and see things from their point of view. For many of them, this time was the only time in the week that they would be able to use computers at all. They never get homework to do on computers due to this fact and owning a computer for many is as far a goal as owning a second car. Given the circumstances, I too would want to take advantage of my time on the machine to do as many things as I could with it during class. Seeing this, I began to incorporate playtime into the class schedule as I believe that the free time to explore the machines is invaluable in the learning process.

Playtime most of all highlighted the chasm of difference between the students. While some students were going online and playing Grand Theft Auto San Andreas with ease, others were trying to figure out how to exit the Excel program and listen to music with the built-in windows media player. I was told by many sources of the major gap in skill level with computers (even between classmates of similar conditions) but experiencing it myself allowed me to learn a lot more about the economic situation here and learn what effects growing up with or without a computer has on child development.

I think this co-op has strengthened my love for technology and the use of it in learning new things. I have also been able to experience a world very different from my home in the States. I value the time I spent here as a major learning experience and will remember it for a long time. I’m also glad to have used this time to acquire new skills in playing fútbol and using Excel formulas to a greater degree.

Photo credit: https://tandanafdn.org/