Thursday, January 28, 2021
My real estate course starts next week, and I have been busy with continuing preparation efforts.
Recent preparations:
- Joined the Microsoft Teams for the class
- Setup student calendars
- Digitizing Maryland laws and regulations as related to real estate for easy search.
- Coming up to speed with a newer version of Microsoft Office (365)
- Zoom (online) classroom attendance- continuing preparations
- Research as related to the real estate market, jobs, and online forums
- Studying
Researching Microsoft offerings as related to real estate.
I have also been trying to plan my days for the next two months, in that I will continue to do most of the shopping. In addition, I have several business related tasks coming up, so I am hoping I can accomplish everything as efficiently as possible.
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
On two occasions over the last week, I had the opportunity to witness the use of a Verizon MiFi 6620L Jetpack 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot unit used with an HP laptop. Thought this was pretty impressive.
I own several computing platforms, however most are not true mobile systems, in that I am tethered to both my dedicated wifi service and electrical current. These days, I prefer working in this more secure environment, however if I needed to be truly mobile- would definitely look into the acquisition of similar hardware. My choices shown below (updated: 1/14/24):
 Verizon MiFi 5510L Jetpack 4G LTE Hot Spot  |
 HP 2023 Latest Pavilion Business Laptop 
|
 Logitech M510 Wireless Computer Mouse  |
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I also checked into current pricing options for mobile hotspot plans and found an interesting article on the Android Authority.
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Over the years, I have avoided using facetime and capturing videos of myself. I am not photogenic. This was never really a problem until now.
I worked in a male dominated field and found I liked conservative suits for daily office wear. Though I wear little in the way of jewelry, hair and makeup always important.
Today, when out, I tend to choose the same types of styles. With online video conferencing about to become more important in my life, I am researching options. I am concerned about mistaken identity issues, so want the same look for all public appearances, even video conferencing (sans the mask).
The real problem? I wear black- a lot. I am going through my closets for more colorful options that will project a better contrast for video conferencing, however I am not coming up with a wide selection.
So why all of the previews? Still thinking about all of this. Happy the online course is business related.
Friday, January 08, 2021
I received notification on January 6th, 2021, the real estate class start date has been postponed until February.
Several plans based on the original class start date- have also been postponed. Still very excited about this project.
Wednesday, January 06, 2021
For years, I have thought about obtaining a real estate license and in November (2020), I finally decided to sign up for an online course with the local community college.
Yesterday, the textbooks for the course arrived via UPS.
In a post from late November, I discussed an upcoming project which required acquisition of a new pc to allow access to the Zoom service. This online Real Estate Course is the reason for my new mini pc.
Since November, I have been preparing for the course. This included:
- Understanding Maryland Real Estate Law and the requirements for a real estate license
- Researching Real Estate Terms
- Understanding the Zoom classroom environment, video, audio, settings, etc.
- Installation of all sorts of student resources, including Microsoft 365 Professional.
- Creating student profiles... (which really look like my business profiles)
- Experimenting with lighting, camera resolution, makeup and style options for the online class.
Below, screen shots of the Zoom camera using a monitor with 2560x1600 resolution.
I am making adjustments based on these tests, including the elimination of gray from my hair. I wear contacts, so there is not much I can do about the glare of my inexpensive reading glasses. My prescription glasses only correct for nearsightedness, and I prefer contacts and readers while working on a computer.
The course starts next week and goes through the first week in March. I am not sure if I will sit for the license exam right after the completion of the course. I am excited about learning more about this area of commerce.
