Recession-Proof Jobs

In giving career advice to several graduating students, I've found there is something to smile about for many college graduates. Take a look at the most recession-proof professions and see if there's any correlation to what I've been teaching you! Anyone needing counseling to earn the Information Systems minor, come see me!!

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-five_high_demand_jobs_in_2008-279

http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/18/recession-proff-jobs-lead-careers-cx_tw_0718recessionproof.html

http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/18/recession-proff-jobs-lead-careers-cx_tw_0718recessionproof_slide_2.html?thisSpeed=15000

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2008/tc20080717_842379.htm

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1858788,00.html?referer=sphere_related_content

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-829-Who-is-Hiring-Is-Your-Job-Recession-Proof/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/01/AR2008110100229.html

http://www.jobfox.com/Site/Employer/pdf/TopJobsJuly08.pdf

Web 2.0 in Classroom

Blogs in Education:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfJETK3am1M&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRyh4UeP-IY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKoEZJseVXU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYAestYcLww&feature=related

Education Today...and Tomorrow?

Your thoughts on this please. How can we save education?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&feature=PlayList&p=6E4F971487C61ED9&index=17

Enter your reply as a comment here on my blog. Will count toward discussion grade or bonus points if you've already submitted your quota.

LiveText Portfolio

This semester we have implemented a new assessment procedure for student work. We will be using a software system called "LiveText" for creation of student portfolios and submission of assessment assignments. Dr. Teresa Wambaugh has developed a few simple steps to help you post your assignments to LiveText course.

Follow these instructions:

1. Your paper must be saved in Word 2003
2. Click on the assignment
3. Click on Upload Attachment
4. Click on Upload New
5. Click on Browse and select your paper
6. Click on Upload File
7. Click on Insert Selected Attachment
8. Click on Submit Assignment

Wiki Etiquette for Students

Since we've been using PBwiki in class this week to create an Information Systems bibliography, I thought you all might want to review this post. It is from PBWiki and provides helpful hints at good etiquitte when participating in Wiki.

http://educators.pbwiki.com/Wiki+Etiquette+for+Students

Let me know what you think.

Service Oriented Architecture

According to wikipedia, Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a method for systems development and integration where functionality is grouped around business processes and packaged as interoperable services. SOA also describes IT infrastructure which allows different applications to exchange data with one another as they participate in business processes.

Here is a humorous approach to understanding SOA through the eyes of "Greg the SOA Architect", systems architect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bKAG7G1rzg

There is an entire series of these videos that will enlighten you on the concept of Service Oriented Architecture.

Lighten up and Laugh!

Libraries and Blogs

Thank you, friends at the library, for the opportunity to talk with you today about ways we might incorporate blogs into the library website to offer more services to your patrons. From our conversation, I learned that there are several content areas of your website that you would like to add or enhance.

Specifically, you would like to:

1. Enhance instruction to include an orientation for new students, guide to resources, tutorials and documentation for education on topics such as plagerism and scholarly journals.
2. Enhance Library News and Happenings
3. Provide introduction of Library Staff, their roles and expertise
4. Add new content such as driving directions, what's new, and items for sale

As we discussed, there are many new tools that will allow you to incorporate these features into your website. Blogs, wikis, text/chat, and screencasts being the most relevant. Since time was limited, our focus was on reviewing how blogs are being used by Libraries across the country. In future meetings, I hope that we will learn how to use the blog tools that we have available to us.

Below are several applications of blogs created by other libraries that we reviewed. Please take a look at these and post your comments here. Each of you have a different perspective, and perhaps, goals you would like to achieve, so, let's include them here. This will help us continue our dialog and work toward implementation of these new services.

• Library Suggestion Blog:
  http://blog.vcu.edu/libsuggest/
• Library Director’s Blog:
  http://www.aadl.org/directorsblog
• Library Support Staff:
  http://librarysupporter.blogspot.com/
• Library Newsletter:
  http://www.aadl.org/taxonomy/term/60
• http://mjcpl.org/Library-Buzz
• Faculty Research:
  http://edtech.tennessee.edu/rite/blogs.shtml
• Collaborate with other Librarians:
  http://www.catalogablog.blogspot.com/
• Library Archives:
  http://governorsacademyarchives.blogspot.com/
• Library Website:
  http://www.lib.auburn.edu/services/

In addition to blogs, there are so many areas to explore. Depending on your preference, we'll do this again and focus next on creating blogs using the tools we have available or on learning about how wikis can be used. I might suggest that next session cover wikis. This is because wikis are the most logical tool for creating and distributing your instructional materials which is your highest priority. You just let me know when and where and I'll start working on pulling some information together.

Again, I appreciate the opportunity to work with such an enthusiastic group. Thanks!

Lisa

IT Problems

Humorous video on what causes so many problems with technology. Sometimes, I have to agree there are gremlins and goblins inside my computer!


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2008/apr/30/dragons.den.gremlins.bt

from Steve Clark, Webmaster, Athens State University

Podcasts

Podcasting has become a primary technology for allowing access/sharing of audio for learning. Visit http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_genres.php?pod_genre_id=1 for podcasts focused on technology. Another interesting site is http://itconversations.com/index.htm

Information Systems Links

As the semester is wrapping up, I am enjoying reading the learning journals of students in my courses. Below are some interesting links related to various aspects of information systems. There are some great resource here.

User Centered Interface Development:
http://www2.sims.berkeley.edu/courses/is202/f98/Lecture21/
http://www.usabilitynet.org/management/b_design.htm
http://web.engr.oregonstate.edu/~pancake/ptools/guidelines/

More exciting presentations

Yesterday, I attended a conference for instructional use of technology. One of my favorite sessions was about eliminating the old, boring, text-based powerpoint presentations, with a more fast-paced, exciting technique. Still using, PowerPoint, these streamlined presentations really captured my attention. What do you think?

One by Dick Hardt about Identity 2.0.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrpajcAgR1E

This one by Larry Lessig, who takes credit for this new style of powerpoint presentation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q25-S7jzgs

Fair Use

In a training session yesterday, questions were raised once again about legal use of copyrighted materials in education. Our Director of Library Services, Dr. Robert Burkhardt, shared this with me on the subject. I think you'll enjoy this brief You Tube video about fair use law.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo

Wimba 2008 - Conference Archives

Wimba 2008 provided me with many interesting ideas for encouraging participation and enhancing collaboration in my distance courses. Using Wimba Voice and Live Classroom tools, faculty across the country have developed innovative approaches to interacting with their students.

To review the archives of conference sessions, select the link below:

http://www.wimba.com/connect08/presentations.php

Recommended Book - Wikinomics

At the Wimba 2008 Connect conference, many people were discussing "WIKINOMICS: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everthing" by Tapscott and Williams (ISBN-13: 978-1591841388). The book explores mass/global collaboration and what it means for business and technology. It includes success stories from a number of major companies and describes methods for exploiting the power of collaborative production.
For more information: http://www.wikinomics.com/

New Google Tools

Today's "Google takes aim at Microsoft with new Web editing ( http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/28/google.websites.ap/index.html )tools" CNN article describes a brand new service from Google that allows people to quickly set up and update a Web site featuring an array of material, including pictures, calendars and video from Google Inc.'s YouTube subsidiary. This will compete with Microsoft's SharePoint software.
The new service is called Google Sites and does require users to sign up for a free Google Apps account. The advantage of big advantage here is that Google's tools are free, accessible from any Web browser, and the content doesn't expire when a class ends or a student graduates.
Details can be found at: http://sites.google.com/

Google Sites offers:

• easy page creation and templates for common types of pages
• allows you to upload files up to 10MB in size. Each Google Apps account
• receives at least 10GB of storage in Google Sites. Google Apps Premier and Education editions get an additional 500MB for each user account.
• can insert videos, docs, spreadsheets, presentations, photo slide shows, and calendars
• permission settings let you designate owners, viewers and collaborators (meaning they can edit pages) for your site.
• And you can make your Google Sites available to just a few people, your entire organization, or the world

(From Professor Mike Gibson, CIT, Athens State University)

Presentations

This week, many of my students are presenting their project progress to the class. Sharing these projects gives us the opportunity to learn from other students and get valuable feedback on our proposed software solutions. There is a lot of preparation required for a successful presentation, so, here is a link to another professor's article "How to Give a Terrible Talk" to help you avoid common mistakes as you organize your presentation:

http://www.cs.uah.edu/~delugach/Courses/Common/How%20To%20Give%20A%20Terrible%20Talk.pdf

Also, just for fun, those of you, like me, who are getting up there in years can appreciate this. Ever thought about all of the things you learned how to do that are now obsolete? Well, visit this site for a few

http://obsoleteskills.com/

HCI Resources

This semester we've been creating a bibliography for HCI and MIS. By doing this, we have learned to use the wiki tool in Blackboard and many important concepts that we are studying in class.

Here is a similar website created by HCI Professionals. Take a look.
http://www.hcirn.com/

Data Security News

These past couple of weeks, we have been studying about ethics and data issues. A colleague forwarded this email to me which is timely considering our discussion of these topics. Please be careful with your personal data, and particularly, your financial records! Take a look at this:

CNN article on the use of phishing e-mails to gain usernames and passwords to bank accounts.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/12/cyber.thieves/index.html

Usability Testing Tool

Historically, usability testing has been a critical part of the software development process. Allowing users to "test drive" a new software system led to valuable redesign of user interfaces to address usability issues. This has been a human-intensive process requiring designers to be present at each usability test to observe participants interaction with the computer system.

Now, there is a software system to monitor usability and report statistics. Check out Morae by Tech Smith. Morae is software for usability testing and user experience research that helps you identify site and application design problems and share them with stakeholders. With the insight Morae provides, you can make critical design changes that will improve sales and conversion rates, boost Web site traffic, and increase customer satisfaction. Improve application and Web site usability today!

http://www.techsmith.com/morae.asp

IT News of Interest

A fellow faculty member shared these with me and I thought you might find these recent stories interesting. They all involve information systems and technologies that we are studying in our courses this term.

$1 Billion for FBI Biometric Database
The FBI is expected to announce in coming days the awarding of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to help create a database that will compile an array of biometric information -- from palm prints to eye scans. See: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/04/fbi.biometrics/index.html

Post offices try to stamp out digital losses
As discussed in Chapter 2 of the text, organizations face business pressures from new technology and must adapt to survive. This CNN story discusses how technology is changing postal services around the world. See: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/04/mailinthe.digitalage.ap/index.html

Internet failure hits two continents
Damage to two undersea cables resulted in a widespread Internet failure affecting parts of Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Read the full story at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/31/dubai.outage/index.html


FYI - a third undersea cable was cut the next day (Friday).

Notes on the SmartPen
The smart pen that Wired Campus flagged back in May was unveiled last week at a technology conference in Palm Springs, Calif. The company behind it, LiveScribe, has been aggressively marketing the device to college students with the slogan “Never miss a word.” It’s basically a combination recording machine and camera. Users take notes while a minirecorder, embedded in the pen, records whatever is being said. Later, to clarify the written notes, the user can touch the pen to a specific passage and listen to a recording of the instructor speaking those words. A tiny camera links what is being written to what is being recorded.


http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2110/inventor-targets-colleges-students-with-smart-pen

Evaluate Web Site Content

Even though I continue to be excited over the possibilites I see for uses of social networking software like wikis and blogs in education, I offer a word of caution. In this world of collaboration, where we work together to create web content, it becomes crucial that we ensure our sources are reliable and scholarly. This blog is evidence that anyone can say anything on the internet, yet, as a student and soon-to-be professional, you must make sure that your sources of information are valid and truthful. Otherwise, you can make some important decisions based on poor knowledge and inaccurate facts.

And, by all means, give credit to the people from who you have borrowed ideas! In my research work, just this week, as I read about Web 2.0 and social software, I have literally read the same paragraph at least 3 times! Yes, I mean the exact same paragraph, with the exact same words, in three separate publications, without a citation! I don't know who to give the credit to! In this e-world of cut/paste/copy/paste, this is easy to do, but, just as easy to correct - either "quote" the author with reference or paraphrase the content and reference.

This information from UCLA library is a very concise guide for evaluating web content. http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/index.htm

For a more detailed list of resources, visit the Cornell University Library website. This site has an extensive list of resources to help you learn how to validate your web resources. Please visit this link http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html and keep these in mind as you select links for your research work. Specifically, as you find related links for your wiki pages, make sure they are solid academic sources, or current professional business literature.

Information Systems

This week as we look at various types of information systems, I'd like to tell you about a couple of corporations who develop and support a special type of information systems called, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. These are the systems that stretch across all business functions within an organization and are key to enhancing communication. It is the responsibility of these systems to manage all resources of an organization - people, inventory, money, etc.

Because these systems are extremely complex, most organizations purchase ERP software from companies who specialize in building these types of systems. For very large corporations, Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP are the vendors of choice. If you aren't already familiar with these names, you should read up on them as I assure you that you will hear them sometime during your management career.

For more information on these vendors, visit their websites listed below. (Be patient with Oracle as it doesn't look like they know much about web design, judging from the look of their website - I hope they design ERP software better than this.) By the way, Oracle bought PeopleSoft a few years ago, so, you'll find them both at the same website even though I've listed separate links for them below.

http://www.oracle.com/applications/e-business-suite.html

http://www.oracle.com/applications/peoplesoft-enterprise.html

http://www.sap.com/usa/index.epx

Videos about Wikis, Blogs, and RSS Feeds

These are the best resources I've yet to see that explain what wikis and blogs are in a non-technical, easy to understand way. The technique of using paper cut-outs to teach is exciting in itself. Not only will I share these with students, but, with colleagues as well.

Great video on wikis, what they are and how to.
http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

Fantastic video on blogging
http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

Video on RSS Feeds from same individuals

http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

Project Management

When I think about managing software development projects, a few classic readings come to mind. As a student of software engineering, you might want to review this to expand your vocabulary and knowledge beyond what is in our textbook. These are concepts that you might very well be asked about in a job interview.

Once such resource is Dr. Ed Yourdon, a pioneer in early software development methodologies, has written a book titled, Death March Projects. The link below is for an excerpt for the insightful book. This excerpt focuses on two key questions explored in the book, specifically, What is a death march project and why do they happen? Enjoy these insights from such a valuable member of the software engineering community.

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=169512

Another valuable resource is the book "The Mythical Man Month" by Fred Brooks. This book first presented the concept, then foreign to software developers, that more programmers don't necessarily equate to a quicker project completion. In fact, our instinct tells us the exact opposite. If your project falls behind schedule or you want to finish quicker, hire more programmers. Read this excerpt from Brooks' book to see how this doesn't solve the schedule problem.

http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs1104/HLL/Brooks.html

Computer Software

In management information systems, we've been studying the types of software and discussing their role in computing. A focus of the lesson has been operating systems software. With a new operating system environment becoming more widespread, this is a good time to take a look at Microsoft Vista. The following website is helpful in looking at new features in Vista, and providing guidance for using the new operating system.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511258.aspx

In the applications software arena, Office 2007 is the latest version of Microsoft's popluar application suite. Just like Vista, the user interface of this new edition is substantially different from previous versions and requires some practice getting used to. Here is a helpful website for beginners with Office 2007. It describes by product the new features in this version.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/getstarted/CH101130561033.aspx

Finally, I want to let you know about a new program that Athens State has enrolled in, a Microsoft alliance (MSDNAA). This program allows you as a student to purchase Microsoft software that you'll be using in class at a greatly reduced price. You should receive an email from our MSNDAA administrator within the next few weeks with instructions for participating. There is also information about a limited offer to purchase Microsoft Office 2007 for a mere $59.95! This is a substantial discount, however, you'll need a relatively new computer that is running Microsoft Vista operating system in order to run the Office 2007 software.

Software Projects

So far this semester, students have formed teams to work in their software engineering projects. Now, it is time to decide on what sort of software system they want to develop. Students are given the flexibility to select their own projects, hopefully for a real-world organization who has a software need. And, they also select the programming environment and languages to implement the system with.

Take a look at this to see what software engineering students across the pond developed during their senior project course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIUkw9LN10o

Here's another example of the extremely creative projects students come up with - this one uses Second Life, virtual environment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkkl3LucxTY

And, if you're into toys, here's another.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD3SyXHj2-Q

How about learning software engineering by playing a game?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bevTSt8US24

Software engineering really can be fun!

Ubiquity of Computers

This week in Human-Computer Interaction one of the topics that we've explored is the ubiquitous nature of computers these days. Not only are computers everywhere, but, they come in all shapes, sizes, and forms. I've recently run across a couple of articles that reemphasized this point for me.

Read this to see how computer chips are now in running shoes and your music player.
http://www.apple.com/ipod/nike/

And, in your sunglasses!!
http://www.networkworld.com/supp/2006/summerguide/071706-survival-oakley-rokr.html

Surely not, on your children too!
http://www.rfdesignline.com/news/202601957

And, according to Bill Gates and Microsoft, no longer will the keyboard and mouse be primary devices for communicating with computers. Natural interfaces are the next great wave - think Wii and iPhone. Pretty soon we will be touching, talking, and gesturing to our computing devices.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWJb2UKf9zI
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7174333.stm

So, when you hear the term ubiquitous computing or ubicomp, don't visual your traditional computer. Think about everyday objects with computer chips embedded within them that we talk to, touch, or control with our eye or hand movements. Certainly gives us as UI designers something to think about.