The Final Conference - Week 15

The Final Conference

This is the final conference. Here we are suppose to provide an overview of the entire course, what we learned and our experiences in the virtual classroom.

I would like to start by saying that the instructor is very knowledgeable about the subjects that were presented. After every week's conference he provides input just like the student. This was very helpful because although the student inputs were very informative, so subjects were not fully addressed. We only touched the surface in some topics. The instructor, on the other hand, provided more details where needed. All of the conferences were worth saving for future use.

In session one...
We were tasked to create this blog. That meant for some that we had to learn how to use the tools provided. I created my blog and a week later changed the design. The design I chose was to make it more girly, girl. No offense to those who may get offended by that comment. (Remember legally blonde!) We also were asked to respond to one topic out of three and to repond to one other classmates topic.
The topics included: Identify some traditional mgmt culture changes due to IT; We were to chose which structure is better -- the traditional organizational structure or the decentralized form of management and tell why. And the third topic was on how technology impacted globalization. Technology has had a major impact on technology today. So much so that we can now outsource to overseas companies for development and other IT related ventures. We also needed to provide a current event. I liked to pick information that was just recently posted. The majority of my current event topics involved security of some sort. I guess that was because I subscribe to this online security magazine.

In session two...
Mini project - Our mini project included writing a diary entry for the future. The entries were very good. Mine was a bit out of reach in some of the technology.
Group project - We also had to pick three topics for our case study group project. The case studies were found in the textbook and we had to read at least three to make the selection.
Current Events - The subject was about speech recognition software.
Discussions - Best approach for technology; Keeping up with Storage requirements, and do computers improve or reduce productivity. These were all subjects that I felt comfortable discussing because they all hit home. I also learned some things from other students.

In session three...
Mini project - I had thought of the next generation telecom device early on in the week however I did not think that my image was adequate until I looked at some others. Mine was just fine.
Individual Research topics - We were asked to provide three topics we would like to discuss. I chose Information Technology for the Disabled employee. It was approved.
Current events - The new reality for IT security. This was basically information obtained from a conference. The focus was on Cisco and Microsoft
Discussions - E-mail overload; Implementing VoIP; and what is the next big thing for the Internet?

In session four...
Mini project - We had to access Zillow and provide feedback about a website that gave us information about houses and their property value and other related information.
Current events - I forgot to put the title of the article in the title so I got docked for that. Anyway, it was on how the Davis bill will change a few security things.
Discussions - Issues in making data available over the web; Database Security Issues; and RFID data. I enjoyed these subjects just like the others. There were many responses to the topics listed.

The sessions that followed were structured basically the same. Some of the other mini projects included: Identifying a security breach at our location at work, if possible; Transactional processing--discussing a website that does some sort of transactional processing; evaluating epa's EnvioFact/Envirmapper website and discuss some features; Provide an e-business venture that does not already exists; The Wiki site. I'm not sure how I can use it just yet but now I know it exists; Having a chat with Alice or evaluating Fedscope- I chose Fedscope; Identifying a novel enterprise; Websites that impact society; Drawing data flow diagrams; getting back on Wiki to provide a job description for a CIO; and lastly providing some feedback on the article Does it Matter?

I spent a lot of thinking and research for my group's FedEx topic. There was a period were I seemed silent. However, I was doing a lot of thinking at that time. At the end, I made great contribution as to how the data should be presented.

My final words are that there is not enough space to write all the things I learned during this course. However, most of what I did is reflected in the previous posts.

Conference Week 14

Reflections of Week 14

Each week gets harder and harder. We are almost down to the last week. All conferences have been posted for our responses. The group project is due and the research is soon approaching.

I was not totally satisfied with our presentation because I thought that it could be better. But, I changed as much as I felt I legally could and decided to let go to submit.

Since I am allowed to telecommute, I know some of the challenges management and IT people have to deal with. I remember one of my coworkers was working from home. Their computer was not working properly and I had to go to their house to fix it because the user did not feel comfortable fixing the problem. After that incident, my supervisor requires the telecommuter to bring the equipment back to the office for servicing.

I learned a few things reading about HIPAA. As I was learning about it, I remembered that when I go to the doctors that I have to sign this release form for the insurance company to get information for billing purposes.

As far as the Intellectual Property Rights is concerned, I believe that my classmates provided some very informative information on the subject. I also reviewed some information about TRIPS, WIPO, and WTO. It looks like they are really trying to get some uptodate global regulations on IT copywrite infringement that is appropriate for today's information technology.

My challenge now is to get that research paper done.

Conference Week 13

More Information Technology stuff to learn/discuss this week.

End-user development is sometimes needed but can present problems in the future. The developer should keep documentation and make sure that the application is working properly when using. This may not always be possible because the end-user may be limited in their knowlege of the application as well as the technology.

Standards good or bad. I believe that standards are good for the most part. You need to have some consistancy in an organinization, especially larger ones. Having some type of standard would make it easier on an IT help desk team because they can be more aware of the resources available to troubleshoot problems. In addition, you should definately have standards for application development. You would want everyone or mostly everyone speaking the same languages. You don't want them all over the place and without the support to ensure that their application is working with a particular technology environment. Sometimes standards can be too limiting to the end user.

Offshore outsourcing can be good at first glance but can be troublesome latter on during development.

Under Current Events TSA is allowing certain preauthorized individuals the right to avoid the delay in traveling caused by the red tape before boarding a plane. Biometrics along with registration are a key components that is making this happen.

The miniproject in Wikispaces.com allowed me the opportunity once again to experience another online place that can be accessed by multiple users who have sign in rights. This project allowed me to look at some possible job requirements for a CIO. By the time I added mine there were so many requireements already posted. I searched the web for CIO jobs to get some idea of what is required.

Group Project - I did not feel like I was finished with my part of the project. However, I did take time to review the comments provided by mike and others to see how I can improve my slides.

Conference Week 12

Developing Data Flow Diagrams was quite challenging. I have a diagram that I can use for my office but doing in the academic environment was somewhat difficult. Perhaps looking at the responses of the class helped me determine how they should be done. This week we examined the SDLC methodology, Extreme programming, and procedural vs. object oriented programming.

I had a very late start this week. I have been dealing with sick children and my son going to Iraq. He lives in another state and I haven't seen him since he graduated from west point. I have been overwhelmed with so much going on.

The group project seems to be coming along. I really need to add some more information like the notes section. Lately, I have been brain sleeping. Anyway, the team is doing fine and we are going to make it.

Conference Week 11

Week 11 was pretty good I guess. That week went by so fast that I don't really remember much. At some point, I realized that the group was going through some challenges. I felt kind of left out. I contributed some slides relating to question #1. I need to modify those slides to include the notes. I was completely turned around because I was looking for articles about FedEx technology. I should have spent more time on their site. They have a lot of information.

The Conferences included a mini project on a Novel business. As usual, I found several after the assignment was due. I submitted a site that was built using Yahoo's business site. It was a small company that sold things that would be gifts. It was called Martin's Gifts.

I started out the conferences early but ended late, but not too late for submission. I mentioned that USDA will improve business by providing a better e-signature and e-payments program. Since there were so many good responses about success e-business, I thought about discussing how to keep it successful. I don't think my response went over so well.

Anyway, all and all, this was another good week for learning.

Conference Week 10

Reflections of Week 10

I almost forgot to do my blog for Week 9. I had to go back in to edit the title. It was early in the a.m. when I completed all the tasks that I had planned for the week. I don't want to live that drama again. There are times during this semester that I want to quit. But, when I think about the things that I have learned so far, I have to press on. This class is one of the most helpful classes I have taken. I can use most of the things I learn in my professional career.

Week 10 discusses topics that deal with data warehousing, data mining, and GPS. The data warehousing and data mining will be a part of the Track I am in for my Masters Degree. Getting a start on learning about those items I would imagine shall be rewarding. I really appreciate the way that Prof. Pang presents the topics for discussion.

Visiting the OPM.gov site to see some workforce trends was also enlightning. I am a federal employee and never noticed the site. You can view some trends and come up with some possible assumptions about specific locations worldwide or national. You almost have to read many articles daily to come up with an article worthy of posting for the class. It does pay to read everyone's submission. You will learn a lot. For those who really want to be in the IT know, choosing to take this class is priceless.

Conference Week 9

Reflections of Week 9

During week 9 I spent a lot of time collecting and reviewing articles for my group project assignment. It was not as difficult as I made it over the past few weeks. I wanted to begin the writeup but I had a writers block.

This week was not too bad for the conferences. I did explore a little on the Wiki site. All these new (to me) terms like Wiki and blog can sometimes be overwhelming. I would imagine that I probably would not pay much attention to those sites without being in class. I find them useful, however. During one of my Systems Administrators meetings, the CIO mentioned that he would use a blog to store information about IE 7.0. If I did not take this class I would not know what he was talking about. I am glad I am here today. This class is very, very helpful.

The topics that I responded on such as Organizational Memory was also good for me. It made me change some of my working behavior.

I also want to note that I waited a long time to post this and probably forgot some good stuff for my blog.

Conference Week 8

Reflections of Week 8

Almost everything you want you can obtain over the Internet. E-Business is now a competive market. It has become easier to establish a business via the Internet. The problem is what is your customer base? Are you providing the right service? Is your product comparable to other products sold over the Internet. This week we looked at those type of questions. How products sell using the electronic business. We also looked at the question about should state taxes be applied to Internet transactions. I would think that they should because electronic business is like any other business, the owner has to pay taxes so should the consumer. The taxes should be based on the State. If the person lives in a state that has no taxes, they should not pay. Otherwise, each business transaction should include sales taxes based on the state. If the customer is international, the taxes should be calculated based on those type of taxes. The customer should know up front that the taxes will be included in the cost.

The most challenging part of week 8 was the mini project. We were asked to come up with an e-business venture that does not already exists. I spent all week thinking, looking to see what is already out there, and asking coworkers, family and friends if they could come up with something. No help for the weary. Finally, at the last minute, I remembered how I would like to persue a project that would keep our examiners working on applications instead of spending time on teaching our customers how to apply for certificates of protection for new varities of plants. The examiners had expressed that most of our funding is based on the number of applications that we receive and process to completion. If they are spending most of their time training, our mission and scope has changed. In addition, we do not receive enough money to cover the cost of time and materials for training. In addition, it is not fair to the customers who have applications pending in the office for their stuff to be placed on hold while the staff goes off somewhere to train other customers. With that in mind, I thought about e-training. This training will allow the examiners to examine applications while our customers are learning how to submit an acceptable application to the office. If properly implemented, this training will save the customer time and money because the application will probably be processed quicker and other associated fees would not occur. That was my e-business venture. It took me a whole week to think about that.