Dettegirl

The Final Conference - Week 15

2006-12-19T23:06:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-11T22:54:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-08T15:45:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-27T23:05:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-14T12:16:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

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

2006-10-31T22:57:00.000-05:00

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.

Conference Week 7

2006-10-26T22:05:00.000-04:00

Reflections of Week 7

The moment I realized that Week 7 Session was posted, I looked up ERP to get detailed information. However, before I had a chance to write anything, someone else had posted a very good answer. I went to the next question and experienced difficulty explaining what my findings were. The textbook really did not provide much explaination about BPM but the Internet provides enough information that helps. Once again, I found myself trying to write something different about the subject. The good part is that some issues I read about I can totally relate to. That always help. Nevertheless, what I learned this week made those challenges worth it. I wonder what management tool(s) our agency uses, if any.

I started early looking at EPA's websites. The first few times I looked at it and wondered what I could say. Later, when I saw someone actually say what I was thinking, I began to look at the site from a different perspective. I basically, looked for the similarities and the differences. I looked at which one I would most likely use, although I did not say that in my submission.

Every week I must say that I am learning something worthwhile. It is nice to see other people's perspective on things.

Conference Week 6

2006-10-17T07:24:00.000-04:00

Reflecting on Week 6

This week I almost submitted this post before submitting Week 5. I had to rename the posts so that I can identify what I have already done. I’m not sure when, but I I changed the look of my blog. I like pink and I also learned how to put my picture in the right place. It took some time to get it like I want it. I still need to figure out a few more things.

I spent a lot of time learning about EDI this week. I must have visited over 10 websites trying to answer the question. I did not really take time to understand the content from our text, but eventually, I had to go back and read the entire chapter. I really did not know much about EDI transactions;but, I have heard of B2B. EDI has been around for some time to allow businesses to do electronic transactions with little to no human intervention. I also took some time to refresh what I know about XML. A lot of programs today have XML in the background. This course is opening my eyes to several different aspects of IT. I guess I have to come out of my isolated world.

I also spent some time researching for the group project and the final project. I will be attending some presentations this month on Disability. October is Disability Month.

At work, I am working on an application that would allow our customers to pay for our services using a credit card. I am now reviewing the Business requirements, flow charts, and database schema. I want to make sure that I have not left out any pertinent details about our business process. I am still talking with the examination staff to make sure that I have all the requirements from their perspective. We will be using the services of pay.gov to process these transactions with the bank. We are responsible for designing the pages for our website and the pay.gov site in order to keep the cost down. I also need to refresh my memory for SQL Server 2003 and ASP.net. I have to convert my current online database using that technology.

With all the IT stuff I have to do at work, I find that I still have to learn about many things involving Information Technology.

Conference Week 5

2006-10-16T14:18:00.000-04:00

Reflections of Week 5

Week 5 was about Security. The session was on time considering the time we are in when laptops are turning up missing and data systems are compromised. Most of these events have turned out to be internal to the agency or program. Doing my weekly research and reading the comments from my classmates, I have learned a few things that I can do as a system administrator to protect the data and the systems I am responsible for. Since I work for the Federal Government, we are the first to examine our business processes to ensure that we are doing all that we can to protect confidential information. The efforts are tedious and sometimes repetative, but worth it all. I didn't read all of the posts from my classmates, but what I did read my classmates seem to understand that we all have a role in security. For the mini project, I was not sure if I was giving too much information, so I asked my instructor, who I trust will let me know if anything I wanted to post was compromising to my system. I really did not feel comfortable discussing a breach at home. However, I felt that we have more safeguards on the systems at work.

During this week the group did a lot of collaboration about the project. We discussed what parts we will be willing to take on. I decided to investigate question number 1. I had to really think about what Information Technology really means. My first task was identifying IT. I spent minimal time looking it up. The next thing was to visit the FedEx website. I'm not sure how I am going to approach question 1, but I will gather as much information as possible.

I was also suppose to visit our Target center to collect information for my final project this week. I missed out on that opportunity because the Target center is located downtown DC and my office is in Beltsville, MD. I will continue efforts to visit the Target center in the near future.

Conference Week 4

2006-10-06T16:44:00.000-04:00

Reflections of Session 4

In last week's conference, I was in familiar teritory. I currently post databases on the web and have to deal with programs that make certain fields viewable. I also have to deal with securing the data. I took time to read most of the conference input. There are some very IT capable people in this class. It is good that we can share this knowledge because there is still yet a lot to learn. I find it helpful to have to come up with current events. This makes me read all these publications that come across my desk. At least find out what is in them. I don't always take time to discover what technology is out there unless I'm forced to. Just keeping up with things I am responsible for can be challenging. Some time ago my friend told me about microchipping her pets; but, I did not investigate what that means until this session. Also, my supervisor brought to my attention some features of Remote Desktop that I had not thought much about because I have learned to do workaround solutions. However, that is not a good practice because there are easier ways. You just have to look them up. Also, last week an IT person who works in my building shared with me information about Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). I had to look that up and get familiar with that. Our organization is investigating the potential for our agency. As I said, there is so much to get introduced or reminded about in the world of Information Technology.

Another thing that happened is at least four members of our Study Group is very serious about getting started on our Group project. I am reseaching how to approach the first question. I have also began gathering data for my final research project on Assistive Technology and Section 508.

Conference Week 3

2006-09-28T20:04:00.000-04:00

Reflecting on Session 3

I had to do some research on the IPv6 because there was not much discussion in the text. However, I was able to read through several articles to give me an overview of the protocol. When I posted my response, I received feedback to help me to understand some problems with implementation. That was good.

During Session 3 I experienced a need to focus on people with disabilities. I wondered if given the right encouragement and technology would we find more success stories from the job market.

Coming up with the next generation Telecom also made me explore to some degree what is already out there. There is a lot of new technology and we are experiencing more rapid development than in the past.

I've learned to appreciate the Current Events section. I try to read them all. I'm embarrassed to say that I wasn't keeping up with technology very well. This has made me take the time to discover and learn more.

In the IT world, it is sometimes embarrassing to not know what is going on. I get bombarded with information from GCN, Federal News, Network ???, and so many others. I try to at least see if anything I'm interested in is in there.

Conference Week 2

2006-09-21T15:27:00.000-04:00

Reflecting on Session 2

WOW! Session 2 was more challenging than Session 1. I was familiar with the most of the technology discussed. Most of the conference discussions were informative and helped me to remember specific details of the technology I use at work. This session included IT related topics such as Best Approach for Technology Refresh, Keeping up with Storage Requirements, and Computers Improve/Reduce Productivity. I could argue both sides for the productivity discussion, but I did not have the energy. My most difficult post was thinking about technology 10 years from now. I have a hard enough time keeping up with technology at work and home, and thinking that far in advance was not easy.

The Study Group worked well in deciding what are the three cases we were interested. We have not selected who the representative for the group is just yet; nor have we decided on who is doing what. I want to be the person who puts it all together, if possible. And, because I have to, review the content.

I finally took some time to look at the Student Union and the Administration sites.

My overall thoughts for Session 2 is that learning about the technology is not difficult but being inventive is not always easy for me.

Conference Week 1

2006-09-10T22:32:00.000-04:00

Reflecting on Session 1

Well, the first week is about over. My biggest struggle was not having the text and trying to do the assignments according to the text. However, I got by with the Lecture notes, Modules, and the website that goes along with the text. Since I already work in the IT field, the first assignment was pretty much an introduction of how this class will flow for me. I had some collaboration with some of the classmates as well as the instructor.

I guess management today has taken on a whole new role. How can a supervisor, who is not trained in Information Technology, manage an Information Technology Specialist? He has to do one of two things--trust that the ITS know what he/she is doing or investigate a solution for himself. I think my boss does both. I present to him my recommendations for changes or enhancements; and, he signs off the financial documents. My boss is what I call "Mr. Gadget" because he is always trying to figure out how things work. Supervisors/Managers today must understand technology in order to manage their business. Although, I have seen some managers totally helpless when their email is not working properly. They forgot how to pick up a phone or whatever they did in the past.

Information Technology in my opinion is the most interesting field of study today because there are sooooo many avenues that one can go and most have to meet up with others at some point.

dettegirl reporting on Session 1.

2006-09-07T15:08:00.000-04:00

Here is an image that I helped make for the website I manage. We are changing the look and feel to conform to the www.usda.gov website. It has been a task!

My thoughts.

There are so many areas of Information Technology that I get confronted with. I don't know how anybody has the time to keep up with them all.

About me...

2006-09-01T14:45:00.000-04:00

Hi there,

My name is Bernadette Thomas. Most people call me Bernadette. I have five children: four are adults. I was born and raised in Washington, DC and graduated from McKinley Tech HS. In 2001, I graduated from PGCC with an AAS degree in CIS-Computer Specialist. In 2006, I received a Bachelors of Science in Computer and Information Science from the University of Maryland University College.

I am employed by the United States Department of Agriculture as an Information Technology Specialist. I am currently responsible for website development, design and management, database administration, applications development, and systems administration, including security for the Plant Variety Protection Office in Beltsville, MD. I enjoy my job and all of the many areas of responsibility. The best part is that I get experience in many different aspects of Information Technology; including writing statements of work for contractual services and developing small applications for the office. I plan to continue to persue a Masters degree in Management and Information Technology.