Reflections on Session 12 / Culminating Blog

Session 12

I was surprised at the backlash against social networking sites. A handful of students found it novel, fun and interesting however most saw it as a total waste of time and/or a serious security vulnerability. Although I respect the latter's opinion, I must say that these sites have gained tremendous popularity during the last few years and they are being accepted into the corporate environment (check out http://www.linkedin.com).

With Ning, you could focus on one particular area of interest (whether it is Asian fusion cooking or DoD security policies). Personally, it has been fun for me to have a Facebook account and keep in touch with my daughter in New Orleans as well as my close buddies. I can keep in touch with my colleagues who share a mutual interest in educational technology. The younger generation (such as my daughter) uses Facebook (and text/IM messaging) in lieu of e-mail to communicate.

I hope that we can keep in touch after this semester...either with Ning or Facebook.

Culminating Posting

This is the sad part of the course when I have to say goodbye to my students. It is never easy. Sometimes I mechanically go back into WebTycho after the end of the semester expecting to see another bunch of provocative postings but disappointed to find none. This class was special because the students were particularly motivated and bright. There were several colorful characters (they know who they are!). I know all of the students will do well academically and in life.

As we put a close on this semester, I hope that you reflected on your new knowledge and skills you have gained in this class. You have a better idea about blogs, wikis (and Wikipedia), social networks, security breaches, CRM and other key IT concepts by now.

Best wishes for a most successful career and a fulfilling life!

And for those of you who are graduating...



Do more with,

Les

Reflections on Session 11 - the Final Exam

Most of students were able to effectively synthesize what they learned and apply it to the final exam questions. I was struck by their comments on the products of the other teams -- specifically how the information in the papers can help in their work environments.

I think having students look at every others' research paper assist in developing what I call a "critical eye." I sense that students are more critical of things such as new technologies. They are not kidding when they say that technology is a two-edge sword! Also, don't believe what the vendor is saying!

As we proceed to the final week, I am sad that I will no longer have this class. There are some sharp, funny and interesting personalities in this one. I hope that they will show up for graduation -- I always show up for that and volunteer do the hooding of the graduates. This is why I love my job!

Reflections on Session 10

Looks like the students now have a greater appreciation why we profs HATE Wikipedia when it is used as a reference in a research effort (posting, paper or thesis). I'll be honest...I often look at Wikipedia first to get "quick and dirty" information but I never ever use it as a reference in my papers because it is so easy to access and make wholesale changes without a "peer" review.

Joseph proved that point by inserting some ridiculous information onto the OLAP article:

"ILAP This is the newest version of OLAP as you might guess, it is an exclusive version of OLAP deployed ONLY via the web This is a new product introduced by ITEC solution, an enterprising data solution company founded 2015."

It was up for several hours during which anyone could have used that information. Yes, after a few hours, it was taken down but imagine if the article monitor was less than an expert and kept the narrative up longer?



More dire warnings:

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Wikipedia-Founder-Discourages/2305 - Even the founder of Wikipedia discourages it use in academic papers!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citing_Wikipedia
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/01/26/wiki

Students posted interesting original topics for discussion. I am glad a few of them challenged the current ways of thinking -- such as the viability of cloud computing and alternatives to SDLC.

The final exam is this week and wish the students good luck! I feel that it is a challenging one requiring synthesizing everything you have learned. After the exam, we have one more week of classes when we can reflect on what we have learned.

Reflections on Session 9

I was surprised that the class did not address more on thumbdrive security, patch management, data-at-rest (e.g., stolen laptops) and social engineering in their submissions. These threats have been in the news lately.

In past years, the issues surrounded viruses, spyware, worms, and other malware. During the more recent semesters, the common postings were on wireless issues (lack of encryption), server security, laptop and thumbdrive security, social engineering, shoulder surfing, tailgating, identity theft, and dumpster diving. This reflects a broader perspective of security beyond the intrusions from the World Wide Web.

Passwords are a common issue that students bring up. Yes, I am favor in two-factor authentication (what you know such as passwords or a PIN...plus what you have like a token or smart card...or what you are such as biometrics). However, particularly in our rough economic times, it takes money to pay for additional security like tokens or biometrics. But, is it a worthy investment? Well, it depends...it depends on what you are trying to protect, what financial resources you have, and other factors. Of course, if you are protecting the nation's secrets or sensitive financial/personal data, the answer is yes. However for other situations, the answer is not so clear.

Personally, I am disappointed with passwords themselves which are long, complex and impossible to memorize. And they say not to write it down. There MUST be a better system. Here is one answer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0biryfzCW0&feature=player_embedded

BTW, my favorite encryption tool is TrueCrypt (no endorsement implied). It is an easy way to protect your data and the price is right (free)!

I feel so insecure after learning from you some of the threats that are out there! Anyway, speaking of insecurity...

Reflections on Session 8

We are closing in on the end of the semester. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I hope that we proceeding well with the group projects. I noted one or two non-participants and I have encouraged them to join the group effort. Otherwise, I predict that the peer evaluations will not be very positive for them. Pay me now or pay me later!

Session 8 revealed to me a lot about the students. The discussion question on the value of planning showed that students know the importance of planning and how it ensures success. However, long time planning (ten years out) can be difficult because of our dynamic environment. IMHO, it is useless to do detailed long term planning and instead we should focus on the vision for the company.

I have to disagree with most students on the SDLC application for web developers. I hoped that students would think outside the box (see the end of this posting) and suggest alternative approaches such as agile and extreme programming. My experience with SDLC is that it is necessary for large complex projects but it gets to be unwieldy for smaller, short-deadline projects in a dynamic environment.

The answer to the conversion strategies question is "it depends". It depends on many variables - project size, cost considerations, schedule constraints, help desk availability, risk aversion, cultural aspects, level of user expertise, etc. I understand why most students advocated the less risky phased approach but it is not the best in all situations. In the future, avoid "shooting from the hip" and consider all circumstances. One size often does not fit all when it comes to IT!

I hope the students found the SWOT analysis to be useful. Some of them did such a great job that they should become management strategists! However, a few did not understand the concept of opportunities -- for example, identifying a new lucrative market, a source of funding or resources, a change in consumer behavior, etc. Goals need to be primarily based on this opportunity factor with appropriate consideration to the other three parameters (strengths, weakness and threats).

We move on this week to security -- one of my favorite topics. I am looking forward to seeing kewl videos/movies about security-related issues. I better buy some popcorn and enjoy the shows!

It is important to think outside of the box...but there are exceptions!

Reflections on Session 7

I was amazed at the high level of emotion found in the discussion thread re: offshore outsourcing. Some folks said that we need to be patriotic and not send our jobs to foreign countries while others pointed out that we live in a global economy and the mighty dollar rules. There were some good points -- when national security or quality customer service is involved, we need to keep things internal. Of course, the answer to this is "it depends." You need to look at TCO - the total cost of offshoring - for your organization, specifically, the hidden costs that people often overlook. Check out this CIO magazine article for more information on this concept.

Regarding the use of Fedscope, I am glad that most of the students were exposed to a powerful OLAP tool. They are seeing a Cognos (now IBM) product formerly called PowerPlay, but there are other companies such as BusinessObjects, Microsoft, Oracle, who can produce similar cubes and interfaces. These tools are certainly easier to use than pivot tables in spreadsheets. I am always impressed when I see the insightful trends and relationships students identified and the derived strategies based on these findings.

Although lots of students wanted to recruit and hire more staff, some of the strategies focused on social inequities such as the lack of diversity in various dimensions (gender, race, age, etc.) I am glad this class is cognizant of these social issues. Speaking of social issues, too bad the cubes did not contain any "green" information. I'm sure that a student would to address that timely issue.

Reflections on Session 6 - the Midterm

I am generally very pleased with the results of the midterm. There were many A's in the class and those who got B's were in striking distance of getting an A. Hmmmmmm....I wonder if my midterm was too easy and I may have to make my final exam more difficult?

I did notice that some students did not meet the 1-2 page requirement. This is necessary to ensure that significant thought and analysis went into your answer. I will assess a tough penalty for not meeting this requirement in the final!

I continue to be appalled by the number of grammatical/spelling errors in the submissions. I would think that the word processor would catch these errors and the students would edit them. I hope that this will not occur in future submission... including postings.

I noticed no one got a perfect score in the midterm...I have HIGH expectations from my students (unlike Calvin)! Check out this link.

Reflections on Session 5

I realized that a handful of students found the Session 5 mini-project assignment (to come up with a unique e-business) to be very frustrating. (Now, who egged and tepeed my house?) Although most of you were up for the challenge, some folks did not even attempt an idea or gave up after the first try. I appreciate the tenacity of those who came back after their original idea was rejected. As mentioned before, imagination is more important than knowledge.

Here is a summary of ideas on potential e-businesses from past classes:

Satellite lawn service
Robotic adventures
Online gas station account
GPS with restaurant wait times
Custom build-it-yourself computer kit
Online make-up simulator
Independent local news correspondents
Remote energy control of appliances
Pre-purchase preview
Paid standees
Online parking payments
Custom baby bottles and sippers
Organ donor business
Pranksters, Inc.
Food price comparison site
Fragrance USB device
Custom gum
PickAFight.com
Personal online fashion consultant
Stinky jersey rental business
On-the-go music and try-it-on clothing service
Virtual acupuncture
Virtual Worldwide Vacations
A New You
An Internet music marketing site
Online to-do manager
A real-time auto mechanic assistant
Personalized health care
My Couch Potato
Design My Radio Control car
"See-a-Pet"
Onstar Restaurant Locator
Dr. Everything custom instruction
Audio-visual beach simulation headphones
Miniature puffball pals
An online personal conflict manager
Charity Bridge Play Bidding System
Offer Finder web crawler
An online race management system
Design your own lighting fixtures
An online gas pre-payment system
Junk mail eliminator
Personalized online time management service
3-D modeling tool for an environmentally aware home
Online sports card inventory tracker
Auction site which matches sound equipment with performer
Small-town French restaurant selection guide
Organized weekend camping trips for gamers
College book rental
Family taxi for parents
Grocery price comparison site
Making jealous mates
College transcript clearinghouse
Home improvement contractor online bidding service
e-Closet - hotel storage for travelers
Gifted kids competition
SlingBox feed exchange
Customized beer delivered to your home
Online calorie counter for a broad range of restaurants
Nonalcoholic activity planner
An online hostage negotiator
Team picker based on behavioral survey results
Homepainting recommendation service
Anonymous shopper service
An e-business search service
Personal security-check web service
A one-stop pet resource
Virtual vacations which uses VR helmets
Guild builder for games
An advertiser-customer target marketer
A Mac and PC cross-platform software supplier
A pet food labeling service (has picture of their pet on the can!)
An unbiased fantasy football selector (disregards user's loyalties)
An MP3 music tagging service
Recordings of daughters' comedy routines
Custom cross-stitching service
Virtual DJ services

I wonder if any of my students will become billionaires because of their ideas. Hey, look at a Maryland student named Sergey Brin. He was born in Moscow, Russia, to a Jewish family, the son of a mathematician and economist. In 1979, when Sergey was six, his family emigrated to the United States. Brin attended grade school at Paint Branch Montessori School in Adelphi, Maryland, but he received further education at home; his father Michael Brin, a professor in the department of mathematics at the University of Maryland, nurtured his interest in mathematics and his family helped him retain his Russian language skills. In September 1990, after having attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Sergey enrolled in the University of Maryland, College Park to study Computer Science and Mathematics, where he received his Bachelors of Science in May 1993 with high honors. After graduating from Maryland, Sergey received a graduate fellowship from the National Science Foundation, which allowed him to study for his masters degree in Computer Science at Stanford University.

Brin is the American entrepreneur who co-founded Google with Larry Page. He is currently the President of Technology at Google and has a net worth estimated at $16.6 billion as of March 9, 2007, making him the 26th richest person in the world together with Larry Page and the 9th richest person in the United States. He is also the 4th youngest billionaire in the world.

Reflections on Session 4

There was a general consensus that Twitter was mindless chatter or it was a breach of security to the brink of stalking. Frankly, I sort of feel the same way. I've had a Twitter account for several months now and I don't really get it. I find it tedious to keep tweeting and I guess because I am not into texting on my cell. However, I do follow Rob Pegoraro, the techie columnist from the Washington Post, and has gotten some good info from him.

One concern I have with this close is that I suspect some of my students need to have an open mind about technology. Several of the students already decided that they hated Twitter even before trying this. This is dangerous. It's okay to be skeptical but one should be willing to accept new ideas even though it does not impact them directly. One example is FaceBook, where lots of folks thought it was a waste of time (and still do). But some folks found it to be a new communication channel so that they could talk to their kids or locate old pals.

So, please keep an open mind when investigating these technologies. You may end up having to manage them some day! :)



Reflections on Session 3

There were many interesting comments on Zillow, the focus of our last mini-project. The database behind the system reflects many issues facing other databases -- data integrity (accuracy) problems, interface issues and security/privacy concerns (should people know how many bathrooms I have?). It impacts people's professions sometimes for the better and sometimes not. Oh, the power of the database!

Reflections on Session 2

I am glad to see that we have an imaginative group of students in the class. The diary assignment projecting what's around in 10 years from now revealed that! Here are just a few of the creative thoughts that came up in previous classes:

Robotic maid
High tech forensics lab
Elementary school hackers
108-inch displays
Virtual stadium
Personalized home
Flights to Mars
Universal teleworking
Peeing robotic dog
Robotic barista
Voice recognition systems
Trips to Mars
Ear implanted cell phone chip
Iris scanning
Collision-avoiding car
Robotic arm
Tax criminal caught on camera
Smart house computer
Just-in-time grocery delivery
Lexus LX 850 Fuel Cell Car
Bullet trains
10 terabyte players
Robotic food delivery service
Amazon-Google merger
"Red tooth" power
Second Life FBI
All-electric SUVs
Thin clients finally arrive
Optical computer
UAVs
Robotic secretary
Video cell phone
Laser shower
GPS car-crash avoidance system
Waterless shower
Aero car
Health sensor (just like Bones)
DNA sampling
MP7
Touch TV Screen
Virtual assistant
Retina scan for authorization
Multi-purpose and secure PDA's
Smart kitchen
Holographic ads
Nano-bots
Instant video messagingFred the Robot
Voice Recognition Car
Holographic tables
10 Terabyte PDA's
Quantum servers
Integration across systems
All-Access Device
Wireless entertainment system
Wallpaper TV
Cloned bosses
Computer control by thought
Digital textbooks
GooHoo (Google + Yahoo)
Organic solar panels
Hyper-bikes
100 core processors
OLED
Auto dresser
Cyber-wife
Kitchen digital assistant
Wireless Base Launch
Imbedded RFID chips
3-D holograhics
20-core processor

One of my favorite sayings is "Imagination is more important than Knowledge." Reflect on that statement a few minutes because it is very profound. Without imagination, our society would not have advanced at all.

BTW, that saying came from Al...

P.S. Humor is also important!

This is a test.

This is a test.

Reflections on Session 1

This class reflects a broad spectrum of backgrounds. I like classes like these -- you get a wide range of perspectives. I predict a very stimulating class this semester!

I noted that several students forgot to include the name of the student they are responding to. However, I feel that this is just a minor concern. Some students are probably questioning the 100-word minimum -- I have learned this requirement helps to ensure depth to the responses.

I hope students are applying critical thinking and analysis to the discussion question contributions. It's easy to copy and paste info, but graduate school is all about higher order thinking.

As for the blogs, it would be great to add a little more pizzazz with the addition of images, relevant links and (yes) even humor!



Looks like a terrific semester coming up!!!!



This is a test for Bulltracey:

Aloha!

Hi! I want to welcome the students of ITEC 610 to my class blog. Your first "mini-project" assignment will be to create a blog and include your first post...a bio just like what's in the next few paragraphs. Add pictures please. During subsequent weeks, you and I will add posts in our blogs containing reflections from the past week.

So, allow me to introduce myself...



I was born in beautiful Hawaii and I attended Farrington High School and the University of Hawaii at Manoa where I received a bachelor's degree in Engineering. I joined the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 1975. My first "mainland" assignment was in Washington (the state, that is), then, I worked in Kentucky, Nebraska, and Utah.

While with the FHWA, I attained a Masters degree at the University of Nebraska (Go Big Red!) in Lincoln. The university is recent national football champions! (But...did you know that the "N" on the side of their helmets means knowledge???!!!)

I went on to receive a Ph.D in Engineering from the University of Utah which is located in Salt Lake City. I much enjoyed the climate, people, and the living environment there! Clean living, that's for me!!!


In changing careers, I attended the MBA Program at the University of Maryland at College Park. My concentration was Management Information Systems. Maryland has the best program academically and in terms of athletics. Fear the turtle!!!


I married the former Janet Lee on May 28, 1983 whom I will cherish forever. She is gainfully employed as a clinical pharmacist. She loves chocolate candy, Chinese and Korean food, University of Texas, and her family (not necessarily in that order).

In 1987, we were blessed with Laura Meghan Eun Hae (blessing from heaven) Pang. She is a hard-working student at the University of Pennsylvania. She loves playing the piano, playing the violin, and just playing. There's a video of her at a recent recital (she's in the middle).



After a short stint at the Federal Aviation Administration, I joined the National Defense University in February 1995. I worked in the Information Resources Management College as a Professor of Information Systems Management. In January 2008 and after 33 years of federal service, I finally retired and moved on.

I am presently the Program Director of the Database Systems Technology (DBST) concentration in the University of Maryland University College's Graduate School of Management and Technology. I am also a Collegiate Professor teaching kewl courses on information technology and homeland security.

I truly enjoy my job, particularly, interacting with the students and working with my esteemed colleagues. They all have a lot to share!


I love to run and it seems like the song "Running on Empty" is very appropriate for me. Some of my running accomplishments include the Marine Corps Marathon, Baltimore Marathon, Montgomery County Marathon-in-the-Parks, Honolulu Marathon, B&A Trail Marathon, Howard County Striders' Metric Marathon, River Rumble Half-Marathon, Army Ten-Miler, Cherry Blossom Ten-Miler, Annapolis Ten-Miler, Governor's Bay Bridge Run (one of my favorites), Pike's Peek (in Rockville, not Colorado), and many others.

See Les in a video at the National Marathon!!! (I'm the one with the black cap.)

My latest interest is being a paddler in Dragon boat racing. I enjoy this sport with my daughter, Laura. Here is a short video on the sport!



Our UMUC team came in first place in the recent Washington DC Dragonboat festival!

My lifelong goal is to be the best professor that I can be and to light the flame of knowledge among everyone I encounter...(corny but true!)

The journey is the reward!