Reflection Week - 11

Good Ole Week 11! I am sooooooooooo glad that this week is over, two final exams in one week is enough to throw you overboard. I got a chance to browse over some of the other group projects and they were very informing. I’m not even sure if we were required to submit a reflection this week that shows you how discombobulated I am, between work, school and home, confusion has every right to settle in. I’m starting a new job on Monday for the same company but new division, new duties, new everything so I’m kind of exited about that, I will be working in the Office of Systems as an Application Software Developer. Nothing much other than that so, I’m going to sign out now and work on something else.

Reflection Week - 10

This week has been really stressful. I’ve taken online courses before some partially online/classroom attendance and some totally online. I have never had to do a class project in an online setting; there are pros and cons to this way of learning. #1 You have to have a lot of patience because not everyone in the group will have the same work schedule, some group member may not even be in the same time zone, let alone, country. #2 Participating in a group project online, gives you the avenues of researching more, because everything is done online, it gives you the true perspective of what it means to network because you will have to reach out to other group members to get the job done. This was a tedious experiment as well as a well informed one, but I don’t have any regrets because I work fulltime and I’m a fulltime mother and an online environment suites my schedule more than it would for me to take classes traditionally. I enjoyed being able to create a topic for this weeks discussion thread, that was fun because we each got to ask a question that was of interest to us and we were able to make a contribution to Wikipedia, this was my first time making any changes or contributions to any Wiki’s now I feel like I belong :).

Reflection Week - 9

This week we were given the opportunity to discuss several ethical issues concerning how using information technology in business affects employment, working condition and crimes. A couple of ethical responsibilities were discussed such as should employees be subjected to electronic monitoring of their work activities and email. I work for the Department of Defense and, yes there are circumstances that have warranted for employees to have their work activities and emails monitored. Fraud, waste and abuse has always been a problem in any business environment and many business do monitor employee activity to make sure that there are no unethical work practices taking place using company computers. Computer crimes are also on the rise, whether it is caused intentionally by a criminal or unintentional by an irresponsible individual. We also discussed some emerging technologies in cyber security, one such technology is called the Cyber Defense Technology Experimental Research (DETER). This technology helps DETER to analyze any possible cyber threats in the world and develop new ways to put a stop to cyber security issues. I have included a link below where you can read and get some additional information about this technology:

http://www.citris-uc.org/research/projects/cyber_defense_technology_experimental_research_network

Reflection Week - 8

This week we discuss the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and we had a discussion question about whether web developers should be concern about using the SDLC. One comment I made in regards to that question in which I agreed that, yes it should be used, was that creating or developing websites take planning and you want to be able to have a fully functional website that has the ability to earn, and inform it's intended audience because online businesses and internet related business opportunities are becoming more popular on a daily basis. Being able to create a visually appealing web page is one important aspect of a successful business strategy because good content is essential and without it, your web page is useless and without proper content an online business never gets to reach its full intended potential or reach its potential customers. Like many online companies as with any other business, the main idea behind web based businesses is to support a business while targeting a significant number of users, hassle free, and being able to provide them products, all while keeping security in mind, which is the next topic of discussion next week……

Reflection Week - 7

This week we discussed Outsourcing and I wanted to touch on that a little but more. Outsourcing is basically the process of taking third party resources and paying someone externally to handle them and it has always been a good option within business operations. Outsourcing is not just limited to manufacturing; it has actually affected several other industries but more so Information Technology. One of the problems with outsourcing and servicing in the US is that there are people that are intolerant of other cultures and languages and no matter what you do, there will people that get frustrated that they have to deal with service outside of the US. No matter if we like it or not outsourcing is here to stay. Until service here are low enough, organizations and companies will deem this as an acceptable alternative for most of their clients. I came across a recent issue of CIO magazine that provided a very good overview of the Top Three Outsourcing Initiatives for 2009, below is the link to that article:

http://www.cio.com/article/478098/Top_Three_Outsourcing_Initiatives_for_

Reflection Week - 6

Took my midterm this week, and got two job offers, now I have to select from working as a Application Software Developer or an Information Security Specialist both are great career areas to work in in Information Technology but I have a pretty tough decision to make. I am familiar with some aspect of IA and it is what I’m majoring in at UMUC but I am also interested in the APPSW position because it would allow me to develop live applications for the organization that I would be working for and although I have never worked in this area they are willing to train me to the fullest. So if it were you Prof Les which one of these IT professions would you be willing to work in, your opinion in this matter would be greatly appreciated? Other than that I am looking forward to working on my group project and again it is in one of the subjects that I find an interest in Information Security.

Reflection Week - 5

This has been a very uneventful week. We covered topics from E-Commerce to Dot Com failures and we had a chance to create our own E-Commerce business. Aside from the class but somehow IT related the news headline stated that “Michael Jackson Died and Took the Internet With Him” I’ll never forget that headline, because it claimed that web browsers were so overwhelmed with people searching for articles or news of Jackson’s death that everything pretty much just stopped working. Anyway E-Commerce are used with many application like Email, Online Banking, Shopping Carts and Teleconferencing and many databases management software’s can help a company and help support their operations and management of their businesses like it did for Cognet, which was an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Reflection Week - 4

Wi-Fi in previous years charged people on a per use or annual basis but recently because of a “tipping point”, instead of renting out the services companies have shifted the focus to offering the services for free while focusing more intently on motivating their customers to buying other goods and services. Also we discussed the value of the internet in business, I think that businesses use of the internet has changed what business people expect from Information Technology in their jobs because they expect to be able to have direct access to more business resources such as the being able to trade information globally for better customer service and generate savings on cost. It reduces time constraints on employees as well as increases productivity from the employees.

Reflection Week - 3

I learned that data resource management plays a huge part in the management of information Systems/Technology, because it allows resources to be organized and access easily, there is nothing more annoying than not being able to organize resources in a systematic way. Data has to be structured, organized and accesses in a uniformed way, if not, it could be the downfall of many businesses and then not only that but if you are a customer oriented business it could easily disintegrate any loyalty that was established with any of your customers. I also learn that database performance is one of the toughest problems when dealing with large databases, but most organizations monitor and tune the performance of their IT infrastructure because there are tools available that make performance management easier by automatically invoking pre-defined actions when specific alerts are triggered. Most things that are stored in a database are normally sensitive information so data security is an issue too, but Oracle has a program that uses schemas and security domains to control access to data and to restrict the use of various database resources.

Reflection Week - 2

I realized that I did not submit a reflection posting for week 2 and even though late assignments are not accepted, I’m going to reflect anyway because posting this blog is a tool design to enhance my learning processes with that said, let me reflect on week 2……

In week 2, I found it interesting that doctors are using computer gridding to treat and diagnose cancer patient quicker, by using the grid to convert cancerous cells and tissues into digital images, I also learned that computer gridding are used in other commodities that we use everyday such as water and electricity.

I also learned that Open-Source software is a good way for businesses to gain a competitive edge on the market because it helps them keep up with all technology developments, while at the same time allowing their software to evolve, because different developers work on improving it.

Reflection - Week I

Week 1 has been somewhat interesting; luckily this isn’t my first online course that I’ve ever taken because this week would have been a disaster. I literally had to hit the ground running because I just got back into town from getting my daughter back from a spring break with her grandparents and talk about reconnecting with a 2 year old and she’ only been gone for 3 weeks. This week we learned about what role Information Technology plays in the success of small businesses and some of the challenges that management faces and the competitive strategies that IT supports and how it can help a business gain that competitive edge on opponents.

Hello,

My name is Lynda, I am originally from Georgia, I spent 5 years active duty Air Force, I’ve been to a lot of places and I’ve seen a lot of faces, some of the places I wanted to be some I had to go to kicking and screaming but throughout my whole experience I got a change to meet and work with some really great people. I currently live in Washington DC now; I have a 2 year old daughter who has taught me to underlying meaning of “Patience is a Virtue”. I graduated from Macon State College in Macon, Georgia in 2007 with a BS in Information Technology.

I currently work for the Department of Defense as an Information Technology Specialist in the Policy and Planning/Information Security branch. I am currently responsible for receiving and reviewing all maintenance contract requests for Information Technology/Information Management (IT/IM) equipment and services and I develop the correspondence security countermeasures to protect sensitive and classified information. I also provide guidance and support for the protection of information technology systems such as those that pertain to our personal computers and Local Area Networks.

I am really excited to be pursuing my MS degree in Information Technology: Information Assurance at UMUC as this is just another stepping stone for me to complete my career goals and educational goals in the IT field.