Session 9

Having a career path in technology, I make it a point to attend as many professional development workshops as possible (especially when they pertain to software). I recently attended a professional development workshop that was very informative and well presented. I think that the key to the effectiveness of the workshop was that it wasn’t scripted in a way that the presenter followed a set linear format. The presenter was constantly interacting with the audience and redirecting the focus of the instruction to address the needs of the audience. The workshop was hands on so that the attendees could follow the steps as they went along and ask questions at any time. The presenter also gave the attendees options on what they would like to learn so we were able to choose areas that we felt would be most applicable to our positions.

I have also attended a professional development workshop where after it was over I felt that I would probably have been better off had not attended it at all. Like the afore mentioned positive professional development workshop, it was essentially hands on and the presenters encouraged the participants to ask questions whenever possible, but the end result was that everyone seemed to be so confused that they were hesitant to ask any questions at all. The main problem was that the presenters were attempting to explain subject matter that they dealt with on a daily basis, but was for the most part foreign to everyone else. In other words, they weren’t looking at it from the perspective of someone who was learning the information for the first time. Unlike the presenter in the afore mentioned workshop, these presenters stuck to a script and continually attempted to force the information onto their audience in hopes that we would be able to understand it as it was presented. The attendees would have actually benefitted from the workshop if the presenters had adapted their instruction based on the assessed prior knowledge of their audience. To the presenters’ credit, there was a much larger audience then in the first workshop mentioned in this post. The end result was that I was more confused on the topic being covered than I was prior to coming in.

Session 9 Activity Report

Project1:
Final write-up of overall project.

Project 2:
Began recording podcast audio. Researched possible players to embed.

Project 3:
Began final write-up of project proposal from outline and rough draft.

Session 8

Anything to maximize productivity and accountability would be positive from a leadership perspective. Data driven decision-making would definitely make it easier to keep tabs on worker performance, but it may have a negative impact on the workers because they may feel as if they are being judged merely on statistics or even worse, as a statistic. On the other hand, I feel that having technology in place to automate meticulous or repetitive processes would be received in a positive light because it could free up time for workers to focus on other tasks that require a little more cognitive ability.

Working for two different organizations that are grant funded, it is very essential to keep thorough records on where the money is going and what it is being used for. Monitoring the results or impact that the programs have throughout the course of time is also necessary to sustain funding. If I were to implement some sort of data driven system in my current workplace it would probably have something to do with monitoring clientele, satisfaction levels and organizing customer suggestions into categories where they could be analyzed based on different sets of criteria. If there were enough feedback registered into the system to substantiate some sort of change then adjustments could be made accordingly.

The positive use of this sort of clientele database would be that it could raise awareness as to the inefficiencies or room for possible improvement within the work system. With enough feedback we could discern what is and what isn’t working from a customer standpoint. A computerized survey developed to retrieve certain feedback from certain customers along with a smart database to sort and store the information would be preferred. The negative side to this type of system would be that customers might feel inconvenienced by these types of surveys. It would be up to leadership to develop questions that would generate the most useful feedback and decide from whom to request the information. It would also be in there best interest to develop different sets of questions for different customers so that the system could be automated in this sense. Another negative is there is no real way to know if the data that you are gathering is genuine or not. Giving the customer some sort of incentive to participate in the survey could increase the amount of feedback you receive, but could skew the data if that is the customer’s sole motive to participate.

Session 8 Activity Report

Project1:
Documented applications that were not implemented into workflow and the reasons why I decided not to use them. Finalized comparisons and contrasts between tasks performed with and without the implemented technology.

Project 2:
Revised scripts for podcast and will begin recording this week.

Project 3:
Completed rough write up of the entire grant proposal.

Session 7

I’ve dealt with the Ed Norman syndrome ever since I began working at my current position. When I first started over 6 years ago, the restrictions were not nearly as severe as they are now. At least back then you could develop your own web site or access the wireless network without having to log in every single time. Things have gotten progressively worse since then. There is rationale behind a lot of these security measures, but there are also a lot of restrictions in place that just impede progress.

One of the restrictions that really frustrates me is in the web development department. When I first was hired, I was tasked to create a web site for an organization. I was able to develop a dynamic site full of resources designed specifically to address the needs of the organization. If I were tasked to create such a site now, I would have to work off from a template that matches the rest of the sites hosted on their server. If I need to edit something on this template I would have to list what it is that I need to modify and wait until a web administrator could do it for me despite the fact that I’m a web master for my department. This means that unless it is a simple change within the content area of the site, I would have to gain permission to make any significant additions or revisions. It is for this reason that I have decided to host my sites on an external server where I have the freedom to develop and change the sites as I please. Another thing that really frustrates me is having computer workstations where you cannot install or update software without administrative privileges. I can’t tell you how many times that this has hindered me from doing my job. If I need to update a video codec in order to play embedded video in a PowerPoint, I have to call a technician and wait for them to come out even though I’m employed as technical support myself.

If I had the authority to control these issues I would handle it much differently. I understand that many of these safeguards are in place to protect from malicious activity and or inexperienced users unknowingly making changes, but those who have a legitimate need to access these computers should be granted access. Like with everything else, there should be training administered to users who request different levels of access privileges. Once these users complete this training and exhibit the ability to handle the privileges responsibly they should be issued some sort of certification, which enables them to retain these privileges for an extended period of time. After all, this is the procedure for gaining access to any other system. I really think that it is a matter of certain individuals having too much control and placing these types of restrictions just make their jobs easier at the expense of everyone else.

Session 7 Activity Report

Project1:
Began the final stages of software testing. Recorded data with and without software to compare and contrast.

Project 2:
Continued scripting dialogue for podcasts.

Project 3:
Identified a target group to introduce project into school system. Continued with the development of project proposal write up.