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Technology and Knowledge Management July 19, 2010

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The technology in cell phone is amazing. On my recent trip to Europe the technology in the cell phone was fine, but the information systems that were connected to the amazing technology that left a lot to be desired. Going to Europe with your cell phone is not easy. It basically involves two different standards. In the US the technology standard for cell phones is CDMA and in Europe it is GSM. It would be so much easier if there was one standard, but where is the creativity in that? There are a variety of good techniques on how to have a cell phone use the two different standards and those techniques usually are effective.


On my recent trip we contacted the cell phone provider and they told us our cell phone would work in Europe. We had the right setup and everything would be fine.  The problem is that you cannot test the cell phone for use in Europe until you get to Europe. As you can guess when we got to Europe, the cell phone did not work.  What we discovered after taking a day out of our trip was that the phone had to be activated by the cell phone provider for use in Europe before the phone would work. I have no idea why they could not tell us that before we got to Europe, but that detail was overlooked. Activating the phone for Europe was a very short procedure and with the phone activated, the cell phone started working. Everything was fine, but after about an hour we got a text message from the cell phone provider telling us that we had used 100 hours in roaming charges on the phone. The phone had only been activated an hour ago. How can there be all these roaming charges? After another phone call to the cell phone provider, it was determined the text message was wrong and there were no roaming charges on the phone. Of course as soon as we got off the phone with customer service, there was another text message indicating we now had close to 200 hours of roaming charges.


The point of this is that the advances in technology are amazing, but without the proper information systems to manage the knowledge the new and amazing technology can be a big problem. The customer service area must be aware of what is needed to have the technology work and erroneous text messages do not help the user. The technology makes great marketing, but the technology does not work by itself. The entire system needs to work. The system involves not only the computer network, but also the people involved in the system.

SU – Semantic Web March 26, 2010

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In a recent book, Pull: The Power of the Semantic Web to Transform your Business, by David Seigel, the author looks at the future of the web. The author presents a future where the web is built around the individual and starts from the individual having a personal data locker site. The personal data locker site contains the relevant information on the individual including name, address, family and work. The web site would also contain friends, work interests and hobbies. This sounds very similar to Facebook and other social networking sites, but instead of the user searching to make connections, the web would make connections with the user. Such as if the user indicates that there is an interest in computer programming in Java, the web would offer to connect the user with others interested in Java. If the user indicated on her personal data site that she was looking for a new Microsoft PC, the web would connect her to companies selling PCs. Instead of the user searching for companies that sell PCs and possibly missing some very good deals, all PC sellers would be connecting with her. This style of web is referred to as the semantic web or web 3.0. It does not appear that the complete internet will magically change to this organization next week, but there are changes occurring that are pushing the web in that direction.

 From a Stevenson University perspective, the idea of creating a personal data locker and permitting users (students) to have all the needed information from that site could begin with Blackboard. Currently all students have accounts on blackboard and from that site they access their class information. Everything from the course syllabus to submitting assignments is on blackboard. This includes tests, discussion boards, calendars and powerpoint presentations are maintained on blackboard. What is not on blackboard are the tech connection, library services, career services, student advising, registrar services and registering for courses. Those applications are on the college website and as commented in previous blogs are very difficult for students to access. The new version of blackboard presents some valuable options for the application, but it is also an opportunity to change the information that students have available.

Another option for the idea of a personal data locker is a new data portal application that is being discussed. This data portal provides a dashboard configuration so that students can access course information from blackboard, needed student services from the university website and email. Hopefully access can be obtained without having to login in to the various applications. One login that will pass security information between all the interfaces would be very useful. This data portal application is being considered for next school year. If students could get a connection with course information, the library, tech connection, career services, registrar services, course scheduling, advising and email from one starting application, it could be the beginning of Stevenson moving towards web 3.0.

Snow, Plugged-In February 23, 2010

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After the first month of the spring semester and four feet of snow, the Information Systems department is getting things going. Stevenson was closed for nine days with all of the snow. The IS481 Knowledge and Project Management course was able to continue without disruption while school was closed by using blackboard, email, wikispaces and youtube videos.  My other courses were disrupted, but not the IS481 course.  The internet does provide a reliable platform for the delivering course materials and the internet never affected by the weather. As a matter of fact the internet never seems to go down.

A recent story in the local paper, the Baltimore Sun, Plugged-in Generation, multi-tasking big time, suggests that children are using electronic devices such as cell phones, ipods, gaming consoles and computers 7.5 hours a day. The article seems to raise some concerns about this behavior. These devices provide entertainment, but as I saw in the recent snow storm it can provide a means to care on educational courses while the schools are closed. Even in the courses that were interrupted by the school closing, students were kept informed of schedule changes and what they needed to have completed when the schools were opened again. Yes, students are using these devices for a large amount of their time, but it is not all bad.

 The article made a point of how children are multi-tasking while on the electronic devices. In the 7.5 hours on electronic devices they are doing 11 hours of activity. From my discussions with students they think that this multi-tasking is a commendable skill. Sometimes it does seem to be a valuable skill, but there may be other times when it is not. Texting while driving may be a problem.

As one student in my IS481 class stated “Children that are part of the Net-Generation are still learning how to control new technology.  With proper balance and instruction on what is appropriate on the web, that generation will be able to strive to even higher advancements for society.”

It should be an exciting future.

Faculty Staff Meeting – Web 2.0 Technologies January 16, 2010

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At the beginning of each semester there is a faculty staff meeting to exchange information and discuss new ideas for Stevenson University. The meeting at the beginning of this semester focused on uses of computer technology that are occurring at Stevenson and Web 2.0 technologies that can be used in the classroom.  At www.stevenson.libguides.com/digitaluniversity is a list of all the software and web applications that are available for classroom use. The meeting included a number of presentations about this technology being used at Stevenson and Mr. Steven Engorn did a fabulous presentation on the virtual computer environment that I have commented about in recent blog posts. It appears as if the virtual computer environment is an exciting technology here at Stevenson.

In the IS481 course we use Wikispaces, Mind maps and the discussion board in Blackboard. Wikispaces and the discussion board are used to exchange information. Mind maps are used to not only exchange information, but also to organize ideas and then exchange that organization with others. All of these technologies are about exchanging information, but exchanging information does not necessarily mean exchanging knowledge.

In the IS481, Project and Knowledge Management course, we define knowledge as actionable information. Information being exchanged may not be actionable. The individual must know more than just the information that is being exchanged to make the information into knowledge. How the individual learns that extra piece to turn information into knowledge is education. Education does not only occur in the classroom, but that is what is happening in the classroom at Stevenson University.

These technologies are another very powerful way to acquire information. It is the way that most of our students are obtaining information.  The entire internet is an incredible resource for acquiring information. This is changing the way that students obtain information, but education must take that information and turn it into knowledge for students.

Information Systems Online Videos December 19, 2009

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At the end of the year movie critics list their top movies of the year. My list is not movies, but the top 10 online videos that are used in IS481, Project and Knowledge Management at Stevenson.

  1. Triumph of the Nerds – History of the PC industry beginning in the mid 1970s
  2. Nerds 2.0 – History of Internet and Networking from the 1990s
  3. Inside IDEO- The Deep Dive Part 1  - IDEO is a leader in Innovation and Creativity
  4. Esther Dyson Emerging Technologies – Interview with Charlie Rose
  5. John Chambers – Building the Next Generation Company:  Innovation, Talent and Excellence – Head of Cisco  
  6. Dick Hardt Identity 2.0   - Amazing presentation – Is there a better way to identify yourself on the web.
  7. The Web That Wasn’t – Alex Wright  - Discussion of the development of the content on the web.
  8. Clay Shirky Here Comes Everybody  – Impact of Social Networking
  9. Eric Schmidt Celebration of Teaching and Learning – Google CEO speaking to Educators
  10. Steve Jobs at Stanford – Speech at Stanford Graduation


Other Videos that you may want to watch:

Stevenson U Website Issue???? November 17, 2009

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One of the discussions in the IS48, Project and Knowledge Management course, is finding information on the Stevenson website. The exercise involves finding when the Final Exam for IS481 is scheduled. Although it sounds like a relatively easy task, the task is more difficult than it is perceived. The navigation process is a challenge because the Stevenson website was not developed to provide students with the answer to when their final exams are. After a couple of these frustrating exercises it become clear that the Stevenson website was not developed to aid students at Stevenson. The Stevenson website is designed to help recruit new students and present a favorable appearance of the school to the external community that work with Stevenson University.

At a recent meeting of the school of business and leadership, there was a discussion also about how difficult the Stevenson website is for faculty to use.  As is the case with students, the website is not set up for faculty oriented tasks either. The Stevenson website is designed to help recruit new students and present a favorable appearance to the external community that work with Stevenson University.  Is this a problem?

Stevenson students and faculty do not spend most of their time on the Stevenson website. As a matter of fact, it is an unusual occasion that they need to use the website.   Students and faculty spend most of their time on the Stevenson web environment of Blackboard. Every course that a student is enrolled in has a significant amount of information on Blackboard. Blackboard is the environment to submit assignments, tests and quizzes are taken there and even classroom discussions occur in this environment.  So why should students and faculty go to the Stevenson website to find information. Why is that information not available on Blackboard? That is where student and faculty spend most of their time. So instead of trying to change the Stevenson website, why not add to the Blackboard environment. Why not add to the Blackboard environment all the needed information for students to be successful at Stevenson University? The problem is not the level of difficulty to find information on the Stevenson website, but why is that information is not available in Blackboard?

From discussions with thepeople involved with Blackboard in the Office of Information Technology at Stevenson, this is exactly what is being planned for the future. There is a lot of planning to make the Blackboard environment as the central website for students and faculty. There is a new release of the product that is currently being installed and over the next few years new connections will be added to the environment. More information will be available in Blackboard and student will have even less occasions to use the Stevenson website. The Stevenson website will be improved to present a better appearance for recruiting students and working with the external community, but not to be used as a resource for students and faculty. The resource for students and faculty is Blackboard.

Changes in the Classroom September 20, 2009

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At the beginning of the IS481, Project and Knowledge Management, course, one of the first assignments is a discussion about how the internet is changing the way that students learn in the classroom. The discussion involves examining some of the remarks that are critical of students and their use of the internet. One student, Catherine McHenry, commented on how the classroom has changed in the last ten years.


“I am at the tail end of the Net Generation, having been born in 1978.  The difference between my first college experience (1996 – 2000) and this one is remarkable; the resources available to me now were unthinkable then.  I did not own my own computer until 1998, when I was a junior in college, but even then projects, papers, homework, etc., involving research meant a physical trip to the library, the card catalogue, and the Dewey Decimal system for information that was potentially out of date.  Now I can access that same information, as well as up-to-the-minute information, from my home.  I defy anyone to say that doing it the old way was “smarter”; the information is better now, as is the access.  Greater effort does not equate to greater intelligence.”


There are challenges associated with the use of the internet in the classroom, but it has a number of advantages also.


Taxonomy & Creativity July 22, 2009

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With mindmaps a structure of the connections of concepts is developed. Based upon this diagram of concepts a taxonomy is developed connecting the concepts of a domain. This domain can be data in a database, project tasks for a computer project or the concepts that are involved in learning a subject. With the concepts displayed in a taxonomy, others can understand the structure and the relationships involved. One of the negative effects of studying the taxonomy and becoming very knowledgeable about the concepts in the structure is the boundaries that can develop on what the user of the taxonomy understands. This results in a silo style of thinking and limits opportunities for creativity.

 

To encourage creativity it is necessary to develop another seemingly unrelated taxonomy of concepts. This means that there are two taxonomies and analyzing ways to relate the two taxonomies are an opportunity for creativity. As an example of this in the Networking course (IS231), students learn and work with the binary and hex numbering systems. Students learn binary and hexadecimal numbering systems that are used in computer networking and other computer related processes. A taxonomy is developed connecting the concepts of the numbering systems and computers. Another completely unrelated taxonomy is family birthday celebrations. Traditionally there are lighted candles on a birthday cake to help celebrate the age of the individual celebrating a birthday. The two taxonomies seem unrelated, but the binary numbering system can be used to indicate the age of the individual celebrating the birthday. Using the binary technique of lighting or not lighting candles, the person’s age can be represented in a limited number of candles.

Objects & Taxonomy June 22, 2009

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In the IS department at Stevenson University we have been teaching and using object oriented programming and technologies for the past 20 years. We have been discussing how to write programs based upon classes that encapsulate both methods and attributes. Once the objects and classes are specified we have taught how to write programs and develop computer systems using them. But the question that is left unanswered is where the classes and objects come from. How does an organization determine what are the classes that are needed? The traditional answer to this question is frameworks, design patterns, best practices and lessons learned. These tools and techniques are used to organize the software. Another source for determining classes and objects are taxonomies. By building a taxonomy of the application processing, a structure appears. From this structure, attributes and methods can be determined. With attributes and methods, classes can be created. When hierarchical relationships are discovered, inheritance can be used in the creation of the classes. With multiple taxonomies being used in an organization computer system, an ontology can be created showing the relationships between the taxonomies.

 

By having a clear understanding of the taxonomy in the organization’s computer application, this helps the organization exchange data and applications with other organizations. This exchange of data is essential for e-commerce, communication with suppliers and exchanging financial information with banks and the government.  As the internet grows and more data is exchanged, the internet will be seen as a large data repository. Users will be able to use data as is needed.   This is the idea behind the semantic web. When the organization starts from a taxonomy for their own procedure processing to create computer application, the organization is beginning the process to become part of the semantic web.

Mind Maps March 11, 2009

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One of the tools we use in Knowledge and Project Management are Mind maps. Mind maps are graphical tools used to link concepts. We use Mind maps as an alternative to the traditional outline format that students have been using since elementary school. The Mind map gives the user a picture of how concepts are related and it does not have to be hierarchical.  With web pages and other computer oriented concepts using the tree and branch structure can be a little confining. 

In the class we are using the open source software from sourceforge – freemind to create the mind maps, but there are a number of other free mind mapping tools that can be used. Xmind from Collaborative Minds and VUE (Visual Understanding Environment) from Tufts University are other Mind mapping tools that we discuss in the course. For a general discussion of Mind mapping the website of mind-mapping.org is an excellent resource.

Tony Buzan, the guru of the mind map, has a website that is also a valuable resource for creating and using mind maps. On his website is a link to his mind mapping tool, iMindMap. iMindMap is not a free tool, but there are a number of videos, tutorials and guides. This site includes a video of using mind mapping with project management.

Some of the assignments in which mind maps are used include identifying and organizing tasks for a project in project management, organizing terms on a wiki and organizing concepts for the final term paper and presentations.

Mind maps are very similar to concept maps as discussed by the educational philosopher, Joseph Novak.  The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) has done a large amount of research on concept maps. The website is set up as a concept map for the user to access materials and resources. This group also has a free concept mapping tool that can be used to create maps.  Vic Gee on his webpage has explained the differences between a mind map and a concept map, but there are a lot of similarities. With some of the “mind mapping” tools the resulting diagram may be considered a “concept map”.