How does the IT environment contribute to the success or lack of success in systems development processes?

I think it is obvious that a group or office that focuses on strong communication - both in sharing ideas and listening to those ideas - as well as having a focused and organized project leader are both huge benefits. There are a lot of good programmers out there and a lot of good designers, but not a lot of people that can easily communicate ideas, needs, goals, and other parts of the development process. Making sure that people are included in the plan, encouraging support within the group, and pushing communication are the ways I see it helping drive success. The same is true for the opposite  - a project can easily crash and burn if people aren't communicating or if the project manager isn't organized and can't keep track of what people are doing. I can also see how members of a development team who want their ideas done and don't listen to others can also be a huge hindrance in projects.

What aspects of the workplace might motivate people's acceptance of change

There are a lot of factors involved in motivating acceptance of change. Effective communication is key. The team needs to understand what is changing, why it is changing, and how it will impact them and the things they are doing. If there are unanswered questions or vague answers are given, it can cause unneeded stress/panic/confusion/frustration/anger/etc. Things such as office politics, as previously discussed, can play a huge part as well. By this I mean that people need to understand that this is a policy for the greater good, not to benefit one person or one group, and if it is - why.

I think most people don't want to work harder than they need to, so it's safe to say that implementing changes that will make people's jobs easier or more efficient are likely to be safe. The problems that I have witnessed have generally been due to changes that make people's jobs harder and less efficient with no real benefits other than to the person making the changes.

How often and in what ways might internal politics factor into project success?

Internal politics can factor into project success in many ways.

Examples: Competition within a project or with other groups can cause a lot of conflicts within an office, for example. Access to resources such as money, hardware, software, etc. for a certain project. Gossip and issues with co-workers or management can cause problems with communication, morale, productivity, and more.

Ultimately, office politics is a huge reason for the failure of many projects and can severely impact a work environment if not monitored and dealt with properly.

Chad as a project

For me, college has been a (very) long, ongoing,  "project". As I am a so-called non-traditional student, my goals and needs as a student may be somewhat different than others. Before transferring to Edgewood I spent a lot of time bouncing between programs trying to find pretty much anything I could tolerate not relating to computers, only to realize a long way down the road that computers and technology were my passion and interest. 

So, for now my goals include finding a niche that I enjoy. Developing my skills and knowledge in that niche. Networking with other students and professionals in the field in order to secure internships, learn more about the industry, and figure out a potential career path. Presently I am focusing heavily on finding an internship and figuring out what I am most interested in. 

As far as a timeline goes, I am currently in my 2nd year at Edgewood but I am technically a Junior. My hope is that I will have completed the first of at least 2 internships by the end of this year (2014), and have found a niche to focus on for the future. 

I am planning on graduating in May of 2016, but earlier if possible. As mentioned before, I hope to complete at least 2 internships before then or order to further my experience and skill sets. My goals after graduation would be to find full-time employment in the field and apply to graduate school for library and information science. 

My long-term goal is to work in an academic library as a library technologist, focusing on library websites, integrating technology into the library system, and developing technology related curriculum. 

Reflective Blog #7

"Should SMS be accepted as a new language and taught in schools?"

This blog will likely be a bit more concise than the others. In short, my answer is; no, it should not. 

SMS is not a different language. It is short hand. And at that, it is highly personalized. Very few people have the same way of texting. Different age groups have different styles. Different cultures have different styles. Different cliques have their own words and specialized emoticons. There is just no way to classify this as a real language.

Beyond this, it is also very trend oriented. Every few years it seems to change. Different programs, different hardware, different media influences, etc.

At some point SMS will no longer be a popular mode of communication and we will move on. And some time later that mode of communication will become outdated and something else will take over. 

So, no, I do not think that SMS should be taught in schools or considered a language. 

Reflective Blog #6

 "To what extent do relationships that are formed online and remain virtual differ from ones that are formed as a result of meeting in person?"

This is a very interesting question and one that I have a lot of experience with. The phenomenon of "internet friends" is in no way a new concept, and I would even go so far as to say it is one that is fading away. 

10+ years ago, well before "web 2.0" was a thing, the internet was a much more mysterious and experimental place. People were using web forums, online chat rooms, gaming, using IRC to chat, share files, and share a lot of not-quite-legal information with one-another, and online dating was still in development. The fact that people could connect with someone across the globe and talk about something they had in common was still exciting and new to many people. That glow, I fear, has faded. Today the ability to communicate with anyone, anywhere, any time is pretty much a given. Social media is the dominant way that we communicate with one another, and most of those people are within our circle of friends. 

This is not to say that people aren't meeting others online anymore. Forums are still active, online dating is huge, and chat rooms still exist. From my experience, however, it is just not the same. 

That being said, I feel that for many people "online friends" and "real life friends" are different for everyone. There are groups of people out there who consider their online friends to be true friends. Taking World of Warcraft as an example, the guilds people create often have very tight bonds and these people sometimes share every detail of their lives with one another. They become very close and in many ways may even be closer than their "real life friends". Some, however, form relationships with people in chat rooms and forums that are strictly professional, or just people that they chat with to have fun and may never think about them otherwise. 

In my own life, I have met many people online who later became my real life friends. I even met girls I dated through the internet when I was younger. Meeting someone through the internet was exciting because it meant you could talk to someone who lived an hour away that you may otherwise never meet in person and then connect in real life. One of my first girlfriends (a girl who lived 45 minutes from me) was met this way, and we still talk to this day even though she now lives across the country. 

I also have had a number of friendships that were maintained solely online through various message boards, games, and things of this nature. I never made that deep connection with these people like some do - it was always just chatting about whatever hobby or game we were interested in. I think that this type of friendship is pretty interesting because it is almost like a specialized friendship or even a business partnership. You serve a mutually beneficial, and quite specific, purpose to one another and that is what maintains your relationship. 

Ultimately I think what I said in the beginning - that this is different for everyone - is the real answer. It is all about how you think about people and how much you let them into your life. Either way, though, it is a very interesting topic and there are surely a million different opinions and likely a ton of research done on it. 

Network Tour

1. Describe, briefly, the overall network design strategy at Edgewood
2. What approach has been used when determining the specific technologies needed to expand the network to match the needs of the organization?
3. What types of technologies have been utilized to integrate the various facilities at Edgewood? 

4. Based on Joe's talk, what types of skills do you think are needed in order to work in the networking area of IT?

1. Joe talked about redundancy and fail safes a lot. He stressed how important it was to make sure the network was always up and if something did happen, the fact that they implemented systems to switch over the network traffic would save them. He also discussed how important their backup system was and the fact that it was updated every night and they even trade tapes between campuses to make sure there is a backup in case of a disaster.

2. It seems that it has all been an upgrade as you go kind of deal. As they have increased demand, they add capacity and work from there He mentioned they just upgraded their connection and are already maxing it out. It seems they are limited by budget, space, and time.

3. Standard cable Ethernet, fiber, and WiFi are all used throughout the campuses. Buildings and classrooms are hard wired, but the network is extended to mobile users through WiFi hotspots all over campus. Ot

4. It is obvious a deep knowledge of hardware, cabling, and the technology available is extremely important. Understanding basic networking theory, problem solving, patience, and solid pc troubleshooting skills are also likely needed. It would also seem that things like video surveillance and and understanding of telephone systems is important. A wide skill set is likely your best bet.