Blogging into the Sunset

As our class draws to a close, I've decided to spend a little time reflecting on my experience, lessons learned, and thoughts for the future.

At the start of class I didn't really know what to expect. I knew that the course had to do with technology and I was hoping to become a little bit wiser about how I can incorporate technology into my life, specifically how to include technology in my career as a public administrator. I knew that the class would help prepare me to use technology in a managerial role, but I didn't really know in what sense. In the last few weeks, I've come to acknowledge technology as an integral part of everyday life. In addition, through the blogs, wiki, the article readings, and class discussions I've come to think about technology in a new way.

The class gave me the opportunity to experiment using a blog. At first I was hesitant to post my thoughts for everyone to see, but I soon realized that others could hopefully benefit from reading my blog as much as I benefited from reading the blogs of the others in the class. The blogs were a great tool to organize individual thoughts and reactions in a way that is accessible to everyone. Often the thoughts of another member of the class would spark a new thought of my own.

In addition to my first-time use of a blog, this was the first time I was exposed to wiki technology. The idea of a site that anyone could edit is both new and innovative. Having a class wiki helped bring the class together on the web. We were able to view, edit, and link together our thoughts as a class. In addition to our class wiki, I was exposed to wiki technology as applied to the encyclopedia( i.e. Wikipedia). Mark Pelligrini helped to solidify the details of Wikipedia and put a face to an otherwise faceless web. One of the biggest issues emerging from Mark's talk was the question of who and what information to believe on the web. Does a 16 year old boy from New Jersey really know more about the British Monarchy than an expert who's work is published in an encyclopedia?

I found the readings in class also to be of interest, but of particular interest was the Carr reading "IT Doesn't Matter". The article introduced me to a completely new way of thinking about technology and helped me to jumpstarted my thinking about technology in general. I realized that technology in and of itself is not what's important, rather how it is implemented to further the goals of an organization is what is important. As public administrators our task will be how to effectively implement a new technology without risking time, money, and efficiency.

Overall I enjoyed the class. I have a new outlook on technology in general and how it impacts the world as well as my immediate surroundings. To quote John F. Kennedy-" We must strive to acquire knowledge-and to apply it with wisdom". I think this certainly applies to the realm of technology. In order to effectively implement and use technological tools we must first understand the ideas and principles behind that technology.

Communication using Technology

While reading some of the blogs today, it appears that some issues have come up regarding who did what and when with Wiki. I'd just like to point out, that although some people may be feeling frusturated and have different views than some others, we have all become successful in using new forms of technology to communicate. To me, the "drama" that is unfolding here just proves that we are a class of bright individuals who have in 5 short weeks become very good at using blogs and wikis to communicate. Although there has been a lot of trial and error, we have all been successful in learning and mastering a new technology. This is what the information technology class is about in the first place--thinking and using various forms of information technology for effective communication. So I'd like to give a shout out to the class and say job well done.

Calm After the Storm

I must admit that when I think back on final presentation day in IT class, I can't say that it makes me smile. I think that all the groups put forth lots of effort and succeeded in tackling a difficult project in a new subject area. However, in the case of my group (the senior home group) there seems to be ample room for improvement. Our major flaw seems to be that we made too many assumptions and left too many gaps unbridged. We assumed that we could effectively hire a software writer and create a technology to be implemented. While working on our project, we did indeed find a version of "Meditrak" technology in use in hospitals, but felt that we didn't just want to copy someone else, but rather implement our own innovative technology. What we failed to do is take into account that we have neither the know-how or expertise to do so. The quest for technological innovation is not an easy one and I'm proud to say that our group did not take the easy way out. We used our creative minds to envision a way to utilize technology to further the goals of our business. To be on the cutting edge, you have to think on the cutting edge (but remember your limitations). To quote Carr, "Just because we continue to see new innovations in IT does not mean that it pays to be a pioneer". For me, this has certianly served as a learning experience.

Gone to Wikipedia in my Mind

After the presentation by Mark Pellegrini I had a much better idea of what Wikipedia is and how it is used. However, the session left me with many questions which then led to other questions.

Firstly, I think the idea of Wikipedia is very innovative. An encyclopedia that anyone can edit gives all users the opportunity to share their knowledge on any subject almost instantanously with anyone in the world. For those who feel the desire to educate others, I can think of no better outlet than Wikipedia. However, an encyclopeida that anyone can edit brings both advantages and risks.

I'm sure there are many briliant people out there who are providing accurate information in their articles, but how do we really know what to beleive? Are any of these articles credible? According to Mark Pellegrini, they are indeed credible because a team of dedicated administrators (including himself) are hard at work making sure the information is accurate and that the site is not vandalized. But, are the Wikipedia administrators able to effectively monitor article content even though they are not themselves experts in the subject field? How do the administrators know what articles give false information? This problem is supposedly also taken care of by a multitude of Wikipedia users who monitor the site and make any needed edits so that in a sense Wikipedia effectively corrects and updates itself. Could the idea of Wikipedia somehow turn into a sort of Epic?
Here's another question..so why does Wikipedia need administrators in the first place? If enough people out there beleive themselves to be qualified enough to correct or make any additons or edits to articles, then why not just let them self-regulate?


Throughout our education we are taught to treat experts as an authority. How do we know if any of the contributors are an authority on anything? Lets compare publishing an article on Wikipeida to publishing an article in a book or written encyclopedia. Presumably in the paper copy of an encyclopedia the source is an expert who is paid to provide accurate information and the article has undergone scrupulous review by an editorial staff. Not the case with Wikipedia. Here no one is paid and virtually anyone can say anything. Mark used the example of the writer who wrote mainly on the topic of British monarchy. Mark mentioned that he was one of the best writers on the site and one who had written the most feature articles. What Mark later told us was that the writer was a 16 year old kid from New Jersey. Now lets face it...how much could a 16 year old kid from NJ know about the British monarchy anyway. The extent of his knowledge probably stems from what he's read in books. So couldnt we find the same information in the regular encyclopedia? Why should I give credit to the 16 year old's article when there are plenty of experts out there who have studied the subject for years? Could this boy possibly bring any new information to the subject?

Overall, I think the idea behind Wikipedia is a creative one. My exposure to Wikipedia has certainly changed my outlook on the source and conveyance of information. Perhaps in time, Wikipedia will evolve as be widely accepted as the encyclopedia of the future!

Tech jargon

I got sick of the old template, so I decided to switch it up a little.
Anyway...I'm glad that I was able to read a little bit about IT vocabulary. Just like any area, technology has its own jargon. In order to be an effective user and communicator of technology, using the correct vocabulary is essential. However, I wouldn't complain if the use of accronyms could be kept to a minimum. thanks.

Relaxing summer reminder

Dear Diary

In class we spoke about how adults as well as young children use blogs as online diaries. Instead of keeping secrets locked up in little books, they are now publishing them in blogs for the entire world to see. If everyone knows everything about everyone else's business, does that mean that there are no secrets anymore? Where is the mystery?
However, recently I was astounded becasue due to the ramblings of someone out there on the internet, I have been able to solve a little mystery of my own. To me, this serves as a true example of how new technology has given me answers that have come from the past...allow me to explain. Well, it just so happens that this summer I spent a little time trying to piece together some of my family history and came across an old picture of a relative that had been passed down through the generations. Included with the picture of the old relative is his name, years of birth and death, and his profession. Other than that information, I had no idea of who he was or how we were related. About a week ago, I was doing a little research and came across this website where a man published information about his family history. To my astonishment the website listed the name, birth year, profession, and relatives of the man in my picture! So as a result of the IT of today, I was able to pull together the peices of the past. And when I say past, I mean PAST since the relative in question lived from 1589-1651.
My next challenge is to build up enough courage to e-mail the guy who created the site and let him know that we are distant-distant relatives (cousins actually).

IT in Education

Throughout my education, technology has played an important role. In fact, my education would not have been as comprehensive if it were not for technology both in the classroom and in the library. I dont even know if I can recall my first encounter with a computer, but I'd bet it was early in elementry school. I recall playing simple computer games on a screen that now would seem completely ancient. Next came simple word processing in which I used a version of WordPerfect to compose small paragraphs. I continued to use computers for writing papers through middle school. In high school a graduation requirement was to take a computer class. Not wanting to be too bogged down by a requirement, I chose to take a typing class. To my surprise and to this day, I can not imagine what I would do if I had not aquired the skills taughed in this class. It took some work, but my fingers eventually learned to to navigate the keyboard by themselves. Learning to be an efficient typist has helped me everyday since then. Later in college, I used my typing skills to save time when writing long papers. However, it was not until college that I really started to use the internet for research. With so much information available on the web, the majority of my research was conducted on the internet including library sites. Presently, I'm still in the process of honing my technology skills and this process will continue throughout my lifetime as advances are made and new technologies emerge.
Its strange to reflect on how much technology has progressed even in my lifetime. From simple computer games to worries about viruses, spam, and privacy, technology has indeed impacted most every aspect of my education.

IT Doesn't Matter

So, the more money spent on IT and the more IT accumulated ultimately leads to the continued success of any company right? Wrong. After reading Carr's article my outlook on the function of IT has changed. I used to think that any piece of technology could only benefit a company by increasing its overall efficiency and productivity whereby leading to increased profits. While this may be true, it only gives a company a competitive advantage for a short time and carries certain risks along with dependence on a technology that may fail.
Its easy to forget that technology is only a tool and that it is the innovation behind it and the speed at which it is implemented that is most valuable.
Now when I think about technology I'll think about its value not so much in terms of price, but in terms of its "innovativeness".

Getting Started

This is my first official blog. I honestly don't know very much about computers and how to use them, but I'm sure that after the completion of this class I'll be able to not only be a confident user of technology but wow my friends and family with my IT know-how. Here goes....