My Journey Through CSMN 601

I first want to thank Les for being a great professor. He really made things less stressful for me being as though this is my first semester as a graduate student. I have learned a lot of things through out this course. The things that I have learned are things that can be used in the real world; while I am at work, or just in general conversation.

I liked the way Les split up our weekly assignments. Each week we reviewed a different chapter. I feel that my money was not wasted on my text book due to the fact we reviewed each and every chapter. I had a chance to experience collaborative learning, through a study group which was a great experience. At first I was pretty nervous because it was online but I remained a soldier and fought through it. The current events were a great assignment during this semester. Everyone had a chance to keep up with current IT articles, and see innovative ideas that will be launched in the next few years.

I really enjoyed this course. I think the professor sets the tone for the class. Les was always on time with things, answered questions in a timely matter, and helped you as best as he could. I pray I run into more professors like him, it will certainly make my academic career as a graduate student much smoother.

Another cool assignment we had every week were mini projects. Some of these projects required us to analyze websites, create diagrams, and search databases. I really enjoyed these assignments because they required critical ticking. We had a chance to explore web sites that we may have never thought of. Like the one that showed the purity of water in your neighborhood and the amount of pollution in it.

I now have knowledge of wiki. I think wiki is great for collaborating documents and makes a group project easier. Although I had problems adjusting to wiki in the end I figured it out. I think having a blog was a very creative idea Les came up with. By having a blog allowed us to share out experiences throughout the class. It allowed us to reflect on weekly assignments and express our feelings about them. I would consider this a academic journal which is great to have.

In this class I had a chance to meet some very intelligent people. I wish everyone success throughout other semesters to come. Everyone have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Week 15

I must admit this week was really hectic. Between work, school work, Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, and more school work I have been completely overwhelmed. Two weeks ago I created a things to do list for some sort of organization. Everything was going okay but of course I was delayed. Despite of all the minor difficulties I have survived "I'm A Survivor". I stayed determined. I am so very close to the finish line I can almost taste it. I have my final exam to submit and I will be officially done for the semester.

This week was interesting because we had to read a article. This article was very interesting becuase it gives you insite on different aspects of IT. It broke down strategies that can be used in IT to make a business more marketable, to save cost, and reduce risk. I found a cool current event article that entails the designing of space suit. In a few years the Bahamas and Las Vegas will be over rated. People will begin to take trips to space.

OH gracious how could I forget. I submitted my Individual Research Paper this week. This paper was very interesting and I learned alot through the development of it. My paper was on Hacking Techniques that Threaten National Security. I found some very substantial resources that aided the development of my paper significantly.

The group project was finally graded, because I am so hard on my self I would of preferred a higher grade but I was graded on the effort that was put forth. Now all I can do is be better prepared as a team member for future study groups and at work.

Adios Week 15..........

Week 14

Week 14 was great....it was kind of intense because the group project was due but we were warriors and fought through it. I learned a lot of information from reading Chapter 14, it was very interesting. I gained knowledge on different laws that have been passed that assist in protecting us in our everyday lives.

The end is sooo close I can see the finish line. It was a great experience doing the group project. All of my team members were great and very helpful. We all provided constructive opinions on one another's work and everyone took the opinions in consideration. I hope that any future group projects I have to participate in go as smooth as this on did. "First Byte" definitely rocks. Thanks guys it was great!.

Now onto this wonderful research paper....another important assignment to tackle. "I Can Do It", "I Can Do It"....Okay that was a pep talk for my self now onto Week 15!

Week 13....and still goooooing

This week went pretty smoothe...I enjoyed reading Chapter 13, and was really excited to gain knowledge on offshore outsourcing. I found this topic to be very interesting, as a result it opens your eyes to how things work in developed nations and proves the saying "Money Makes the World Go Round". I enjoyed doing the mini-project, although I review job requirements everyday due to the fact I am in search for a new position. I think me and Wiki are starting to get along better than before, thank goodness.

My group "First Byte" fell a little behind our initial schedule but we are putting all of the pieces together so we can have a successful project. One good thing about us falling behind schedule is that everyone is taking their position in the team more serious. We communicated at first but now we communicate daily, making sure everyone is doing their part. Our team leader Jill is great, she stays on top of things really well. We have been using Wiki to collaborate our notes and things were a little shakey for me at first but I didn't give up and found out how to maneuver through Wiki. I may be able to teach a Wiki class after this semester!

Well the end is approaching quickly, due dates and all. Until next time!

Week 12

Hello to all...

I want to first start off by saying I hope that everyone had a great and Happy Thanksgiving holiday. As for me it was wonderful, it is always a pleasure to be surrouned by family and having the chance to be with family you don't see everyday. I had a great time and also loved being away from my job :~).

On a educational aspect. I read Chapter 12 and got a understanding of the different ways to develop and organize systems in a business. I have knowledge on strategies to use when a busienss is deciding the best programming application. For the discussion questions I responded to the discussion question in reference to extreme programming and apply SDLC to a group of web developers. I found both of these discussion questions very interesting. I thought extreme programming would be successful if a manager is particular about the team members they choose. For SDLC I do thin it is very important for it to be applied for a group of web developers because it adds structure and is almost like a outline. This will help prevent errors and will help programmers to modify the program later on with out error.

I feel like I am really learning a lot being in this class, I really enjoy it. I catch my self talking about this class to my friends and family a lot. I have even motivated some one to apply on-line schooling.

It is almost time for the group project to be due. This week I plan to turn in all of my required task. At the blink of an eye this course will be over. The year is almost complete. Time sure does fly when your having fun.

Week 11

Week 11...it seems like it is gone with the wind. This week I read Chapter 11 in our text. This chapter reviewed several business strategies. I enjoyed this chapter because it gave incite on some of the strategies businesses today use to become successful. It went over how IT can be used to improve your business. I found this very interesting.

I love shopping and was very excited to find the website Like.com for the mini-project that asked for us to describe a new innovative business and their strategy. At first I had no idea of a new business I could describe. It took me over a hour to do this. I was telling my self "darn I should not have waited until Sunday to do this". In the end I finally found something I found interesting and may be able to use someday.

Well Turkey time is arriving.....This will be a short work week for me, so I look forward to it. Onto Week 12 I go....Until Next Time :~)

Week 10

On week 10 we discussed data warehousing. I found this topic very interesting because a business has to spend alot of time and money on deciding on the best systems for their business. Chapter 10 was very informative and I gained alot of knowledge from it.

I found the mini-project very interesting. Some of the search results from the site was very amazing. I enjoyed that project although I think I could of done better. The rest of the semester seems like it is flying by.

Week 9....

This week was great! The class had the opportunity to explore WiKi space. This site was very interesting, it is a great way to collaborate information. We discussed team work this week, which is very important if a company wants to be successful. We discussed different technologies and tools that assist in team work. Technologies that allow team members to communicate and share data from different locations and states. I found this chapter very interesting.

I lood forward to moving on to Week 10...The Redskins won today...what an exciting game they broke the tie. Basketball season is in effect so get ready for the Wizards everyone.

Well until next time...everyone have a great week!

Week 8......

This week was very interesting. The class got a chance to become more familiar with their creativity skills by having to come up with a e-business that has not been used before. I thought this project was very unique and it gave me a chance to think outside the box. I really had to brainstorm and search the web to be sure there was not a similar web site. I thought this was really fun...

I answered to the discussion question about how to promote a website, right now it seems the best way to do this is through search engines, ads, and commercials, bascially good marketing strategies. I also responded to the question on sales taxes on the internet. I think that question required some thought as well. Chapter 8 was very informative.

As for the group project it is coming along, I have to keep reminding myself about it because I can easily get caught up in all of my other course work and forget about it and I don't want to do that because I believe in TEAM work. I think this week was great. The semester is really flyyyyyying byyyyy...... I feel like I am really obtaining alot of information which is great. I love to learn :)

Well on to WEEK 9........wish me luck!