Julie Byrd

Women Working In Technology

2008-04-15T03:06:38Z

Wow! What a great networking opportunity we had today at the Women Working in Technology conference. I personally would like to thank the planning team for putting this together! It was a great time for us to get together as women (and a few men!) and talk about women's roles, mentoring and working with hectic schedules! The platform using panelists, made the conference really come together! Everyone had the opportunity to ask questions and have fun. Thanks Kirsten for your leadership and this experience!

642 will be quite the experience - let's get the most out of it!

2008-01-09T17:49:49Z

Our 642 class is going to be exciting this year. What other class has the expertise of three extremely qualified professors. If we look at their industry experience alone, we will find so much valuable expert knowledge to pull from. I hope all of my colleagues realize exactly what we have at hand this semester with this class. I am an instructor at a community college and I am always trying to get my students to understand one thing…..it is the professor’s job to present the material, it is the students job to learn it! I want to encourage all of you to use appropriate time management to get the most out of 642. Do the reading – not just the books! The trade magazines, web pages and newspapers contain the information we need to add value to this class. Good luck and I am looking forward to our class, group and individual work that we will encounter throughout this semester! Here is the link to the free electronic version of the New York Times! Happy reading!

Oh yes there are women in CIO positions!

2007-12-08T18:58:28Z

Many studies have shown that IT is a male dominated field. The studies have proven that it is difficult for women to climb the IT corporate ladder. However, it doesn't mean it hasn't been done! Check this out...CISCO CIO - WOMAN! Rebecca Jacoby. But wait there's so many more.....

]]> Toyota - CIO - Barbara Cooper
Allstate - CTO - Catherine Brune
IBM - VP of Buisness Processes - Jeanette Horan
Cardinal Health Systems - Jody Davids
Lockheed Martin - Exec VP of Information Systems - Linda Gooden
Target - CIO - Janet Schalk
Dell, Inc. - CIO Susan Sheskey (recently resigned)
Johnson & Johnson - CIO - LaVerne Council
Sears - CIO - Karen Ausin
Motorola - CIO - Patricia Morrison
Ingram Micro - CIO - Karen Salem

As you can see....women are breaking through the glass ceiling! We just need to continually attract younger women to this field. Check out this site to read more about them....Successful IT Women.

The B-I-B-L-E…yes that’s the book for me….

2007-12-07T16:22:55Z

You sang it didn’t you?
When Guttenberg invented the printing press, why do you think he chose the Bible as the first book to be printed? Maybe it was because it was the most important form of literature to people at that time. How the Bible was actually hand written and preserved before actual printing is very interesting.

]]> Read this “The Pre-Reformation History of the Bible” to understand more about the Bible BEFORE Guttenberg’s printing. What does the Bible teach us about communication? I find many things that help me to better understand my fellow man and how I should treat them. Most of you know the saying “Treat others the way you want to be treated”, this is a Bible verse (Matthew 7:12). I often see people get confused with this saying. They think that how others treat us is how we should treat them. Not true. We need to treat others how WE want to be treated. We need to remember this in all areas of our life, personal and professional. How do you want to be treated? With respect? With truth? With professionalism? With love? Then you need to treat others with respect, you need to tell the truth, you need to be professional, you need to love. It’s simple. The Bible is full of perfect instructions on how we should live as a human being. Let me leave you with one more bible verse:
2 Corinthians 4:17 - 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Another WEB 2.0 Feature – Social Bookmarking

2007-12-01T21:06:49Z

It truly is interesting to see how different uses of the internet rise so quickly and are put to use in various ways. For instance, Youtube is used by a wide range of audiences, from young kids posting a video about tripping over backpacks to people using it to post “how-to’s” for training. Social bookmarking use has also been on the rise.

]]> Social bookmarking is a new way of keeping the web sites that are important to you organized. Yet with this type of bookmarking, it doesn’t restrain you to one computer’s list of Favorites in Internet Explorer. Because the bookmarks and tags are stored on a server, it allows you to continue to bookmark web sites from any computer you are using. With each web site that you choose to store, you can provide descriptive tags. Using tags allow you to access the sites that you have bookmarked by the use of the tag. For instance, if you bookmarked OnlineBible.com, you could use tags such as bible, scripture and Jesus. I could store other Christian web sites and apply the same tags so when I searched my stored web sites using “bible” those sites with that tag would be listed. The other benefit to social bookmarking is that you can allow others to see your list of web sites as well. They can search the sites that you have bookmarked using the tags also. A widely used social bookmarking web site is http://del.icio.us.com. To better understand social bookmarking, follow this link – Understanding Social Bookmarking. Social bookmarking has allowed us to stay better organized on the Internet. After all there are 80 billion web sites to review!

This was meant for Thanksgiving Day

2007-12-01T20:44:16Z

I apologize for the late posting…the problems with the Blog site prevented this from being posted on Thanksgiving Day…here it is anyways!
Our Day to be Thankful…..
Here I am, like many mothers, up before dawn on Thanksgiving Day. Most mothers are stuffing the turkey, peeling potatoes, and getting the stuffing ready. This year, my Thanksgiving is different. I am thankful that my family understands that this year, as a graduate student, all of my spare time is valuable. So, we all decided to wait until tonight to gather together, to watch football and eat snacks! Yes…I will use my Thanksgiving Day to work on homework and projects and be thankful that I am going to graduate in May with an award winning degree from Ball State University. I hope all of my colleagues in this program have many things to be thankful for. I hope our international students are gathering together today so they won’t miss their families back home. I hope most of all that during this holiday season, we all look around us and find a way to help someone in need. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Very Cool Video for Web 2.0

2007-11-19T02:02:25Z

Go see this to help you understand Web 2.0.
It is very cool! The Machine is Using/Us.

Web 2.0 – Using the Web our way.

2007-11-18T23:00:49Z

Everyone understands that each day new technologies are discovered. Technology continues to evolve in all areas. The Web is no different. Web 2.0 is about companies creating a better experience using the Web, newer technologies that create the better experience and some believe that it is about how the Web should be used to respect the people using it.

]]> 1. Companies such as Google are defining their own destiny by developing their own business models. They create new technologies that will benefit the millions of people using the Web. Google is considered a Web 2.0 company. Google Maps and Google Earth are considered Web 2.0 applications because they use Asynchronous JavaScript. Google doesn’t stop there. Google provides news, images, gmail, video, calendars, groups and much more. Google is trying to meet all needs of all users.

2. Another aspect of Web 2.0 is AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). Web applications weren’t as user-friendly as desktop applications, but AJAX is has changed that. Web apps are becoming better, faster, and more reliable. AJAX isn’t a programming language; it is a new way to use the existing standards. AJAX requests small bits of information from a Web server rather than requesting the whole Web page. Using this technology will create a better experience for the user accessing a specific Web site.

3. Finally, it is about us, the users of the Web. Because of blogs we are able to create and publish information without editing. We are able to use social networking, social bookmarking, and real time syndication. We are able to dictate to a Web site what information we want to provide, not just what information they want to gather. The Web has quickly become something where we the people will determine how we will use it to best suit our needs. Companies who learn that will thrive, companies who don’t will weaken their ability to thrive in the electronic world.
I wanted to share this Youtube video about Web 2.0. I thought it was pretty cool, but most of all I liked the quote “Web 2.0 is linking people…people sharing, trading, and collaborating...”.
Check it out at The Machine is Us/ing Us.

Reading Glasses – A must for someone in their 40’s!

2007-11-18T13:13:28Z

Recently, I discovered how much clearer I could read by purchasing a pair of $10 reading glasses at Walmart. I began to think about how glasses probably affected people in the Renaissance period. How did eyeglasses help in contributing to the Information Renaissance? I decided to research the history of “spectacles” as they were called in 1284.

]]> The first vision aid was actually invented around 1000AD, it was a reading stone. This was a glass sphere that they laid upon the material to be read to magnify the letters. The reading stone was a magnifying glass. The credit for actual “eyeglasses” is unclear. Consistent information in research shows that most agree that eyeglasses were invented in the 1200’s but credit is actually given to more than one individual. One thing for certain is that people in Italy are given the recognition for the invention. I think everyone should keep in mind that although Guttenberg invented the printing press during the Renaissance, people were reading hand written material long before that! Here is one more interesting tidbit….Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals. I am truly amazed at what this individual was able to invent. He was always thinking! Wouldn’t it be a true statement to believe that eyeglasses contributed to the increase of reading? After all….that’s why they were invented.

Technical Polymaths

2007-11-14T12:53:49Z

It is always interesting to revisit the history of where computing originated. People don’t normally think of the abacus as the first “computer”, yet most research documents begin there. Just because it wasn’t electrical doesn’t mean it should be excluded in the area of computing! The polymath’s of this time include the following names: John Napier (Napier’s Bones), William Oughtred (Slide Rule), and none other than Leonardo da Vinci. An article titled “A Brief History of Mechanical Calculators – The Age of the Polymath”, gives da Vinci credit for the first attempt at designing a calculating machine. He is referred to as “a master of machine artifacts”. Here is the article that will remind you of where computing started, find it at computing history.

Do you want to be a Polymath?

2007-11-10T02:02:35Z

A polymath is someone who has a broad knowledge in a wide variety of subjects. Recognizable Polymath’s in the Renaissance era would be Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, and Sir Isaac Newton. Da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, biologist, geologist, physicist, architect, philosopher, and humanist. As you can see, da Vinci was a true polymath. A secondary meaning of Polymath is “Renaissance Man”. As I researched polymaths, I discovered a very interesting article “Polymath: A Renassisance Man” at http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/Polymath.html. This article stated that a Renaissance man should....

]]> • Be able to defend himself with a variety of weapons, especially the sword.
• Be able to play several musical instruments.
• Be able to paint and output other works of art.
• Be forever interested in advancing knowledge and science.
• Be able to engage in debates regarding issues such as philosophy and ethics.
• Be a skilled author and poet.

In one of Dr. Gillette’s blogs regarding the Information Renaissance, he addresses The Book of the Courtyer. This book was written by Baldassare Castiglione in 1528. This was the first book that addresses how to be a well-rounded person. When discussing polymaths, most people refer to this book. Of course, a polymath isn’t necessarily a man. Hildegard of Bingen was a woman of the Renaissance that was considered a polymath. She was a German abbess, artist, author, counselor, linguist, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, activist, visionary, and composer. She was actually credited with the origin of opera.

How do we develop a broad knowledge in many subjects? The internet article stated,
“Read magazines. Read books. Read (quality) newspapers. Look for connections, form your own opinions. It's the connections that are really important - many people may have the knowledge, but the connections are your own. They are the work of creation. Seek out those who seem wise and knowledgeable, but don't leave your critical faculties (nor your cynicism) at home.
Something common to all polymaths is a refusal to be conveniently pigeon holed. It's tempting, after achieving in one field, to either continue in that field, and invest time and energy in becoming better and better at something you're already good at, particularly as that's what people will expect you to do. Follow your interests - even if they seem to be leading in bizarre and even contradictory directions!”
Do you want to be a polymath? Do you know someone you would consider to be a polymath? It is up to us to become that well-rounded person….I think we all are working on it considering the challenges given us in this particular Master’s program. We certainly have the expertise of quality professor’s to learn from!

European Renaissance – It’s interesting – Just read about it!

2007-11-03T14:08:55Z

Ahhhh….The European Renaissance…..an age in history that the younger generation doesn’t even relate to! I recently took a poll to see if my current students (I am an instructor) knew what the European Renaissance meant to our history. I wasn’t shocked to find that out of 35 students, only 6 knew anything about that time period. As I read the history of the European Renaissance, I am enlightened to see the advancements for women. Catherine de Medici is one woman who was lucky enough to be involved in many areas that allowed her to grow intellectually. She had great interest in architecture. She actually oversaw the building of a new wing at the Louvre Museum as well as the construction of the Tuilleries Gardens and the Chateau Monceau. One interesting fact about her relates to one of her sons who became King of France at the age of 10. Because of his age, Catherine was the King’s regent, which enabled her to be the Queen Regent. She was in charge of France! History of the European Renaissance has very interesting characters….but you have to read about them to appreciate them!

The Renaissance – A Breakthrough for Women

2007-11-02T11:58:36Z

The Renaissance period forged a path of new communication for women. In earlier centuries, research documentation denotes that when girls were born, parents would try to pass them off as boys so they would not be killed. Having a son was the gender of choice. Women weren’t intellectually as important as men. Although there are many accounts of women accomplishments in earlier centuries, they had to pass their work off as if it were completed by the male gender. The Renaissance period allowed women to be seen differently. At this time, a renaissance woman was usually a person who was loyal to her husband and gave birth to sons; however, they began to develop more traits of a Renaissance man. Women became educated in the arts and sciences. The first lady of the Renaissance was Isabella d'Este who was born in 1474. Her ability to speak various languages, play musical instruments and ability to debate a variety of topics allowed her to become a very wise woman in her day. It should be noted that her father was an advocate of equality for men and women! At the age of sixteen, Isabella married Francesco Gonzaga. She then became the Marchioness of Mantua because Francesco was the Prince. He eventually died and she became the ruler of Mantua. What a breakthrough for women! Because of her advocacy for women, she helped to provide the way for women to break away from the traditional role for them at that time.

Human Communications

2007-10-13T20:25:16Z

The study of Human Communications is vast and provides theories from many people. Many times we see that the definition of "communication" typically has to do with a source/channel/receiver. In regards to human communications, I would like to speak about interpersonal communications and how the receiver should be mindful of the art of listening. It seems in today's society that everyone is in a hurry for everything. From being annoyed because our computers operate too slowly to waiting in line for that Big Mac, people are constantly rushing from one thing to the next. The art of listening is a part of human communications. We allow ourselves to become so busy that we don't hear the "sender" speaking to us. Have you ever been thinking about something else when someone is talking to you? We are missing out on valuable information that is trying to be related to us because our lives have gotten so frantically busy! I'm guilty. If people don't "get to the point" I find myself thinking about other things I need to be doing. I have seen it many times and have often confronted the person I am speaking with to make sure they are "listening" to what I am trying to convey. Let's slow down and practice the art of listening (I have!)....it's part of the human communication process and we may find a better relationship with co-workers, spouses, friends, and family members when we actually try to listen and understand what is being "transmitted" to us!