Julie Byrd

Women Working In Technology

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:06:38 -0500

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!

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:49:49 -0500

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!

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:58:28 -0500

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.....

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

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 11:22:55 -0500

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.

Another WEB 2.0 Feature – Social Bookmarking

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:06:49 -0500

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.

This was meant for Thanksgiving Day

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:44:16 -0500

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

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:02:25 -0500

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.

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:00:49 -0500

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.

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

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 08:13:28 -0500

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.

Technical Polymaths

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:53:49 -0500

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?

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:02:35 -0500

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....

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

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 09:08:55 -0500

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

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 06:58:36 -0500

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

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:25:16 -0500

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!