A Point Of Thought

What is your ideal position and how do you measure success

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:12:00 PST

What is your ideal position and how do you measure success

Definition of Chief Information Officer in Higher Education

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 05:40:00 PST

{EAV:b3d5cbbd53eacff8}

Over the last couple of weeks I have been working with a client of mine, to define a new job position of Chief Information Officer at their college. In my initial conversations with the college administrators it quickly dawned on me that they had no idea what a chief information officer was or even did. So I began to lay out the major differences between a Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Technology.

Duties and responsibilities of a Chief Information Officer, is to have a total understanding of the mission of the college or university and facilitate the technology needs to meet the spoken and unspoken goals of the organization... To have an overall grasp of all upcoming and new technologies that will affect teaching and learning as well as day-to-day business at the college or university. To assist in the transfer of information between the University or College and all major stakeholders I.E. (public-relations, library, television, radio and technology) To have the ability to plan and prioritize A strong strategic plan for long-term stability and data integrity of all of the University or College's information. To have a total understanding of all federal state and local regulations and laws that affects the flow of information at their organization. To facilitate the implementation of technology that will help move the college or university forward to meet all of their necessary technological needs.
Duties and responsibilities of a Chief Technology Officer is to have a overall grasp of all upcoming and new technologies that will affect teaching and learning as well as day-to-day business at the college or university, To implement a strategic plan for long-term stability and data integrity of all of the University or College's information. To have a understanding of all federal state and local regulations and laws that affect the flow of information at their organization. To facilitate the implementation of technology that will help move the college or university forward to meet all of the necessary technological needs. To have the ability to translate technical matters into simple speak. To have A strong understanding of the time it takes to implement new and emerging technologies. To have the ability to understand upcoming technologies and be able to tell the difference between fads and IT trends.
Duties and responsibilities Director of Technology day-to-day information technology operations, Planning and implementing strong IT infrastructure, Assisting in budgeting and IT purchases of equipment, Planning and implementing information technology equipment rotation schedules servers, desktops, laptops, switches and all other hardware. Insuring customer service to all constituents, Assist in planning with overall strategic plans and goals, so that the information technology can meet the overall University goals, assisting in implementing new technologies for teaching and learning and administration.
Please find a standard matrix below that I use to help organizations to hire the right person, score between 40 and 60 you are looking for a Chief Information Officer, if the score is between 20 and 39 you are looking for a Chief Technology Officer if the score is less than 19 you need a Director of Technology. Please give each box a rating on a scale of 1 to 3.

(1) Needs some understanding
(2) With some experience
(3) Expertise

	Ability to motivate information technology staff
	Ability to run day-to-day information technology operation in a stable environment
	financial planning and budgeting
	The ability to build collaborations throughout the organization
	The ability to implement a long-range strategic plan
	The ability to keep up with new and emerging technologies
	The ability to secure outside funding sources and grants for information technology initiatives
	The ability to translate technical matters into simple speak
	The ability to work with administrators
	The ability to work with faculty
	Understanding of all federal state and local information laws
	Understanding of all information technology trends in higher education
	Understanding of customer service and customer service models
	Understanding of how technology affects day-to-day operations in a educational institution
	Understanding of information technology governance
	Understanding of library science
	Understanding of pedagogy
	Understanding of public relations and communications
	Understanding of research computing
	Understanding of The University or College missions and goals

Information-Technology Decision Matrix for Higher Education

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:09:00 PST

1. Does it align with the organization’s strategic plan?
a. Alignment with organization’s strategic goals will always be the most unclear part of the decision-making process. Goals breakdown to three distinct parts:

i. Written strategic planning goals
Strategic and written plans are the easiest to identify simply because they are the goals that are discussed the most and have very clear vision. The major mistake most technology professionals make here is trying to adapt their personal needs to fit into the overall organization strategic plan by wordsmithing goals. Giving an honest assessment one has to ask does this new technology truly advance my organization in the direction it's trying to move.

ii. Unspoken goals and plans
The unspoken goals is one of the more difficult ones to identify i.e. during bad budget years nobody will say we need to cut costs but it is a major concern in the back of everyone’s mind. During administration transition years most administrators will be extremely cautious when making any major decisions until they have a clear view of the direction of the new administration. This is something that is never spoken aloud but something an experienced information technology professional must be aware of.

iii. Ego and self motivation of those requesting the technology.
The last and the most difficult to identify is the request for certain software or procedures driven by personal ego and personal gain. if administrators and information-technology managers would take a moment to ask the real questions without any ego involved and truly evaluate the real effectiveness or need of the request Does it help educate the students, does it improve the administration functions, does it enhance teaching and learning or does it help retention and recruitment. But as we see many people just think about what will make their life easier or what will help their career get to the next level.

2. Is it legal, will it break any state and federal laws?
This should be the simplest question to answer Does it break any federal laws or state laws

3. Will any press be involved in making this decision?
a. Must judge all press both negative and positive?
b. Will it have a positive impact in the media or a negative impact on the institution as a whole?

4. Proceed with cost analysis and resource analysis for projectMust have a realistic view of total cost, short and long-term, how much the project cost to implement, how many resources you will need to implement. What are the long-term overall costs, recurring equipment costs and recurring personnel costs.

5. Securing necessary funding and resources to complete projectCan you secure commitment for funding for both short-term and long-term costs of equipment and personnel? YES/NO

As an information-technology professional in higher education it is not always about what is technologically sound. Sometimes it is truly a question of what is best for the organization as a whole and as long as you have a clear understanding of the long-term effect of any project and are able to explain it to everyone involved, you will be doing a true justice to your organization. The most important factor is that it is not a win lose situation for a technology professional. It is a situation that has nothing to do with ego, but more to do with the long-term effectiveness of your organization as a whole.

RE; Strategic Partnerships

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:35:00 PST

Ronald K. Machtley, President

What three things should any CIO know about leading an institution?

Leading an institution requires creating an environment in which a complex organization can function effectively and then empowering the institution to become the best in its class. The CIO should know there are three essential elements for leadership. First, there is no substitute for sound strategic planning. It is an absolute prerequisite for success. An institution's strategic plan must be well-defined, must be understood by the entire organization, and must have comprehensive ownership throughout the organization.

http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume45/StrategicPartnerships/218704

How To Grow A Leader

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:11:00 PDT

http://www.cinchcast.com/dyslexicinamerica/a-point-of-thought/99678

Leadership is A Privilege and an Honor

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:18:00 PDT

Leadership is a privilege and an honor, but it is also a tremendous responsibility. My philosophy of leadership is one of collaboration and teamwork in which members of a team can utilize one another’s strengths to counter individual weaknesses. A leader is someone who listens well, can effectively motivate and inspire as well as provide a team with thoughtful vision and strategic direction. A leader is one who leads by example and empowers his/her followers. A leader deeply understands the needs of the people he/she leads and thoughtfully considers his/her actions and their impact on his/her followers.

The greatest leaders know their limitations and are adept at leveraging their strengths and the strengths of others to compensate.

"Leadership must be based on goodwill. Goodwill does not mean posturing and, least of all, pandering to the mob. It means obvious and wholehearted commitment to helping followers. We are tired of leaders we fear, tired of leaders we love, and of tired of leaders who let us take liberties with them. What we need for leaders are men of the heart who are so helpful that they, in effect, do away with the need of their jobs. But leaders like that are never out of a job, never out of followers. Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away."

— Admiral James B. Stockdale

Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.”

__General Colin Powell

The True State Of Data Integrity at Colleges and Universities

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:10:00 PDT

What is the true state of the data integrity? What do you and your organization base your decisions on? The other day, while working, a request came across for a relatively routine report that asked this basic question, How many tenured faculty members are at the University, what is their course load and when did they become tenured? This set off a massive chain reaction of 4 different departments at the University scrambling to come up with this basic information request. I began to research what we needed to do to fill this request. It became apparent to me that the data was located in several different locations. The course load was located in the administration system SunGard Banner. Tenured faculty dates were located in an access database on someone’s desktop in HR, which included a few custom reports written by the person who set up the database 8 years ago. The majority of the data in this access database was out of date. After determining the location of the data, we requested that human resource send a copy of their database over two institutional research. Institutional research began by extracting the data of tenured faculty and the dates that they receive tenure. At this point they sent the data back to the information technology office, which in turn ran a report using faculty ID’s to take out the exact course load. At this point we sent the report back to the personnel division of human resources for cleanup. After human resources cleaned up the report they sent the report to the Office of the Provost where the Provost himself had to spend several hours deleting faculty that have retire or have not worked at the University in many years.

What is the true state of the data that you use to base your organization's decisions? An organization spends millions of dollars and hundreds of man-hours if not thousands of man-hours entering data into multiple systems spread around a campus. We never spend any true time or money on data verification or data integrity until a report is needed. It is not until then that we realize how fragmented and unreliable the data real is. It is upon the strength of this data, which is found to have an 85% accuracy rate or less, that we will make decisions that affect academic careers and spend millions of dollars in capital. We must seriously consider, as an organization, implementing massive data control and data integrity standards. Common sense? Perhaps. We must take a step back and look at all of the internal obstacles to a culture shift in which data integrity is paramount.

1) There must be within organization’s infrastructure someone empowered to verify all data and to request corrections. "When a organization find something like diversity which becomes a primary focus you must put somebody in charge who's job depends upon the outcome" (Jack Welsh)

2) Strong data standards must be implemented and compliance to those standards must be demanded.

http://apointofthought.blogspot.com/2009/09/outline-electronic-standards-for-data.html

3) Reviews all of business processes must be performed periodically to ensure all data is entered correctly in timely.

4) The most difficult step in this process is building a consensus among all individual organizations at a college or university that use data. Most individual departments will oppose an outside source reviewing all of the data that they enter into the system.

5) The most impossible step of all is to come to a common consensus that a central database for all information must be maintained or integrated into departments. (this means you must get rid of all of your shadow databases in your Excel spreadsheets)

How many of you would buy a new car if the salesman told you he was only 85% sure it would run? How many of us would pay for a seat on a flight if we were told that there was 85% chance we would get to the other side? How many of us would have an operation if we were told there was only 85% chance we would wake up? How many of you would buy a $.99 toy for your child if you were told there was only at 85% chance that it was safe? As institutions of higher education we are willing to make decisions that could affect a person’s life at the cost millions of dollars on the strength of data that has an accuracy rate of only 85%. What does this say about the integrity of educators and administrators?

Google voice the next step in the evolution of communication

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:22:00 PDT

I have been using Google voice for approximately a month now, I will start this posting by saying I have never truly been a fan of very much by Google. Google voice has changed my perspective on truly how smart the programmers at Google are, this application delivers everything it promises plus more. The ease-of-use as well as the simplicity of the concept of one phone number to track you down wherever you are each truly amazing. Imagine never again having to give people multiple phone numbers (I.E. Worke, home, cell and others). The simple concept of one phone number to locate you wherever you are is surely the next step in the evolution of communication.

The shortcomings of Google voice sometime after making a phone call from the webpage you will have to reload the webpage before making a second phone call, and over all Google's address book is by far the worst design address book on the web. it would also be nice if Google ADD a fax service capability to the application.

Even though this is a new application from Google, which is in the early phases of development. Google hit this one out of the park, the application is easy to use with a simple web interface. Which allows each user to organize their contacts into groups which then allows you to forward each group to the proper phone number depending on their importance. When the wife calls, I have been given orders by HER to make sure every phone number I could possibly be at will ring. So any time the wife calls the cell phone rings simultaneously my office phone rings to ensure she can track me down at any given moment. Google voice also allows you to block calls from people you rather not talk to. It also allows you to have separate voicemails for each individual group (IE business, coworkers, family and the most important group of all the wife). The other great features of Google voice are.

　
Google voice features
　
One number for all your calls and SMS
Call screening - Announce and screen callers
Listen in - Listen before taking a call
Block calls - Keep unwanted callers at bay
SMS - Send, receive, and store SMS
Place calls - Call US numbers for free
Taking calls - Answer on any of your phones
Phone routing - Phones ring based on who calls
Forwarding phones - Add phones and decide which ring
　
Voicemail as easy as email, with transcripts
Voicemail transcripts - Read what your voicemail says
Listen to voicemail - Check online or from your phone
Notifications - Receive voicemails via email or SMS
Personalize greeting - Vary greetings by caller
Share voicemail - Forward or download voicemails
　
More cool things you can do with Google VoiceConference calling - Join people into a single call
Call record - Record calls and store them online
Call switch - Switch phones during a call
Mobile site - View your inbox from your mobile
GOOG-411 - Check directory assistance
Manage groups - Set preferences by group

Overall my opinion of Google voice, is if you can get a Google voice account you should. Kudos to the programmers at Google and please keep up the good work if you can possibly fix your address book I would highly appreciate it.

Room 3026 Live: Episode 35

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:50:00 PDT

Excellent conversation on social media and networking, a must listen....

Listen to internet radio with Damond Nollan on Blog Talk Radio

The new paradigm in social media management

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:16:00 PDT

I have run into an interesting dilemma, over the last couple of days I have received several phone calls inquiring into setting up Social Media Profile (SMP) for different organizations. The gist of the phone calls always start with the question how many people can we get to follow my profile. As I reflect on that question how many people will follow me the answer is, it doesn't really matter if it's 1 or 10,000.

There should always be some type of measurable outcome that is based on a realistic and measurable goal. How much direct revenue can you contribute to your profile or direct interest (i.e. signing a petition, donating to charity, supporting a candidate for public office) in a particular cause? Can their Social Media Profile (SMP) turn into real and measurable statistics. win I begin to explain to people that, we needed better metrics to judge success of a social media profile then the number of users, 1 or 10,000. We must set realistic measurable goals that helps there organizations Judge the true effectiveness of any Social Media Profile (SMP).

PS: I will let you know how this conversation plays out over the next couple of weeks. I can always charge people lots of money to slap up something that draws thousands of people that served no real purpose in helping to improve their overall image, revenue-Stream or communicate with stakeholders.

LEWIS-TECK New Adventure into Social Media Profile Management

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:58:00 PDT

As a new offering from LEWIS-TECK we are offering a new service social media profile management. This new service is a new exciting adventure for our company, in this new space we have two major offerings the first offering is building and integrating a social media presence for our customers to maintain and market their organizations and businesses in the new world of social media. Our second offering is actually to manage their social media profile, track trends, increase brand awareness and corporate awareness and to help grow interest in their business or organizations. So far the main focus of this new business has been nonprofit organizations and churches. If we can assist you in any way please contact us at leon@lewisteck.com or 919-200-0539.

Thank you very much

Social Media Profiles (SMP)

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 06:18:00 PDT

Over the last couple of months, I have been spending the majority of my time integrating and creating social media profiles, (SMP a collection of websites, blogs, social media sites and e-mail communications that you used to support and enhance your cyberspace image for your organization), for both nonprofit and profit. The major challenge is getting my customers to understand that managing your cyberspace presence is a major part of your day-to-day operations. It will take an average organization 35 to 40 hours a week to manage there online communications

The major challenge in this new world of cyberspace is not only managing what you and your employees put on the web but also being aware of the overall perception that your stakeholders have of your organization. I will keep you up to date on the day-to-day challenges of helping my customers into the New World of SMP.

A Point Of Thought now Podcasting

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:35:00 PDT

NCCU Adopts Facebook Connect For Campus Portal

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:01:00 PDT

NCCU Adopts Facebook Connect For Campus Portal: "The web team at North Carolina Central University has been working hard these past few years developing a foundation by which to offer more dynamic information with a hint of social networking.

Today, Web Services has successfully connected its MyEOL portal with Facebook through its Facebook Connect API.

What Does This Mean for the University?

The team recognizes that many students, alumni, and prospective students are already using Facebook on a daily basis. University departments are sprouting new groups and fan pages weekly and Web Services would like to help connect the social power of Facebook with the University's own portal.
The first step to achieve this connection is to allow the NCCU community to login to MyEOL with their Facebook account. The initial launch will make this feature available to prospective students and alumni.
Once logged in, the community will be able to update their Facebook status through NCCU's Twitter-like application, Eagle Status. Additionally, users will update their Facebook wall with notifications after receiving new badges and other campus achievements.
Other benefits of Facebook Connect on the NCCU campus is to help further the OpenID movement. With each new web site, users are continuously creating new usernames and passwords. This opens the door to security breaches and identify theft.

Web Services would like to offer the community alternatives to yet another account. If the United States Government is eager to adopt OpenID standards, the team also believes it should follow their lead.

What Took So Long?

There are some that may ask the question, "Why has it taken so long to connect Facebook with NCCU?" The challenge has been getting Facebook's API to work with our ColdFusion environment. Once the guys roll out the option to login to NCCU's MyEOL with Facebook credentials, the team will make this code available to all ColdFusion developers, universities, and Facebook Connect representatives.

Final Thoughts

I would like to personally thank Derek Brinson and Darin Tyler for their dedication and tireless efforts to make Facebook Connect work on campus.

The date for final release has yet to be set, but I am excited to hear the team has made it this far and curious to find what other colleges and universities are doing with Facebook Connect. Let's talk about the opportunities in the comment section below. If you have a link to a university or college that uses Facebook Connect, please share a URL

Just Finished An Article Titled The Lack of Black and Hispanic Professors

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:15:00 PST

For many years I have worked in higher education, this article leads me to a lot of interesting thoughts as well as lots of retrospection, over the years I have set through lots of cabinet meetings with presidents and chancellors and other senior administrators. As I looked around the room not only was I the only minority there I seem to be the only first-generation (a person whose parents did not graduate college or high school) individual in the room. There have been lots of discussions about the need for diversity in colleges and universities about how to increase the diversity of administration, staff, faculty and students. That conversation always seems to in with a yes we are looking for diversity BUT the person needs to fit into our culture. Let's talk about a true oxymoron if a person fits into a culture are you truly looking for diversity or are you just looking for people who think exactly like you who have the same life experience and just a different skin tone, gender or religion.

A long time ago I used to work for a wonderful lady named Peggy Manning; she used to have a theory called a D.W.E. (Dynamic Work Environment), basically you hire the best person for the job, and the workplace environment should be able to adjust. So for example when we were hiring a system administrator, we would create a written test with the skill sets we were looking for in regardless of race, age, gender or religion we always would hire the person with the highest score. No other factors should matter. If a person and the organization could not adjust to personality or culture difficulties than the person with the difficulty would need to leave the organization.

Let's compare this to the standard statement in education today "we must hire a person with the necessary political skills and the ability to fit in our culture". Now let's take a look at the average university or college culture 98% Caucasian majority of males. So with this description who is the person that will fit into the average university or college culture today? This does not lead to a true search for diversity. As academics and educators you would think we would be a lot farther in the true search for diversity.

This blog post will probably offend a lot of people in the majority of academia today. But if it leads to anyone out there in administration truly reviewing their policy and thoughts on diversity, it will be well worth any criticism or ridicule that I will receive for writing this one.

PS I used to be associated with a college and a primary statement that they would use against change was "If you were from around here you would understand'. To be from around the there I would have to be a Caucasian male of Dutch dissent. The minority population throughout the whole town was less than 1% a point to think about. The minority population at the college was less than .1% that included all students, staff, faculty and administrators.

The Lack of Black and Hispanic professors

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:12:00 PST

By Tracy Jan

Globe Staff / February 16, 2010

The lack of black and Hispanic professors, highlighted in two recent reports critical of the faculty makeup at MIT and Emerson College, is a problem shared by the most prominent universities in the Boston area, a Globe survey reveals.

Graphic Minority faculty Among those struggling the most is the city’s largest school, Boston University, where blacks and Hispanics make up 3.4 percent of tenured and tenure-track faculty, a figure that has barely budged over the past decade. At BU, like the other schools, the percentage of minority faculty lags far behind the demographics of its student body.

Other local institutions don’t fare much better. At Brandeis University, 3 percent of so-called tenure-line professors are black or Hispanic, and at Harvard, they make up 5.8 percent.

Colleges across the country are struggling to bolster the faculty ranks of these underrepresented minority groups as student populations grow more diverse. Nationally, blacks and Hispanics constitute 8.8 percent of tenure-line faculty, according to the American Council on Education.

A diverse faculty helps universities recruit top minority students and provides them with mentors and role models, say students and university officials. The different perspectives and experiences that minority faculty bring can also make colleges more competitive academically and further intellectual debate.

“If we are homogenous, we are weaker as an institution,’’ said Julie Sandell, BU’s newly appointed associate provost for faculty development who oversees the university’s diversity efforts.

Too few minorities enter academia, studies say. The ones who do often report feeling isolated, with poor mentoring and a campus climate that some perceive as unwelcoming. And unintended racial bias can make the quest for tenure, a long slog for any candidate, particularly grueling for some minorities.

MIT’s unusually frank, two-year study released last month outlines the difficulties black and Hispanic professors experience, such as in getting promoted and feeling ostracized from the university community. Underrepresented minorities account for 6.4 percent of MIT’s tenure-line faculty.

At Emerson College, where that figure is 8.5 percent, an external review this month said its leaders have ignored the role racial bias plays in tenure decisions. Emerson, which has granted tenure to three black professors in its history, commissioned the review amid a controversy that erupted after the college refused to promote two black professors in 2008.

The difficulties black colleagues faced at Emerson have had a “chilling effect’’ for some faculty of color at the downtown school, discouraging them from seeking tenure, said Michelle Johnson, a former Globe editor who taught at Emerson for three years before arriving at BU last fall as a visiting professor.

“I’ve seen people shown the door who failed that process,’’ said Johnson, an African-American multimedia professor who decided against pursuing tenure-track positions. “I just chose not to run the gauntlet.’’

So few minorities make it through the academic pipeline that the ones who do are in great demand. BU is prepared to offer competitive salaries to entice minority professors, Sandell said, but a better strategy is to nurture its own talent.
Graphic Minority faculty “I would like to develop some creative ways of grabbing people before we’re in a bidding war with someone else,’’ said Sandell, who hosted a luncheon Thursday for minority professors to discuss how the university could better attract and support a diverse faculty.

Too often, though, bright minority students, especially those who are the first in their families to go to college, choose law, medicine, or business over academia.

“When you talk to young students of color, they say, ‘Why should I get a PhD when I can become a real doctor?’ ’’ asked Judith Singer, senior vice provost for faculty development and diversity at Harvard.

http://www.naicu.edu/news_room/news_detail.asp?id=7481

Tracy Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com

For-Profit Colleges Change Higher Education's Landscape

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:31:00 PST

Nimble companies gain a fast-growing share of enrollments

Noah Berger for The ChronicleThe U. of Phoenix's San Francisco Learning Center, in the financial district, offers information-technology, business, and other degrees. As of this month, the university's total enrollment is 455,600.

By Robin Wilson

For more, http://chronicle.com/

Publication: The Chronicle of High Education

Are we truly ready for Cybersecurity ?

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:54:00 PST

Official Summary

11/7/2009--Introduced.Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2009 - Directs specified federal agencies participating in the National High-Performance Computing Program to:

(1) transmit to Congress a cybersecurity strategic research and development plan and triennial updates; and

(2) develop and annually update an implementation roadmap for such plan. Provides for the award of computer and network security research grants by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the research areas of social and behavioral factors, including human-computer interactions, and identity management. Instructs that applications for the establishment of Computer and Network Security Research Centers include how such Centers will partner with government laboratories, for-profit entities, other institutions of higher education, or nonprofit research institutions. Requires the NSF Director to carry out a program of awarding fellowships to encourage young scientists and engineers to conduct postdoctoral research in the fields of cybersecurity and information assurance, including the research areas under which computer and network security research grants are awarded. Requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director to convene a cybersecurity university-industry task force to explore mechanisms for carrying out collaborative R&D activities. Requires (currently, permits) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director to establish priorities for the development of checklists of settings and options that minimize security risks associated with computer systems that are, or are likely to become, widely used within the federal government. Requires:

1) development or identification and revision or adaptation as necessary, of checklists, configuration profiles, and deployment recommendations for products and protocols that minimize such risks; and

(2) development of automated security specifications respecting checklist content and associated security related data. Ensures that any products developed under the National Checklist Program for any information systems, including the Security Content Automation Protocol, be disseminated to federal agencies Requires conducting of intramural security research activities under NIST's computing standards program. Instructs the NIST Director to:

(1) ensure coordination of U.S. government representation in the international development of technical standards related to cybersecurity;

(2) implement a cybersecurity awareness and education program through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program; and

(3) establish a program to support development of technical standards, metrology, testbeds, and conformance criteria with regard to identity management research and development.

Is it time for a Chief Social Media Officer (CSMO) at today's colleges and universities?

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:41:00 PST

As we enter 2010 there are new challenges facing colleges and universities. It is important to consider the fact that social media will play a major role in communication with faculty, staff, students and alumni informing the overall image of our organization. Once again we are in a race to the unexplored regions of technology, and our basic everyday struggle between what’s new and cool, and how we as administrators keep up to date with new trends in technology for communication and educational purposes

In a conversation that I had the other day with senior administrators, we began to discuss the overall effect of how social media was being used on their campus. Even though the conversation was interesting, I did not take it seriously at first. After the meeting I went out on the web on some basic social media sites; Facebook, MySpace, twitter, friend feed, YouTube and a couple of others. This college with about 7000 students and less than 600 faculty and staff, had approximately 128 social media sites linked to the college or university. However, there were only 4 sites that the cabinet members were aware of. It was amazing to me when I considered the amount of time University presidents and Chancellors spend building a organization and pondering their over-all image to the world, that the biggest communication trend in the world to-day, social media, has no administration oversight.

This always leads to the interesting question is this a technology problem or a policy problem? Even though there are certain technologies that can be used for monitoring and oversight, I truly believe that this is a policy problem and a Public Relations issue. Administrators must truly look into the effects that social media can have on their organization's image internally and externally. I would seriously doubt that any major college or university today has a person who's solely responsible for monitoring the web, blogs, Facebook, MySpace and the hundreds of other social media sites for how the organization's image is presented in the world of cyberspace. In a world where one is never sure what can go viral (when a simple statement or blog posts becomes very well known and gets hundreds of thousands or millions of hits). Can we truly afford to leave our organizations image to chance?

How can we ensure that no one is writing things that are not true, negative, inflammatory, or even ensure that members of our own organization are not posting incorrect information to the web? Even small errors or misstatements can lead to mass confusion in any organization. In considering this issue on a larger scale, in the University arena one has to pose a very interesting question, "Is it time for a Chief Social Media Officer (CSMO) at today's colleges and universities?", to oversee the communication and to help with the transfer of information that might affect the overall organizations communication strategy and the overall image of the organization in the cyber-world? I would argue that the time has come.

P.S. After this conversation I decided to take a step back and review how I manage my own image on the web. I'm one of those people who love innovations in cyberspace. For many years I have tried to be on the forefront of all new technologies and understand the total impact that these technologies can have. Amazingly when I began to look at my own image on the web I have approximately 15 sites that are part of my over all cyberspace image and reputation. As I step back to review how other people who are searching the web would see me it became apparent To me that I do a very poor job of managing my over all cyberspace persona. So, I made a promise to myself. After I finish this Blog I will dedicate some time to correcting the great injustice I have done to my own reputation by not monitoring how I would like to represent Leon Lewis Jr. to the world of cyberspace.

Uncategorized The New Ways To Do The business: MBA or CIO?

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:57:00 PST

This new situation strong demands a new MBA program including the General Control Theory, the control engineering, the new business technologies, the Management by Exception concept automated by computer systems, the Feedback Control System and several other subjects like Internet Marketing & Sales.

As we know the CIO is the abbreviation of “Chief Information Officer” and is a new professional, usually between the CEO and the other Directors including the IT Director. He don’t replace the IT Director, with the exception in small companies.

A CIO Chief Information Officer has entrepreneurial experience and at the same time technical experience in Information Technologies. The entrepreneur usually has only the entrepreneurial experience and the IT manager has only on technical matters. However business is more and more the information system and the information system is more and more the business.

The companies are more and more electronics, as for examples the ERP Enterprise Resources Planning, the CRM Customer Relationship Management, the Voice over IP VoIP, the sophisticated Call Centers, Business Intelligence BI, the Internet, the new Internet Marketing, etc. Therefore, to survive a modern business administrator must learn those new ways to do the business and how to manage those modern enterprises.

In other words, the current MBA will be substituted by a CIO in a very short period of time. And a recent report from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the primary accrediting body in North America lambasted its members for maintaining a curriculum that is out of touch with modern business practices. As a matter of fact, the current MBA it’s an 60-years old curriculum in the begin of this digital age.

About the Author:

J.C.Melo is a 73-years old IT professional with 54 years of experience in computer science & technology entrepreneurship. He was the owner of the first minicomputer factory in South America and Consultant for the U.S. Government in several contracts. Now is the CEO of the organizationhttp://mba-open-university.net and http://online-learning.distance-learning-mba-online-mba-program-executive-jobs.net

Managing Higher Education operations, to meet the new 24/7 demanding IT Train of thought.

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:59:00 PST

Over the past several years there has been a speeding train coming towards Higher Education. It is to the livery of education on demand. This is such a unique trend in the educational world that administrators basically have no clue. There is ample confusion on how to meet these ever-increasing demands, and satisfy the Internet savvy, e-learning generation.

Every couple of months, I seem to be going through the same discussion with administrators on both the academic side as well as the information technology side. You cannot run an educational program on the East Coast that serves students on the West Coast, without tech support available after 8 pm ES time. Not only will the “e-learning generation” not put up with the lack of instant gratification technical support, but somebody like the University of Phoenix will gladly fill the gap.

This leads me to my major frustration about Information Technology Administrators who believe IT is a 7 AM to 5 PM business. In Higher Education today, all parties expect 24/7 access to information. Administrators, faculty members, and students (both traditional and distance learning) expect access to all Web applications and software packages 24/7 - 365 days a year. So, how do we, Information Technology Professionals, close our doors Friday at 5 pm and reopen Monday morning at 7 am? The number of catastrophes coming our way will not only be a shock to older administrators who are not willing to adapt to the IT age, but we will all be amazed at how quickly we lose market share to online universities who are willing to go the extra step and provide services that meet the demands of today’s student body.

We must first get a serious grip on what services are needed, and be realistic about hours of operation. There has been a serious movement in higher education to outsource IT Helpdesks to third-party contractors that provide after-hours services. This is a quick fix to address the problem of how to get the required after-hours customer service and support. This solution does nothing to address the real problem since customers truly need constant phone as well as on-site desktop support. The institutions should rather adjust their operations and accept the new e-learning culture that provides around the clock functionality. I fear, after having several conversations with many IT Administrators and Chief Information Officers, that this shift in service provisions will not happen until true tragedy strikes and many people lose their jobs.

This seems to be a recurring theme throughout Information Technology and Education. We as professionals need to seriously take a step back and begin planning for the new generation of end users. We must stop being so locked in our “old-school” ways that we do not see the train coming down the track, we do not hear the warning horn, and we refuse to adjust our outdated and antiquated views of what Information Technology is. Information Technology is a living breathing, ever-changing industry. The IT train is moving so quickly and so constantly, that it is impossible to restrict it for the convenience of those of us who'd like to be home by 5:30 to watch the evening news.

A Point Of Thought Is Now On Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:22:00 PST

A Point Of Thought On Facebook

Please come visit a new Facebook page that focuses on Information Technology Professionals in Higher Education, can share ideas and visions of the future of Information Technology in Education, as well as common frustrations.

WATH IS WIZIQ

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:58:00 PST

WiZiQ enables teachers and learners to collaborate through

Virtual Classes

Online Tests

Educational Content

Contact Network

WiZiQ is a web-based platform for anyone and everyone who wants to teach and learn live, online. Teachers and students use WiZiQ for its state-of-the-art virtual classroom, to create and share online educational content and tests, and to connect with persons having similar subject interests.

Anyone can join WiZiQ
WiZiQ is FREE for everyone and takes just few seconds. Whether you are a teacher or a learner, signing up for a WiZiQ account is free and simple. Enter your log in essentials (email address, password) and name to get started with an account on WiZiQ.

Live, online classes
In the virtual classroom with all the digital benefits at your fingertips, you can interact online using

Images, PowerPoint presentations and documents
Full way audio and video sharing
Live chat enhances the interaction amongst the participants
Control Privileges with you having full control over the class like in real-world classroom

All classes on WiZiQ are automatically recorded so that you can revisit and even search for a certain topic anytime at your convenience

Build your educational network
On WiZiQ, you can enter your subject interests and discover who else on WiZiQ shares similar interests with you. Initiate contact with members around you to exchange knowledge, content and to help each other work towards common goals such as preparing for an exam or assignment.

Share content
WiZiQ lets you produce your content online and convert it in a sharable format, with minimal effort. You can make your content semi-permanent, easy to put on blogs, and embeddable as objects and links.

Safety & Privacy

To learn more about WiZiQ before you join, take our Tour.

How to teach using WiZiQ?

Conduct Live Online Classes using Free Virtual Classroom
Create & Share Tests using Online Tests
Upload & Share Content using Content Sharing
Group different learners through Contacts Management
Teach Live in Moodle with Web Conferencing Modules for Moodle
Teach and Earn

How to learn using WiZiQ?

Attend Live Online Classes from experts around the world
Attempt Online Tests and benchmark with test takers
View Educational Content on topics of your choice
Search for a teacher to help you learn better
Online Educational Resources for Learners
Learn and Achieve Goals

Educational Technology Funding Fiasco

noreply@blogger.com (Zawadi) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:06:00 PST

Current debates on the use of Education and Technology fees in higher education have been highly animated and have given rise to subtle financial power struggles between top executives and departmental officials. “Ed-Tech” funds which have been historically seen as some sort of cushion to soften state budget crunching and sorely underfunded initiatives, are actually supposed to be money for enhancing student’s quality of learning – with the use of technology.

One Executive on the Academic Affairs side once argued, “It is an EDUCATION and technology fund” not an EDUCATIONAL technology fund. This really tickled me. What a clever twist of words. However, when one considers the current educational climate which is more and more dependent upon technology this argument seems ridiculous.

I would argue that in order to keep up with ever increasing technological trends in education, The “Education and Technology Fee” should be spent almost primarily on Educational technology. I mean when one considers that the world has moved to mandatory laptop programs, smart classroom learning, podcasting, e-learning, on-line degree programs………For goodness sakes, Arizona Sate University has tried implementing the Amizon.com Kindle as an e-learning tool in one of their courses. http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=33&sid=1785012

With the use of technology in education moving at light speed, it is almost crippling for students not to have access to the latest gadgets. Students at NC State University have actually been instrumental in approving their own Ed-Tech fee increases, in acknowledgement of the rising cost of technology and the dire need to stay abreast of current advances. http://students.ncsu.edu/sgims/archive-79/bill/education-and-technology-fee-17.html

It is time for decision makers to acknowledge that currently many textbooks come with a CR-ROM, and on-line teacher resources. That many students prefer to take on-line courses from the comforts of their own room , and that study groups now take place in online chat rooms and blog spaces. What happens when officials who may not be so “techno-savvy” are making decisions for today’s psyber-student body? Perhaps the Education and Technology fee should be used to get the faculty and staff technologically up to speed. It is time for decision makers to realize that in some cases, education without technology, is just not good education at all.

The Education and Technology Fee (ETF) is used to:

o advance the quality of learning experiences and outcomes for students

o embrace emerging opportunities that differentiate the learning experience beyond what appropriated funding allows, while remaining accountable to students, the university, and the state, for return on technology investments —examples include but are not limited to equipment, software applications, supplies for educational materials, laboratory expenses, student computing labs and facilities, connectivity infrastructure and services to support student learning, learning spaces, and field trips. (from: NC State University via. website)

Vision and Strategy for Information Technology in Higher Education

noreply@blogger.com (Leon Lewis Jr.) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:29:00 PST

Fostering a highly functional, effective, efficient, current Information technology Services in Higher Education requires the consideration of three major areas, and then a concise action plan that will remedy these areas to make the plan functional.

Information technology in higher education falls into three distinct categories. The first category day-to-day operations comprises of the basic function of information technology in any given organization(ie. keeping e-mail running, file systems, basic uptime for desktop, systems and overall network and telecommunications functions). The second category function of information technology in higher education is the strategic planning, decision making, and implementation. The third major category and by far one of the most important functions is to foster teaching and learning by keeping up to date with all new trends and tools that will be required for the education of students.

It is one thing to state the major goals of the organization but how do we as information technology professionals achieve and actively implement these goals? To achieve the goal of Day-to-day operations one must begin by listing out all of the core components of information technology functions and rate them in order of importance. There is a methodology for this practice called SLA’s (service level agreements) this methodology not only allows you to prioritize all day-to-day operations but it also allows you to set expectations on turnaround time forward repairs and maintenance.

There is another favorite methodology under the information technology governance framework that lots of information technology professionals used to align the strategic goals of the institution with the information technology operation, this is called COBIT this methodology takes you step-by-step through the procedures necessary to align information technology with the overall goals of institution i.e. implementing a long-range strategic plan in consultation with all stakeholders to ensure all information technology decisions are in line and hitting in the right direction with complete understanding of all constituents.

The 3rd most difficult category for any information technology professional is the overall pedagogy and teaching and learning. This is a difficult subject for any individual to explore. It consists of two differencing interests. As each year student begin to learn in different ways, it is an ever moving target to keep students engaged in higher education without implementing massive technological tools (ie. social networking tools to overall communication and collaboration tools). The educators trained many years ago who were taught to harnessed proven methods of educating students must now also grasp the ever increasing learning curve of new technology. This becomes a unique challenge for both sides, the IT team as well as the educators themselves.

The overall vision for information technology in higher education is based on patience, understanding and solid communication. One cannot hold the point of view that any one path is right in consultation with the overall community. All decisions must be made in a methodical manner and clearly communicated to all constituents, faculty, staff, administrators and students. Only with repeated communication and clear understanding will information technology ever be effective in any higher education organization.

What is ITIL?

ITIL is the abbreviation for the guideline IT Infrastructure Library, developed by CCTA, now the OGC (Office of Governance Commerce) in Norwich (England) developed on behalf of the British government. The main focus of the development was to create mutual best practices for all British government data centers to ensure comparable services. Today ITIL is the worldwide de-facto-standard for service management and contains broad and publicly available professional documentation on how to plan, deliver and support IT service features.

What is COBIT? (Cobit is an information technology governance framework and supporting toolset that allows managers to bridge the gap between control requirements, technical issues and business risks. COBIT enables clear policy development and good practice for IT control throughout organizations. COBIT emphasizes regulatory compliance, and helps organizations to increase the value attained from information technology).