Reflective learning blog summary

I must say I found this class rather enjoyable. This was my first experience with distance education and University of Maryland University College. I did not know what to expect. I found the class engaging, relevant and challenging. I had played with Zillow.com before, but I never would have looked at from all the different prospective that the class inspired. Some of the students who had a strong security background picked the site apart in ways that I would never have thought of. I chose to look at it from a business point of view which I would have never done without the class.
Forcing me to start a Twitter account allowed me to experience this new on line phenomenon. I realized the market that the site exploits; something face book and my space left open. However I also realized it was not for me and I will probably not use my account after the class.
Of course emerging security threats was the most interesting topic for me because information assurance is why I am here. The information in the book from the students and the assignments were all very engaging. The class caused me to explore the business side of IT which was a nice change from having to be the subject matter expert. I think that I like it better and I may go for a project management certificate when I am done with the information assurance program.
The assignments were as creative as they were interesting. Both the midterm and the final were challenging. The greatest test of all for me was trying to complete my assignments while my wife was having twins and living in a war zone, traveling throughout Iraq with limited internet access was crazy. The class helped keep my mind off the reality of daily life. I have no regrets and look forward to my next class with this university.

Reflective Learning Blog Session 5

This week I found very challenging. I've been so use to just regurgitating information or worrying about IP addresses that the creative side of me had been crushed. It still was to an existent but I think I was able to produce a pretty good business idea. I also enjoyed reading the ideas if my class members too. I wounder which one will be the next millionaire. The discussion thread about dot com failures was also very interesting. There was no shortage of information there. I hope future assignments will help open up the left side of my brain again it was refreshing.

Reflective learning blog

This week was especially challenging because I had to work on the group project in addition to the regular assignments. The group project was difficult due to the newness of the subject matter. I was able to grasp the importance of proper security in an organization. I was able to apply methods I learned from class to analyzing my own organization. Understanding the issues at hand and how they are being dealt with will help me grow as a professional in the future. Going to school in a war zone is a lot harder than I expected, but I’m look forward to the final exam.

Reflective learning blog session 9

My favorite part of the class is always the class discussions. I the discussion on conversion strategies to be a very interesting exercise and there were a verity of different views from people of different backgrounds and experiences. For example someone addressed the issue of training. I’ve seen the implementation of some good applications, but the staff was not properly trained on how to use the application proficiently. This resulted in the loss of productivity because the organization did not want to lose productivity on the front end. I always enjoy different and refreshing opinions from my classmates. The SWOT was also new to me and I can see its usefulness.

Reflective learning blog session 8

Being a former implementation specialist made the reading very interesting and familiar. I had never done a SWOT analysis before but I can defiantly see it usefulness in developing a business plan. I found the case study with dell very helpful in completely understanding how it is applied in the real world. Over all I find the way the text book, lecture notes, and the very creative lesson plans helpful in getting a complete understanding of the subject matter. Of course the interaction with the other students make the class seems more like real life than on the net.

Reflective learning blog session 7

Many of the subjects that were discussed in this week’s chapters such as IT management and globalization started clicking in for me. I’m usually so wraped up in the work I never get to stand back and take a academic view of what I am doing. I found the discussion on outsourcing very interesting and many students made valid points on both sides of the aisle.

Future of Iraq