COP 4910 Frontiers in Information Technology Lecture 3 Keys to Success in IT Hal Stringer

Today’s Agenda Hand back graded Top 10 Lists How it was graded All actions have consequences (no excuses) Standard format required for interim & final reports Any new questions about Favorite 5? Winning 1 Technologies Presentation Schedule Slide Suggestions Evaluation Criteria Giving a Good Presentation Keys to Success in IT (as well as this class & life) Microsoft Word - Your New Best Friend

Favorite 5 Report You must create mini report on these five technologies one page (double spaced) synopsis of each technology on separate page with its own second level heading. Include in your synopsis: a description of the technology how ABC Widget would use the technology how the company would benefit from its implementation and any downsides to the technology use a professional business format for this second assignment including a title page, table of contents, introduction, and reference page. one authoritative reference source for each technology. Due date extended to midnight Friday via email Include preference for Winning 1 in Introduction Examples or Questions?

Winning 1 Technologies Hope to send out emails on Saturday with confirmation of Winning 1 Technology. If no conflicts or bad choices, you get your preference Must prepare a 5-7 minute presentation followed by questions, answers and discussion 7 to 8 presentations per class till complete After all presentations, class will vote on best out of the 20+ and assign topics to groups Presentation Schedule Assigned at Random Look for your number (from Top 10 paper) on the schedule to determine date.

Presentation Slides Keep it simple, the fewer slides the better Title Slide Agenda (optional for such short presentations) Background Information What is the current dominant technology? Are there any problems or new opportunities? High-Level Description of New technology (1 or 2 slides) Use / Benefits of the Technology Implementation/Cost Issues Does it cost a lot? How difficult to support? Conclusions Why should (not) your technology be selected?

How Will You Be Graded Presentation is 10% of your course grade Really think about what you want to say I give you 85 points out of 100 as starting point Add or subtract points based on: Preparation for Presentation Content and Organization Effectiveness of Presentation Input from GTA and other class members And yes, it is rather subjective

Giving a Good Presentation Preparation for Presentation should be clear and to the point, not cluttered with information readable and free of spelling/grammatical errors No tiny print, unreadable charts, etc. you should be familiar with slide order and content Know what’s next bring a hard copy of presentation and copy of .ppt file on labeled floppy disk the day of your presentation practice a few times if needed

Giving a Good Presentation (cont.) Content and Organization presentation should cover appropriate topics sufficient background information to provide context primary topic covered in proper detail conclusions should be drawn or summary provided presentation should flow logically and consistently don’t jump around you should be knowledgeable about your subject good grasp of material be confident about what you know answered any questions directly and clearly its OK to say “I don’t know” sometimes

Giving a Good Presentation (cont.) Effectiveness of Presentation speak clearly and with proper volume level refrain from long pauses or lots of “um’s” be sure to discuss slides - don’t read them have good audience interaction and eye contact don’t look at notes / slides / overhead TV effective use of visual aids use what’s appropriate: slides, whiteboard, demo items use color and limit text on slides to keywords & phrases make good use of allotted time don’t wander don’t get overly detailed don’t let your enthusiasm get the best of you

Seven Keys to IT Success This course tries to address seven different aspects of information technology in some fashion: Explicitly Technology - exposure to new things Business - impact of technology on an organization Research & Learning - keeping current, finding answers Communication Skills - sharing your ideas Implicitly Teamwork - be honest & direct with group members Self Motivation - give 110%, have confidence in your work Problem Solving - always ask questions, never assume Being a techno-whiz just isn’t enough in the long run! Master all seven of these areas and you will be a success in any organization.

Next Week’s Topics Tuesday Thursday Class member introductions Start forming groups Whatever else I can think of? Sample presentation? Thursday Start Presentations for Winning 1 Mandatory Attendance

Different Word Processors Line Editors ed Text Editors Notepad, PICO Simple Word Processors WordPad Full Featured Word Processors Word, WordPerfect, Abiword Publishing Software / Programs Microsoft Publisher, PageMaker, Latex

Microsoft Word Touch Typing - Recommended Keyboard Commands vs. Point & Click Draft vs. Page View Section vs. Page Breaks Using Styles Inserting Automatically Generated Objects Spell Checking and Grammar Checking