Category Archives: Tools of the trade

Books Bring Me Joy … and Legal Know-How

Growing up, I spent many of my days at the local library finding the latest books by a favorite author (for many years it was Stephen King), discovering new authors, and listening rapt to the featured storyteller. In more recent years, when I made the choice to start a part-time business, I used a localContinue reading “Books Bring Me Joy … and Legal Know-How”

A picture is worth 1000 words (but maybe a few more dollars that I would like to spend)

I often refer to myself as a “Mack of all trades” (a play on the phrase “a Jack of all trades” if you’re not familiar). I have intermediate to advanced level skills in programming and developing, data analysis and reporting. And like many engineers, I have an artistic soul that cries out… The Creative SuiteContinue reading “A picture is worth 1000 words (but maybe a few more dollars that I would like to spend)”

What a difference a few days (or a decade) makes!

As the coronavirus is continuing to disrupt our families, nation and the world over the past several days, I wanted to take a moment to count my blessings. I am thankful that working in IT has provided a steady income for most of the past 10 years. I have been able to share my knowledgeContinue reading “What a difference a few days (or a decade) makes!”

Collaborating via Wiki sites

One major assignment in my university course was collaborating via a course wiki. The site has turned out quite nicely, save a few problems with the overall organization, which is the issue I would like to address today. First, one student took charge of the initial site organization and after a few changes, the main topics wereContinue reading “Collaborating via Wiki sites”

Website for Instruction

One of my final assignments for my university class was setting up an instructional website. I toyed with the idea of creating a brand new site “from scratch,” but then I realized that there’s no reason to try to reinvent the wheel: rather, just use tools already available to me. With that in mind, IContinue reading “Website for Instruction”

In the studio: podcasting

This week I will create a podcast, an assignment in my university class.  Though I have created podcasts before, I must admit that they were never really organized well. Well, I decided to do a better job at organizing this time! Podcast topic: Data Mining Goals: Introduce data mining and its use in the business analysisContinue reading “In the studio: podcasting”

On a quest for knowledge

Ever heard of a webquest? Well, today I submitted my first webquest as a part of my online course. Webquests facilitate learning. A webquest is an inquiry-based online activity that students typically work on in groups(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebQuest). Generally, these tools are used in K-12 environments; however, depending on the content, they can also be applied to collegeContinue reading “On a quest for knowledge”

eLearning: Are you Captivating or Articulating?

Okay, I realize that the title lacks true wit but I wanted to discuss eLearning software today, particularly Articulate and Captivate. But first , I hope that everyone was able to honor our soldiers today, Memorial Day 2011. As my career in training and facilitation evolves, I am incorporating more and more technology to produceContinue reading “eLearning: Are you Captivating or Articulating?”

Glogster!

I recently used an online technology called Glogster (glogster.com) to create and teach an online lesson. It was actually an interview for a contract training job that would involve teaching of online classes so I thought that it would be a good time to try something different. First of all, I signed up for glogster.edu,Continue reading “Glogster!”