08.23.06
IT budgets the most debated issue
Came across an interesting piece of news …….
IT budgets neglected stepchild
By Linda Tucci, Senior News Writer – 25 Jul 2006 | SearchCIO.com
This article originally appeared on SearchCIO.com.
IT budgets are the first to get the ax when company revenue drops and late to rebound when the coffers are full. That’s the conclusion of a new study from Gartner Inc., the Stamford, Conn.-based research consultancy.
The study analyzed spending patterns over a period of three years at some 900 companies worldwide in 20 different industries. Even at companies where revenue grew 10%, the increase in IT budgets rarely topped 5%. Case in point: the financial services sector, where IT spending increases were less than half the revenue growth, at 4.2% versus 10%.
Businesses really haven’t learned what to keep in-house that they can optimize and to buy out-of-the-house what is variable.
Jed Rubin director of consulting, Gartner Inc.
“I’m standing here in the World Financial Center in New York. For these guys their product is technology, whether they want to admit it or not. So if they’re not advancing in their IT spending, they’re holding back the core aspect of their product. The same is true for telecommunications,” said Howard Rubin, director of consulting at Gartner.
The disconnect has less to do with the importance of IT to a given business than with the crude — or nonexistent — cost models most companies use to budget for IT, Rubin said.
Companies need to get a handle on fixed and variable IT costs, in order to calibrate IT investment to revenue. “Businesses really haven’t learned what to keep in-house that they can optimize and to buy out-of-the-house what is variable. The trick is to really minimize your fixed costs,” he said, making a comparison to cell phone economics.
“You buy the number of minutes you need. Then you pay by the drink when you go above that. And as soon as you see your consumption goes up after a long period of time, you buy more fixed-cost economics. It’s figuring out the balance between fixed and variable costs. That’s how you buy your cheap minutes — in bulk, and if you can’t roll them over, you’re stuck.”
According to Rubin, however, companies don’t have an IT cost structure that can follow revenue. The problem is that if the revenue doesn’t materialize, IT can’t back off and reduce expense quickly.
“If you look at technology spending over time, occasionally technology spending accelerates ahead business growth. I think what we found in our study is really almost like a leading indicator of the economic condition. Companies are being cautious. They have not decoded the structure of their IT spending. What happens is that they build up a lot of fixed expense, and when the economy gets rough, they can’t shed expense fast enough. They have been caught with a surfeit of stuff.”
There are exceptions. Information technology companies, maybe not surprisingly, aligned their IT spending more quickly and closely with their revenue conditions than companies in other sectors. Government agencies also bucked the trend, for another reason: Their IT budgets barely budged even in the face of organizational changes, a characteristic Gartner attributed to the government’s longer budget cycles.
The study gives CIOs another reason to keep the conversation going between IT and the business: IT budgets were more closely aligned with business revenue at companies where there appeared to be good communication between the IT department and leaders in the business. But Rubin cautioned that “good communication” is not just a lot of talk.
“What we’re seeing now is an unfortunate economic circumstance where companies have not mastered the art of IT finance, they don’t have good cost transparency, they haven’t been able to build fixed versus variable cost models, like companies have done in manufacturing,” Rubin said.
07.24.06
Technology infusion in higher education
It is often done in this part of the world, the students are advised to posses a laptop and/or a PC . But how much of this technology is being used for studies and learning by the students ? What are the measures that teachers can adopt to help the students learn ? What are the latest techniques in technology enabled teaching and learning ?
Which language to start with ?
It is often either C or JAVA which is taught in the initial semesters in degree and masters ‘ programs. But which language is the best one to start with ?
07.23.06
Is Programming an Art?
Why is it often felt that programming a computer doesn’t involve any creativity ? why is that the person trying to get a degree in computing is neither given to improve his communication skills nor he is given inputs to sharpen his ability to manage people or materials. And I think , in this area of computer science teaching and learning a lot of PR work needs to be done . The picture of a computer wizrd that usually comes to ones’ mind is that of a person, a loner sitting with thick glasses in a room glued to the comp screen and that of one who is capable of tracking all ” *** ” , one trying to hack the pentagon main server. All of this needs to change . The teachers teaching the young students their first computer science lessons need to introduce the students into the world of programming in a diffrent way. This requires a great deal of research and thus requires inputs from the teachers themselves.
04.27.06
A TataMcgrahill Posting on ” Using Blogs in Teaching”
Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom
As the Internet becomes an increasingly pervasive and persistent influence in people's lives, the phenomenon of the blog stands out as a fine example of the way in which the Web enables individual participation in the marketplace of ideas.
Teachers have picked up on the creative use of this Internet technology and put the blog to work in the classroom. The education blog can be a powerful and effective technology tool for students and teachers alike.
What is a blog?
A blog (sometimes referred to as a weblog) is a Web publishing tool that allows authors to quickly and easily self-publish text, artwork, links to other blogs or Web sites, and a whole array of other content.
Blogs are set-up like conventional Web sites, with navigation links, and other standard Web site features. Blogs have one standard characteristic, however: the posting. Blog postings are text entries, similar to a diary or journal, which include a posting date and may include comments by people other than the author, photos, links, or other digital media.
Postings are often short and frequently updated. They appear in reverse chronological order and can include archived entries.
Although blogs have been around for years, they have recently gained in popularity and consequently have received more media coverage.
Blogs work well for students because they can be worked on at virtually any time, in any place with an Internet-enabled computer. Hence, they can be used by computer savvy teachers to create a classroom that extends beyond the boundaries of the school yard.
User-Friendly Technology
Fortunately for teachers, blogs are surprisingly easy to use. They require minimum technical knowledge and are quickly and easily created and maintained. Unlike many traditional Web sites, they are flexible in design and can be changed relatively easily. Best of all, students will find them convenient and accessible via home or library computers.
Educational Benefits of Blogs
In addition to providing teachers with an excellent tool for communicating with students, there are numerous educational benefits of blogs. Blogs are:
- Highly motivating to students, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms.
- Excellent opportunities for students to read and write.
- Effective forums for collaboration and discussion.
- Powerful tools to enable scaffolded learning or mentoring to occur.
Using the Blog in the Classroom
As an educational tool, blogs may be integrated in a multi-faceted manner to accommodate all learners. Blogs can serve at least four basic functions.
- Classroom Management
Class blogs can serve as a portal to foster a community of learners. As they are easy to create and update efficiently, they can be used to inform students of class requirements, post handouts, notices, and homework assignments, or act as a question and answer board. - Collaboration
Blogs provide a space where teachers and students can work to further develop writing or other skills with the advantage of an instant audience. Teachers can offer instructional tips, and students can practice and benefit from peer review. They also make online mentoring possible. For example, a class of older students can help a class of younger students develop more confidence in their writing skills. Students can also participate in cooperative learning activities that require them to relay research findings, ideas, or suggestions. - Discussions
A class blog opens the opportunity for students to discuss topics outside of the classroom. With a blog, every person has an equal opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. Students have time to be reactive to one another and reflective. Teachers can also bring together a group of knowledgeable individuals for a given unit of study for students to network and conference with on a blog. - Student Portfolios
Blogs present, organize, and protect student work as digital portfolios. As older entries are archived, developing skills and progress may be analyzed more conveniently. Additionally, as students realize their efforts will be published, they are typically more motivated to produce better writing. Teachers and peers may conference with a student individually on a developing work, and expert or peer mentoring advice can be easily kept for future reference.
Blog Risks to Consider
School districts have guidelines and acceptable use policies (AUP) regarding the use of school and division-wide computer networks and the Internet. These terms and conditions identify acceptable online behavior and access privileges. Policies regarding the displaying of any student work must be adhered to strictly. Take the necessary steps to secure parental permission before using the blog in a participatory manner.
Blogs may be viewed publicly, as any other Web site. Students must be trained on issues regarding access, privacy, security, and free expression. As blogs have no publisher, producer, or editor, students must carefully consider the content of postings to avoid anything defamatory, libelous, or an infringement upon the rights of others.
Blogs are created by individuals for various and assorted purposes. Content should be recognized as the opinion of the blogger, and, therefore, may not necessarily be factual.
Preparing Students for Blogging
- Determine that all students' AUPs are in place and up to date.
- Inform parents of procedures and secure parental permission.
- Teach students safe, acceptable, and sensible behavior as online authors and readers.
- Review policies and guidelines pertaining to student access.
- Teach the non-posting rules of no complete names, e-mail accounts, or references to reveal location.
- Set clear expectations regarding tone, respect, and consequences.
Steps for Getting Started on Blogs
There are a number of free blogging tools available.
- Go to one of the available free blogging sites (Blogger at www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com are popular ones).
- Provide the necessary information requested. (user name, password)
- Create a title for your blog.
- Accept terms and select a template.
- Publish!
Read More about Blogs
blogs: a history and perspective
rebecca's pocket
This blog presents an essay on the history of blogs from their naming in 1997 by Jorn Barger. It also defines the "profound experience" of blogging.
Why Blogs?
Blogg-ed
This is another blog that compiles excellent ideas for using blogs in education. It also includes many first-person accounts of blog use in the classroom.
This article was contributed by Mollie Crie, an educator with 22 years in the classroom. She currently teaches for Bedford County Schools in Forest, Virginia.
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Published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of the Educational and Professional Publishing Group of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., |
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