technology

Virginia releases first open source text book

Virginia has released a beta version of the nation’s first open source text book. The book is a collaboration by state departments of Technology and Education as well volunteer educators, engineers and scientists.

The book was developed using web based resources to quickly update information and aid in the collaboration effort. The tools include technologies such as Java, Django, Ajax and the Google Web tool kit. The book was produced using the FlexBook platform developed by the CK-12 Foundation of Palo Alto, Calif.

The Virginia Physics FlexBook is an effort to update educational material more quickly than can be done with traditional textbooks. The typical review and procurement cycle of states and school systems, coupled with the several years it can take for changes to make their way into published texts, means that students in even the best schools could be using material that is a decade or more out of date.

A typical textbook can be over a decade behind current technology and events. The procurement cycle coupled with the time it takes changes to make their way into published text causes obsolete material to become a part of a schools curriculum. The speed of information change and technology makes this unacceptable in preparing students for today’s workforce.

A team of scientists and engineers studied Virginia’s science education curriculum and concluded that it was inadequate to prepare students for the 21st century workforce. Given that it discussed such things as cathode ray tubes (CRT) and had no mention of LCD, LED or plasma for monitors and televisions it is easy to understand the conclusion. It also epitomises the need for a way of producing a textbook and curriculum quickly and at low cost to keep pace with the technology that students should be studying. Open source provided the correct vehicle to accomplish this end.

The team, lead by retired NASA research engineer Jim Batterson, recommended that teachers have access to an open-source platform that would let them develop and share their own course material in a cooperative environment, such as a wiki.

Beyond the obvious benefits that such a textbook provides American students I am happy to see the recognition of open source by our government and institutions of higher education and the cost-benefit ratio that it provides.

Read more about the project here.

-j

Government scholarships for studying cybersecurity

The US Government give you a full scholarship for college if you want to become a cybersecurity specialist. The scholarship covers room and board, books and tuition.

The obvious question here is “What do I have to give them in return?” Two years of government service at a federal agency in a cybersecurity position. That’s not a whole to ask in my opinion. Think about. Your getting a paid-for education in a field whose demand is only going to grow and all you have to do is work at a federal agency for two year using what you majored in at college. Not bad.

The program, known as SFS (Scholarship for Service), is run by run jointly by the National Science Foundation and DHS. SFS is quickly becoming known for more than just recruiting talent for their scholarships:

In the information assurance community, SFS is becoming widely recognized as indispensable, especially when government demand for highly skilled information technology security professionals is surging because of Information Systems Management Act requirements, the inexorable growth in security operations centers and an impending wave of retirements.

Michelle Kwon who graduated from the program has this to say about it

“When I graduated from the SFS program, I really thought I was going to do my two years [of government service] and then jump to industry and make big bucks,” Kwon said. “But I was given opportunities through the program that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

Michelle is now in a high-powered position as director of the Homeland Security Department’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team. Last year she was named director of US-CERT.

You can read more about the program here.

If I were a student and looking for a way to go to college this would be a fantastic way to go.

-j

Seven must have skills for a server room manager

I ran across this article in which Celerity Works Mike Lisagor who is the author of The Enlightened Manager discusses the seven skills a server room manager must have.

Seven Skills
Increasingly the management skills needed be an effective Server Room manager encompasses much more than technical knowledge according to Lisagor.

Successful managers at any level need intangible skills such as: treating people with respect; being honest as to project status; being a good listener; keeping in sight what the overall mission is and prioritizing technology implementation within budget and cultural realities.

Here is a summary of seven skill sets that will set you apart:

1. Be Stakeholder Savvy
Connect with stakeholders at all levels and departments within your organization including program managers, technical managers, contracting staff and senior executives. This will give you access to the organizational intelligence you will need when you must deploy resources to meet competing goals. Be an active participant and you will develop the business savvy you need to succeed.

Also be willing to work at any hour, IT often means the flexibility to work non-standard hours and be available 24/7.

2. Set Reasonable Expectations
Organizations are looking to IT to deliver solutions. Don’t over promise and set expectations properly so that your management and users understand how much the solution will cost, how long it will take to deploy, and exactly what it can and can’t do.

3. Be In Charge Of Your Budget
Be ready to discuss topics such as ROI and TCO with program and contracting staff. If you understand and can explain both the upfront and long-term costs of technology solutions, you’ll be better able to guide your organization in making technology choices that will positively impact the business. Managing your budget involves looking not only at expenditures, but also at expected returns.

4. Be A Trusted Technology Advisor
Be a realist as to what current and new technologies can do and not do. Say “no” to technologies that won’t fulfill the organization’s missions - no matter how “cool” they are. Do this and you’ll be seen as a credible source for technology advice and heighten your strategic value to the organization.

5. Get Credentials, Gain Practical Experience
Education and certifications such as MCSE, CCNA or CompTIA A+ matter. So do security specific certifications. A mix of Linux and Windows server abilities is extremely desirable.

The talent pool is deep, so you need to be able to compete. In government, you can take advantage of reimbursement programs for training opportunities, but if you must invest in certifications on your own- do it and you’ll quickly realize the return on this investment in your career.

Getting practical experience can be a “chicken and egg” dilemma. So, don’t be afraid to get down in the trenches. Build a server from scratch, which requires researching component capabilities, analyzing price/performance data, choosing brand or vendor, dealing with power, cooling and other “green” factors, and troubleshooting problems.

6. Be Tactful and Patient
Hone the skills that allow you to navigate smoothly through your organization. Often you will need to explain technology to non-technical staff and talk about the pros and cons in language they can relate to. Being patient is an absolute must. It can make or break your career as issues and problems often take much longer to solve than anticipated.

7. Be Optimistic - Mix management and IT skills
Come to work each day with a positive attitude. This will take you far. As you move higher up in the organization, the emphasis moves toward a mix of IT, management and other skills. Many of the issues faced have little to do with IT systems directly, such as power and cooling. If you want that senior management position you’ll need knowledge - or at least an understanding - of areas outside of IT, such as facility management, engineering, and probably corporate politics and PR.

“The need for management to communicate with those around them has never been more pressing. The rapid growth of technology has increased work complexity and the need to coordinate with many individuals located in multiple places and organizational units,” Lisagor told 1105 Government Information Group Custom Media.

“Every manager can make a difference, and the more enlightened the manager is, the more enlightened the organization will be.”

That’s some information any technologist can take to the bank.

-j

Want to know how the Federal Government uses virtualization?

I have often wondered how the really big technology users, like the Federal Government, utilize various technologies such as virtualization.

Now we can all get a first hand look by watching an eSeminar presented by Government Computer News. They are presenting Anil Karmel, a solutions architect in the network and infrastructure engineering division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in an eSeminar at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 24.

In the seminar Mr. Karmel will present on the initiatives taken by Los Alamos to address such things as green computing, disaster recovery and security. During the presentation he will discuss

How Los Alamos National Laboratory implemented virtualization to reduce their carbon footprint and consolidate data centers across their campus;

How to leverage server virtualization to cost-effectively supplement your disaster-recovery or business-continuity plan;

How to identify “low hanging fruit” for your agency’s green initiatives while achieving a substantial return on your investment; and

Moving computing from the desktop to the data center to enhance your agency’s security.

Sounds like a good place to learn about how some really smart people implement virtualization. I certainly plan on being there. You can read more about it here.

-j