Tag Archives: education

Beyond Life Hacking

We shared an article recently on the phenomenon and history of life hacking. That article started me thinking about the need for life hacks. Which life hacks am I employing to simplify my life or make it more efficient?

History

As the article explores, life hacking as a term goes back to the mid-2000s but the concept dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century and beyond, as we sought ways to wring out every last ounce of inefficiency, especially in the work place. The wisdom says that if we can find five minutes here and ten minutes there, pretty soon it all starts to add up to real time savings that we can use in other parts of our lives. Perhaps we can gain a few minutes to actually relax, for example. I would argue, however, that we are human beings and not systems or machines. I am not convinced that it is a good idea to measure and systemize everything just to realize a few minutes of time savings.

Fifty Life Hacks to Simplify Your World

The official website of life hacking (you knew there had to be one) is lifehack.org. On this site, they list fifty life hacks to simplify your world. A lot of them are common sense but they are all designed to save you seconds or even minutes in your busy life. Some are designed to help you find things that you misplace, such as keys. Personally, that would give me back quite a bit of time. Others are everyday tips to simplify and unclutter your life, ostensibly so that you can have a few more minutes to actually live and enjoy life.

Life Hack Apps

The modern version of automating tasks is to create an app. I entered “life hacking” in Google Play and there are several apps that share tips or work to organize your life. They help you set alarms, keep lists and schedules, or remind you of appointments and life events. Some scrape data from the Internet, some just help you access tools that are already on your smartphone to make you more efficient. There are apps and devices that help you track and maximize the value that you get from your sleep each night. Now we have sleep hacking! Everything is designed to make your life ultraefficient, but I worry that it is also taking some of the fun and uncertainty out of life.

Thoughts

I understand the need for life hacking tools. We are all crazy busy and our work lives and personal lives often have melded into one continuous stream. It is sometimes hard to tell where one stops and the other begins. I would like to suggest that instead of hacking every aspect of our being, we put on the brakes once in a while and just be. Sit in a chair in the sunshine and do nothing. Reflect on the wonders of nature or the success that you have attained in life as opposed to worrying about the next minute, the next meeting, and the next assignment. I think that will do as much to recharge your system as any life hack. The world will still be there when you come back and most likely will not have missed you as much as you think. We thrive on being busy and accomplishing incredible tasks, but when was the last time you really relaxed? There is real power and real health benefits in shutting down occasionally, even for just a few minutes.

When was the last time you stopped your world for some time out? Do you have one favorite life hack that affords you those few moments to do just that?

Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

The Maker Movement

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I have been reading up lately on the maker movement. This has been a recognized movement for at least two to three years, so I am late to the game but I am trying to understand the motivation behind it. Why now? What is driving us to want to make? Is this really something new or did we just give it a new label?

The maker movement is generally defined as a trend in which individuals or groups of individuals create and market products that they invented. This could take the form of electronics, clothing, food, or just about anything else. What is new and different about this trend is that people are pooling their resources, skills, and knowledge to create something new. The resulting products do not have large venture capital backing but are businesses growing from the ground up. Sometimes they use kickstarter funding which is a confluence of individuals making and individuals willing to invest in a new idea or product. People have found the tools and resources necessary to bring their idea to light (and the market) through maker spaces, also called hacker spaces, and through maker faires.

Maker Space

A maker space or hacker space is a collective place where people can use tools and tap into knowledge that they would not necessarily have access to. These can be a community space opened by an individual or they can show up in libraries and even museums. Some of these spaces have tools as elaborate as 3D printers and laser cutters. Some have circuitry, soldering irons, and instructions to develop skills. In other words, you bring the idea and skilled individuals are often available to teach you how to turn the idea into a marketable product. Large corporations such as General Electric (GE) are even getting in on the trend with GE Garages. They make available tools that would normally be out of the price range of individuals. I assume that there is some sharing of intellectual property in return for providing tools and expertise.

Maker Faire

A Maker Faire is a planned event that draws people to share their ideas and show off products that they have made. In the United States, there are large faires in the Bay Area, Kansas City, New York City, and Detroit. Internationally, there are maker faires in London, Paris, and other cities. There are also several smaller local faires that bring people together to collaborate and to exhibit crafted products.

Etsy

With all of these products being made, there needs to be a marketplace to share and sell the goods. Etsy was one of the first to step up to fill the bill. This is basically an electronic Saturday market where makers get their own store to sell their goods. Their motto is “shop directly from people around the world”. The whole infrastructure is available to makers from tools and expertise to marketplaces. The maker needs to bring an idea and a desire to make something worthwhile.

Thoughts

As I first jumped into this, I thought that maybe this trend was a backlash at the isolation that is sometimes felt by pushing ones and zeros through the ether all day long. However, I think it is more than that. I think this is really a confluence of an innate need to make things combined with a need for the advanced tools and infrastructure and skills available to turn ideas into reality. People are relying on each other more and reaching out to help others. I believe that there is a need to own and use unique products that are made by individuals with a dream and a plan. This is one way that we are trying to connect again with ourselves and with each other. Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown

How Much Privacy?

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I read an article recently in the MIT Technology Review titled “Laws and Ethics Can’t Keep Pace with Technology”. It helped me to understand that laws naturally follow our actions and experiments and there can sometimes be a lag between the action and the law. As technology development cycles become shorter, I expect the lag to become greater as we wrestle with exactly what needs to be regulated and in what form. With that in mind, I started thinking about privacy and security. Specifically, what message are we sending to our lawmakers about privacy? Do our words match our actions? Are we asking for laws that we are not truly passionate about, at least in deed?

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in 1996 in response to a need to protect health information and the need to transport patient information securely from doctor to doctor. Within the HIPAA legislation, there is a privacy rule and a security rule. According to the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS):

The Privacy Rule establishes national standards for the protection of certain health information. The Security Rule establishes a national set of security standards for protecting certain health information that is held or transferred in electronic form.

The Security Rule operationalizes the Privacy Rule and sets standards for maintaining and transporting patient information. This is a case where a privacy need was met but it did not come to fruition until there were some lapses of security surrounding patient information. It took a strong call to action before standards were formulated and established.

Current Privacy Debate

There are some serious lapses currently in how we handle customer or personally identifiable information (PII), such as credit card and social security numbers. I am thinking of TJX and the security lapse that lasted from mid-2005 to December 2006. It is estimated that 47.5 million customer records were stolen. More recently was the Target security breach, which left customer information vulnerable to theft. Target announced that they are moving to a more secure “chip and pin” card system, but this is of little consequence to those Target customers that have already been affected. The barn door is open and the cows are out. When breaches such as this happen, we are all outraged and there is a temporary furor, but then we go back to using the same card, downloading unsecure apps and shopping at unsecure websites. Are we really angry enough to ask for laws calling for stronger protection of our personal information? What if it inconveniences us? What if we could no longer find our best friend whose smart phone is constantly broadcasting their geolocation?

The Flip Side

I believe that there is a lot of complacency and apathy today in terms of privacy and security. There are a lot of apps that gather our personal information. They can and do so because we allow and enable them. While there is a growing number of people concerned about their privacy and security, flawed applications and flawed financial cards have become a way of doing business. It is becoming difficult to find alternate paths to work in a secure world. Although flawed applications and flawed financial cards have become a way of doing business, there are a growing number of people who are concerned about their privacy and security.

Thoughts

I don’t think that new laws are necessarily the best way to generate a sense of responsibility for our own security, but we need to stand up and vote with our feet and our pocketbooks to say, “I choose to keep my personal information private, and I will only deal with others that will do the same”. Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown

Trends in Higher Education

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I have been talking with people this last week about education and their needs. Specifically, I have been thinking about trends in education. How are our needs changing, and is the education world changing fast enough to meet those needs? Here are some current trends that I think we need to be talking about and that need to be addressed.

Education for Skills

Because of the recent recession, it is even more imperative that students are trained for tangible and applicable skills. Often, college is seen as a time for exploring career options, but that can be a very pricey journey, given the current tuition rates. I would like to suggest a series of low-price courses at the beginning of the academic pursuit that allow students to briefly explore different career options. Such an approach would ensure that the bulk of college experience is applied to preparing for a career of the student’s choice. This is one way to minimize the time spent in college and money spent on the education journey.

Rising Tuition

Rising tuition over the last several years has brought about two fundamental shifts. First of all, students are borrowing more to complete their education, which means they are saddled with debt. Tuition hikes are also pushing students who are unwilling, or unable to take on that debt, out of the college experience. This makes it even more important that we educate for skills so that the learning is directly applicable to a vocation. In the end, it is employers who will dictate what skills and qualifications they expect to see in a prospective hire, which may include undergraduate, graduate, or even less expensive vocational or certification training. Employers need to be clear about their preferences and expectations so students can make their choices accordingly. This clarity will help students avoid costly mistakes by being overeducated or overqualified.

Changing Demographics

We are currently going through a generational shift as baby boomers are starting to retire and the next two generations are working their way up or into the workforce. The next generations do not necessarily have the same learning styles or expectations as their parents; they are more computer savvy and more comfortable learning outside of a traditional classroom. Are we changing our delivery methods to accommodate them or are we still clinging to the same educational models used in ancient Greece? I am suggesting that we may have outlived those models and need to be responsive to other methods of learning.

Changing Technology

With the advent of pervasive computing, the Internet, and mobile technologies, there are so many more methods available to deliver quality education. I think that employing a combination of these will help drive down the cost of education in the future. It is possible that students can continue to live in their hometown while pursuing an education from a remote college. Will that reduce their academic experience or will it prepare them that much more for an increasingly distributed work environment?

Thoughts

The purpose of this post is to get us thinking about the business of academia and question whether we are doing all that we can to deliver the promise of a first rate education to as many students as possible. Are we being creative enough in developing options or are we clinging to models that are becoming irrelevant and obsolete? Do you feel that you are prepared for our changing professional world? Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown

The Power of Continuing Education

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My life has been heavily influenced by continuing education. I forgot to go to college at eighteen like everyone else (OK, it was a conscious choice) but still managed to land a good job early on in the high tech industry. It didn’t take me long to realize that I really did need more education in order to not only remain in my position but also to advance. For a number of years I worked full time while pursuing an undergraduate and and then a graduate degree. In the process, I came to appreciate the value of an ongoing education and made a commitment to myself to continue studying beyond my degrees.

The Next Big Thing

I think that we all need to be ready for the next big thing. The only problem is that we don’t always know what the next big thing is. So, how do you prepare when you don’t know what is coming? This is the power of continuing education. Not only does learning improve your ability to better see into the future but it can also prepare for it. In our fast-paced world, it is not easy to keep up on trends or technologies that can and will benefit our business, but keep up we must.

Courses

When was the last time that you took a class to sharpen your skills or to learn a new skill? In addition to academic studies, over the years I have taken courses in cooking, baking, welding, basket weaving, guitar, and scuba diving, among other things. They were all relaxing in that they did not relate to my career in any way, but they also taught me a new skill and sharpened my learning abilities.

Do you need to pick up a certification to be current in your job and in your career? There are classes, both onsite and online that can help you learn that new skill. Perhaps you are thinking of starting a new degree program? That takes a big commitment in terms of time and resources but can open doors that were previously closed to you. If you’re on the threshold, I would encourage you to jump in. It can be a very rewarding experience and lead to future possibilities you had never considered.

Reading

How often do you pick up a book or an e-book? When was the last time you read one? I always have a current book that I am reading, either in preparation for a course or something tied to my other interests. I have always enjoyed reading and I count on the ideas that I glean from this activity to keep me mentally awake and sharpen my critical thinking skills. Be it career-related material or in another field of interest, it is an excellent form of continuous education. If you dropped the habit of reading after your formal education, you should pick up a book and try it again. You will be surprised what you will learn.

Audio

I am in the process of re-listening to a lecture series called “The Great Ideas of Philosophy.” I occasionally get distracted, especially while driving, and I need to listen multiple times. I am fascinated by the history of philosophy and how each set of ideas builds on the thoughts that came before. I can sometimes see and recognize threads of previous thinkers in today’s modern philosophies. I have even thought of pursuing a degree in philosophy so that I can discover that one critical thought that preceded all the others. Although philosophy is a hobby, listening to the lectures helps keep me sharp and open to ideas and new ways of thinking.

Teaching

Do you have a skill that you are willing to teach others? Teaching is a great way to keep learning. In order to teach, you need to make sure you know your topic and continually stay on top of your skills. Plus, the teacher can often learn something from the students. If you are open to new ideas, those inspirations can come when you are not expecting them. If you have the opportunity to teach a skill, even on a volunteer basis, do it. It can be very rewarding and a good way to polish your subject and teaching skills. Two for one!

Thoughts

What do you do to stay current and learn or practice skills? Give me some feedback and inspire me to learn even more.

About Kelly Brown

Dare to be Different

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Kelly Brown wearing the bicycle helmet cover.

I am not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I recognize time as a human construct and I would like to believe that I can make decisions to improve or change my life in July or October as well as January. That being said, I did decide on a personal mantra this year and came to that realization on January 1. My mantra this year is “dare to be different”.

Taking the plunge

Two things that happened on January 1 led me to this mantra. On this day in my town, the local pool holds a “Polar Bear Swim” to raise money for charity. For a nominal fee, you can plunge down the outdoor slide into the unheated outdoor pool. The outside temperature this year was in the high thirties and I willingly paid my money to participate for the first time. The water pushing you down the slide is cold enough but plunging into the pool at the bottom is a complete shock. I tried it twice to make sure I got the full experience before retreating to the indoor kiddy pool to thaw out. As I emerged from the water, I thought to myself, “if I can do this, I can do anything this year.”

A new hat

As different as it was to ring in the New Year with a dip in a cold pool with a few new best friends, I decided to up the ante. I recently purchased a bicycle helmet cover from an eleven year-old friend of mine who invented and sells this product. Think of a giant, stretchy Koosh ball. I decided to wear it as a swim cap since I was already far outside my comfort zone. I was amazed at all of the positive comments that I received from young and old alike. Needless to say, I was the only one sporting this new fashion trend but people genuinely connected with it, I think because it was so different.

The challenge

I have come to realize that many times in life we do things a certain way because others do it and have done it that way for a long time. I have caught myself several times questioning why I follow certain routines and have started to question them and challenge myself to try something different. For example, why do we all enter an elevator and then turn to face the door? I know that there are structural reasons such as an easy exit, but what would happen if you faced the back instead of the front? Would it feel uncomfortable to actually face strangers? Sure, the first few times. Would it give you an opportunity to ask a stranger how their day is going? Absolutely. Would it give you an opportunity to make a new friend? It depends on how many floors you travel together. It can feel intimidating to not travel with the crowd but it can also be potentially very rewarding.

Thoughts

Dare to be different. This is especially important for young people that face constant peer pressure but it is also important for everyone who wants to be genuine and true to themselves. It’s all right to step out of the crowd every once in awhile. Have you tried anything out of the ordinary this week? Tell me about it.

About Kelly Brown

Jobs of the Future

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I have been thinking lately about the jobs of the future and what kind of education and training will be required to perform them. A recent article about the need of a tech hero in the trucking industry caused me to wonder what other new skills will be in demand.

Tech Hero

In the article above, the authors lament the fact that trucking relies on an increasing array of digital devices, both mobile and stationary, within the vehicles. GPS tracking and mobile communication are now the standard. The fleet owner or truck driver, however, just needs to get the load from point A to point B in the most efficient manner possible. The technology helps them do that, but it is a double-edged sword because of the overhead and education it requires to keep all of the devices up and running on the latest revisions. There are other industries that could also take advantage of a tech hero, and it will be necessary to have someone to smooth the digital connection.

Home Systems Integrator

I never thought that I would see the day when home network hubs are a reality, but they are becoming more widespread. With the growing popularity of devices like the Nest home thermostat and smoke detector, and other connected appliances and entertainment systems, the home is becoming a sophisticated network. Already, it can be difficult to set up a new home entertainment system and make sure that it connects and stays connected with the other entertainment devices such as game consoles, movie streaming devices, and the home wireless system. Someone who knows the difference between HDMI and a DVI port could be in high demand because there will be a need to integrate all of these systems.

Personal Digital Assistant

I am not talking about an old Palm Pilot but an individual that would consult with other individuals to make their digital devices work better and connect with each other. As an example, there are thousands of apps available and some interact with other apps and other devices. While we have come a long way in developing a better user experience, certain devices, apps, and programs are not for the faint of heart. We already have the Geek Squad from Best Buy, but I think that people are going to want a more personal experience from someone who understands their unique situation and needs. This will become a growing opportunity for people with the right skills.

Education

The person prepared to take on these new jobs will need to possess a combination of technical, communication, and entrepreneurial skills. Such specialists will have to be well grounded in various aspects of networking, connectivity, and consumer devices. More importantly, they will need to keep up on developments and changes related to this field. Excellent communication skills will be paramount to communicate with individuals—some of whom will require a lot of assistance and others very little. These professionals will need to be skilled at working with people from different backgrounds and of different generations. The entrepreneurial skills will be necessary to start and develop a personalized business niche of such services to individuals and small businesses. I believe that these jobs will be in demand but it will take a special individual to cultivate all of these skills.

Thoughts

Can you think of other new jobs that will develop in the near future? Are you preparing yourself now to tackle those jobs? Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown

Leaving A Legacy

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Not long ago I wrote a blog post about the problems of legacy systems and the fact that they can hinder innovation because they leave you tied to old platforms, old programs, and old ideas. Recently, however, I have been thinking about leaving a positive legacy. I think that there are three basic ways that a person can leave a legacy.

1. Build Something

Perhaps your lot in life is to build something great. This could be a great product, a great company or maybe a great process that helps make the world more effective and efficient. Thomas Edison is an example of a person that had the need, the desire, and the skill to build something. He left a lasting legacy in many ways. Whatever you choose to build, I challenge you to build something that will last and not just something for the expediency of the moment or the day. Make it count. Make it last.

2. Teach Someone

Teaching is a way to broaden your reach and your influence. You don’t need to be a formal teacher or professor, but look for opportunities large and small to be able to teach someone a skill, an action or a principle. You may never know the far- reaching consequences of your actions. I believe that John Wooden, the late great UCLA basketball coach was an example of an excellent teacher. < http://www.coachwooden.com title= Information about John Wooden> Some may argue that his legacy was coaching ten NCAA championship basketball teams, but at the end of the day he was a teacher of young men. He taught them basketball, leadership, and skills that they would retain for the rest of their lives.

3. Inspire Someone

Inspiring someone does not have to be a grand production. Even quiet acts can move people to do great things, and a real-life example is the best kind of inspiration. A number of years ago I attended the funeral of a friend who was prominent in the community. He was generous with both his time and his money. The hall was packed with friends and relatives and I was inspired that day to raise my level of activity and leadership to help in a small way to fill the void that he left. You never know when you might inspire someone else to greatness.

Thoughts

We all have the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy by building something, teaching someone, or inspiring someone. A transitory legacy is just that, it is transitory. I challenge you to look at your calendar today to see if there is an activity or an appointment or a task that will start you on the road to building your legacy. Build something that will last.

What are you going to do today to build something great or inspire someone else to greatness? Let me know.

About Kelly Brown

The Inevitability of Change

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In a recent article in the MIT Technology Review, author David Rotman quotes assertions by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee revealing that “impressive advances in computer technology—from improved industrial robotics to automated translation services—are largely behind the sluggish employment growth of the last 10 to 15 years.” My initial reaction was one of concern but, at the same time, if their assumptions are correct, I would not want to throttle technological advancement to keep the status quo. For me, it comes down to the fact that the information technology world is changing and jobs are changing. The questions that I ask myself are these: “Am I changing, and am I in a position to take advantage of this changing world?”

History

Information has traditionally been tangential to main business processes but has never been the process itself. It is either used as an input to a business process or becomes an output. Now, there are whole companies and whole industries built solely on the brokering, storage, and exchange of information. Information now is the business process. Information is the product. While it is true that technology, and, more specifically, information technology has replaced some traditional jobs and careers, it has also created brand new fields and opportunities.

New Beginnings

I am just starting a new course today in Information Systems and Management; this new start always spurs my thinking about the changing landscape of information technology. I also think about the inevitability of change, especially in the IT field. We can either view change as an opportunity or a threat. We can either fear change or embrace it.

Fear of Change

As the information technology field changes, information professionals need to change also. This is a fast-paced field, and we need to keep abreast of the latest offerings, technologies, and breakthroughs. To be afraid of change is to be afraid of opportunities. A number of years ago, I had a colleague who was a computer operator (I go back a long ways). As the world transitioned away from central computing to personal computing, the computer room and the computer operator position disappeared. Unfortunately, my colleague did not keep up with the changes, mainly due to fear and apathy, and he eventually lost his job. It was unfortunate but inevitable.

The Next Chapter

The struggle today is how to deal with mobile devices and how to sort out and analyze increasing amounts of information. The challenge is to make sense of all of the data that we are generating and make intelligent decisions based on those findings. There are abundant opportunities out there if we are willing to stretch and learn and apply our skills. Are we learning all we can to meet the challenges? Do we have the right skill set to sort out the thorniest problems? What do we need to do to upgrade our skills and retool?

Thoughts

What are you doing today to prepare for the next chapter? What are your long-term plans? Are you ready? Let me know your thoughts.

About Kelly Brown
Kelly Brown is an IT professional, adjunct faculty for the University of Oregon, and academic director of the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT topics that keep him up at night.

Maintaining Our Technology Lead

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Background

Recently, there was an article published in Information Week in which author and former Department of Transportation CIO Nitin Pradhan posed the question: “Do we need a U.S. Department of Technology?” Pradhan lays out his argument for a U.S. cabinet level department of technology to promote technology education and technology jobs in the U.S. I disagree and would like to offer an alternate view on how we can address the same issue.

The Issue

Mr. Pradhan argues that we need a centralized coordination point to retain our global technology lead and that we should combine current technology departments for efficiency and to have one strong voice. He writes, “Tech industries grow because of the availability of research and development dollars, a high-quality education system, a tech-savvy workforce, a large local technology marketplace and government incentives.” I agree with all except the last point, and that is where our thoughts diverge.

Early Education

A business maintains competitive advantage by investing in superior research and by hiring superior people that can carry out that research. I believe the key to developing those superior people lies in early education. The key lies in providing an engaging and compelling education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). If young people are excited about these fields, then they will be excited about finding new ways to use technology. This is what will lead them to maintain our technological edge. Since early education in the U.S. is largely a public function, then I agree with Mr. Pradhan that we need some governmental coordination. However, this needs to be done in lockstep with private industry that are the beneficiaries of this new talent, and I would argue that the push should be led by private industry. Larger government programs would only hinder the progress.

Proposal

Here is my early intervention proposal for increasing interest in technology and working to maintain our lead in the world:

Bring real world technology applications and research into the classroom. This benefits the school by raising the awareness and interest of the students. It benefits the business by increasing their exposure to future employees and by garnering ideas from a broader audience. Crowdsourcing ideas from a middle school? Why not?
Encourage post secondary education in STEM by providing high school job shadowing opportunities with people who are creating the future. These could be in information technology, bioinformatics, or technology research.
The technology industry can step up to take the lead on creating this future. There are already several consortiums and associations formed to address various intercompany and interindustry problems. This education lead could be housed through one of the existing associations, to be co-led by an existing government agency.

Thoughts

The need exists and the desire exists to maintain our technology lead. The key is partnering to make technology exciting and fulfilling so that we can attract brilliant minds to help create our future. Do you agree? Are there other ways to reach this future state? Let me know your thoughts.