On Saturday March 21 we had a help desk party at Saby Thai in San Jose. Ruchi Binjola and others at the help desk put together an excellent party for help desk and former help desk staff. We celebrated the recent marriages of several of our help desk couples. It was a great party!
[Click here to see more photos]
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Gnanaprakash Pitchika "Prakash" Venkateswarlu and Dhiwakar Mani are two of the help desk staffers who graduated this Fall. Saturday I went to the College of Engineering graduation to celebrate with the graduates. We are loosing 12 of 24 student staff members.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Yesterday SJSU President Jon Whitmore sent an e-mail to the campus community that said, "should the United Auto Workers Local 4123 representing the teaching associates, graduate assistants and undergraduate instructional student assistants initiate or become involved in a job action on the San Jose State campus. This campus will remain open during any such job action. Student instruction and other student services will continue during this activity.The university is obligated as a public institution to provide these student services."
According to a United Auto Workers (UAW) press release this does not seem to be an immediate threat:
(CALIFORNIA) – California Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg will sit down with UAW Local 4123 and the California State University in an effort to reach resolution on their contract dispute. The dispute is centered around a fee waiver benefit for academic student employees. UAW Local 4123 has agreed to postpone its strike, originally scheduled to begin at 7 AM, December 10, pending these meetings with the University and Senate President Pro Tempore Steinberg.
Whitmore said non-UAW represented employees are expected to work, and cross picket lines in the event of a job action. Whitmore said, "You are expected to continue to come to work and to perform your job duties. You are to report to work each scheduled workday at the start of your regular work shift."
Technorati Tags: sjsu, San Jose State University, Unions, ssloansjca
SJSU has a huge community of Indian students. They are very far from home. They have their own unique perspectives on the recent terrorist attacks in India. Some may like to be able to share their perspectives with friends and family, both here and back home.
I have booked Clark Hall 116 at SJSU on Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. for an open mike podcast recorded conversation to discuss SJSU student perspectives on the Mumbai attacks.
This is the result of a request by an Indian student to provide an Internet forum for, "inputs on this recent terrorist attack and aftermath."
Of course, the podcast will be put on the Internet. SJSU Journalism students have also been invited. Other interested members of the campus community are also invited.
[More information about the podcast is here]
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Fall 2007 New Media Class
I am really sorry my Fall 2007 new media in journalism class is over. We had a lot of fun. This was a great group and all of them accomplished a lot. Every student graduated with his or her own podcast. We did Photoshop, InDesign (for web delivery), Dreamweaver, audio/video production, RSS, blogging, video blogging (vlogging) and podcasting. They did a great job and I am very proud of them. Here are their stories:
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Jour96e, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Loosing some great students and friends
The best part of the job is the students. The worst part is when they leave. Really great students become a part of your lives. They become like family. That is the way I feel about some of the students in Journalism and Mass Communications where I teach and about many of the students at the San Jose State Help Desk where I work days. Some of the best students are graduating this winter; wonderful folks like Ross Bytheway, Rohan Saxena, Jimit Raval and especially Pranav Patel and Aditi Sinha. Aditi and Pranav are such great young people. They have been real hard workers and we owe so much to them regarding the success of the Academic Success Center stage area in Clark Hall. They really put their heart into the help desk and have made San Jose State University a better university. So many students, faculty and staff have been more successful in their academic pursuits because of the hard work, passion and dedication of Aditi and Pranav. They have made a real difference in my life. They are great people. I am proud to have worked with them and am lucky to know them. People don't get much better than these two.
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Happy Birthday Aditi
Aditi Sinha is one of our senior student assistant leads at the help desk. She has been at the help desk for a long time and soon she will be graduating. Aditi is from India. She is smart, dedicated and committed to the help desk and the folks who work there. She almost always has a smile and makes us all feel like family. She is a natural leader and an inspiration. She is one of the nicest students I have known in my over twenty-three years at the university and when she graduates it will be a big loss for us and our university. We are really going to miss her.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
What Journalism Students are Having for Lunch
In my class today we did a fun assignment. I wanted the students to be able to tell a story on the Internet using video. So I came up with an assignment where they do a short video talking about that they had for lunch, and post it to the class blog. It ended up being a lot of fun and the answers are pretty interesting I think. They did a great job!
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca, j-school
Training Time
With the coming semester we have been putting a huge emphisis on training. Here student lead Aditi Sinha speaks to the student staff at the San Jose State University help desk.
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Why do we need bikes to be ridden across campus?
There is a proposal to change Presidential Directive 90-01, the bike policy at SJSU, I am a bicyclist and I am against such a change. In my opinion it is not necessary to change this policy. In my opinion, the policy as currently constituted meets the needs of the university. In fact, in my opinion the need today may be even greater than it was then to have such a policy to protect the safety of both pedestrians and cyclists.
If you go to this page on the Website of the Parking Traffic and Transit Advisory Committee at SJSU, you can view all the related proposals. On this page you can read a story that ran in the Spartan Daily on the subject.
A question of safety
I was the president of the staff employees union at the time the old rule was passed and was on the Campuswide Safety Advisory Committee (CSAC) that recommended to the university president Gail Fullerton that bicycle riding, not bicycles themselves, be banned from the campus core. This was after several people were struck by speeding bicyclists in and around the campus.
Why is this policy needed even more now?
Most folks riding bikes on campus are not trained cyclists using appropriate safety gear and practicing appropriate riding safety. In my opinion the old policy is even more needed more now because there are more people on campus and the casual cyclists are more distracted by things like cell phones and iPods that did not exist when the old bicycle policy was drafted. A large number of these casual cyclists do not use safety devices like bicycle helmets or use bells and other devices to alert pedestrians to their presence. Even if the cyclists do attempt to be heard, many students now have iPods and phone headsets and are less aware of their surroundings than ever before. Despite this many cyclists, and I use that term now to mean anybody riding a bike on campus, ride at an unsafe speed through crowds and often do not warn folks on campus of their presence. I have seen, and photographed, folks riding track bikes on campus. These are hard core racing bikes that only have one gear, a fast gear, and do not have brakes. Track bikes are designed to be ridden on bicycle racing tracks, like the San Jose Velodrome in Hellyer Park.
What about students, faculty and staff who are disabled?
According to the Spartan Daily Temesgen Atzbaha, Associated Students director of campus climate affairs and member of the Parking, Traffic and Transportation Committee, said the current bicycle policy is "unclear and that the new policy would make rules easier to understand." That is all well and good, in my opinion, but it does not meet the needs of folks who are most likely to be impacted, literally, if bicycles are ridden on campus. Disabled members of the campus community may not hear or see the approach of a bicyclist and/or may not be able to get out of a bicyclists way or may even go into their path.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
In my opinion the old policy was adequate. To be clear, the old policy did not ban bicycles on campus. The old policy identified bicycle corridors on campus where bicycles could be ridden, they could be walked in the campus core. This way bicycles could be brought close enough to be safely walked the remaining short distance needed to reach anywhere a bike could need to go at SJSU. What I think we need is more, not less, enforcement of the bicycle policy (and remember I am a bicyclist!) If the policy isn't broken, why "fix" it?
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, bicycling, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Greylin Fairweather is a graduate student and builder at SJSU's School of Library and Information Science virtual campus in Second Life. According to the description of the blog Fairweather said, "When I'm not there, you'll probably find me in my Star Trek themed club, Cardancia. See you on the grid! :)"
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, SLIS, Second Life, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Recommended listening: Interviewing Techniques
This podcast, from the Podcast Academy, is for all podcasters and applies equally well to broadcast journalists and even print journalists and journalism students. This audio podcast is by Gayl Murphy, the title is Killer Interviewing Tactics: Get The Most from Your Guests. This is from last year's Podcast and Portable Media Expo. According to the description of the show:
Murphy has the experience to back up what she says, having over 14,000 interviews to her credit. Most of these have been with celebrities from the entertainment world but the principles that make a good interview - and a good interviewer - are the same no matter who the subject may be.
Gayl Murphy is a veteran interviewer [bio] and author of the book, Interview Tactics! How To Survive The Media Without Getting Clobbered!
Technorati Tags: podcasts, Podcasting, J-School, Journalism, Web 2.0, Gayl Murphy, ssloansjca
Help Desk Leads Are Irreplaceable
These two inspired, intelligent and dedicated young student employees are critical to, and dedicated to, the functioning of the Help Desk at SJSU. They are the student leads at the Help Desk. I have no idea what I would do without them. Aditi and Pranav are from India. They and the other Help Desk students from India have taught me so much about their country I have never been to. They make me want to go.
I am so proud of Pranav and Aditi and the other help desk staff, like they are my own family. The Help Desk has become so big and our mission has expanded greatly since we moved to Clark Hall. I am thankful that these students work at SJSU and appreciate them so much. Their parents have much to proud of. They must be great people to have such fine kids. Knowing them is a real pleasure.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, sjsuhelpdesk, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Help Desk Friday
On some Fridays we have a pizza party at the help desk. Last week was my first week back after my vacation and we did training all that week. It was a busy week, despite the summer break. Also, while the traffic levels at the help desk have been nothing like we have seen during the semester we have had a surprisingly high level of student use of the labs. The staff we have here has been doing a great job!
We are on shorter hours over the summer and I have seen folks come by the entrance to the Academic Success Center in Clark Hall, where our help desk is located, both before we open and after we close wanting to use the lab. This is a popular place.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, Camera Phones, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
A special announcement from Paul Puri, Assistant Organizer of The Silicon Valley Podcasting Meetup Group:
We had a great first run at the new location at San Jose State University. We got a lot ironed out about what we could do with this great new location. We have free parking, free internet access, a wall full of computer workstations for training sessions, and a large screen for a projector that we can hook up to any computer with a VGA out. What can be more cooler than that?
How about being walking distance from pizza, McDonalds, and a ton of other great places to eat? Still not convinced? How about all of this in a nice large quiet building where we can accommodate every podcaster that belongs to this group. Still not convinced? Take a look at next months agenda, and tell me you can't wait until next month.
The Podcast and New Media Expo is coming soon. When and where is it? Why should you go? What should you bring? Those who have attended this fun and educational event will be sharing their stories. So come if you've never been, to learn more. And if you have been to the expo, share all the goodness that makes this event worth going to every year.
Go to this website for more info about this great event.
Hopefully we'll answer any questions you bring along.
Plus, as always, a question and answer session for any topics and meet and greet for all newcomers.
We are now meeting at San Jose State University!
Best routes to campus: From I-280, take either the 11th Street or the 7th Street exit to East San Salvador or East San Fernando. Dwight Bentel Hall is in the middle of the campus.
On Third Street, the parking structure is free after 6PM.
If you park in a campus garage, it is at least $5.00.
If you would like to chip in, we can order pizza from a local pizzeria, or bring something for yourself.
The room is upstairs in Dwight Bentel Hall. Here is a more detailed map of the area using Google Maps. It shows you how to get to the location, and where to park. Here is a map of the campus. The hall is located in the bottom right of the green(ish) section.
Thanks,
Paul Puri Assistant Organizer
Sutor's visit rocked!
Yesterday Bob Sutor, IBM's Vice president of Standards and Open Source, visited SJSU. He spoke to a small group of Business, Engineering, Computer Science and Journalism students and faculty. He put on a great presentation, I wish my whole class could have heard it.
Sutor spoke about open source and how it differs from open standards and about the need for hardware and software manufacturers to comply with open standards to ensure interoperability. He also spoke about Web 2.0 and blogging. According to Sutor blogging, which has been in the mainstream for 4-5 years, is changing the face of journalism, business and politics. Sutor said, "everybody is a journalist."
On the subject of open source, Sutor spoke extensively about Web Services and Apache Web Server, the free application that powers the majority of the world's web servers. "Apache is an example of open source," Sutor said. According to Sutor the first web services standard was published seven years before by both IBM and Microsoft on the same date as his presentation. "There is still a place for proprietary solutions," said Sutor. But, he said, "you can build a business on open source, just ask Google." Google's servers run their own version of Linux according to Sutor. "Education is the biggest adopter of open source," Sutor said. As an example for how open source applies to education and government agencies, Sutor recommended the Guide to Open Source Software for Australian Government Agencies. Sutor also spoke a lot about Moodle and other open source solutions for education.
Sutor spoke a lot about open standards and how they relate to competition and innovation. From the perspective of the provider competition may not seem good and they may work very hard to convince you of the need to go with a sole provider. But for the buyer competition is good as it drives down prices and drives the providers to innovate. But, in order for this to be possible buyers have to insist on open standards to assure interoperability, according to Sutor. It is hard for some vendors to let go of closed standards. Sutor said letting go of closed standards for them can be compared to the five stages of grief.
Sutor spoke extensively about virtual worlds and specifically Second Life. He showed the group IBM's SOA island in Second Life. Note - IBM SOA stands for Service Oriented Architecture. The IBM island has customer briefing rooms where employees can meet with each other and with customers in a virtual environment that eliminates the need for travel. According to Sutor there are between 36,000 to 38,000 people in Second Life at any given moment. Second Life has its own currency and its own virtual economy. They are planning to open source their server software which would enable organizations like SJSU to create our own virtual worlds, said Sutor. "This is huge," he said.
We need to do a better job of spreading the word on events like this. I have only captured a small amount of what Sutor said. I was inspired.
Full Disclosure
My wife, Susan Graziano Sloan works for IBM in a different division than Sutor. She works on IBM's DB2 database product and wrote a couple of books on DB2 including DB2 for z/OS.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Bob Sutor, IBM, Open Source, Open Standards, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
Tuesday Funnies
Friday funnies came late. I am planning to use this video today when we talk about Fair Use.
Opinion: Being a student is hard enough!
We do not need to make it harder. So, why do we make it so hard and what can be done about it?
In my opinion a President's level body should be formed to look into what are the unnecessary stress points at our university. This investigation should be carried out as openly and transparently as possible while respecting the rights of privacy of the individuals involved. Students, faculty and staff should be encouraged to report to this new office processes and procedures we have at SJSU that are unnecessarily cumbersome, bureaucratic, redundant or irritating. The commission of the new body would be to investigate each problem and too keep it on its agenda until the problem is resolved and the process streamlined. Lack of funds to fix a problem is not an excuse for the perpetuation of the problem. If a problem process is investigated and found to be cumbersome and stress causing it should be discontinued or brought to the attention of the chancellor's office and/or the state legislature. In my opinion there is no excuse for the sorry state our higher educational system is in. If we fix these irritating cumbersome, bureaucratic and redundant hoops we make our students jump through we not only will lower the campus tension level we may find we are saving the taxpayer's money.
Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, SJSU, Campus Life, Virginia Shootings, CSU, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca
