Dr. McEacharn writes:

Most of the business classes offered in the spring are identified as “Gold” which means that only students who are coded as an online student can register for the class on their own.  For the wintersession, there are a few classes identified as “Gold” but the majority of the business classes are coded as “Web” which means that any student can register for the class if it is open.

Students enrolled in an online degree program can register during priority registration which is on Thursday and Friday of next week (11/10 and 11/11).

For those students who are not enrolled in an online degree program but needs/wants to take an online class, the student should write out a request and turn it in to our office as soon as possible.  The student should include in the request their reason(s) for needing/wanting the online class.  We will begin reviewing those requests and making decisions about those requests next week.  In making decisions about whether a student is granted his/her request, the following issues are considered:

1. Online degree students are given first preference since this is the only means by which the student can take the class.
2. Students who need the class for graduation purposes and there is no face-to-face option are given the next highest priority.
3. Students who are in a degree program for which the class is required and their is no face-to-face option are next in line in priority.
4. Students with class conflicts for which no other alternative is available are given next priority.

If a student has other options (e.g., the degree requirement is a marketing elective, not a specific marketing class) or if a student ‘wants’ the class to better fit a work or class schedule, consideration of those requests will be made after registration has settled down and we have a firm handle on the demand for the class.  As has been done in the past, a few days before regular registration for the semester ends (in January for the spring classes), any online classes that have availability will be opened to all students.

Yes, the concentration in information security was approved at the beginning of October and you can choose it as an option beginning with the Fall 2011 semester. If you’re already in the program, you can change catalogs if you like.  Starting with Fall 2011 all CIS students will be required to take CINS 2020, 3002, 3006, 3040, 3044, 3050, and 4030. You’ll then have a choice of two tracks; CIS Main or InfoSec.

What classes do you take? Check out the table below:

All CIS Majors take:

• CINS 2020 – Beginning Programming
• CINS 3002 – Intermediate Programming
• CINS 3006 – Database Application Development
• CINS 3040 – Networking and Data Communication
• CINS 3044 – Information Security Management
• CINS 3050 – Management Information Systems
• CINS 4030 – Information Systems Analysis

Then… Choose your Focus

CIS Main (no concentration) take:

• CINS 4035 – Information Systems Design
• BUSN 4012 – Business Communication
• 6 hours of CIS Electives

OR

Information Security Concentration take:

As your Business Elective you’ll take INSU 2005 – Risk and Insurance.

• CINS 3045 – Info Security Practice
• CINS 3041 – Advanced Networking
• ACCT 4033 – Information Security Assurance
• INSU 3008 – Business Risk Management

A point to remember! If you’re thinking of taking the InfoSec option, you need to take INSU 2005 as a Business Elective early on in your program of work. This is the prerequisite for INSU 3008. This is a good class for all CIS majors to take since we work with risk management issues in application development as well.

For more information see your CIS adviser or contact Dr. Barnett (barnett@ulm.edu).

Part of the hype surrounding this new bit of consumer electronics has focused on how wonderful it would be for students, specifically the new iBooks product.  Textbooks would be available from the iTunes Bookstore, publishers could mix media with traditional text inside the books, students could take notes in books easier.  Well, those things might be true.  If textbooks were released in a form specifically designed for presentation on a multimedia platform like a computer or iPad, you could in fact use mixed media and create notes that could be indexed and searched. I personally own a Kindle (as in I bought it with my own tiny state employee salary) and have a number of professional books on it.  Despite the limits of the Kindle device in terms of screen size and lack of colour, I do like the ebook form factor for reading, both for professional purposes and enjoyment.  I create notes in my Kindle books, and find this much easier to manage than the old pages of notes that I used in my dissertation days.  Unfortunately, availability of electronic textbooks in general is an issue.  Despite the critical mass of portable devices for reading (iPhone, Blackberry, laptops, Kindle, Sony eReader), academic textbooks are not widely distributed in electronic form.   Although the release of the iPad may spur content creators (textbook publishers) to create integrated multimedia electronic books, this form of textbook doesn’t really exist at present, even with years of widespread adoption of inexpensive multimedia laptops in colleges and universities.

On the cost front, electronic textbooks are not significantly cheaper than physical books. This is counter-intuitive I know, but I’ve been watching this since I started monitoring the cost of books for my students.  Assertions by companies like Amazon.com that ebooks are cheaper is not precisely true.  Popular titles and best sellers are cheaper (US$7.99 – $9.99), but the lower price point is not a general rule across all offerings.  Additionally, eBooks can’t be sold back or rented (as yet), while the elimination of the aftermarket for books may encourage publishers to produce electronic textbooks on a larger scale, the impact is decidedly negative from the perspective of students.  The point about ebooks being “green” and having less impact on the environment is true, but I have not found this to be a real issue among students when it comes to academic textbooks.

Another set of issues to consider revolve around digital rights management used by manufacturers and media producers.  There is a general reluctance on the part of media producers/distributors to embrace digital media (music, video, and text).   Both, Amazon.com and Apple have faced problems with music and video publishers over the years.  Last year, Amazon electronically deleted copies of a book (George Orwell’s 1984 ironically enough) from customer’s Kindles when the book’s publisher withdrew the electronic publishing licence.  The company  refunded the book purchase price and later apologized, but all of the notes and bookmarks developed by the people who purchased the book were permanently deleted.  This would be catastrophic for an electronic textbook during a semester or for a reference book at any time.   Apple has had issues with its iTunes store in terms of publishers pulling out of the store over pricing disputes.  My observation from these incidents and readings in the technology news, is that media publishers of all types have not really embraced digital formats to the same extent that the public.  Given the grief that instructors take over misplaced book orders and general availability, only one such incident would have classes back to paper books.

Manufacturers themselves also seem to have a love-hate relationship with their own customers in terms of using the products they sell.  Apple computer is famous in the technology industry for their closed systems, and have experienced legal trouble in the EU over the company’s policy of restricting user ability to easily interact with the iPod and iTunes products.  Returning to the issue of textbooks, there is not currently a single format used by sellers and distributors of electronic books.  The current scheme is for iPad owners to use third-party apps like Kindle iPad Edition or Stanza to read books from outside the iBooks store operated by Apple.  In all fairness, I have not used an iPad or the iBooks app to evaluate ease of use and portability and this information is based on reports from Twitter and Blog posts (see Cali Lewis’ description of the iPad at GeekBrief, you might need to watch several episodes).  Alternatively, I can speak from direct experience on the limitations that Apple computer puts on its user base.  I have an iPhone, which I hoped would lead to some convergence in the gadgets that I carried around. I was wrong.  iPhones are locked to a single computer for loading media, if you change computers all of your media is wiped from the phone.  While I could go through the process of hacking or jailbreaking the phone to gain access, I choose to not engage in an ongoing arms race with my technology suppliers and will just choose a different technology for my next smart-phone.  The problems with the iPhone are made all the worse by iTunes’ wonky interface for loading anything except approved Apple media types.  Instead of having a device to bridge the mobile space between work and home (well more like home office), I have another standalone device that I use to access third-party services like Evernote and Backpack.  The availability of these services on Apple products is tightly controlled by Apple through their App Store approval process.  If the iPad works like the iPhone in terms of sync’ing and access to software, then it’s usefulness as an educational tool is limited.

If you’d like to see the iPad in action or at least marketing videos of the iPad in action, you can view a series of videos at GeekBrief TV by going to: http://www.geekbrief.tv/ipad-numbers/ .  This is the first video in a series on the site and has links to see more highlighted features and reports on other iPad related goings on.

I’d like to hear about your experiences, if any, with the iPad and iTouch products (feel free to express your Android love too), particularly as you use them for teaching or for learning.

It’s that time again!  The time when juniors and graduating seniors polish up their resumes, dust off their business suits, and put their best foot forward. The All-Majors Career Fair will take place on Wednesday, February 10, 10 am-3 pm, on the second floor of the Student Union Ballroom.  In light of this very difficult job market, we would welcome your assistance in making sure students are advised and prepared for this event.  Your support is crucial to ensuring our student attendance.  The Career Connections office is available to help students with their resumes and interviewing skills. 

• If you wish to participate; visit the Career Connections website (www.ulm.edu/careerconnections) to pre-register for the Career Fair and obtain tips on getting the most out of the event.  They may also visit our offices on the 3^rd floor of the library or call us at 342-5338.
• Also, the day before the career fair, February 9^th, several local employers will be here to present a “Pre-Career Fair Workshop” in our office ( library 302) from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm. This work shop will teach students how to network, create a 30 second pitch to  employers, and land a full-time job!

If I haven’t already mentioned this to you, after you walk across the stage is kind of late to start looking for a job.  These career fairs and internships provide an incredible opportunity for you to get your foot in the door with employers from all over the region and the country.  ‘They want experience to get the job, but you have to get a job to get experience.”  Well, these events and internships are how you overcome this.  Students in the CIS program at ULM are encouraged (in some classes even required) to attend these events regularly and to seek internships or short-term projects where ever possible.

So, what are the criteria??  Go to www.ulm.edu/scholarships and find out. Look over the web site and see which ones that you qualify for and APPLY!  Actually, apply for anything that you qualify for.  The folks at the Scholarship office can answer questions on particular scholarships and the process of applying.  You can find their number in the campus directory.

It’s that time of the year again, The Beginning of the Regular School Year!!!  Dr. McEacharn has been busy sending me information on updated sections and changes to the late registration process, so I’m now busy passing them on to you.

First.  Have you registered??  Really??  Why not?? Well never mind, that’s why we have late registration.  You NEED to know that the process is a bit different this year (its a bit different every year actually).  Regular registration for classes will close at 12:00 noon on Monday, August 17^th 2009.  The system will then re-open on Wednesday, August 19^th 2009, at 6:00 a.m. for late registration.  Advisers will be available in the College of Business from 8am till 4pm on 19 through 24 August 2009.  NOTE:  You may or may not have an adviser from CIS during this extended period. However, I will be around campus performing various administrative functions, and will be able to provide answers specific to CIS related topics if needed.

Second.  If you are trying to get into a ULM Online class, the Registrar will be opening all remaining 1^st 8-week sections up on Thursday, 13 August 2009.  So this is your chance if you’ve been looking to get into one of these classes.  Also, there is a new online section of CSCI 170 available and has some seats open.

That’s it for now.  If you want to stay up on the latest in the CIS program at ULM, remember to subscribe to the RSS feed from CIS@ULM.

Dr. Barnett

If you are looking to get into an online class for one of these sessions, but have unable due to he class being full, then give it a go again on Monday.

Good Luck..

It’s advising time again.  Well, it seems that about half of you know that, because I or one of the CIS faculty have already seen you.  For those that have not been advised, next week is the last week of regular advising.

There are a number of changes to ULM policy about registration, fees, and course offerings. Your adviser should go over these with you during your session.

One critical change that I want to let you know about is Late Payment.  In the past, if you registered and then didn’t pay off your account, the school just dropped you from those courses.  NOW, you’ll have a bright shinny unpaid bill that will have to be paid before you can enter school at some later date.  ALSO, there are now TWO, count them, TWO points at which you will be charged a late payment fee.

So, GET ADVISED and GET REGISTERED…the class you save may be the one you need to graduate.

Have a great Spring Break, and hope to see you all back next week.

Cheers,

Dr. B

For those of you that still have classes to take, it’s advising time.  There will be about a two week period where the entire College of Business Administration will be organized to review your progress and help you plan the next semester or two.  Advising dates are October 29 – November 11.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ADVISING TIME!!!

Advising after November 11 will be on a first come first serve basis during instructor office hours.