What’s in an IT Toolbox? (Session 1)

Written by: Jonathan Briggs

September 28, 2009 [1274 views]

Everyone working in IT needs a set of tools to help them do their job. These tools include programming tools, design patterns and problem solving tools - ways of thinking about a problem, breaking it down into smaller problems and finding help. They also include great Internet sites and ways of contacting other people who might know the answer.

Here are some things I think we should all ‘know’:

What client/server means and where things happen online
Why reputation matters in a networked economy
How to estimate how long something will take or how much something might cost
How to find out whether someone has already solved your problem or one like it
Why mobile is going to be so important
Why programmers start with frameworks rather than just programming languages
How companies like Google think and make money
How to try things out for yourself (‘eat your own dogfood’)
How to build on top of other people’s work using mashups
How to think and behave like a start-up

In this first session I will put forward a list of skills that I think every student should have mastered by the end of the module. This sets ambitious goals but with this underpinning, students will be able to explore many of the emerging ideas in computing and participate themselves in the rapidly changing world of web publishing, ecommerce and mashups.

I have also indicated some questions you should start thinking about. Sometimes you will already know the answers but often you will have to do some research.

You must be able to:

Run your own server
Build a simple web site using modern design principles
Build, run and syndicate a blog
Build and run an ecommerce site
Build your own reputation online
Explain the principles behind Google search
Construct a mashup
Spot the next wave of trends
Find people, code, advice and support when things go wrong

Run your own server

You should be able to operate a web server on your own computer and at a remote location, putting files in the right place and demonstrating that you can retrieve those files through a browser. Your remote server allows you to build a portfolio of your own work and to show off what you can do publicly.

Consider where it is and how it handles requests
What tools help you monitor its health (or availability)?
What do you need to do to protect it from attack?
How does it differ from the computer (or mobile phone) you use to access it?

How servers work (YouTube)

Build a simple web site using modern design principles

A modern web site separates content, design and business logic from each other. You should be able to construct a site without using automated tools such as Dreamweaver. You should be able to change the appearance of your site using CSS. You should have some basic understanding of layout.

How can a website be extended to allow interaction with a visitor?
How could you achieve the same results without code?
How does the rest of the web know that your web site exists?
How is a browser request routed to your server?

Everything you know about web design is wrong (YouTube)

Build, run and syndicate a blog

Blogging is web publishing made simple and you can start with simple packages such as Blogger, Wordpress and TypePad. You should set up a blog with a well designed template, learn to write regularly and manage comments, syndication (using RSS) and moderation.

Why is syndication important and how does it relate to mashups?
In what ways are the tools used to run a blog similar or different to those used to run larger sites and stores?

Build and run an ecommerce site

You can explore earning money using affiliate based stores from companies such as Amazon or sell things on eBay. Study the basic retailing concepts of availability, product information, pricing and fulfillment by looking at major retailers such as John Lewis or Play.com. Start to study the business models of retailers but also companies like Spotify and Facebook.

What is the difference between a good ecommerce site and a poor one?
How does a web designer help a customer find and buy what they want?
How does a company find new customers for their site?

Build your own reputation online

Explore social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Understand how they are being used for marketing and business. Consider how your private persona might differ from your private one.

Why might a Facebook profile help or hinder a job applicant?
How many friends or followers do you need?
Which of the social networks are worth using for business?

Optimise and promote a site to the search engines

Explore the search principles behind Google and its competitors including spidering, relevance and reputation. Consider how companies use this knowledge to promote themselves online.

How does Google decide which order to display results?
How can you increase your position in Google?
How much does your position in Google matter?

Construct a simple mashup

Future systems are built using components and data published by other people. You need to be able to construct simple examples using the latest tools.

What value is created when data (or technology) from two different systems is combined?
What tools are out there to help you experiment with mashups?

http://www.fastfoodmaps.com/

Keep up to date with trends in technology

Change is guaranteed and you need to be prepared for it. Some of the ideas we are exploring in this module were not included (at all) in the course last year and in 3 years time there will be new ideas that cannot be explored now. You need to be ready for this change and find ways of keeping an eye on what is changing.

How do you filter all of the information that is flooding into your inbox?
How do you spot the next winner?

Find help when things go wrong

This is perhaps at the heart of this module. As you learn about modern IT, things will go wrong. They always do. You need to find strategies to solve these problems and sources of information and support.

What happens if you don’t understand what you are told on your course?
What will you do if you are asked to solve an unfamiliar problem in your first job?
Who is out there to help?

http://www.linkedin.com/answers

Below is a link to a profile of the students doing this course in terms of access to IT, knowledge of programming languages and interests in various areas of the degree. Summaryreportfortoolbox (11 KB)