Interesting Topic for last class

The topic that caught my interest was civil engineering. This stood out to me because I use to work for the Army Corps of Engineers. As a result, I have a lot of friends who are civil engineers and I am curious into how this relates to human interaction with systems and how you research the subject and relate it to our respective field. Maybe this will give me an interesting topic to discuss and perhaps explore further with my engineering buddies.

What do you consider is Big Data and why?

I consider big data to be the research, collection, entry, and analysis of a large amount of information, often involving multiple sources and databases. To me it is a large collection of information or data that is used for some meaningful purpose after all the data and/or information is analyzed. I believe data is the collection of information therefore I consider big data to be the collection of a large amount of information from multiple sources. An example of big data would be the tracking of crime in New York City. The information on the nature of the crime, victims, perpetrators, and area are all taken into account and put into a database to predict, control, and focus on where the most crimes are being committed, what crimes are likely to happen in certain areas, who is committing such crimes and where, and many other useful information the police use to combat crime in their city.

Tell me an interest of yours in technology and why it interests you.

There are so many different ways I could go with this topic. I use technology everyday, whether it is my smartphone, my Xbox, or my laptop. Technology is a big part of everyday life for a large amount of people in this country and other developed countries. However, a particular interest of mine, which I have only been aware of recently, is Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. These devices provide a means of speaking and writing for individuals who have difficulty communicating with others, whether it be due to autism, a car accident, or  under some other unfortunate circumstances. The great thing about AAC is that they can be either low tech or high tech communications and is yet another example in which technology can improve people's lives. This subject interests me because my brother is autistic and has used low tech AAC devices in the past. He is my motivation and the reason for my interest in using assistive technology to improve the life of those with disabilities.

How will we interact with PCs/Laptops in 5 - 10 years? Will we be using keyboards/mouse, or something entirely different?

In 5 to 10 years I think we will continue to use laptops with keyboards and a mouse, although I could see touch screen pcs being increasingly integrated into the market. This would include smartphones along with touch screen laptops and other mobile devices being hooked up on a docking station or connected to a larger screen with an HDMI cord or another similar device.
As new devices continue to react to gestures, I think in someway our pcs and laptops will have a number of features and capabilities where they can track sensors. But the traditional touchpad, mouse, and keyboard will stay present due to its familiarity to users. I think they will be similar to successful video game consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox, who rely on customers committed to the product name.  Those game systems have features of motion sensors but also continue to stick to the traditional methods of game controllers for the time being.

What is one thing you have learned that is most interesting and why?

Out of everything we have learned, I would have to say the understanding of the front end design process was the most interesting. I have chose this for a number of reasons. It is exciting to know that this is the first and maybe the most important process for designing the user interface. It is very important and good information to have. It is really cool to see the start of the process in which professionals design information technology products. It's also cool because when I read technology news, I now know this terminology. For example, in several articles about the failures of the ObamaCare website, I have seen experts talk about the failure of the front end design process on a couple occasions. It is exciting to be able to relate the knowledge I learned in this class to big technology news. It also made me think that if even I know about the front end design process, how could the designers of the ObamaCare website produce such a disappointing product for their users? I know that they are aware of the process as well as the 10 UARs.

Should social media be used for classes or within the university?

I may be in the minority, but I do not think social media such as Facebook and Twitter should be used for classes or within university. I think that your private life and academics or work should be separate or at least optional for you to integrate. It should not be a required for classes especially with so many university resources already available such as university email, group discussions, and chats or blogs available through blackboard and other similar websites at universities across the nation. Also, though there may be few, some people do not have or use Facebook or twitter. I, for instance, do not want nor have a Twitter account.

Musuem

The most recent museum that I attended was the Carnegie Museum of Art about four weeks ago. I had been to the Natural History exhibit many times when I was younger but I don't recall ever having been in the art section of the museum. I went there because as a Pitt student I get in for free and had to time to kill while waiting for the bus. It was very fascinating and there were a couple things that caught my eye, most notable the Victorian era paintings. I wasn't expecting the whole art exhibit to be so big and contain so many different eras of art, though looking back now I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.
What I was looking forward to and expecting were the Andy Warhol works as well as other modern day displays which showed almost chaotic, crazy and colorful art. As I mentioned before, the Victorian Era paintings really caught my eye for their unique and very well drawn religious focused portraits which really portrayed society of Victorian England.

Least Favorite website and why

Since I never go to any website that I do not like, I will talk about a website I use to visit but do not anymore. Gamespot.com is a website that reviews video games. I use to enjoy this site but now I never go to it anymore because both the content and the layout are not what they once were. The site is overloaded with ads and the layout is now ugly and cluttered. Also, the reviews for the video games are more like long advertisement videos now. Also, they have far too many people doing the game reviews on the site. It should be left to a few experts, although on other gaming websites that I like there is room for you to comment on the game.

Goals for this class (What I would like to learn)

This is one of my first classes in information sciences. Although I am aware this major deals with technology, people, and information, I am not really aware of the specific areas of study and specializations in this field. I am hoping that this course, human factors in design, will show me how professionals use this skill successfully in the business world and how the skills can be used in certain careers. Maybe, if I really enjoy this subject and it interests me, I can pursue a career focused in user centered design.